Heptarchy of Saiko
The Heptarchy of Saiko is a loose confederation of semi-sovereign states in the far north-east of West-Argo. It is region mostly inhabited by men and eldar, although it has accumulated a decent amount of foreign slaves as well. The Heptarchy functions mostly as an feudal stratocratic oligarchy, meaning that the many different lords, or Aichō, mostly rule their own fiefdoms completely autonomous, although peace between the fiefdoms is mostly enforced by the combined powers of the Heptaichō, the five most powerful lords. Although wars and intrigue are still at the order of the day, the immense power of these upper lords have prevented the realm from devolving into large scale conflict ever since their rise nearly 2000 years ago.
History
The history of Saiko starts off way back in the Age of Creation. Somewhere in the hayday of the old Misan Empire of the East, the Misan people are said to have come to the islands of Saiko around the 18th century AoC. The lands of Saiko, then already inhabited by the Itlor Giants, would quickly become inhabited by these new people. These humans, who quickly came to be known as the Saiko-Misans, spread their influence first just along the coastal regions of the island, with the giants keeping hold over the mountainous inlands for the time. Around 500 years later however, exiles from the humans of the Arterpjêker came to it's shores as well, in what has been called the "Forgotten Exodus". The people of Arter and Misa came to be rather quickly integrated into it's local culture, mostly thanks to their common hatred of the giantkin. It led to the birth of a new hybrid of human, the so-called "Atarashī", or "new-blood" people. However widely spraid it's type, various regions did keep to have mostly Misan or Arteri characteristics in culture and phenotype. The darker skinned, bald people of the Misans on Saiko came to be known as the "Mishokomodo", or "Children of Misa", while the fairer skinned and bearded people of the Arteri on Saiko came to be known as the "Yamakomodo", or "Children of the Mountain". The three people were together with the giants the only peoples inhabiting the land for another 300 years until the year 2490 AoC, when Kaleisios' Pentapleisos, an influential priest of the Republic of Argothenge landed on Saiko's shores with his 42 ships. Twothousand elves came along with him, having followed Kaleisios prophecy of coming doom to the Argothengan Republic, a doom that would soon realize in the form of the Abyssal Flu. With the coming of the elves, they for a while lived in their own settlements, slowly fouding new ones along the coast, living in peace with the neighboring human tribes. The formation of the current geopolitical state of the island did not come in a singular event, or even in a string of clear events. Instead, it slowly evolved to become what it is. As the people of humans and elves of Saiko grew closer together, they eventually annihilated the giantkin presence on the island. Humankin came over the course of later years more and more under the control of elves, who by nature of their long lives could marry their way into multiple tribal clans, marrying into another one once the last bride would have passed. It led both to the end of the Elves on Saiko, yet also to the birth of the new people of the "Erudā", or Eldar. Much like how the elvish blood became diluted with that of humans in other regions of the continent, on Saiko it worked no different. Over time, the new lords of the island, the so-called Aichō would rule a large variaty of relatively small nation states as feudal kings. First just on the island, later with the invasions on the mainland also further and further away from the sea. Yet five clans rose out to grow so powerful, that they became the unchallenged hegemons of the region, styling themselves the "Heptaichō", meaning "Lord of the Five". These five clans are:(Subscript is in the Elvish Tongue)
- The Edechō (Epechoí)
- The Kilai (Phylaí)
- The Kiladochō (Philandichoí)
- The Sakiō (Saliá)
- The Tsuwahochō (Thelassagoí)
Socio-Political Workings of the Heptarchy
The Treaty Council
Within the Heptarchy, there is no thing more holy than the division of power. With the nation having been founded from the ashes of eternal civil war, the Heptaichō started to form the lands of Saiko into an unofficial state of confederation. After the signing of the treaty of Tosúgasabe in 552 AZ, the Heptaichō would stand to protect all minor domains in their sphere against aggression from the other Heptaichō and their protected domains. In return, these Great Domains would protect the entire realm from threats outside it's borders. Yet over the just over 600 years since, a quasi government would be founded from the foundation of this treaty, commonly known as the Jōyaku Hyōgi-kai, or Treaty Council. They are housed in a diplomatically neutral compound within the city of Tosúgasabe, where the treaty was first signed. The Treaty Council, made up of a group of noblemen from the various domains of Saiko, would keep themselves buzy with the creation of policies, law