Inter-Sapient Species Relationships
Though there are all manner of different sapient species that live and die in the world of Kelbonnar, thousands of years of coexistence, not to mention the more recent dominance of a single political entity, the Empire of Turelion, have meant that almost all sapient species have become accustomed to living amongst other species, to the point where it has become normal.
The vast majority of the villages, towns, cities and settlements within the Empire are mixed-species communities and it has been Imperial policy ever since the conquests of Machestaro I to enshrine the principle that any species that is willing to live under the auspices of the Empire should not be treated any differently to any other.
As a whole, the nations and regions that existed in Kelbonnar had been drifting towards inter-species communities becoming the norm well before they were forced together by Turelion. This means that in all of the provinces of the Empire there are inter-species ethnic groups that have emerged over millennia, which still hold a great amount of sway over the cultural practices and perceptions of the people that belong to them. Indeed, the persistence of ethnic identities is deemed to be one of the major threats to the existence of the Empire, not the least because ethnic identity was one of the driving forces, though not the main driver behind the secession of Nova Norgantho. The issue is deemed to be such a problem that the Imperial Inquisition have agents dedicated to following the movements of those deemed to be leaders or influencers within the ethnic groups.
The main ethnic groups that live in each province are as follows:
Turelion Province - Turelite & Ma’Jalis
Ferio Province - Uktang
Ultaru Province - Takpoian
Quess Province - Quessite
Oam Province - Bamæ & Dosog
Bar-Sunar Province - Dakhwanian & Jem’Menar
Minid Province - Ingtand and Nderbikii
Pelenar Province - Palawchoian, Jotun & Yaltharmians
Langstrom Province - Jotun
Greltor Province - Yaltharmians
Norgantho Province - Turelite
Individuals from some species who do integrate readily into mixed-species communities do occasionally decide to live instead in communities comprised entirely of their fellows. Species that choose to do this are most notably Elves and Dragonborn, but is incredibly uncommon for these single species communities to not engage with the wider world around them. For the most part these single species communities pre-exist the emergence of the Empire, such as Sparos and Mount Timos, and have clung to their species identity, marking it as one of the defining parts of their culture and history.
It is worth noting that although the institution of the Empire has done much to get rid of overt racial inequalities, tensions do exist between different species. Tieflings for example have always been an object of suspicion and fear for their infernal heritage, and continue to be so under Imperial rule. However, Humans are also treated with some degree of suspicion by the other races, because they are thought to be secretly favoured by Imperial institutions. Machestaro I and all of the Emperors of Turelion and Kelbonnar who have come after him - though not it must be pointed out all members of the Imperial Family - have been Human, and this fact alone stokes rumours of preferential treatment.
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