Qildab
POPULATION: 5 MILLION
RELIGION: Ocean Plume Temple
ETHNIC GROUPS: Chwaekam, Ikitak
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Qilaphma - 4M / Hal Tikwa - 500K / ALAWAQ - 450K / Siq'qul / Siq'qeln - 50K
CURRENCY: Wa (1,P)
CAPITAL: Chixi (Chichlo)
Qildab is the grandest and best-thriving of Pendahar's ancient cultures, a status it’s achieved through a deep-seated cultural commitment to transformation and keeping in step with the modern world. The empire was at its height eight centuries past, when the Reign of the Rainbow Chiefs: UT 1115 - 802, considered the golden era of Qildabic history, stretched to shores as far as Ald Cyngric in Gnosit, and engaged in trade with nations even further away, along the southern coast of Delhiza. The country’s fates have waxed and waned since then, at times dramatically, but while their borders may have contracted, the people’s zeal for life and all-out celebration of their heritage are enough to convince any visitor that Qildab is still today the center of the southern world. Its economy is equally strong as that of Sassam to the west, though unlike its neighbour, Qildab’s florescence is the result of innovation and highly successful trade connections with other Qildabic-speaking cultures as occupy the islands of Sheishal, Ilwe, and Gos, as opposed to being in the pocket of Tyril's monolithic Uvan Empire. Though often approached by the Empire’s representatives, Qildab’s ruling elite have so far shunned their rather handsome offers of cooperation, preferring to steer clear of the strings attached. As the Uvan ever extends its grasp across Pendahar, Qildab’s fiercely independent stance guarantees the nation some tough political battles ahead. Qildab is also spiritual home to the Ocean Plume Temple and a place of pilgrimage for the faithful. Its religion is unique in that it draws in a great many converts from far and wide and all walks of life despite a total lack of proselytizing. Some come for the spectacle, as the pageantry of the Ocean Plume is renown. Others take an interest in the hallucinatory substances that form a key part of holy sacraments. Whatever the attraction, the Temple opens it arms to all newcomers. There is, to contrast the explosion of colour on its streets, a dark side to Qildab: for it is said that lurking in subterranean passageways, Hex necromancers make their Nests and evil schemes. If so, they are clearly very careful not to get caught, and possibly control a swathe of social propaganda, as this information is waved away as gossip by more learned folk. The peasants, however, seem to know something. The whispers have been taken seriously enough for heavyweights like the Council of Landezon to seek a formal Inquest, but the typically laid-back attitudes of the Chwaekam ethnic majority have limits, and letting foreign powers poke around their borders is one of them.
Arms of the Benghyik
Type
Territory
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