Holy Flock of Sakesh (Sah-Kesh)
All across Southern Samvara, one can spot the symbol of the white rose over the black sun, as well as the golden shepherd's crook. These are marks of the authority of Sakesh, the Holy Flock of all Sumoxan faithful. The Flock projects power over many realms, their merchants dominate the Southern sea trade routes and their representatives guide many a foreign court. The Grand Shepherd, they say, is the wisest person alive and the fiercest defender of Sumoxan virtue; they marshal the armies of Sumoxa against any who would attack the faith. But the Flock's power is not what it once was. While they are currently prospering, they no longer lead great armies, nor does the Shepherd ever leave the capital. Rather, the Flock is a symbol of Sumoxan unity, a symbol with wealth and connections but still a symbol.
Visiting the land, it is clear that the people here still see themselves as guardians of Sumoxa. Dhampires and Open Palm monks march in the streets ringing bells; common people labor in community kitchens and give sacrifices to Moxima Sutia; people take give earnestly and piously to spiritually support Sumoxans abroad. Despite the moment of prosperity, the land is also a mess in some ways. The nobles and the sanctified middle-class-caste feud openly for power (despite Pratasa castes having been formally dissolved centuries ago). Professional assassins, known as Furies, operate in the shadows with few attempts to stop them by the government. Paladins of Theia the Liberator lead cults of resistance in the Southern mountains. And yet, despite all these potential points of conflict, the place just works; violence is minimal, people eat and make merry, and all the markets bustle with activity. Perhaps things aren't so bad after all, perhaps Sakesh can rise again. Time will tell; not all things are in the hands of people.
Structure
The technical ruler of the Flock is the Grand Shepherd, the supreme military-political leader of the Sumoxan religion. But the Shepherd is a figurehead when it comes to the actual mechanisms of government. Instead, power is concentrated in the Grand Abbott, the high cleric of the empire. Over the last century, this position has become hereditary, and may soon become a naked monarchy.
Beneath the Grand Abbott is the Council of Eight, a group of nobles, priests, and monks chosen to lead the country's affairs. Each has a specific task: two are generals, then there are the chancellor, steward, secretary, spymaster, diplomat, and chief justice. Each member of the Council has their own bureau, which helps shape policy and enact the orders of their councilor.
Beneath the upper administration is a complex web of local feudal lords and feudally-empowered monasteries. But feudalism does not reign uncontested; currently the Primarsa, or a special class of tribes and small-landholders with military responsibilities, are ascendant in the bureaucracy and are gaining access to more and more power.
The current reigning Grand Abbess is Mother Anapara Rashdepi, daughter of the last Abbess. Mother Anapara is an old woman who has reigned for over fifty years, and she is ready to finally retire. She has done an amazing job as a monarch during her reign - she has de-escalated conflicts, reformed laws, stamped out corruption, averted a civil war, and kept Sakesh in place as the supreme power of the Southern sea (despite the rise of the new Kingdom of Bilgaza to the North). Her patience has kept despite all tests to it, and the nobility fear and respect her - they know that she has an iron will and a long memory. She is perhaps the greatest diplomat of all reigning Samvaran monarchs, and has done an excellent job expanding Sakesh's influence without making any enemies she couldn't immediately crush. Of course, she is not perfect, and despite what you'd hear from her priests she is no saint. While kind to her people, she has struggled to raise a child while governing. Her daughter, Mija Rashpedi, was caught embezzling funds and associating with shady characters, leading to a whole elaborate scandal that disrupted succession. Anapara has instead decided that her granddaughter, Nebja, should be the next Grand Abbess. This whole process has made the hereditary nature of the Abbott title extremely obvious, and Anapara seems to be considering just crowning Nebja Queen instead of Abbess. Unfortunately, Mija and Nebja are on terrible terms, and Mija seems to be building a political faction to claim the throne for herself.
Complicating matters is the current Grand Shepherd, Prilaya Daprapeti, a charismatic young Dhampire with a popular following. Prilaya is an ascetic who enjoys performing the part of the monk: she walks the streets and rooftops in humble black robes, chanting hymns and basically daring assassins or partisans to strike at her. People have tried, too, but they all end the same public reminder of why she is the Shepherd - being one of the greatest dhampires makes her a very effective symbol. When it comes to combat, only one soul has ever bested her - Kaiza the Exorcist, the greatest living dhampire, who she is eager to face in a rematch. She is quite a populist, who often panders to the crowds of the capital. And she has great ambition to be more than a figurehead, which makes her dangerous to public stability.
