Susalo
Susalo is the land of the genasi in Whohe Dvuha. It is in south Whohe Dvuha, hot, and dotted with tall, slender mountains. There are incredibly rich mineral deposits, but the heat prevents most races from comfortably living there and laboring on the mountain. The genasi tend to live near the peaks of the mountains, where the climate is more comfortable, and within the mountains. The Primeval court is by far the most worshiped faith.
Susalo is a loose democracy run by the four heads of the five main genasi subraces. Fire genasi tend to live in the desert and shrubland foothills of the mountains and are the cultivators of the meager agricultural industry. They are the most common subrace. Earth genasi live inside the mountain, mine the mineral deposits and prepare them to export as their main trade. Water genasi manage the underground lakes and rivers in the mountains, creating the genasi trade networks and transportation lines. Wind genasi live at the peaks of the mountains in ascetic solitude, contemplating the Primeval storm’s nature and its relationship with the other Courts.
Susalo is a humble civilization. Although they love magic and the arcane arts, they do not rely on magic to maintain their civilization. There is virtually no crystal-based artifice present in Susalo’s borders. They believe that it is just asking for trouble and that quintessence crystals are sacred.
Susaloan culture prioritizes expertise in a craft, art, or way of life. The value a Susaloan has in the world is directly tied to the value of the goods and services they provide. As such, the consequences of these services reflect on the genasi who made them.
There are three major Susaloan cities. Quoma is the southernmost city and is largely contained in a partially underground bay. Quoma holds the nation’s only teleportation node and is the most outsider-friendly. The heart of Susalo’s industry rests in Quoma. The primary underground river that connects all of Susalo leads next to Waoma, which is the cultural heart of Susalo. Waoma holds Suaslo’s only magical academy and features its most prominent dance school. It also is the main repository of genasi history. North of Waoma is the capital city Teari, deep in a mountain’s heart. Teari is a city that grew out of a massive geode (about 1 mile in diameter) and is the spiritual heart of Susalo. There is only a single road leading out of Teari and to the surface, which is heavily monitored by the earth monks in case they need to collapse it due to invaders.
Susaloans wear a rainbow of hues that match their mood and wild personalities.
Demography and Population
Genasi are a massive majority in Susalo. There is a minor dwarven immigrant population who yearned for a similar culture, but with more equality. There are approximately 880,000 citizens in Susalo.
The genasi also have spiritual lineages tied to the Primeval court. There are different lineages, and not all are equal in population. Out of the genasi population, we have
- Earth (35%)
- Fire (25%)
- Water (15%)
- Air (10%)
- Storm (5%)
- Caustic (1%)
- Cinder (1%)
- Ember (1%)
- Ice (1%)
- Magma (1%)
- Mist (1%)
- Sand (1%)
- Smoke (1%)
- Sun (1%)
- Void (1%)
Territories
Susalo exists solely in a small island chain in the south of Oini. The genasi have been there since recorded history and they fiercely guard the crystals within. Susalo does not have a history of expansionism.
The islands are used both inside and out. Most settlements exist partially, if not wholly, encapsulated by the mountains and islands. Underground tunnels and rivers allow transportation between the islands.
Susalo is approximately 4.13 × 1011 fl2 (38,000 km2).
Military
Susalo has monastic orders that defend their borders. In addition, primeval monastic orders defend crystal farms in Susalo.
There are fighting forces separate from the orders, including a pan-lineage arcanist guild who uses arcanum to understand the echoes of the storm of creation, both in the world and inside the soul, as a meditative tool.
Technological Level
Susalo, for its focus on crafts, has little development in mechanical studies or arcanum. Hard work is considered a spiritual benefit, so there wasn't much of a need to make tasks easier through invention. Most technology is imported to Susalo rather than created there. There is virtually no established artifice, either. Iritan products, like a bountiful spring, aren't used. The only case of established infrastructure is a modified chamber that is a part of the Iritan Ethereal Translocation Network. Instead of crystal artifice, it uses layers of sacred trees to emulate the same enchantments.
Religion
Susalo has a deeply spiritual connection to the storm of creation and the Primeval court. Since the genasi themselves have souls tied to the primeval storm of creation, their lives are colored by it in virtually every facet.
The spirituality of Susalo is centered on the storm of creation. The life we live can seem harsh, painful, and chaotic. There are sensations, both wonderful and terrible, in every waking moment. This overstimulation comes from a heightened level of awareness called kigc (/kʰigʦʰ/ , insight) and is the first step to understanding the truth of reality. That is because the sensations are all echoes of the storm of creation, like thunder and wind from a storm miles past. We cannot simply remove ourselves from the world to quiet them, for our very souls are infused with these echoes as well. Instead, the route to the peace aguxo (/agʊˈxɔ/ , tranquility) comes from understanding. This understanding of the echoes in our soul is best reached by understanding the echoes in the world.
