The Urunad (OO-roo-nahd)

"There's Nabbits all over the Urunad. From Traigon way up north, all the way down to the Shale Sea. Urumai Nabbit must be the wealthiest woman on the continent, maybe even wealthier than Zaria herself. But by all accounts she does right by her people. Not just the Nabbits either, all the Urunathi. There's nobody goes hungry, sick, homeless. The Urunad does things right by their people... that's more than I can say for the Empress." - Bartender Timmen of the Painted Willow Saloon in Riverbed

Structure

Urumai - Queen Mothers of the Urunathi people, one for each matrilineal clan, of which there are currently 21, must be the eldest female, or sent (by her) in her place to act on her behalf Amai - Elected speakers in the same function as members of parliament, must be female Tajir - Trade officials, closest thing to military captains the Urunad has, must pay tribute yearly to the Urumai Vhoti - Commoners with a vote on Urunathi affairs whose Amai speak for them

Culture

Within Urunathi culture, the mother is seen as the most important member of the family. She is the one responsible for overseeing and eventually dividing wealth among her children. Marriages are arranged between elder women, and all property is inherited matrilineally. Individual property rights extend only to those items crafted by, gifted to, or acquired through trade by an individual, but this does not extend to food (unless it is dubbed trading surplus by an amai or higher) and never to shelter, which is built according to family needs by all family members. These strong cultural traditions have been held by the Urunathi halflings for many centuries with little variation. The resulting government is therefore strongly matriarchal, with the eldest female of each recognized tribe acting as sovereign in their territory and working in committee to issue edicts across all governed territories. Amai are elected and appointed according to local tribal customs, but have rarely been men. The tajir caste is predominantly men, leading to the outside misconception that men have all the wealth in the Urunad. In actuality, the tajir are responsible for generating wealth and passing the majority of it along to their amai, and in some exceptional cases of acquisition, their urumai herself. Tajir may also be called upon to fight in extreme circumstances, but due to the Urunathi culture's abhorrence for physical violence, this has historically meant that tajir act as lawyers to defend their family members legally. Courts of judgement are run by the closest (literally closest geographically) amai represtatives of all parties affected for the given case, owing to a belief that those closest to the problem should be the ones to solve it. The urumai act as the highest court within the Urunad. Such courts never include the urumai of affected parties.

Public Agenda

Ostensibly, the goal of the Urunad is to increase their wealth. Land holdings, business ventures and assets, and food surpluses are seen as honorable things to pursue for both citizens and non-citizens within the Urunad. However, the agenda behind this pursuit is deeper. Due to the deep influence of the indigenous Urunathi culture, the governing body of the Urunad's agenda is expansion, though not in a way akin to other powers in the world, like the Zarion Empire or the Guild. The Urunad seeks to grow families and join communities, spreading their culture across the world in a non-hostile way. Historically, Urunathi halfings do not found new settlements of their own unless forced into exile from areas already inhabited (as with the Fen Ogre War in what is now their coastal capital city of Traigon) preferring to grow extant towns and cities. The Urunad has also officially banned colonization into other sovereign lands for at least the past century. The main focus of halflings in other countries is therefore to "set up shop" or start a family group in that nation too. In this way the agenda of the Urunad seeks to eliminate enemies through familiarity, alliances, and commercial ties to foreign powers.

Assets

The Urunad's collective knowledge of alchemy, aviation, and agriculture have made them a powerhouse of material wealth. Their food surpluses are the greatest on record anywhere in the world and range from seafood to poultry to grain, vegetables and other cultivated crops. Additionally, Urunad's sovereign nations contain large fleets of flying skiffs, cargo-ships and other trade vessels that facilitate the logistics and commerce that make them such a force to be reckoned with. While a standing military does not exist within the lands of the Urunad, the tajir class receives military training and there are many arms and armor common to each Urunathi region. First among these are shields and bladed weapons made from alchemically treated ironbark wood, with magical firearms now gaining prominence due to trade routes into the Guildlands.

Type

Geopolitical, Republic

Demonym

Urunathi

Location

Northern Marshlands

Related Species