Kahrilo
POPULATION: 8 MILLION
RELIGION: Priestesses of the Kah
ETHNIC GROUPS: Luloyˈsa, Hedöˈte, Proˈya
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: KAHREOL - 5M / VAIRUVAND - 2M / Tarels - 700K / Beribonese - 300K
CURRENCY: San (1, P)
CAPITAL: Kahnicalon (Adwisen)
Kahrilo is one of the only bona fide theocracies in the world, and the only large-scale matriarchy. Total governmental control lies in the hands of the Priestesses of the Kah, while male nobles in their realm serve an essentially decorative function as custodians of territory, clergy being restricted from owning land. All decisions of state are made by women; the economy is directed by women; and the logic of social institutions such as marriage is moulded in favour of the gender. The country is sandwiched between two titans: the continent of Rela and nation of Draksineon northwards, and that of Tyril and the Uvan Empire to its immediate south. It is a frequent mediator for different sorts of conversations between the two, and sufficiently different from either one that its own interests rarely get tangled up. Its financial wellbeing, however, hinges on how well these talks do. While once richer than the Uvan, its star is slowly but surely being outshone by this rising rival. Entirely situated in the Autumn Yield, Kahrilo’s connections with the magic Traditions of the north is prickly, despite there being a strong undercurrent of magical thinking in its worldview, and many features of ritual enshrined in its legal codes. The Priestesses practice a form of low magic, Ahdajika, although they do not view it in those terms and have resisted The Council of Landezon's attempts to categorize it as such – and indeed, resist the Council on many other fronts as well. Language is absolutely central to the Kah faith, and Kahreol regarded as a sacred tongue – to the extent that the country of Kalio was severed from the realm because its accent had evolved to be too different. Correspondingly, while other linguistic / cultural groups are permitted to live within Kahrilon borders, their members are barred from full civic participation unless they prove mastery of the “correct’ dialect. On account of its language-based focus, the country has a profound - and complex - relationship with The Speakers, a polyglot race with whom the state contracts to enhance its claims that Kahreol is the world's original tongue. The terms of engagement are highly structured. Kahrilo produces a wide variety of precious metals and gems as its rocky terrain is rife with mining opportunities. It is a major consumer of the spice, Riangh, produced in South Beribon and routed through the Uvan Empire.
Great Aegis of the Psalms of the Kah
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Territory
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