and most importantly, foreign policy. Here the clans would talk with one another and ward off major civil wars, form united armies to fight foreign forces and even establish and manage the large transnational corporations such as the Saikoho Shōsha, the Saikoan Trading Company. The council, although initially consisting of the domain's Aichō themselves, have long since all appointed noblemen to speak in their place. These Councilors, or Hyōgi-in, have since held that title from father to son, with traditionally the youngest son taking the title, although exceptions are omnipresent. The highest ranking Councilors from the Great Domains, the so called Kōtō Hyōgi-in, or High Councilors, have the additional right to veto any decisions made by the Treaty Council, sometimes leading to the awkward position of near unanimous decisions being blocked by one of the Kōtō Hyōgi-in. The Treaty Council is headed by a Chairman, or Pyōdo, a title that changes every 10 years between the Kōtō Hyōgi-in. He is responsible for overseeing order in the meetings, as well as holding a tie-breaking vote when decisions are made. It can not be overstated that the Treaty Council, although entrusted with a variety of tasks that in other countries would be done by a centralized state, did not have any power of it's own, instead merely being a mouthpiece to the clans that sat at it's table.The Kōya Lands
While the vast majority of land is occupied by the noble Aichō, there are lands that are not. These lands, known as the Kōya, thank their independence from feudal rule to a variety of different reasons, which categorize them into different types of Kōya, as described below:Seinaru-Kōya - Holy Lands
These are regions that due to the presence of spirits and gods of the land are holy and therefore to be treated with respect. Often these lands still hold shrines and monasteries, yet others are considered too dangerous to venture into, even for the devoted.Kaijū-Kōya - Wild Lands
These are regions that due to the presence of dangerous wildlife are unsuitable for settlement. The presence of anything from wild dogs, territorial apes to disease carrying plants could be the cause of this, varying from place to place.Kibishī-Kōya - Rough Lands
These are regions that due to being located in extremely inhospitable terrain are unsuitable for settlement, or even travel. Poison swamps, volcanic plains and gassed caldera all fall under this category.Saikoan Governance outside Saiko
For the geography of the Saikoan Isles, read this article.Sekaihashi - The Mainland
The rule of the Heptarchy has long spread outside the home islands. Ever since the first inhabitation of Saiko, people of similar culture have settled themselves on the mainland coasts, known by the islanders as Sekaihashi, which means ''edge of the world''. Yet during the 3rd century AAA, these coasts would start to be raided more and more by peoples of Orcs and Giants, which resulted in much of the once flourishing coastal societies to fall to ruin, it's people either dying or migrating over to the, then still open to immigrants, Saiko. Yet the wish to return the coastlands to human rule has never completely disappeared, although it would be by accident that it would be returned, as during the 2nd century AZ, after the giants living at those coasts were struck by a great earthquake, they disappeared soon after from the annals of history. Yet soon after, the Saikoan sailors would settle the region once again. First as temporary harbours to stock up on fresh watr, later as growing harbour towns. In modern times, Sekaihashi is known as a still sparsely populated land, with large cities spread out along the coasts and river, with often many miles of nothingness in between. The land is known as a wild and dangerous place, filled with monsterous wildlife and curses. The conditions in the wild are so bad in fact, that the land knows not a single unwalled settlement, with farming being rare at all due to it's requered fields being hard to fully protect. Instead, the inhabitants of Sekaihashi mostly depend on a diet of fish, with the natively abudant sword fish at the coast and even more abundant catfish in the rivers providing enough sustenance for the peole there. The catfish is so abundant in fact, that the control of the mainland rivers have become a vital strategical resource, with the fishing settlements having competed with eachother over control of the best positions for nets for centuries, even fighting the so called ''Catfish Wars'', a series of 6 wars between the towns over a dispute over large nets. The competition for control of the ''Fish Fountains'', a nickname for the catfish abundant rivers of Sekaihashi, became so bad that eventually the fish was almost fished to complete extinction, which led to the Treaty Council deciding to interfere in the year 855 AZ. The lands of Sekaihashi would be from then on divided between the Heptaichō. On paper this was offcourse to make sure laws could be enacted for the conservation of the catfish population, as well as the assurance of possible food aid for the Home Islands in times of famine. Yet it also served to ensure the power of the ruling members of the Treaty Council, which only grew over the years. The land of Sekaihashi stil remains under this ruling to this day, with appointed local noblemen.Sarukuni - The Southern Colonies