There are a wide range of methods to reach aguxo. The most popular is to participate in the meditative arts found in monastic orders dedicated to singular manifestations of the storm. Monastic orders will seek to understand deeply the true nature of a physical aspect of realit through work, then through mimicry with martial arts. This allows the quintessence flowing in each of us to align with the world around us and, thus, our souls will find an outlet of understanding and approach aguxo.
Other methods include honing a craft with a spiritual dedication and focus unparalleled in the United Halla Alliance. By pursuing mastery of one artisan discipline, such as creating art, out of the raw materials present around us, we can learn to shape our soul's echoes into aguxo.
One growing route to aguxo is through arcanum. This new method started around the year 245 AR and focused on shaping the chaotic flow of quintessence in our souls into controlled, flexible magic. This arcanist order grows each day and many budding sorcerers will gleafully use the Universitate to understand academic arcanum first as a toolkit to practice the meditative art of magic.
In all cases, the quintessence made physical of the quintessence crystals are used as models of strong, controlled, and natural manifestations of aguxo. They are to be left untainted by our magic and, instead, should be used as examples to live by. A genasi close to aguxo can even hear the controlled flow of energy within the crystals, guidance to reaching their personal enlightenment. The idea of using these wonderful crystals for sorĉadology is reprehensible to this school of thought.
A recurring theme is the balance of exerting and releasing control. It is the struggle of all sentients, but especially a genasi, to exert control when they should release and release control when they should exert. The push and pull relationship between the self and nature and the self and soul is a delicate and rhythmic balance.
Foreign Relations
Agriculture & Industry
Susalo treats every craft and profession with the same honor and severity as any spiritual art. Agriculture is considered a dance of exerting control and releasing control over nature to help sustain life. Earth and fire genasi are famously passionate farmers. Rice is a great product for the genasi because of the balance between primal forces needed for it to flourish. It must have fertile earth, paddies of water, soft breezes, and the light of the sun.
Craftsmen in Susalo devote themselves wholly to a craft. Simple tools, such as cutlery or farming equipment, is treated as seriously as armor, weapons, or woven textiles. The act of owning them isn't treated with the same respect as the act of creation, so they are freely traded for goods.
Trade & Transport
Susalo has no roads connecting the central settlements. This is a carryover from when the Boiling Sea was visible on the horizon and life on the shores were unbearable to all but the fire genasi. Instead, goods and people are transported through underground rivers navigated by the water genasi. Small ferries would ride the currents to another settlement.
Most of society lived partially or completely underground, again to avoid the Boiling Sea's heat and storms that would batter the islands. Food grown on the harsh hillsides by fire and earth genasi would be distributed into these caves fairly equally or stored in cold, stone warehouses.
Education
Susalo has a few Stoa pavilions for fundamental education (reading, writing, history, math, etc.), but when a genasi reaches adolescence, they are encouraged to find a path to aguxo to pursue. This usually takes on apprenticeships, joining a monastery, or pursuing arcanum. The Universitate has a decent campus of arcanum especially tailored to the spiritual desires of the genasi.
Infrastructure
Susalo has deeply embedded settlements in the mountains of the islands. These settlements have carved homes, open air markets, and a rudimentary sewage system. Natural underground rivers, later shaped by genasi, serve as underground ferry systems that connect settlements to each other. Caves of crystals are used as centers for meditation and not artifice, but they are envied over by many nations. In the past, numerous people have tried to raid the genasi caves for valuable crystals, and each wave was repelled by the genasi. Since the settlements have little external connections, fighting forces struggle to get into the mountains by military might. Thieves have sneaked into monasteries, but the monks are diligent in their defense of the crystals and repelled most of them.
It is unclear if the crystals attracted the genasi to them, or the presence of the spiritual genasi fostered crystal growth.
Type
Geopolitical, Republic
Capital
Demonym
Susaloan
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Economic System
Barter system
Currency
Susalo follows the Standard Currency model.
Major Exports
Susalo exports crafted and artisan products, such as beads, pottery, woven textiles, metalsmith, and clothing.
Major Imports
Susalo imports raw materials from around the United Halla Alliance, such as ore, furs, leathers, wood. and clay.
Legislative Body
The four genasi senators determine all laws and diplomatic direction of the civilization.
Judicial Body
There is an elected judcial court with a high tribunal for escalated matters. Most of the time, peacekeepers trained by the Arbiter's Outpost maintains order.
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Location
Official Languages
Comments