Jalmeray
The island nation of Jalmeray was once the domain of legendary Vudrani Maharajah Khiben-Sald. Once a favored guest of the archmage Nex, the maharajah rapidly outstayed his welcome in Nex’s court, and the archmage began to view his newfound friend as a distraction and potential rival. To resolve the situation without conflict, Nex granted Khiben-Sald the whole of the isle of Jalmeray as his personal domain. Eventually, Khiben-Sald returned to his homeland, leaving behind only glorious monuments and conjured genies. The island nation changed hands twice afterward. The Arclords of Nex, who had been exiled from their nation in the power struggle following Nex’s disappearance, took refuge on Jalmeray despite resistance from Khiben-Sald’s remaining genies. Yet in 2822 AR, hundreds of Vudrani rajahs arrived in a vast fleet and claimed Jalmeray as their personal domain, presenting documents affirming their blood relation to Khiben-Sald and thus their rightful ownership of the island. When the Arclords refused to leave, the Vudrani summoned an army of genies that sank all but one of the Arclords’ ships. Following this, the Vudrani unsealed their ancient monuments and stirred their otherworldly guardians to life once more.
Today, Jalmeray is the window to the east, a bastion of Vudrani culture on the edge of the Inner Sea region. Breathtaking marvels of architecture are combined with powerful magic to create the nation’s beautiful and luxurious settlements, such as Jalmeray’s capital, the many-tiered pagoda city of Niswan. Foreigners drawn to Jalmeray’s unique sights are met by a friendly and hospitable culture, making the island a popular destination for those who can afford and manage the journey. Ancient noble families, powerful mystics, and the esteemed masters of monasteries oversee the needs of citizens and visitors alike, playing lip service to the nation’s monarch but in truth handling most day to day affairs themselves.
While most of its population shares ancestral roots in Vudra, the streets of Jalmeray are walked by all manner of people and creatures, many of them visitors from distant lands. Genies and elemental beings remain from the island’s ancient days, tasked with guarding cities and cultivating the natural beauty of the nation into a splendor known across the world. Generations of humans and genies living side by side have given rise to a large population of people known as geniekin, who carry a spark of elemental heritage within them. Garudas and nagas send emissaries to Jalmeray’s monarch, while rakshasas and asuras hide among the cities to tempt the pious into ruin.
Yet for all of Jalmeray’s wonders, the nation’s darker aspects burden the populace. In a land where the wondrous is commonplace, citizens often fall afoul of equally wondrous curses—those who cannot rid themselves of these fell magics often have nowhere else to turn but a shunned, quarantined island to the north of Jalmeray’s shores. Crueler still is the fate of those born with signs of taint from wicked asuras or rakshasas, as they are forced to work backbreaking and unsavory jobs such as cleaning sewage.
Trade has made Jalmeray unthinkably wealthy, but the nation is best known for its learning and philosophy. Academics melds with religion, with temples serving as bastions of learning and libraries boasting richly illustrated copies of holy texts. Thousands of shrines dedicated to thousands of gods offer written guidance on the many paths to attain enlightenment. Prestigious schools for every way and walk of life can be found within Jalmeray’s cities, from magic to poetry to political intrigue and seduction. Jalmeray’s famous monasteries, collectively known as the Houses of Perfection, export doctrines of physical, mental, and spiritual development across Avistan, Casmaron, and Garund.
These Houses are also the center of Jalmeray’s proud tradition of exemplary martial arts. Students from throughout the Inner Sea venture to Jalmeray to test themselves against the challenges offered by the Houses. Those who wish to prove their worthiness must succeed at a series of seemingly impossible trials against emissaries of the elements themselves: racing against the wind-swift speed of a djinni, wrestling the mountainous power of a shaitan, outwitting the flame-sharp wit of an efreeti, or performing other, similarly fantastical, tasks. Those elite few who complete these tasks are trained to push their bodies to the peak of physical and mental perfection, achieving spiritual balance and opening their minds to transcend the normal limits of mortal potential. Once every decade, the Houses of Perfection meet in friendly competition in a grand tournament called the Challenge of Sky and Heaven. Students compete in the schools of historical knowledge, swordplay, unarmed fighting techniques, mastery of the self, arcane ability, and other esoteric disciplines. Thakur Kharswan and his vast legion of advisors known as the Maurya-Rahm sponsor additional contests, like the Solemn Sky Duel of Masters, which draws combatants not just from across the Inner Sea region but from all parts of the world.
