Culture

The culture in Stakhlian was greatly influenced by the past, both from war times and peace times.

Despite the accepted history of how Jord became to be - The Creator creating everything, then reclusing himself - the names of places and what was worn and decorated was heavily influenced by the alternate history.

The culture was also shaped by the Veil and the unknown certainty of what will happen if it ever approaches. As it swallowed smaller towns on the western border, larger towns quickly became a hub of activity as Redders flooded in and stages continuous fights to fight back the Veil. The townsfolk (non Redders), lauded the Redders, but after a few of the fights went too far and they lost control, Redders soon became an object to be lauded, respected, feared. They were a necessary evil, that were also human beings with their quirks and wants. The Redders tried to integrate themselves into everyday life and became more or less successful, depending on the town. While Kieb managed to integrate all the Redders well and became the biggest hub for them, smaller towns such as Lent and Jinae, feared them. The Redders there were given a stipend and a small camp outside of town. This had a dramatic effect on the policing efforts, wellbeing of Redders and townsfolk the same. Scarlets were regarded harmless and powerful, as they would never go berserk, as they cannot generate any Red. A father's dream was that his son would be a scarlet, as their services were wanted everywhere - from construction to legions.

The Ko's influence also stretched as far as it could, but was laxer in some places. The general rule was that the further the place was from Nix, the smaller his effect was. Sorties would then needed to be sent, to keep the kingdom in check. Only the people would suffer - hangings, pillaging, burning. This made the people dislike the Ko, but still respect him. There were a few uprisings, but the Ko commanded the largest army, with incredibly loyal Scarlets, that protected his interests all the time.

Government

Stakhlian was organized into a lose Monarchy, that had various state towns that had a partially autonomous role. As long as the taxes kept coming and all requistions fulfilled, the town could govern themselves and even have a ruler appointed. Whether that ruler was an elected one or if it was bloodier, that was up to the towns to handle. The tax was up to the perceived income of that town, which was sometimes grossly under/overestimated, depending on how good the town administrators were. The Monarchy had several tax legions, an armed company of 200 men, that collected and enforced tax regulations. The Monarchy was controlled by the Ko, his Scholar and up to three trusted advisors and the bureaucracy was kept to a minimal. This made for some muddled lines when anything was checked upon, because the Ko was always right until proved otherwise. If the town or individuals had no evidence, the Ko would win automatically.

The offices

• Tax Legion - collects and enforces tax
• War council - coordinates war and sorties to quell riots/revolts
• Aura use advancement office - overview of all Redders/Scarlets/exShards
• Council of Listeners - disused, Prophet overview and search
• Office for External Affairs - contact with the SOuth
• People's Affairs - People's complaints (which normally fell on deaf ears)

Ko

Ruler of Stakhlian, he is nameless when coronated and answeres simply to the title Ko.

"When I take up this sacred duty, I let go of who I was and become the spearhead of this great continent. I am no longer ____, I am Ko!"

Economic Systems

Stakhlian used two main currencies: Denari and SteelShards. The exchange rate was constant and was kept plain 1 SteelShard = 7 Gold pieces, 1 Gold piece = 7 Silver pieces, 1 Silver piece = 7 copper bits.

• A loaf of bread costs 1 Copper bit.
• A plain sword costs 1 gold 2 Silver pieces
• A set of Armor costs 3 Gold pieces

Money	SteelShard	Gold	Silver	Copper
Steelshard	1	5	25	125
Gold	0.2	1	5	25
Silver	0.04	0.2	1	5
Copper	0.008	0.04	0.2	1

The most money exchanged hands by the selling and producing of exShards. With it, crops could be done where previously thought impossible. Animals could carry more, weapons were more powerful. The Steelshard supply was constant, as it was an alien technology impossible to reproduce. Gold, silver and copper were constantly mined, but it was getting more difficult and each nugget needed to go through the Ko's mint to be officially made to money. Of course, a 25% tax was on minting, so the coffers expanded accordingly. There were hardly any exports to The South, because of severed diplomatic ties.

Customs and Traditions

Fear of the Fangers

The direwolves were what spooked children, what formed stories and what sparked (misguided) quests. For a while, it was a right of passage to kill a wolf and wear his skin for everyone to see. The pelts were kept as pristine as possible and handed down from generation to generation. The skins went from glorious cloakes to rugs to trash. Only the most wealthy families could keep their pelt as prisitne and they showed it off as often as possible.

Clothing wasn't the only thing that was influenced from wolves. The architecture of houses was designed to protect from wolves - windows had spikes so nothing could jump in, animal coops were built without windows and thorn bushes circled them, chairs often depicted a snarling wolfs head, so did doorknobs, knockers and lamp posts. As wolves became almost extinct, people shaped them everywhere they could and it became something to be proud of and not feared. With the return of the direwolves the signs became a warning again, but the warning was a s brief as the attack. Shows were put on about them even when they were happening a few cities away.

Right to Live Free outside of Kieb

The Right was laxer everywhere else. While in Kieb, honor meant everything, in Stakhlian in general, the tassel was a stylish and differentiating piece of clothing. Scarlets were a red/white checker pattern, Redder's tassels were blood red, the Ko a golden one and everyone else were free to choose what they wanted. If someone's tassel was stolen it could amount to ridicule, but generally not a lot of lives were lost due to it. Towns closer to Kieb, where the Right originated, were closer to the honor system, while far off towns like Byram didn't even know it anymore. The Ko's tassel would always be tied around a weapon that was constantly on the Ko. Due to it being stolen, the Ko ordered a few dozen made for him, that were kept locked in his private quarters.

Social Organization

Socially, the organization looks like this

• Ko
• Ko's Scholar, Ko's Advisors
• Warlords, Scarlet Generals
• Autonomous town heads (Madam of Kieb, ...)
• Freeman, Freewoman
• Tearers
  • One Tearer
  • Two tearer
  • Three tearer
  • Four Tearer

Religion

Faith

Language

The language was common although dialect exists with small nuances.

Common Phrases

• As long as the West holds - the west barrier against the Veil is seen as a sign of mankind's struggle against death and is like a beacon of hope
• howling person - stupid person
• fanger - bastard
• Faith Expressions