Askara
History
Askara's origins trace back to the Bloom Age, when its tribes lived in harmony with a land shaped by deities tied to natural landmarks. These deities, while largely neutral, became central to tribal identities. The Charan Mountains house Jarah, the neutral city dedicated to Chaturmukha, the Four-Faced god.
During the Blood Age, Vashin the Great altered this way of life when he unified the disparate northern tribes and led a southern conquest, founding the Ekarajyan Empire. For centuries, the Askaran dynasties ruled this empire from the southern capital of Bakarsha, while Charan (Jarah) remained their cultural center. The empire eventually entered a long decline, culminating in the Great Collapse around 1,900 BdA. In the War of the Hundred Kings that followed, Askaran warlords and petty kings fought to defend their ancestral lands from both each other and the empire's warring successor states. Not long thereafter, many of these states became subjects of the Marcian Empire before they once again won their independence.
The Blight Age has been shaped by the consequences of that collapse. The rise of the Kingdom of Bethune as the primary successor to the Ekarajyan Empire created a persistent threat to the south. Over centuries, fractious Askaran Khandas have adapted guerrilla tactics to counter Bethune's increasingly organized military campaigns. The introduction of firearms by Ibunese traders further shifted the balance of power, with some Ranakas adopting this new technology out of necessity.
Today, Askara remains a fractured collection of rival states. Centuries of war with Bethune, which sees the remnants of Ekarajyan as provinces of the old empire that need to be brought back into the fold. Debates over technology and industrialization continue to divide the Ranakas, while the loss of deities in contested regions acts as an open wound and a reminder of the struggle to preserve the Askaran identity.
Government
Askara's confederation is a reluctant military alliance of sovereign Khandas, the successor states of the fallen Ekarajyan Empire. Formed out of necessity to coordinate a defense against Bethune, the confederation's authority is severely limited. All powers not explicitly granted to the council in Jarah are retained by the individual Ranakas, whose historical rivalries and fierce independence constantly undermine any lasting unity.
The confederation is governed by a council of the Ranakas who gather in the neutral city of Jarah. There, they address disputes, trade, and survival under the procedural framework of the Four Faces of Justice: Amends, Order, Allotment, and Change. These principles provide a framework for mediation, though interpretations vary, often leading to disagreements.
The High Rishi, chosen from the most senior of the Rishis, serves as the council's arbiter. The High Rishi's rulings carry great weight. However, they are politically unenforceable. A Ranaka who defies a ruling risks enforcement by other Ranakas, making unity and solidarity fragile at best. Skirmishes often erupt despite efforts to maintain peace.
Interesting Facts
-
Askaran weavers are renowned for their intricate textiles, often dyed with rare natural pigments. The secrets of these dyes are closely-guarded and passed down through generations. These goods are highly valued by foreign traders along the Long Deep, forming a cornerstone of the coastal Khandas' economy and providing a rare source of external wealth for the fractured nation.
-
Across Askara, the ruins of the old empire are treated as open quarries. Imperial fortresses are stripped for their stone to build village walls, and paved roads are torn up for their flagstones. This constant, decentralized dismantling of their own history is necessary for the small, struggling Khandas, who lack the resources to quarry new stone on a large scale.
-
Jarah's status as a neutral ground is maintained by a simple, practical law: no Ranaka may enter the city with more than ten armed retainers. This rule is brutally enforced by the Achal Khanda. This limitation makes large-scale violence impossible and forces the Ranakas to resolve their disputes through negotiation, bribery, and political maneuvering, rather than open threats of force.
Current Challenges
-
Bethunian War. The southern border is a lawless marchland where Askaran Ranakas and Bethunian lords prosecute their own private wars of vengeance and land acquisition. The conflict is defined by cattle raids, burned villages, and skirmishes over fortified watchtowers. The Tvarash Khanda exists in a state of perpetual, localized warfare, a reality that breeds deep resentment as the interior Khandas refuse to commit their own soldiers to these endless, personal squabbles.
