Ossended Host

Scattered throughout the many islands of the Shattered Teeth lie the Ossended Host, a culture of a large number of people held together by their shared experience: every member of the Ossended Host experiences strange dreams and visions, and many of them possess direct supernatural ties to the plane of dreams itself. The culture itself has existed since before the Calamity, but the connections have strengthened in the centuries since. Now forced to unite under one banner due to the Wanderman Assembly's threat to their way of life, a culture once fractured by disagreements and infighting has become a strongly united front in both religion and ideals.
A character of the Ossended Host gains proficiency with water vehicles as well as the ability to speak, read, and write Quori. If the character would gain one of these proficiencies from another source, choose another tool proficiency or language to gain in its place.

Goals

The Ossended Host seek enlightenment and a true connection with the Quori - dream-spirits - and the plane of dreams, revering their nightly visions as religious signs. This often manifests in sleep and meditation for religious purposes rather than simply practical. Even elves among them dream.
The Host currently seeks to chase the Assembly off from the Shattered Teeth, caring little for where they go afterwards as long as they can exist freely on their land once more.

Relationships

The Ossended Host believes that the Wanderman Assembly is a serious threat to not only their culture but their lives, a fact that they believe has been proven by the Assembly's increasing expansionism and the many villages that have been razed to the ground. As such, the Assembly is their greatest enemy, and while their forces are still massing, in the minds of most of the Host's citizens, it's only a matter of time before the tension and occasional clashes escalate into full-blown war. The Host refer to the people of the Assembly derogatorily as "the Dreamless", as those of the Assembly seemingly lack any connection to any similar forces.
The Host maintains a tense but occasionally positive relationship with The Iosi, watching the Godkeepers with hesitation and uncertainty regarding their loyalties. Though their people enjoyed a more fruitful relationship in the past, with many of the oldest among the Host recalling a time in which the Spiritkeepers were treated as trusted seers and wise folk, the Iosi's refusal to join forces with the Host as well as their service to the Assembly has caused considerable tension. Messengers and travelers from the Iosi are, nowadays, regarded with suspicion, though they're generally permitted to travel within the Host as long as they show no signs of affiliation with the Assembly.

Figures of Interest

Il-Yannah Vakkug Aknezak (Vakkug il-Yannah)

Hobgoblin man (Kalashtar), lawful neutral
The current emperor of the Ossended Host was selected from among the young, aspiring kalashtar by a council of elected representatives, hand-picked from among hundreds of possible candidates. He has since risen to his role with a sense of duty and loyalty to his people beyond that of most rulers, taking quite naturally to leading the country. Vakkug il-Yannah directs the scattered forces and peoples of the Ossended Host in an attempt to preserve their culture and people, having seen the dire consequences of the Wanderman Assembly's expansionism firsthand. He's occasionally cruel and cold in his direction, but the people of the Host - and Vakkug himself - generally believe this to be a necessary evil after centuries worth of slowly-lost villages and civilians, a requirement in order to purge the invaders from their homeland before they're overwhelmed.
Il-Yannah is a title, translating to "Great Light" in Common. It's roughly the Host's equivalent to "king" or "emperor." In general, emperors of the Ossended Host take on the title instead of their original family name for the purposes of formal address, though they are still considered to be a part of their family for logistical purposes.
Name
Triton woman (Somnian), neutral good


Stuff

Ancestries and Demographics

Ancestry: 32% Hobgoblin, 25% Triton, 19% Lizardfolk, 12% Human, 12% Other Races of Exandria
Dreamkin (separate from ancestry): 74% non-dreamkin (standard ancestry stats), 14% Kalashtar (EGtW), 8% Sand Speakers (Arcadia #3), 4% Somnians (Arcadia #3)
The term "kalashtar" is used by those within the Ossended Host and the Iosi peoples to describe all dreamkin, even Sand Speakers and Somnians. Kalashtar, Sand Speakers, and Somnians all maintain the general appearance of those from whom they descend. A kalashtar's nature generally manifests between the ages of 6 and 16, with most kalashtar developing between 10 and 12.
Kalashtar (with a capital K) are those who, within their dreams, manage to gain a personal connection to a particular Quori spirit, channeling some of the Quori's nature even during waking times and often conversing with this spirit at night. Connections with Quori spirits are personal and vary from person to person, ranging from attachment despite substantial disagreement to the best of friends. Typically, a Kalashtar gains some knowledge of a Quori spirit's true form, voice, and name beyond the shifting and vague form presented to others, often vaguely humanoid but with special, dreamlike qualities. Kalashtar are effectively physically indistinguishable from non-kalashtar until they reveal their nature, usually via their natural telepathy.
Sand Speakers are those who have ceased dreaming their own dreams, instead walking among the dreams of others. They usually develop later than other kalashtar, often around 14-16 years of age. They dream normally up until adolescence, but after their first dream-walk - their first foray into the dreams of others - a Sand Speaker loses their ability to dream unique dreams. Physically, they differ from others only when their torso is in view; their chest cavity is like round glass, streaked with shifting color.
Somnians are the most recently present group within the kalashtar of the Ossended Host. Their eyes are their most distinguishing feature: black, vast beyond the scope of their physical shape, depicting galaxies and stars swirling throughout. Usually only once a Somnian's physical characteristics are shown is a Somnian recognized. Somnians possess the ability to manifest pieces of the dream realm into reality, via a mixture of illusion and natural characteristics. Somnians are able to assume the form of a person's worst nightmares, often useful in tense situations. In addition, recently discovered (within the past generation or two) is the fact that Somnians possess a natural resurrection ability, gained via sacrificing themselves. A Somnian has been assigned to the Il-Yannah as a result, taught to sacrifice herself for the Il-Yannah should the worst happen due to the country's need for his leadership.

