General
When the Ruling Gods began the forming of nations or people-groups over which they ruled, their subjects began to take on certain traits. These were themed around the powers of their gods, but surfaced in different ways. Often hereditary, but occasionally found unexpectedly, these powers continue to confound all attempts to fully catalog or investigate them. Different nations and people have varying cultures and practices surrounding these powers, in some places instruction in them is secretive, some use them publicly, or some monopolize these gifts for the ruling classes, and so on.
Regardless of where one is in the known world, magic escapes the average idea of mystical powers and spells, and rather forms a crucial, and normal, part of everyday life for those with powers.
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Given their direct connections to both
Mistra, goddess of the winds and weather, and
Vestria, ruler goddess and patron over oratory, Anharans' powers are centered around these facets.
Oratorical Skill
When Anhara first solidified into a polity, those with the most proficiency at flattery were able to get ahead by wooing their fickle goddess. These men went on to form the original noble houses of Anhara, and all politicians and leaders who have came since have followed in their footsteps. From within
The Rostrum, the main legislative body of the nation, the best speakers compete against each other in a tournament known as
The Discourse. This battle of wits and voices was centered more around the most powerful aspects of Anharans' abilities during the Age of Rule, and has since declined into a mere vote and formality. However, in its heyday, some candidates were known to have been out-spoken so thoroughly that the force of their opponents words literally knocked them from their feet and out of the chamber. Today, owing to the lack of a goddess to instruct them, and the
College of Vestrial Priestesses' refusal to share their knowledge, most gifted speakers are believed to lack many of the talents of their forefathers.
See
Oration.
Wind Crystals
These semi-hollow blue-green colored crystals are works of what is believed to be divine magic. Recent technological developments has allowed for them to be used in
airships, summoning the winds used to make them fly. This is done by the
College of Vestrial Priestesses imbuing them with air through an intense process of prayer and concentration. While the exact methodology is a state secret, this is one of the newest powers known to the Priestesses to have been revealed.
Wind Manipulation
The ability to outright command the winds is reserved for the gods, but to adjust their course briefly is possible for some truly blessed mortals. The only instance of this in modern times, however, is the lighthouse keepers of locations such as
Fingerwatch or
Firstwatch. These are trained by the
College of Vestrial Priestesses in the slight manipulation of the winds, so as to prevent the great lighthouses from being obscured by their own smoke poor weather.
The Bellows
With the tallest of the Bellows located in a marble arched tower, open at the top to the elements, in the Snowmelt District of Meridia, from here all communication within Anhara flows. Specially trained by the Vestrial Priestesses, Bellowers are citizens of Anhara gifted not in oratory, but in sheer volume and flow of their voice. These Bellowers undergo five years of training within the
Vestrial Tower, before being assigned to a regional Bellow, but never near their home territory so as not to make loyalties conflict.
From the top of the Bellows, these specialized Anharans literally shout messages into horns, used to carry the sound into the wind. During the Age of Rule, when gods' walked the mortal plane, and these powers were stronger, horns were unnecessary and some of the greatest Bellowers could even simply speak into the elements. Regardless, the effect is the same, with the message carried, independent of the natural path of the winds, to the next highest tower in the direction it is shouted. From here, the next Bellower in the line either receives the message if it is intended for him, or relays it further down the chain. Each house seat hosts its own Bellows, with the houses closest to mountain ranges, such as in the Eastmarches or the Coquet Heights, able to construct the tallest and therefore most direct.
While it is uncouth, sacrilegious in the greatest degree, to coerce a Bellower or otherwise interfere with the transmit of messages, it has been known to occur in times of inter-house conflict. To prevent this, runners are stationed in Bellows as a back-up, so that messages may be conveyed in this more mundane manner, to circumvent towers further down the line. These messengers are also the default method of communication to smaller cities and towns, who typically lack Bellows of their own.
Owing to
Petrina's nature as the offspring of
Nemura, goddess of the sea and its creatures upon whom the sun can touch, and
Iarus, god of freedom, Litoric Islanders experience a unique combination of divine gifts. Petrina took a light-handed approach to rule, leaving the disparate islands of the Litoric Archipelago to govern themselves autonomously. Due to this, the full potential of the Islanders' powers were not shown to them by their goddess, nor even treated as such, given they were seen more as inherent traits.
Swimming
As the islands united, they discovered what their aptitudes meant for their new, expanded worldview. An incredible proficiency in swimming led to mostly military applications, with crack teams of swimmers dispatched up rivers and into seaside targets. It also became the primary means of communication between the islands. Given the expense and time required to outfit a ship and send it to the next island over to deliver messages, it was far more convenient to send a swimmer.
When this development first began, messages were oral and relied upon memorization, leading to potentially misstated messages. This evolved with waterproof tubes for carrying paper messages. Cylindrical containers made of tar-infused wood, in a similar method to ship hulls, allowed for both a lightweight and safe means of conveying paper objects. Ships are still used to deliver bulk, non-urgent mail, in the present day, despite waterproofing innovations.
The Northern Tribes
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