Prekha

Prekha is a large Dynasty of Auklan humans north of Estaria. It's geographic position and history of territorial disputes and religious opposition to Orthodox Atovism make it a sworn enemy of Estaria for most of the last six centuries. It has managed to maintain a strong hold of its territory and influence over the northeastern region of Vildrel despite its population being less than the size of Solgrad.

People and Culture

Prekha is a wealthy imperialist country with a quasi-feudal society. They have a stringent work culture, with a strong work ethic being a core virtue of Prekhan culture and morality.

Art

Prekhans are renowned for their wood-working skill, both in sculpture and architecture. Their buildings have immaculate, curved, clay tiled roofs with finely carved and painted wooden supports and trussing.

Work Culture

Prekhan industries are organized into local trade guilds. These guilds could be as broad as a guild for blacksmithing or tailoring. However, in larger cities, these guilds are typically far more specific, such as a guild for the blacksmithing of nails or the tailoring of a certain style of hat.
Large and influential guilds can resemble international companies in their own right, though with a more democratic internal structure. For example, the infamous West Crescent Trading Guild, which deals in shipping and trade to Landren, T'Ched and Sadrove is so large that it has its own private army.
Prekhan workers are trained as apprentices to a master of their given trade. This usually starts at ages twelve to sixteen, after they've learned basic literacy and mathematics. An apprentice will work under a master for free in exchange for lodging, training and admission into a guild of their given trade. An apprentice will leave their master when they create a masterwork.

Masterworks

Possession of a masterwork allows a Prekhan worker to be a member of a trade guild without needing a master. These are meant to show the worker's skill in a given craft and their worthiness to move on to independent work. Masterworks will change depending on the worker's given craft, of course. They could be anything from a weapon, to a painting, to a shipping ledger, but they must be of high quality in order for a guild to accept them.
To Eclectic Materialists of Prekha, this masterwork will also function as a religious item of some significance, symbolizing the artisans connection to their work and station.

Fashion

In their capital, Prekhans tend to wear tight fitting, layered clothing to protect themselves from the jungle elements and pests. This has lead to a fashion trend among all Prekhans, even at the reaches of their empire, where they wear tight, thin leggings. Women dress in a similarly practical fashion due to this environment by wearing short dresses with thick leggings, and only members of the royal dynasty tend to wear long, flowing dresses.

Religion

Prekhans have their religious roots in a regional subsect of Eclectic Materialism called "Lowland Paganism," because it comes from the original human societies in the Lowland Collar. This old religion had an emphasis on synergy with nature, which persists in Prekhan culture today.

Government and Politics

Prekha is an imperialist Dynasty with an Emperor as its head of state. Their emperor is chosen by the eldest member of their ruling family. This dominant family is itself determined through political alliances, economic strength, and military force. The current ruling family, House Celene, traces their heritage all the way to the original House of Wehn.

Geography

Prekha lies in the jungle region of Vildrel's center continent, and extends west into plains and forest all the way to the Crescent Sea. The majority of Prekha's people, and its capital city, lie in the Redshade Jungle north of Estaria.

Major settlements

Lepra

Lepra is Prekha's capital city and the birthplace of its empire. Lepra is a humid jungle city near the coast of the Passi Sea. Its wealth comes from trade in chocolate, silk, and slaves.

History

Prekha was founded as an empire in 1121 SE, when the wealthy House of Wehn, who were the wealthiest faction in Prekha's modern capital of Lepra, conquered their neighboring city-states with a mercenary army. Its initial territories were small, occupying the northern region of the Lowland Collar surrounding Lepra, and an expanse of flatlands to the north that added up to less than eighty thousand square kilometers.

Northwest Expansion

Referred to by Prekhans as "The Age of Manifestation," the first two centuries of Prekha's history were a time of expansion north and west from Lepra. They did this by creating small warlord-states near small kingdoms and principalities in the surrounding areas. These warlord-states were funded and supported by the Prekhan dynasty, but operated largely independently to raid and plunder their neighbors until the territory was weak enough do be conquered by the Prekhan empire.
This period lasted from 1121 to 1308 SE, when Landren's southern polities were unified under Wolf-King Gregor, who posed a legitimate obstacle to Prekha's warlord strategy. With Landren to the North and Estaria to the South, Prekha was wedged in the center of Vilrel where they focused instead on developing their hastily acquired and sparsely populated holdings.

Early Conflict with Estaria

It maintained a friendly relationship with Estaria through a military partnership to fight against Ash Raiders and Dredges to the southeast. This friendly relationship lasted for nearly three centuries, until northern expansion from Estaria in 1411 under the Estarian king Edwyn III. King Edwyn's men sieged and annexed the Prekhan hamlet of Nettlefond, which was then a priory of Lockford when Lockford was part of Prekha's empire, starting a period of poor relations between the two nations that has lasted to this day.
In 1437, Edwyn III of Estaria furthered his imperial ambitions with two attacks on the port city of Lockford. Though the first attack was repelled, the second succeeded thanks to Estarian shapers, and Lockford was annexed by Estaria. This strengthened the Estarian Empire's holdings in the region and worsened relations with Prekha to the point of all-out war.

Territory Name:

Prekha

Population:

18 Million

Distribution:

73% Humans
14% Droven
13% Chimeras
>1% Giants

Dominant Religions:

Eclectic Materialism
Renewist Atovism

Current Head of State:

Empress Celene

Type

Geopolitical, Country