-
Firearm Division. The firearms scavenged by the Tvarash have created schism within the confederation. At the council in Jarah, the debate is tactical. The Ranaka of the Tvarash presents accounts of how a handful of his riflemen have broken Bethunian cavalry charges, arguing the weapon's effectiveness outweighs its notorious unreliability. The Achal and other traditionalists counter with reports of weapon misfires and the breakdown of discipline among warriors who rely on what they see as a low-born, dishonorable foreign technology. This deadlock over battlefield realities paralyzes any attempt at a unified military strategy.
-
Slavers. Askara's southeastern coast is dotted with small port towns, many controlled by The Navtog and Navrow. These towns facilitate trade in furs, pottery, and woven goods but are also frequent targets for slavers seeking Askaran captives. These Khandas are effectively fighting a private, undeclared war, their small fleets constantly engaged in defending the port cities while the interior Khandas refuse to intervene, treating the state-sanctioned piracy as a distant maritime issue that is cheaper to ignore than to confront.
Khanda of Askara
The states of Askara are the fractured remnants of the Ekarajyan Empire, each a petty kingdom carved from the wreckage of the War of the Hundred Kings before being broken again by the Marcian conquest. What follows are examples of the dozens of such Khandas that cling to existence, bound by a contentious and fragile alliance against the Bethunian threat to the south. While fiercely independent and shaped by their unique histories, they share a common history and a deep-seated pride in their lost imperial legacy.
Achal Khanda
The Achal Khanda's central fortification is the Vajra Matha, a fortified monastery within Jarah. The monastery is dedicated to Chaturmukha, whom they seek to protect. Life within the Khanda is governed by a strict regimen of daily prayer and hard work, whether agricultural or martial, which the Ranaka requires of all subjects. Their warriors patrol the mountain passes and forbid outsiders from approaching the monastery's inner sanctums. At the council in Jarah, the Ranaka of the Achal is known for opposing any policy or new technology that deviates from the oldest imperial traditions.
Samitra Khanda
The Samitra are a nomadic people whose migratory routes across the northern tundras have been severed by the deadzones. Now confined to a barren, over-hunted territory, the clan faces a slow starvation. The Ranaka has begun leading raiding parties south, attacking other Khandas' supply lines and hunting grounds to acquire food. These actions have made the Samitra outcasts at the council in Jarah, where their desperate raids are viewed as acts of banditry.
Shalvarin Khanda
The Shalvarin Khanda is a coastal state centered on the port of Pattana, a city built upon the sinking ruins of an Ekarajyan imperial city that was later occupied by the Marcians for centuries. This history of foreign rule has left the Shalvarin fiercely independent and deeply suspicious of all outsiders. Their economy is based on fishing and maritime trade, but every fishing vessel is built to be easily converted for war, and every dockworker is expected to serve in the city's militia. The port itself is a fortress of crumbling Ekarajyan foundations reinforced with Marcian-style sea walls, and now cobbled together to repel Navrow and Navtog slavers.
Tvarash Khanda
The Tvarash Khanda is centered around Kila Zanjeer, a ruined imperial fortress that guards a narrow valley on the Bethunian border. Generations of unending warfare have shaped every aspect of their society; cultural traditions have been replaced by military necessity, and all citizens are expected to serve in the valley's defense. The Tvarash militia is primarily armed with firearms scavenged from Bethunian dead, their weapons often repaired with hand-forged components that make them notoriously unreliable. At the council in Jarah, the Ranaka of the Tvarash is a constant voice for preemptive strikes against Bethune, a hawkish stance that puts him at odds with the Ranakas of the interior.
Virashta Khanda
The Virashta Khanda controls a small, fertile territory along a treacherous fifty-mile stretch of the Ashmavati River. While their economy is primarily agricultural, their influence and prosperity are supplemented by their river trade. Virashta pilots, utilizing specialized shallow-draft barges, have mastered the dangerous rapids that make passage difficult for outsiders. Though other traders can attempt the journey, they face significant risk of losing their cargo to the hazardous waters and must often contend with Virashta river patrols demanding "protection" tolls. Consequently, most merchants find it more reliable to pay the Virashta's high fees for transport, making the small state an influential and widely resented player in the region's commerce.