Architecture and Settlements

See Heian period Japanese architecture.

Social Structure and Practices

While all among the Host experience visions and dreams of exceptional nature, certain individuals known as kalashtar have a special connection. The kalashtar and their families represent a higher social class, with those families with the highest predisposition towards being born kalashtar forming the highest tiers of nobility.
The Host is primarily a confederation of city-states, with elected representatives from each island - the number of which are based on population - coming together along with the local Siyil to decide matters for the nation as a whole. Laws vary from place to place, but the national government has been taking more control as of late. While an Il-Yannah was always elected - chosen from among the kalashtar by this council - only in the past couple of generations has the Il-Yannah exercised any power beyond the ceremonial or religious, only recently with the fervent support of the people.
Underneath the emperor, individual city-states and regions are ruled by Siyil, feudal landowners and the highest of nobility. While exact governmental structure varies depending on the region, only one Siyil is formally recognized by the ruling bodies and central powers of the Ossended Host; this is generally the highest ranking official within a local government.

Technology and Military

Though in the past, the Host held only a small standing army, local militias have been amassed under Vakkug il-Yannah into a large, trained force known as the Altasur ("darkness-bringers"). An individual designated as the Chata sits at the top of the army, serving in a general-like role. The position of Chata was established with the arrival of the Wanderman Assembly, and up until recently, it held the largest centralized power within the Ossended Host. The Il-Yannah has taken on a stronger role since, though some people from cultures highly loyal to the centralized power of the Host still swear loyalty to the Chata above the Il-Yannah.

Weapons

Weapons of the Ossended Host are unique in form from those found elsewhere, generally sporting curved single blades with minimal guard and ornate sheathes of lacquered wood. The tachi is equivalent to the longsword, measuring up to 80 cm. The kodachi, a shorter version (40-60 cm), serves as an equivalent to the shortsword. The single-edged tantō is less curved and even shorter (maximum 30 cm), serving a dagger or knife-like role. Most swords are worn across the lower back with the blade facing down.
Tanegashima - matchlock rifles (martial weapon, 2d10 piercing, 12 lb., Ammunition (60/240), dry, heavy, misfire, two-handed, single shot - requires one minute to reload) - are the primary firearm of the Ossended Host, used to initiate most battles before swords are drawn. Initially caught off-guard by the Assembly's development of such, the Host recovered rifles from the bodies of slain Wanderman soldiers and mercenaries in the past few decades at Vakkug il-Yannah's direction, resulting in an immediate push for firearm production en masse.

Religious Practices

The Ossended Host dream, and they do so in a unique fashion. All experience an awareness that extends beyond that of most other peoples while dreaming, spending time knowledgeable of the fact that they are within the plane of dreams as they watch their dreams unfold and participate in their dreams. Additionally, most are aware of the presence of the quori while dreaming: spirits of the plane of dreams, shifting shapes with solid identities who often accompany the delivery of particular dreams or nightmares. Over the centuries, these visions have proven to hold prophetic or insightful information - if interpreted correctly. Reverence for the significant dreams and nightmares that a person has - though not every dream qualifies - is an expected quality within the Ossended Host, the quality that most outside the Host understand the least.
Ever since the final days of the Calamity, certain individuals have developed special connections with the plane of dreams and those within it. "Kalashtar" is the general term for these individuals, and they take the form of a higher class of person within the Ossended Host. A family of a newly discovered kalashtar gains higher status within the Host along with access to many resources set aside for those of this status. The hope that one of a family's children may be a kalashtar drives many to have large families. While "kalashtar" are a general category of individual, there are multiple forms that this connection takes, with only the capital-K Kalashtar - the initial manifestation in the mythology of the country - representing the personal connection to a Quori spirit that Kalashtar take the form of within other settings. While anyone can be born a kalashtar, certain bloodlines have a predisposition for such, meaning that certain families are composed predominantly - or nigh-exclusively - of kalashtar.
Quori is the word used for both the spirits encountered within the plane of dreams as well as the language used in religious ceremonies and academia within the Ossended Host, a language derived from that spoken by the Quori and naturally inherited by those kalashtar who have personal connections with the Quori spirits. A secret known only to some within the Ossended Host is the fact that not all Quori are benevolent. In fact, many - though decidedly not all - of the Quori are selfish or malevolent in purpose. Occasionally, individual Kalashtar are taken over by the Quori with whom they commune; these Kalashtar are silently dispatched if harmful to the Host or accepted warily if they are of help.

Crime

Criminal activity carries substantial social stigma within the Ossended Host as of the last couple generations, though its history is much more complicated. Due to the origin of the Host as a series of disconnected city-states, a black market trade network naturally formed. Nowadays, this black market serves to carry goods from the west and the Wanderman Assembly to those who can afford them, often members of nobility.

Cuisine

See: classical Japanese cuisine.

Type

Political, Confederation