Shaodan
Valor's neighbor to the west is primarily comprised of jungle and high steppes, with heavy rains in spring and deep droughts the rest of the year. Valorans tend to consider the country savage and dangerous, with strange magics and stranger customs.
Shaodeni, by comparison, consider themselves the height of civilization. They value art and culture, have a voracious appetite for (especially Anteian) poetry and literature, and have a cultural heritage that was unusually unscathed by the Raithar Empire.
Structure
Shaodan is a complex web of courts overseeing the creation and enforcement of law, and the collection and distribution of public resources. Which court a matter is referred to is dependent on location, where involved parties are from, and the matter at hand--and there are several courts that specifically deal with negotiating any overlaps between other courts.
Ultimately, however, the Death Dancers hold enough cultural power to sway bureaucracy to their preference, on any occasion when they decide to involve themselves. They usually stay out of matters of state, but may intervene on behalf of an individual (for their own inscrutable reasons) or more likely between communities, reaching an accord between Dancers and then ensuring that the courts reach the same decision.
Demography and Population
Religion
Shaodeni worship ancestor spirits; primarily those of their own family, but a few heroes important to their country and culture as a whole as well. This has often been conflated with Raitharan spirit-worship, but is fully distinct--unlike Raitharans, Shaodeni want nothing to do with the wild spirits of the world.
Foreign Relations
Relations between Shaodan and Valor are typically strained but stable; neither things very fondly of the other, but they also have no particular cause for aggression at this time. However, they are allied with Anteus, so outright war between Anteus and Valor could invite Shaodan's involvement as well.
Additionally, they have ongoing trade disputes with Deeproots Elidian, which involve Valor as a middleman both geographically and linguistically.
Trade & Transport
The rapid growth of the cities, and the concentration of wealth that has come with that, has facilitated a thriving market for luxury goods, including jewelry, fine art, books, tinctures and potions for strength and vigor, and even exotic animals to be kept as pets or in menageries.
Exports include silk and other fine garments, magic trinkets and recipies, and raw goods such as timber and mined minerals. Probably their most lucrative export, though, is tea.
Square ceramic "Scales," known as "Snake Gilt" in Valor.
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