Neatherese Civilization

"The Neatherese as a people did not perceive any validity in limits. In the same way that an ocean is impassible barrier until one learns to build a ship, the Neatherese would see the laws -- both physical and divine -- as obstacles to be overcome. This philosophy was the source of their greatness and the cause of their destruction."
-Varis Holimion, "On the Neatherese," 1488.

The Neatherese is the collective term for a group of human states that existed during the age of myth. The degree of unity of these various city-states is a matter of debate, but there is evidence of considerable similarities and a good deal of trade between the various states. It is believed the Neatherese states competed against each other largely in terms of magical prowess. Anecdotally, the various city-states are said to have been excessively wealthy thanks to trade, and martial prowess, but much of that wealth did not survive the fall of their civilization.

Interpretation

Most of the information regarding Neatheril before the Fall comes from two sources: surviving texts -- which while not exactly rare, tend to document largely banal matters such as financial transactions, and daily operations -- and later mortality tales which naturally emphasize the negatives of the culture to prove a point about the excess of humanity and the arcane. Thus accurately reconstructing the long dead civilization is difficult work and project of many scholars.

States/Branches

It is a matter of some debate what exactly constituted a Neatherese state or subculture. While individual cities seem to have to have been relatively independent, certain groups or themes among states seem to have been prevalent:

• Regalri - the ruling class of the Neatherese. They built and ruled from the fabled sky cities. Also the subsection of the people of Neather of which the most has been lost. Of their 36 referenced sky-cities, only a handful have been found.
• Ilyrinar - the most prolific builders of the Neatherese subgroups, they used a cube-like white stone to construct elaborate structures on and below the ground. Few if any of these structures show any sign of being inhabited -- no art, middens, or habitation areas -- only deepening the mystery of this culture. Later texts seem to equate the Ilyrians with "grave tending" and necromancy.
• Suleyh
• Xalor

Structure

Documentation regarding the Neatherese ruling elite is among the most abundant of sources left on Sanzeia. Social, political, and magical power all appeared to be one for the Neatherese, and documents regularly refer to individuals not being able to rise higher due to limited magical power.

Culture

While the lives of the Neatherese magi and nobility is heavily reflected in surviving documents, little is actually known about the lower, especially non-magic using classes, that must have surely existed. One particular theme is that one's living space reflected one's place in society, with the most powerful living in literal floating castles that dominated the lands below.

Assets

The Neatherese possessed a magical level that has not been seen since their fall. Those who have found Neatherese ruins intact, have reported finding a wealth of magical items stored with no more care than one might place tools in their own home. This implies that to the Neatherese such items were common and unremarkable. A single Neatherese blade today is likely to be a treasured family heirloom, while to its creators it seems to have been no more than a simple tool.

Currency

Neatherese states used a form of electrum coinage. The various subgroups appeared to mint and circulate their own coins and trade freely in them. The value of these coins does not appear to have been linked to the value of the metal inside them as coins of the same design varied considerably in metal composition. Also written accounts of large business transactions would have numbered in the tens or hundreds of thousands of these coins to such an extent that the sheer amount of metal would have made business impractical.
Of all the remaining traces of the Neatherese civilizations, these coins are the most plentiful, giving them relatively little value despite their age.

Disbandment

While the collapse of the civilization has become largely a thing of myth, it is generally agreed to have come quickly and in a way that the Neatherese for all their magic could not prevent. The floating cities were said to have crashed or vanished overnight, leaving the survivors to pick up the pieces. This began a so call "dark age" in human history that would, at least as far as human kingdoms were concerned, last until the last several centuries of the age of myth.

Territories

Neatherese ruins have been found all across Sanzeia. While most are located within the Elowean Plateau, sites have been found as far north as Jessia and a far west as the Unresting Fields.

Technological Level

The Neatherese possessed levels of magical technology that have not been seen since their fall. Most well known were the floating castles that flew above the land with the power of magic. Neatherese mages seem to have been particularly skilled with planar magic and using it to excess. The expression "summoning a demon to light a lamp," denoting one who uses excessive power in accomplishing a task, is derived from a documented process where Neatherese mages would summon and imprison lesser planar entities to power relatively mundane magical items.
Though no hard evidence exists, it is widely speculated that Neatherese magical technology coupled with cultural arrogance lead to their destruction.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

c. -4,000 DR - c. -2,000 DR

Type

Geopolitical, Magocracy

Alternative Names

Neatheril

Demonym

Neatherese

Subsidiary Organizations

• Ilyrinar

Location

Elowean Plateau

Related Species

• Human