Akagawa

Blood-Ripened Fields
In the West, Fastid's tears intermingle with Consecra's blood over gentle hills and plains, blessing the earth with great fertility. The land is named Akagawa after its blood red rivers, and its people are strong and hearty, valuing adherence to tradition, spiritualism, and passion.

Inhabitants

The Akagawan humans come from long lines of farmers and warriors; they are quite average in height, with strong builds and good health. Their skin is usually bronzed and freckled from the sun, and their hair is wavy/curly in warm tones of brown, with red being uncommon and appealing. Like all humans, their eye color is determined by the season they are born under.
Though few and far between, Laments also share the land. These fox-like creatures toe the line between spiritual and corporeal, pure and impure, and are the offspring of Consecra's bloodthirst and Fastid's mourning. Their fur comes in shades of autumn, and they suffer immortal lifespans that are cut short only by conflict. When dormant, they sleep within statues, usually at the entrances of shrines, and leave their stone posts only when their place of protection is under attack, or if Fastid calls for them. Humanfolk consider it bad luck to see one, but they are mostly solitary creatures that prefer to keep to their duties without causing any trouble.
As for beasts , the majority of the land is suited to livestock, with predators being kept at the extremities and among the plateaus. To survive the heat, most species have adapted to have short, light-colored coats. The open plains and abundance of food allow them to grow quite large on average, though smaller creatures can enjoy the cover of the tall grass.

Society

Most rural Akagawans are gifted when it comes to tending to livestock and crops, and are even skilled at specifically breeding, Conflicting, and training winged steeds without too much risk.
The capitol is a crowded place with an active nightlife, archaic skybridges and intersecting stairways mingling sinners and saints alike. The chaos is built around odd superstitions and curiously immovable spiritual objects where everyone struggles to be noticed, making it quite a colorful place.
Military order exists in the form of the Blades of Tranquility, a prestigious and selective order of the most skilled blades of the land. They follow the Edicts of Harmony to purge the land of Confliction and impurity in order to protect the people.

Power & Leadership

Akagawa is a matriarchal feudalist monarchy. In exchange for the protection of the Blades of Tranquility, all citizenry pay tithes to the lords of their respective territories, who then pays their dues to the Empress.
An Empress is preferably chosen as the eldest daughter of the royal family. If no suitable heir is found before an Empress's death, then the most influential priestess of Consecra will then be chosen. Post-Wraiths, Akagawa sits in political turmoil due to the Empress being in a coma, which has allowed her two eldest sons to assume control of the nation for an extended period of time.
Historically, the Empress is always served by a Champion (the once-per-generation human vessel of Consecra), and the two are expected to produce an heir within Consecra's season so long as the Champion is a fertile male and they are not related by blood.
Other recurring roles include royal advisors, a high sorcerer (typically of the Aikawa bloodline, controversial due to the forbidden nature of magic yet necessary in defending against other territory's sorcerers), and a warlord (to organize the Blades of Tranquility).
Despite being the living guardian of the land, Fastid prefers solitude and has never interfered or shown favor to one side or another in terms of Akagawan rule. Consecra's favor and will has shown to be much more influential in the process of succession.

Economy

An extremely fertile territory, Akagawa's main industry is agriculture. Those who live in the capitol delight in excess and often sponsor craftsmen and tinkers. While their land is not rich in metals, they occasionally find deposits of bloodore in Consecra's Spine which contain valuable magical properties.

Culture

They speak Common, a language they share with Yuanlin. Akagawan surnames are inherited matrilineally; the exception is with the Empress's children, as only she can bear the surname of Akagawa. Until their succession, her daughters bear the surname of their father.
The general populace is deeply religious, with Consecra being their primary deity and Fastid being a secondary due to his less demanding nature.
They revere and respect the spirits, following many superstitions and edicts that involve them. They reject spiritual impurity and Confliction, which they fear. Some of these traditions include hanging amulets of protection to ward against misfortune which must be burned in Consecra's sacred flames at the turn of each year, and family matrons conducting a group prayer each sunrise in which they speak to their relatives' purity to an effigy of Consecra.

Notable Locations

Aypavoc (Post-Reckoning)

Open full size

Aypavoc is a large island that sits in the middle of the Endless Expanse, a great body of water with no other coast in sight. Aypavoc and its surrounding waters have been enclosed in a barrier erected by Metus to the North, Varys to the East, Eldnyng to the South, and Fastid to the West; these Divine Beasts are trapped within their domains, as too much distance from them would cause the barrier to falter. Most believers preach that the purpose of the barrier is to keep the unspeakable dangers of the open waters away from their island home, but its hidden true purpose is to contain the impure spiritual energy of Aypavoc and prevent it from corrupting the world at large. Its waters all flow towards the deepest point, Irev's Fall, a maelstrom at the center of the fractured continent.

History

Akagawa was the first great empire to rise from the ruins of the Lost Era, attracting the most people and advancing quickly due to the fertility given by the decaying corpse of Consecra. The once-fractured clans of people were gradually conquered and unified over time into one nation by the first Empress, a tiger priestess.
A notable tale is that of Arkadag, a hero of legend who is said to have been the first Champion and defended Akagawa from the evil dragon-worshippers when the country was still young before mysteriously disappearing.
History of Aypavoc

Relations

Post-Wraiths, they have a tense neutrality with Yuanlin, largely due to the nation's unwillingness to speak with them or open the border at all.
Pre-Wraiths, they were a frequent trade partner, though most Akagawans were wary of their 'scheming' ways and profiteering nature, dealing with merchants only because they deemed necessary; many fine skills were practiced in the North, and they possessed abundant metals where Akagawa possessed food.
They have always had a longstanding and bloody feud with the Beastsworn, particularly clashing over a border island that both nations believed sacred.

Akagawan Characters

Akagawa Kimiko ◈ Arakaki Aimi ◈ Arakaki Katsuo ◈ Arakaki Isamu ◈ Kasai Akio ◈ Aikawa Hitomi ◈ Aikawa Kaoru