Today, Jalmeray is the window to the east, a bastion of Vudrani culture on the edge of the Inner Sea region. Breathtaking marvels of architecture are combined with powerful magic to create the nation’s beautiful and luxurious settlements, such as Jalmeray’s capital, the many-tiered pagoda city of Niswan. Foreigners drawn to Jalmeray’s unique sights are met by a friendly and hospitable culture, making the island a popular destination for those who can afford and manage the journey. Ancient noble families, powerful mystics, and the esteemed masters of monasteries oversee the needs of citizens and visitors alike, playing lip service to the nation’s monarch but in truth handling most day to day affairs themselves.
While most of its population shares ancestral roots in Vudra, the streets of Jalmeray are walked by all manner of people and creatures, many of them visitors from distant lands. Genies and elemental beings remain from the island’s ancient days, tasked with guarding cities and cultivating the natural beauty of the nation into a splendor known across the world. Generations of humans and genies living side by side have given rise to a large population of people known as geniekin, who carry a spark of elemental heritage within them. Garudas and nagas send emissaries to Jalmeray’s monarch, while rakshasas and asuras hide among the cities to tempt the pious into ruin.
Yet for all of Jalmeray’s wonders, the nation’s darker aspects burden the populace. In a land where the wondrous is commonplace, citizens often fall afoul of equally wondrous curses—those who cannot rid themselves of these fell magics often have nowhere else to turn but a shunned, quarantined island to the north of Jalmeray’s shores. Crueler still is the fate of those born with signs of taint from wicked asuras or rakshasas, as they are forced to work backbreaking and unsavory jobs such as cleaning sewage.
Trade has made Jalmeray unthinkably wealthy, but the nation is best known for its learning and philosophy. Academics melds with religion, with temples serving as bastions of learning and libraries boasting richly illustrated copies of holy texts. Thousands of shrines dedicated to thousands of gods offer written guidance on the many paths to attain enlightenment. Prestigious schools for every way and walk of life can be found within Jalmeray’s cities, from magic to poetry to political intrigue and seduction. Jalmeray’s famous monasteries, collectively known as the Houses of Perfection, export doctrines of physical, mental, and spiritual development across Avistan, Casmaron, and Garund.
These Houses are also the center of Jalmeray’s proud tradition of exemplary martial arts. Students from throughout the Inner Sea venture to Jalmeray to test themselves against the challenges offered by the Houses. Those who wish to prove their worthiness must succeed at a series of seemingly impossible trials against emissaries of the elements themselves: racing against the wind-swift speed of a djinni, wrestling the mountainous power of a shaitan, outwitting the flame-sharp wit of an efreeti, or performing other, similarly fantastical, tasks. Those elite few who complete these tasks are trained to push their bodies to the peak of physical and mental perfection, achieving spiritual balance and opening their minds to transcend the normal limits of mortal potential. Once every decade, the Houses of Perfection meet in friendly competition in a grand tournament called the Challenge of Sky and Heaven. Students compete in the schools of historical knowledge, swordplay, unarmed fighting techniques, mastery of the self, arcane ability, and other esoteric disciplines. Thakur Kharswan and his vast legion of advisors known as the Maurya-Rahm sponsor additional contests, like the Solemn Sky Duel of Masters, which draws combatants not just from across the Inner Sea region but from all parts of the world.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Founders
Location
Controlled Territories
Related Ethnicities
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