Samakar
The Elven Kingdom
Samakar is "the society of the mountains"; everyplace else in existence is "the World Beyond the Mountains". (Yes, including those dwarven enclaves inside a mountain. Not ever inside our mountains. That would be . . . egregious. But less vivid mountains, possibly: those are not Samakar.)
A mountain is lush. A mountain is austere. Both are true. The nature of the mountain is to be constant, but also to clothe itself in variety.
Downslope, often brightly growing things live energetic lives. One side of a mountain might be desert, the other side muskeg and orchards.
Peakward, the air becomes as sharp as a basalt ridge, and the red hail can flay the armor off a reachisey.
As the elves are the Spirits of the Mountain, manifest as mortals: how could their society be anything but a reflection of the mountains?
Citizens of Samakar live in cyclic changes that may last decades or more. When a new cycle begins its ascent, a new identity develops. This does not mean the previous identity is cast away, though it may be buried under a metaphorical blanket of snow. A long-parted acquaintance might ask about "he who was then Gulzar", a ranger who used to patrol the border in this area, and get all the latest gossip on Thatmur'ss, Night Warden, meaning he watches for early signs of landslide/snowslide/wildfire and is on the first line of action to contain any disasters before they fully happen.
New careers, or new functions in society, usually are an outgrowth of one's previous role but in a very different direction. Samakar has trouble comprehending a culture where each citizen mostly stays on one path for all their important life events.
This makes diplomacy . . . interesting.
What is a contract, or a treaty, but an agreement to assume some roles for one cycle of life? Why do the cultures of the World Beyond the Mountains get so tetchy when any Samakarii can easily see that a new cycle has replaced the old one?
Stone is not forever. It weathers. Only the Mountains are eternal.
Demography and Population
Territories
Samakar is the thickly forested mountainous area west of The Longgrass Plains; the forests surround a small set of mountains. The seven largest of these are named for the seven major deities in the Samakarii pantheon, and are treated as being in some sense the physical world's extension of those particular gods.
Religion
Dkar Po the Shepherd - also called "Dkar the White" or "Father Shepherd" - is the husband to Zia Lngan Ma the Protector. He is always rather tall, dressed rather plain except for a rich cloak - or wrap - made from the whitest mountain sheep wool. His hair is black, long and often braided and tied off with a sprig of snow lotus. His skin is a faint tan or weathered tan, and he is always shown with a quarterstaff made from a rich, dark wood that is said to be so heavy that only himself, Zla Lngan Ma or their son, Wangdue, can actually lift it. Tied to the staff are colorful silk flags, at his belt often hangs a crystal sword.
Domains: Community, Weather, Animal, Good
Zla Lngan Ma the Protector - also called "The Huntress" or the "Storm Mother" - is often depicted wearing red in some fashion, secured with a bronze belt or clasp. Usually it is in the form of comfortable traveler's robes or robes trimmed in red. She has slate-gray or even blue-gray skin and white hair that seems to flow as if thick mist or clouds. Her eyes are usually a deep, electric blue. She and her mate, Dkar Po, are the parents to five children. She is often depicted with a longbow and quiver of lightning bolts, or holding a longsword with a blade of lightning. Of the two, she is the one who is shown heading into battle. However she is not known for battle as much as her son, Rabten the Hammer.
Domains: Protection, Air, Liberation, Good
They have five children:
Rabten the Hammer
Domains: War, Glory, Protection
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Domains: Liberation, Chaos, Good, Darkness
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Domains: Magic, Knowledge, Rune
Wangdue the Mountain
Domains: Strength, Good, Nobility
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Lhundup is the the youngest of the children. He is the sun god and considered a trickster.Domains: Trickery, Charm, Artifice, Sun
Trade & Transport
Common Modes of Transport
- On the heights of the mountains, people walk, or ride a sure-footed steed such as an elk.
- Goods are transported up and down the steeper slopes via a chain-and-pulley system of elevator platforms, but people and animals do not ride the platforms. If the weather even looks like it might turn harsh, the platforms are emptied and unhooked from the chains; the chains are lashed to several anchors buried into the bedrock of the mountain; and the pulleys are swaddled in protective coverings.
- In the valleys, animal-drawn carts and wagons are more common. They are usually high-floored, narrow things with an extra wheel at the front or back for stability, and quick release catches to let the wheels go careening away from a runaway cart while the floor of the cart falls straight down (and hopefully does not skid very far).
- Samakarii do occasionally build and use canoes or barges, but have few waterways within the kingdom that are better suited to water travel than simply walking in a straight line would be.
Common Beasts of Burden
- Donkeys
- Mules
- Yaks (but beware that a yak may at any second opt-out of a mere biped’s plan)
Common Riding Animals
- Elk
- Dire Tigers
The Sociey of the Mountains
Maps
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Samakar Region
The region in and around Samakar
Samakarii official currency is clusters of rough/"raw" gemstones, approximately following the gemstone values given in the "Building a Treasure Hoard" section of the Gamemastering section of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook:
- Low-Quality Gems (10 gp): agates; azurite; blue quartz; hematite; lapis lazuli; malachite; obsidian; rhodochrosite; tigereye; turquoise; freshwater (irregular) pearl
- Semi-Precious Gems (50 gp): bloodstone; carnelian; chalcedony; chrysoprase; citrine; jasper; moonstone; onyx; peridot; rock crystal (clear quartz sard; sardonyx; rose, smoky, or star rose quartz; zircon
- Medium Quality Gemstones (100 gp): amber; amethyst; chrysoberyl; coral; red or brown-green garnet; jade; jet; white, golden, pink, or silver pearl; red, red-brown, or deep green spinel; tourmaline
- High Quality Gemstones (500 gp): alexandrite; aquamarine; violet garnet; black pearl; deep blue spinel; golden yellow topaz
Since they are uncut and unpolished, any individual crystal or gemstone in the cluster may have a lower value than it would have if a lapidarist worked on it; also, many of the components of a cluster used for currency are probably flawed in some way that makes them unappealing for jewelry or enchantment purposes. However, the equivalent of 50 gp will probably take up less space in one's pockets than fifty actual gold pieces from Merovia or the Geldar Republic; and it will almost certainly weigh less than the one pound weight of fifty gold pieces.
That said -- very few circumstances exist where someone will insist on "official currency only". Most Samakarii, especially in the border towns that get the most foreign custom, are happy to treat foreign "money" as a barter good valued for its actual material and level of artistry. Which might annoy the Geldarian paying in copper coins while another customer gets a similar value for sea glass beads. . . .
