Towers of Stone
The Towers of Stone are a human magocracy. They work tirelessly to restore the magical capabilities that were had prior to the chaos of a century ago.
Festivals and Culture
During the harvest festival is the tradition of discarding used clothing on a reed raft that is lit on fire to carry away evil spirits. Afterwards by taking a wet bath and donning new clothing you can prepare for the winter. This is in contrast with the tradition of taking regular air baths instead of water baths. Most will only bathe in water a few times a year while the rest of the time they sponge bath or stand half-dressed in the wind for an air bath. The planting festival in spring is a time of writing letters and sending copies of manuscripts or poetry. It is also the time of the great challenges where various competitions and demonstrations are made. These have included themed magic challenges for example; who can create the most agriculturally significant spell (That year the award was given to Magus Clorinveil who created a spell to generate artificial rain for 6 hours over a three-mile area). Not all challenges are magical, as competitions of strength, cookery, and trivia area also common.Structure
The Mages council rules the islands that make up the towers of stone. Any master level mage is a voting member. This means that at a full vote they could have 350 different votes cast. At any given time, one mage is given diplomatic control as the Mage at Council and another military control as the Mage of Battle.
Demography and Population
At the age of 12 all youth must take the test of the arcane, a weeklong trial of physical, mental and magical aptitude. Those who show promising skills are often offered apprenticeships with the various mages. Some learn both magic and physical disciplines and become Eldritch Knights or Arcane Archers.
A hobby of the mages is the racing of flying creatures. The most prestigious race is part of the harvest festival, and takes place at the Castle of Gargoyles.
Infrastructure
Architecture: As the name suggests, and as the rocky island terrain demands, towers are the most common style. In addition to the stone outbuildings for the non mages stone is used everywhere.
Major Exports
Given the rocky terrain of the island, stone is a primary export and building material. Both Iron and saltpeter are found in the area as well and exported.
Education by the mages is highly sought and rich families from other nations may send their child progeny to study here. Often sending wood or discovered magical items as part of the payment for the education.
Major Imports
Wood and fruits are common imports due to the rocky terrain and lack of good forests.
Neighboring Nations
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