Overview of Anock

Geography

Anock is a vast region of plains and lakes in the center of Aropria. It empcompasses the major city of Greenhome, as well as a number of towns and trade centers. Outside the settled lands, there are plenty of small settlements along the roads and rivers. Anock is the most populated region of Aropria, mostly due to its abundance of water, grazing lands, and temperate climate.

The most notable feature of Anock is the huge Lake Kea and the beautiful island of Whioma. From Lake Kea flows the Bevar River directly north and south. Caliharah is the major national power in Anock, with pockets of influence from Vas’tek and the untamed regions of the south east.

Lake Kea

Lake Kea is home to many legends and tall-tales. At night, the lake glows from the bioluminescent plants and animals that fill it’s waters. Glowing seaweed drifts up on the shores and fishermen pull up a dozen varieties of eels. However, children are taught at a very young age to avoid the waters at night: monsters come up from the deep waters when the sun is down, and unwary swimmers disappear without a trace.

Waterways

Despite its dangers, Lake Kea is vital to those who live in Anock. The streams and rivers that flow in and out of the lake irrigate farms for hundreds of miles. The fish, however strange they may look, feed the people all year round. Cargo is easily moved across it’s still waters, giving people a faster and more efficient way to transport goods than the often-perilous roads. Arak are fairly common among the plains of Anock

Whioma

At the center of Lake Kea is Whioma, a resort island that is protected and kept as natural as possible. There are only two areas of habitation on the island: Whioma Resort and Whioma Institute of Research. A dock in between them and a handful of strictly maintained trails are the only infrastructure on the island. Wealthy residents from across the land often come visit during the spring and summer when the giant flowers are blooming and flocks of tiny jewel-toned birds swarm to feast on any living creature. They only fly at dawn and dusk, so visitors are careful to return home by these times. Researchers join the rich to study the flora and fauna, as well as a pool of congruence deep within the island that very few know of. The regular unexplained happenings of the island are often explained away by this, although nobody knows for certain.

People Temperament to Strangers

Outside of the major city of Greenhome, Anock is very pastoral. Villagers are used to people passing through their towns on their way to somewhere else, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re friendly to outsiders. In fact, travelers are more likely to get a “go back to where you’re from” than a warm welcome. Anock residents are too used to Arak, bandits and burglars to let strangers into their homes.

Regional Traits:

Architecture: The plains-dwelling folk originated from the unclaimed southeastern region of Anock, who were tribal herdsmen and riders. Their remote and nomadic lifestyle, and lack of easily accessible structural resources like trees or foundational stones led to improvisation and quick but rugged housing, with tents and teepees. Groups of roaming Arak, and the need to follow the herd mean that a vast majority of the populace lives on temporary ground near the life-preserving waters. The riders that founded settlements in Calliharah came from the unnamed southern territory, and their architecture seems to be founded on the original temporary structures of their kin, with clay and even tree based housing based on yurts and tents, with conical architecture that looks like a combination of Mongolian and potentially Japanese traditional buildings.

Family Structure: Due to the nature of roaming bands that formed community structures, family heads were led by the eldest members as the most experienced, and leaned slightly more patriarchal, though the tendencies of that were heavily influenced by the currently eldest member of the tribe and their gender. Families tend to include only the romantic couple and children, with immediate family members of aunts, uncles, cousins and the like that are directly related to the lineage being involved as well. Family units are considered sacred, with the most revered positions being old to young, with the single exception of the youngest member currently in the family as they are seen as having the most “potential”. When marriages and intercommunity experiences happen, much of the fuss and bother is focused on sharing the current youngest to the other groups to absorb as much experience as they can.

Communal Structure: Communities function as tribes, though in Calliharah they become closer to villages with mayors, heads, and lords. The eldest is almost universally the leader of the clan or tribe, and deals with finality all decisions important enough to be brought to them, and their word on the matter is final. Because their ancestors and many current groups are nomadic, they roam the plains of Anock, keeping a strong sense of distance between them and the nearest monsters, raiders and bandits, and other clans. When a tribe wishes to intermingle they will often trade members of both their herd and their clan with each other as a sign of solidarity in events that can last up to a day at the longest usually, and in cases of ritual celebration or battle, will intermingle with the other tribe(s) for an extended period of time but no longer than a week at the utmost. The necessities of the herd are the driving factors to their everyday life. Calliharans tend to view their lot in much the same way, though their dedication to the soil and their farmland, while stationary, leads to similar motives and thought processes behind intermingling with people from outside their effective group or village.

Societal norms/expectations:

• Be silent when the eldest speaks
• Respect boundaries
• Do not steal
• Ask only what you need
• What is yours is your family’s, and your family’s your tribe
• Trust is traded bought on the back of a good deal
• Live in your means
• Mistakes are how you learn
• A debt is binding
• The eldest teach their experience
  • Fathers hunt and manage the fields or herds, keep watch and guard, and will thus often be the ones to enter negotiations with other outsiders.
  • Mothers have the most range of adaptability with their work and time and are allowed and free to do anything they so wish (within the reason of the current tribe/village) with the sole exception of pregnancy and the toddler years where they act as caregiver.
  • Siblings take over the role of caregiver to their peers regardless of gender, allowing the parents to resume their usual activities, and teaching them the basics of homesteading. Once they reach past the age of toddler, they learn not from their parents but the elders of their group.

Legends of fantastical beasts/myths:

Legend of a divinity stealing some of the light from the sun to gift to the night sky, often includes a chariot serving as the moon. The sun is either hoarding and greedy, not doing their due diligence for the world, or is seen as a protagonist constantly running after the night sky to chase in a fool’s errand what was stolen. The thief is a protagonist as often as a villain, and the reason for the theft changes in each telling.

River dragon: a progenitor of water and rivers, bringer of life, and sower of change. Responsible for floods and draughts. They swim through the land and carve a river behind them.

The voice on the wind: legend of a being that tempts others away from families and Anock driven morals to evils, hedonism, and banditry (note that raiding in Anock is more of a norm, but there are rules, often draconian, that differentiate the difference between that and banditry). The being is depicted as universally malicious and tempting, and each story ends with an ironic twist to drive the morals home.

Wind skate: a sea skate that flies on the wind, lives among the clouds. Looks like a kite from below.

Weddings/events:

Weddings, along with births, are two of a handful of celebrations that last for longer than a day and carry an impressive amount of flair. Though the hardy folk of Anock seem at first glance to only ever enjoy work, they are more than willing to put it aside for a time and celebrate success, good luck and health, and trusted individuals. Though there are few named celebrations for these people, there are several unnamed events throughout the year, which focus on crops, weather, trade, death, and more.