Individuals
Culture
Discipline and Ritual
Hierarchies, Everyday Life
History
Early History (-200 to 530)
The Age of Lily (530 to 930)
The Imperial Order (930 to 1205)
The Empire Continues (1205 to 1552)
The First Shepherds (1530 to 1744)
Modern History
Demography and Population
Around 17 to 20 million humanoids live in Sakesh. Demographically, they are: 40% Dryad, 30% human, 20% Half-dryad, and 10% Prism.
Territories
Sakesh extends 330 miles North-South and 330 miles West-East. The climate is mostly humid subtropical forest, with patches of arid plains/savannah and tropical jungle. Sakesh divides itself into ten regions administratively:
- Hullapar, in the North, is a land of arid plains and some subtropical forest. This is a generally rural region, with lots of wheat farming, ranching, and mining. Much of the population is concentrated in a small area in the center, where many small lakes provide great irrigation for farming.
- Habadir is densely forested and rather swampy in places. The coast is covered in islands, known for their mangrove trees and alligators. Habadir is famous for its boating culture, and for its not-insignificant Pratasa population
- Yaratha is the "heartland of Sakesh", that has been developed by many governments over many centuries. Lush and urban in the East, Yaratha is densely populated and wealthy. The West is militarized against Kima incursions.
- Hiramtha is the land of lakes and spice plantations, swampy and forested to the extreme. Mostly dryads live here; dense populations of humans tend to get sick.
- Denatha is hilly and populist, a land ruled by Primarsan tribes. Very Sumoxan, rather rural.
- Sarumata is a coastal fringe of tropical-to-subtropical forest, that becomes hilly jungle terrain the further South you go. A land of rich mines and feudal-monastic enclaves.
- Netetha is a wealthy and cosmopolitan region, very culturally and economically tied to Yaratha. The military and merchants tend to rule here, rather than feudal lords. Subtropical for the most part.
- Sirzapa is tropical, feudal, and rather wll-developed - the economic feeder to Netetha's commercial core.
- Theyakem is tropical, hilly, and conflict-prone. Supposedly a land of assassins and paladins of Theia the Liberator, Theyakem is ruled by very distant feudal lords and is prone to local rebellions.
- Yalapa is the border-region between Tianar and Sakesh - and it tends to reflect much of Tianari culture.
Military
The Flock's military is divided into two parts: grant levies and salaried divisions. Grant levies are forces provided during times of need in exchange for feudal land grants to specific lordly families. Salaried divisions are soldiers paid a wage directly from a general - typically a small standing army that swells during times of war. The salaried divisions tend to be organized and led by the Primarsa (landed middle class), and have become the dominant wing of the army in recent years. Two small standing armies exist during peacetime, led by the two marshals of arms. These armies can take contracts during peacetime as well, and often are used to escort merchant caravans, hunt bandits, or even act as mercenaries in foreign wars.
The Flock's actual forces were once all about cavalry (back when the Flock was an army of religiously motivated desert nomads). Nowadays, though, it is all about infantry with ranged support. Swordsmen, spearmen, and archers working together is considered a winning combination. Sakeshan martial training often emphasizes guerilla warfare as well as massed formations, to better adjust to tropical or hilly terrain. Both infantry and cavalry are divided into two classes: Shiledar and subalterns. Shiledar are those who bring their own equipment, and they are generally understood to have some level of veterancy or importance; subalterns must be armed by the army.
Sakeshan warriors often use broadswords, khandas (large, wide swords, sometimes with serrated edges), and aruvals (billhook swords). An unusual number of martial artists, including Way of the Open Palm users and Dhampires are also present in the Sakeshan warrior class. Sakesh's druidic schools and connections to Alkatora also provide the army with plenty of druids. Given the army's focus on flexibility and terrain, artillery tends to be an afterthought.
Religion
Sakesh is extremely Sumoxan. Some regions have substantial Pratasa minorities, and some cities have Areto communities, and these communities are allowed to practice freely (though are sometimes subject to taxes, tariffs, or regulations than Sumoxans are not).
Sakesh's long history of Pratasa religion has left it with religious class divisions between the elites (the Esteemed), the middle class landowners and clerks (the Primarsa), and the commonfolk. These divisions are no longer policed and have blended somewhat, but they remain. Religion both reinforces these divisions and helps bridge them - all three classes practice similar forms of asceticism, and one's public virtue can help one ascend the class hierarchy.
