Caliharah: A Home Worth Fighting For

Further Musings of Illona Torok

Before my visits to the abundantly charming grounds of Caliharah, I’ll admit, I didn’t think about it much. It was a vast land of farming territories that never expressed any interest to leave their home. Why would that hold any intrigue to a woman so eager to leave her own? No, it took me until the time I had to depart to understand the true appeal of the seemingly simple life that these homesteaders lead: a life so committed to the home they’ve created that they’d fight off just about anything and anyone in order to keep it.

Arriving in Greenhome

My journey took me first to Greenhome, the capital city of this spread-out nation and by far the largest and most decorated in affluence. I had made prior arrangements to speak with the acting Presider, and was grateful I had upon my arrival, for even with this clearance I caught the wary side-eye of a few shopkeepers in my time of idle perusal in the market. I’d heard that those in Caliharah led a simple life - why would they be wary of a humble traveler in their midst?

Meeting with the Presider was far more informative than I imagined it would be, and much to my relief, Ramas was a kind man who was happy to provide answers to my seemingly countless curiosities. For starters, the side eye - which warranted a chuckle and a light-hearted “Really? That’s what you’re curious about?”- is a rather common occurrence when it comes to new faces in town. Since many of the folk here are well acquainted with their neighbors, a new face is hardly a common occurrence. To add further skepticism, Caliharah is a nation that has fallen victim to far too many attempts at invasion. Perhaps their power-hungry neighbors found the simple way of life something far too easy to trample on, or maybe the land that these gentle folk stood on was just too fertile to give up, but for whatever reason, invasion was far from foreign to the locals. Because of this, the people of Caliharah are incredibly cautious and, more often than not, are trained in militia-style combat to defend themselves and the homes they’ve created.

Path to Protection

In fact, training in these martial arts has become a right of passage to the locals, something that is taught to all of the youth of the nation along with their coming of age. (Something Ramas was excited to witness with his son, but more on that later…) At this point, each community nation-wide has at least one person that provides guidance on the path to protection, and most have committed themselves enough to this task to be able to specialize this guidance from purely physical combat to enriching a younglings connection to congruence to aid them in their fight. While this coming of age practice is accepted nation-wide, the exact age of the training is left to the discretion of each county. Counties closer to the northern (Garshalla) and eastern (Curath and Rowlem) borders typically start training at a younger age, as these areas are more likely to suffer an attack sooner than others, while several communities in the south start this training later, focusing some of that youthful energy on the crop fields or other domestic skills.

Government

As far as each county is concerned, there is far more freedom than I expected when it comes to how each community is run. Each of the eight main counties is free to run things as they see fit, as long as they respect the land and the bond that they’ve made to the other seven to keep all of them safe. Outside of that pact, the folks are free to live the lives they desire, regardless of race, religion, or any other difference that others might discriminate against. I met Followers of the Twins in my time there, as well as folks who worshiped Eossani a Divinity devoted to the Harvest and some whose Divinity called them to worship the Earth itself (The Dirt). Each county has its own Headman, and they see to the well-being of their specific county until it is time for them to serve the nation as a whole. Every ten years, one of the county’s Headmen takes on the role of Presider, relocating to Greenhome in order to fully focus on the good of the federation. To accept this calling is one of the highest honors possible, but it certainly isn’t without its burdens. Due to this calling, they must leave the county they’ve sworn to protect in the hands of their fellow man, trusting them to care for themselves and keep things running smoothly in their absence. Ramas, for example, feels abundantly blessed to be able to serve the nation that cares for him and his family daily, but because of this calling had to miss the early stages of life for his son. To be so dedicated to a nation to leave your wife and newborn child for ten years… To trust your neighbors so whole-heartedly to care for the person you love and the child that exists because of that… Honestly, I’m a little choked up just thinking about it. To these people, the land that they live on, and the folks that live beside them, truly mean everything to them, and that strength of community and sense of family is very hard to find outside of these beautiful beings.

Power

As far as some of the nitty-gritty politics are concerned, the Presider and the county Headmen are the titles that hold the most political power. They are individuals who truly have what’s best for their territory at heart, and are appointed to this title because of the faith that their community has in them. The Overwatchers, or those that enforce the safety of each community and assist in the Path to Protection for the next generation, are held with a similar reverence, but as their title suggests, they are typically far more concerned with keeping their people out of harm’s way- Rowlem, Curath, and Garshalla are relentless attackers, after all, so safety is far more important than political gain. Religious leaders vary based on which community you find yourself in and what Divinity seems to be popular in that region, but, again, they are far more focused on their area of expertise and don’t tend to concern themselves with the politics of it all. Because of the nation-wide wary eye towards the unknown, taxation on imported and exported goods is higher than one would expect, but it’s done more as a precaution than anything else. I heard tell that Curath and Alvania might have worked out an agreement for these taxes due to trade agreements, but I can’t fully say without seeing the documents themselves. Besides, my meeting with Ramas had already concluded at that point, and it didn’t seem fair to monopolize another one of his afternoons, though I’m sure I certainly could have…

In fact, I know for certain that there’s so much more to Caliharah that even I didn’t get to explore or investigate, and I pray that somebody finds these idle musings and decides to plan their own trip in search of answers. I will say this much, however, that nation is certainly nothing to scoff at or dismiss. They are a nation of good people who’ve created quite a lovely land to call home, and that home is absolutely worth fighting for.