Saikoan presence near Sarukuni, meaning Land of the Monkey, has always been a thing ever since it's people starting to build ships even before the Elvish arrival. Fishermen in search of the feared Iroqlan Glaivefish, as well as hunters of other seamonsters, have ever since then frequented the southern land, yet they only settled upon it's coast to stay a mere 400 years ago. With the growing population and booming Saikoan export to the north-western lands, the Saikoans were more than interested in new buisness ventures. With growing instability in the Kingdom of Kamilutssor as well as the Island of Iroql, they found potential targets. As both these lands were rich in both gold and other natural treasures such as paradise birds and blue monkeys, the Saikoans quickly started to barter with these people for mosly Vexan armour, glasswork and wines. Yet when ships started to fall victim to pirates in the region, the Treaty Council approved the companies to recruit it's own proper army and establish it's own proper bases, even building full fortresses with harbours, shipyards, inns and temples. With the companies basically given full reign on their manner of making money in the region, the trade would quickly involve slavery as well, with many of the kingdoms and tribes in the region becoming de-facto puppets to the companies under threat of slavery or death. The bought slaves were sold in great supply both to the north and the south, with many of them ending up on the Saikoan lands on the mainland, with many others being sold to Prabai and the kingdom of Korron Quan.Social Classes
Much like in most other nations along the northern coast, the Heptarchy knows a strict social structure that is an integral part to nearly all parts of daily life. Matter ranging from cultural practice to law all vary based on social class, which are often the result of birth within that class. As a general rule, it is impossible for someone to rise in social class, with marriage between the classes oulawed not only by common law, but extremely frowed upon by cultural custom. The classes mostly hold to a hierachical structure, although they don't necessarily hold command over one another.Kizoku - The Nobility
The nobility on Saiko have a long and complicated history from which has emerged a long and complicated balance of power. Consisting of the families of the Aichō, who themselves are with extremely rare exeptions all a part of the Erudā ethnicity, they vary greatly in power and influence among eachother. They are however, no matter their might among their own class, still always regarded to be superior to the other classes, being the only people allowed to hold land and eat meat. Important to note is they generaly frown on violence personally, although they are still often trained with the bow for purposes of hunting. The non-martial nature of the nobility is extremely culturally engrained, as fighting is seen as something of the warrior class, as the belief is that a good soldier can not be a good ruler and vice versa, although it has additionally also always served as a natural check on the nobility's power, since they can not protect themselves, they need to be fair rulers to at least their own people.Majutsu - The Magi
The arcane arts have always been viewed in a favorable light on Saiko, although it's practicioner's exact place in society has changed many times over the course of history. What is constant through the ages, is the way they are raised. When a child is born, the local priest would tend to bless the child, a blessing that would also serve to discover arcane potential within the child. If found, the child would be brought to a Hijutsuno, or House of the Arcane, who would take the child in return for financial compensation and the promise of a good raising for their child. The mage would then be raised in this house until they were deemed adequite for their specific task. These were assigned depending on need but also on the compentency of the child. More importantly, the child would somewhere in their teens make the dicision what type of mage their wanted to be. Historically there were many types, yet these days they are split up in two groups; the Divinators and Incantators.- The Divinators all hold functions within the temples, focusing themseles on the balance between the natural, othernatural and unnatural worlds. These mages are often considered as spiritual fathers by their respective communities and hold a lot of influence with both rulers and people alike, more so than the Incantators. Uniquely, very experienced monks may also attain this status even if they have no control over the arcane.
- These Incantators bother themselves more with material matters, although these still vary greatly in exact subject, ranging from constructing artifacts, researching and documeting.