Among the upper classes, Sumoxan zeal is performed through ascetic militarism; much hay is made of the Flock's role in protecting all Sumoxan peoples, and the need for the country's leaders to be tough. Elite Sumoxa is all about strictness: one's ability with a sword, one's physical fitness, one's public discipline, and one's ability to perfectly perform traditional rituals. The symbol of the elite traditions is Daprama, the Scarlet Apostle, the warrior-prince of the first Flock who humbly kneeled before a common shepherd and gave his sword to liberate the world.
Among the common classes, Sumoxa is performed by ascetic devotion. It is all about sacrifice, physical and metaphorical. By giving when one has nothing, and giving with great emotional force, one can transcend like Moxima Sutia. Unsurprisingly, Moxima cult is huge in the popular sphere. Rather than train with blades and learn rituals to help ensure rainfall, common Sumoxans often work at community kitchens and other charity projects - labors of charity are a really big part of public worship here. The Primarsa blend the elite and common Sumoxas, varying from town to town.
Ritual and folklore here is about cycles of push and pull, wet and dry, good and bad. One fasts, and then one celebrates. The rain is summoned, with the understanding that it will leave a void of particular dryness. Everything comes at a cost, and the goal is to master oneself to be able to endure that cost without strain. Sakeshan Sumoxa can be quite fixated on the dogma of Virtue as well, the ideas of self-mastery and total acceptance of the world.
Foreign Relations
Sakesh is a diplomat powerhouse with influence across Southern Samvara. All around the Dasaran sea, Sakesh dominates trade and politics; Sakeshan actors hold sway in the courts of Bilgaza and Eshima (the other two notable countries in the Dasaran area), and most of the major powers in Invara are Sakesh-aligned. The Western power in Tianar, the kingdom of Tilahm, is also an ally of Sakesh.
But this doesn't mean that Sakesh is without enemies. There are many political and military actors in Bilgaza who resent Sakeshan influence and are trying to remove it. Plenty of merchants from around the sea smuggle around Sakeshan trade agreements and pirate Sakeshan trade convoys. And, of course, the Kima Cities to Sakesh's West are historic rivals that would love to conquer some territory. But, at the moment, Sakesh's enemies are biding their time and waiting for the Flock to slip up.
Agriculture & Industry
Sakesh is a rather agrarian country. Rice, wheat, yams, and sorghum are all grown. Many farmers also grow cash crops, to be able to advance their place in society into the Primarsa (middle class): coconuts, palm oil, cinnamon, betel leaves (for chewing tobacco), tobacco, sugar, ginger, turmeric, and chay root (for red dye) are all common. Many feudal lords have also begun shifting towards cash crops and cash rents in some places; there has been a shift all across the coast towards using coins even in the rural hinterlands. Gold is also mined from the hills in the South. The cities and towns of the coast and rivers are centers of trade and small-scale artisan work.
Trade & Transport
Guilds organize artisans, but tend to be politically disorganized. Many guilds tend to orbit temples or monasteries, which in turn host monks of the craft. A monk or nun of the craft is someone who shows some promise in a trade and is willing to leave their families behind to devote their lives to it (sometimes they are specifically seeking to leave behind a restrictive family or bad economic conditions, but it is always nonetheless framed as a sacrifice). Some temples or monasteries ritually marry or adopt the devotee to the craft itself, establishing a "new family" with the divine. Crafts that involve restricted knowledge or a very specific technique tend to be kept by monks of the craft. When a temple adds their seal of approval to a good's quality, they are assuring the touch of a true specialist.
As for the sale and exchange of goods, the Sakeshan government subsidizes trade commissions (often tied to noble families or Primarsa tribes) and maintains a network of mercantile outposts across South Samvara. Merchants tied to a commission can escape most tariffs and have a great supporting infrastructure; needless to say, Sakeshan merchants or Sakeshan allies operate at a rather unfair advantage.
"We Keep the Path of Virtue"
Founding Date
1880
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Alternative Names
Sakesh
Demonym
Sakeshan
Government System
Theocracy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Currency
Ekedian Gold Suns, Silver Moons, and Copper Bats
Major Exports
Dyes, coconuts, palm oil, turmeric, ginger, sugar, tobacco, betel leaves, gold
Major Imports
Steel, silk, tar, textiles, horses
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
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