Yosei Clans

A small confederacy of halfling and gnomish clans in the southeast corner of the Northern Territories. Known for their neutrality during many of the Kiri-Kawa Wars of the 4th Cycle, the region is an idyllic backwater isolated from the horrors of war and modern innovations.

Structure

The confederation's elders and chieftains meet together at least once every year to debate methods of protecting their region. Most chieftains have unchecked power over their respective clans and villages, leading to a very decentralized government outside of war times.

Assets

• Idyllic farmlands and coastlines provide ample food supplies to the native population, with surpluses being sold to neighboring clans and kingdoms
• Separated from the rest of the Northern Territories by the Zekronian Mtns, the Yosei clans have natural defenses to protect them from the threat of constant invasion

History

The Kiri-Kawa Wars threw the Northern Territories into a state of near constant warfare starting in the second half of the 3rd Cycle, with every clan and tribe forced to take a side in the all-consuming conflict. Villages that tried to stand up to the wearisome taxes and drafts were ruthlessly punished, leaving much of the region in poverty or desperation.
Wearied by centuries of exploitation, tribes of halflings and gnomes in the region's southwest banded together to protest the oppressive conditions imposed on them by the Kiri and Kawa clans. Led by a charismatic general and graduate of Mulane College in the Elflands, the Yosei clans were founded after a successful rout of Kawa forces in the 2300's of the 3rd Cycle. Once the major kingdoms were pushed back to the opposite side of the Zekronian Mtns, the region's inhabitants entered an idyllic period of isolationism where villagers could continue centuries of farming and fishing traditions uninterrupted by the horrors of war.
Some enterprising gnomes tried to establish the Yosei clans as a trading power to rival the shipping might of Suika to its north, but most ventures failed or collapsed in a matter of years. The Yosei clans were united under the common purpose of defense, and any goals beyond that purpose would have to overcome the population's neutral attitudes towards the outside world. Life had changed little in the Yosei clans since its founding, but with the realignment of power in the Northern Territories towards Oda Clan and away from the elven Kiri tribe there remains potential to reshape life in Yosei over the next century. And with the Yosei's admission into Kyoko Hara's Northern Union in 919 there's potential for the country to play a larger role in regional affairs going forward.

Demography and Population

• 48% Halfling
• 45% Gnomish
• 7% Other Races

Territories

Leaders of Yosei

• Rozu Wildcloak (842 - 930)
• Umpen van Maekkelferce (930 - Present)

'Away from all, to hear the voice of the wind'

Founding Date

2320, 3rd Cycle

Type

Geopolitical, Clan

Capital

Iwa

Leader

Rozu Wildcloak

Head of State

Rozu Wildcloak

Official State Religion

The Ageless One

Official Languages

• Common

Controlled Territories

• Iwa
• Oka

Neighboring Nations

• Knights of Rarita
• Melusine

Notable Members

• Rozu Wildcloak