Kenmochi - The Sword-bearers
Warriors have a long history of exerting influence on where possible, on Saiko that is no different. Yet where other realms would soon fall under the weight of the sword to warrior-kings, the warrior class on Saiko for the most part always had more important things than internal grabs for power, be their conquests on the mainand or fighting internal wars on behalf of their Aichō. The warrior class, the Kenmochi, literally meaning ''sword-bearer'', still hold much power nevertheless, with them often holding family estates in name of their lord for many generations. The Bushi are however seldom as loyal to that lord as they would like people to believe, as frequently they have switched sides to fight for a rival, or even outright depose an Aichō in favour of another nobleman. Still, they are regarded as the most protected class on Saiko, with many laws being in place to protect their power, such as the allowance of importing and using foreign arms and armour, as well as the ban on the carry of bladed- and foreign weapons by non Kenmochi.Shokunin - The Artisans
Skilled craftsmen are the very heart of any nation, maybe even more so on Saiko. With the Heptarchy banning most foreign goods to enter the country out of fear of ''corupting the hearts of the people'', it has befallen on the people themselves to procure nearly everything in life. It has led to Saiko having a unique way of doing things in this regard, with anything from architecture, blacksmithing, fashion but also art and music having evolved in a way unique to Saiko. The Shokunin, the artisans, are a fully fledged class that tend to pass these crafts hiarchically, with children of both sexes often taking over the craft from their parents. A culture of quality over quantity has persisted with the Shokunin, since they often exel in what they do, making their products often valuable and attractive for those of the higher classes.Nōmin - The Peasantry
The vast majority of the realm however, does not have the parentage to find themselves in the well off classes and live lives as a Nōmin, or peasant. These are people of all types of trade, although often focusing not on quality like the Shokunin, but on low pricepoints for the masses. Also farming, mining and fishing are major trades among the peasantry. Although they technically hold the same amount of rights as the artisans, in practice they are less protected in the courts, which is mostly due to the artisans holding more wealth to pay off higher fines, as well as them being considered as more vital to society than the peasantry.Gaijin - The Foreigners
Saiko has a long standing ban on immigration, as the last foreign groups entered the lands somewhere in the 10th century AZ. Ever since then, the term foreigner would less imply a foreign visitor or immigrant, but specifically a slave, even if they were indiginous of Saiko. The foreigner class mostly consist of unskilled labourers who forfill a variety of tasks depending on their station. The majority are used as farmers, yet some, especially those on the mainland, have tasks within outlands from anything from castle servants to guards. They are also frequently used as hunter-armies to pacify the wild mainlands of any monsters that trouble the region, a task that often costs many of these slaves their lives.Religion
Just like in most nations, religion forms a central and unifying part of the local culture. Saiko's relgion, Sūhai Chōsume, has over time grown out to be a highly syncretic belief system. Unlike the general course of religions, although it has over time unified into a more organised faith, it has lost many of it's doctrine, becoming more locally distinct instead. For more Information on Sūhai Chōsume, read it's full article.
The Grand Seal of the Treaty Council.
1954 AoC -
Ἱαμι Νο Νοχι Νο Ἱκαρι
Light After Darkness
Founding Date
1954 AoC
Type
Political, Confederation
Capital
Alternative Names
Saikokokka, the Heptarchy, the Slave States (latter one used as a derogative)
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Saikoan
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Traditional
Official State Religion
Subsidiary Organizations
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Yari & Yumi, military customs and equipment.
The martial culture of the Saikoan Isles is, if nothing else, characterized by military syncretism and the adaption to new developments. Since the Saikoan people have always been a cultural hotpot of peoples, their martial culture has always reflected that, with the Saikoans taking the best aspects of available tactics, merging them into one.First becoming popular with the elves, the yari and ōtyon, or spear and shield, have ever since their introduction remained the most popular of the weapons up until horses, which do are not native to the isles, were introduced by foreign traders in the 2nd Era. They still remain the most popular weapon combination among the lower warrior class and even among peasants, although the more wealthy members of the warrior class have since preferred to ride into war on horses, bearing the famous yumi warbows.
While the yari has long been the most popular option on the battlefield, in the monasteries the Sōhei warrior monks adapted the form, inspired by the long falx swords of the Giants, to create the Nagamaki and later, the Naginata. These powerful polearms are used with much mastery by the monks to this day, besides the whole other scala of weapons off course.
Yet while polearms dominate the melee on the battlefield, the weapons proved cumbersome to carry around for daily use. This is why in day-to-day life, warriors tend to wield swords, with the Tachi, a one-and-a-half sword proving most popular. Often decorated, they have become status symbols for the warrior class.
Since bladed weapons are banned for non-warriors, the other classes bear other weapons in daily life. The nobility seldom bear weapons with actual use in mind, yet do still carry the Jitte, a decorated iron rod with a sideprong, as a ceremonial scepter, as well as a weapon of last resort.
The peasantry, although unarmed on paper, have found their own ways to fend off foes over the years. With the ever popular bamboo spear never wavering in it's popularity, they also have found less improvised tools of war. Triangular tipped spears, clubs, hammers and flails all are used by the peasant militia, the so-called Ashigaru, even blunt versions of noble weapons are used, with the blunt Tachi; the Konbōdachi, literally "club sword", often being decorated and worn as status symbols in the same manner as the real Tachi with the warriors.
Saikoans of the Kenmochi class, showcasing their equipment. 1st century PB.
Comments