Kahala Empire
Kahala, in northern highlands of Okaluan, is a theocracy controlled by the caste priests of the koroua Ila'Makau, led by the Ona Tohuna, currently Ona Emele. This caste, the Tohuna, are all related by blood. These familial ties work to keep the relationship between the regional lords, the wahani'i, relatively peaceful, though border disputes and some wars have been known to occur.
The Tohuna have total power and rule unfettered from councils and parliaments unlike other lands. Guilds and other professional associations which wield influence in other lands are also unknown here since they are banned by law. If any were to be said to wield influence over the Tohuna, it would be the To'ani caste counselors and arcanists and the Ka'ani caste warriors.
Kahala'i hakanu live in a highly structured society governed by a caste system that divides people according to their societal roles. These castes are formalized versions of pre-existing tribes of Kahala that tended to be involved in various economic or civil roles. Different laws and responsibilities apply to each caste of people. At the bottom rung are the Kua, who work as unskilled laborers, performing all the most backbreaking and dangerous work. Above the Kua are the Pu'anu, who are the merchants, farmers and skilled artisans. Merchants are seen as below the artisans within the Pu'anu caste. Those whose duty is to protect Kahala belong to the Ka'ani caste. Since none but the Ka'ani are permitted to use weapons and armor, the Kahala'i armies are smaller than that of most other nations. The Ka'ani make up for this by receiving relentless training from childhood and are equipped with the finest weapons, armor and war technology.
The semiotic magicians of the Kahala'i belong to the To'ani caste. To'ani is the only caste in which someone born into a lower caste may be raised up to if they possess sufficient talent. Because of this and their deep studies, the To'ani are known to be somewhat more open-minded and egalitarian than the rest of Kahala'i society. The rulers of the Kahala'i belong to the Tohuna caste. The leaders of the caste are priests as well as rulers. All are priests of Ila’Makau, which is the only religion permitted in Kahala.
Kahala has a religious and studious culture that values sincerity and hard work above all other virtues. All Kahala'i, even the lowest castes, receive at least a rudimentary education of basic reading and arithmetic. Their magical and architectural academies are of high renown. Their artisans are sought by Kalmasan wealthy for their skill in stonework.
Kahala is divided into four prefectures controlled by the wahani. Ulau is the most economically important prefecture, ancestral land of the Pu'anu and location of Kahala's largest city and busiest city, Nua. a port city which lies, near the mouth of the holy Tapu river that flows into Kora Bay on the east coast. Nua is the only city foreigners are allowed to stay or do business, without a difficult to acquire royal permit.
Though Ulau is the most economically important prefecture, Tauranga is the largest and most spiritually important. Tauranga is centrally located and landlocked and is the source of the Tapu river which runs from the holy mountain, Ila Maunga where lies the Great Temple of Ila’Makau near the peak at the top of 9,242 enchanted steps each carved with a verse from the holy book, Pulau Makau. Below the temple, built into terraces going down the mountain is the city of Tikala, capital of Kahala and home to the Royal Palace where Ona Emele rules.
The northern prefecture of Amitari is the ancestral homeland of the Ka'ani. It is the most mountainous land in Kahala, with deep valleys leading to small rivers that collect to form the Ma river that drains into the Bay of Hoari on the Nui Sea. Amitari settlements sit on the tops of hills that have had their tops removed and used to construct the stone towns and their walls. Amitari settlements are unpretentious and efficient, like the Ka'ani themselves. They are a people that despise decoration and indulgences in pleasures, believing it weakens the warrior's edge.
The southern prefecture of Wai Hu'a is the least hilly and most agriculturally productive prefecture. It is the ancestral land of the Kua, who are ethnically Talani'i but succumbed to the initial onslaught of the holy wars of the Purifying Fire campaign that established the theocracy. They were forced to give up the spiritual practices of their people and submit to Ila'Makau as the only true koroua 'great ancestor'.
Wai Hu'a is the most fortified of the prefectures with the largest population of Ka'ani outside of Amitari. The Ka'ani despise the Kua as meek worms fit only for servitude. However, in their huts and ramshackle villages, the Kua still bury their dead beneath the dirt floors, speak to them and make offerings to them in the night. But rarely do the dead speak back since all but a few of the tukuoro, those gifted with the ability to see and hear even the eldest spirits, have been killed except for a very few who keep their gifts a secret.
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