Life in Siabsungkoh

The following truths are known to those who live in Siabsungkoh or travel through these lands.
Dyn Singh Merchant Collective
The finest merchant families in Siabsungkoh make up the Dyn Singh Merchant Collective. These families worked for generations to grow their businesses’ reputations and the quality of their wares. The collective sets laws for trade throughout the land, issues licensing for harvesting natural resources, and establishes the rules of business in the night market. However, their success pushes some greedy members of the collective to keep the group exclusive so they can maintain their own power.
The Five Families
Siabsungkoh is ruled by the heads of the land’s five oldest families, three of which are members of the Dyn Singh Merchant Collective. In recent years, the government has expanded the market further to encourage greater trade opportunities. This pushed the market into the center of local life, rankling traditionalists and causing many to believe the nation is sacrificing its ties to the natural world.
Family First
Siabsungkoh is a collectivist society centered on family and deep group loyalties. Families are often blended and can grow through marriage, through adoption, or by simply choosing to accept someone as a family member. Found families are equal to traditional families and often adopt a family name or symbol. The first families that settled Siabsungkoh are said to have been of different blood but the same spirit. Those who operate alone through choice or act in self-serving ways are often called tuah, which means “of lonely heart.”
Visitors Welcome
Siabsungkoh’s people have a reputation for being friendly and welcoming; however, trust is reserved for those who earn it. Locals are overly polite and use double-speak when addressing strangers. Newcomers who learn the customs and work within the cultural framework, however, can earn places and renown within the communities.
Spirits of the Land
Most Siabsungkoh residents deeply appreciate nature and the spirits that inhabit it. Individuals often leave cut mangoes in streams as offerings for the nature spirits, or spend time at the Lynx River or Slumber Pond to meditate on reflections in the water. Some forgo the duties of family, seeking to attune with nature and work the will of the spirits at the Temple of Ember.
Many animals are believed to be messengers of the spirits. Of particular mystical prominence are tut-krogh caterpillars—which create stunning iridescent silk before they transform into tea-moths—and pangolins, which are said to comfort souls in times of hardship.
Names
Names in Siabsungkoh are shaped by family identity, class, and trade. The following names are among the most common in Siabsungkoh:
Feminine. Aom, Pathma, Ratari, Suree, Tunlaya
Masculine. Arthit, Chon, Kiet, Prasong, Somboon, Tai, Teera
Gender-Neutral. Aryn, Detch, Makok, Phi, Rune, Vyndr, Wayo
Surnames. Dunedow, Jollion, Myahkoon, Rhusaang, Suwan

Characters from Siabsungkoh
If you want to create a character from Siabsungkoh, consider the following questions during your character creation:
What is your family known for? Are you artisans, chefs, outcasts, or something else? What sort of reputation does your family have?
What have you done or refused to do in the name of your family? Did this protect your family or yourself? Did this change your relationship with your family?
What is your connection to the Dyn Singh Night Market? Does your family have the favor of the families that run the market? What do you look forward to buying whenever you visit? Do you oppose the market’s expansion or welcome it?