Nhoplan

[nephero]

Nhoplan

The Dark Jeweled Queendom

[map here]

Protected from Gushui's stormwinds in the east by tall, jagged mountains, the Nhoplani live a blessed life. Their mountain home curves in a crescent, providing their bay with ample protection from invasion. To the west of the bay is a large island city, crowned with a temple palace in the center that glitters with ever-shifting colors in the light.

Government: Matrilineal theocratic monarchy
Official Leadership Title: Holy Dynast (name), Daughter of Creation
National colors: Black, Cerulean, Gold
National Flag: Black field, golden woven borders, cerulean dot in the center
Capital: Issyrimati
Demonym: Nhoplani
Pronunciation: NOPE-lahn, Nope-LAH-knee
Location: Southwestern Panzhong

[flag here]

Table of Contents

• Geography, History and Culture
• Magic and Religion
• Politics, Law and International Relations
• Technology, Language and Economics
• Race
• Gender and Sexuality
• Available Ranks

[nephero]

GEOGRAPHY

Inhospitable mountain ranges of black, glassy stone surrounding a bay rich in fish and other aquatic organisms. Ornately carved bridges connect the island from the mainland, leading to stone-carved steps into the underbelly of the mountains themselves.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Beauty and aesthetics are considered a deeply religious act. While the Holy Dynast is considered the most directly related to Issyri, all Nhoplani believe that they are of divine blood. As children of the creator, they take their personal appearance very seriously, seeing it as a fragment of the divine. Permanent scarring or alteration is looked down upon, while elaborate jewelry and body paints and makeup are seen as devotional acts to their bodily temples. Even warriors are expected to keep themselves as pristine as possible, though many still wear their battle scars with pride as proving just how strong the goddess' children are.

Clothing is done in wrapping, ornately woven fabrics, often trimmed with gold or embroidered with small gemstones.

A culture of philosophers and theologians, many Nhoplani lead scholarly lives, contemplating their noble history and place in the grand scheme of the cosmos. Assuming that they are in good standing with the divine pantheon, each Nhoplani can expect to lead comfortable lives in their homes carved under the mountain itself. These homes are also heavily decorated with golds and silver trinkets, as well as numerous sheer hanging fabrics dyed in vibrant colors. Art and music are held in very high regard, being small acts of creation themselves, and the most talented artists are often showered in jewels and riches from their noble patrons.

All this luxury and abundance, however, is created off the labors of slaves, who are kept in constant fear and need to keep them from rising up like many did hundreds of years ago.

[nephero]

MAGIC

The Nhoplani believe that magic is a divine act. Mages in Nhoplani do not call upon magical forces and bend the arcane to their personal will - rather, mages perform miracles granted by their patron or matron deities. These spells must be prayed for, and are only granted to mages in good standing with their personal deities. The mage must be accepted entirely by their matron or patron deity, as faltering in that relationship quickly robs them of any magical powers.

The powers granted by a deity can be intensely powerful, depending on that deity's dominion, but it is limited to only that dominion. A god of fire, then, cannot grant his mage the ability to conjure water out of thin air.

RELIGION

Heavily polytheistic, the Nhoplani possess many different deities presiding over different natural or metaphysical aspects. At the head of the pantheon is the creator goddess Issyri, who is said to be responsible for constructing all living things. Non-Nhoplani peoples are, in this respect, simply the creations of Issyri - like living statues, they are not "real" people the way that the Nhoplani are, who are said to be Issyri's own biological children.

[nephero]

GOVERNANCE

In Nhoplan, the word of their goddess is law. As direct descendents from the creator goddess Issyri, the royal family is given full control over their queendom, with the firstborn female being named the heir. She is, of course, advised by many different officials, high ranking priests of the 'lesser' deities, and her elder female relations. The Holy Dynast is given incomparable power over life and death in her lands, which is often matched by the divine magics she is able to conjure at will with Issyri's blessing.

While this affords the Holy Dynast unlimited power, it is not without a catch. As her magics are granted through her relationship with Issyri, she has the intense responsibility of making regular offerings to the goddess to keep her favor. If the Holy Dynast fails in this task, she is very quickly robbed of her magic abilities, and may be usurped by a younger, more pious sister.

LAW

Laws are indistinguishable from the laws present in their religion, as infractions against the pantheon are considered to be infractions upon the Nhoplani themselves. As such, a disgraced devotee is held with heavy suspicion and extreme hostility.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Rulastinia: Enemy, former slave population, considers them still under Nhoplani rule
Shijie Empire: Enemy, often spoken about as thieves
Thanatos: Former slave population, considers them still under Nhoplani rule

[nephero]

RESOURCES

Several peaks in the mountain ranges show volcanic activity, and the lava flow from past eruptions is responsible for vibrant plant growth at the base of the mountain range. Plenty of fruits, vegetables and other plant materials are available due to fertile farming conditions, which also attracts several animal species for hunting. The mountains themselves are also full of rich mineral ores and gemstones, with long stretching mines pulling up enough gold to allow for the baubles and artworks in high demand.

A particular native plant is a cerulean flower with golden leaves, which is considered sacred and only permissible for the royal family to own or make use of.

TECHNOLOGY

Inventors in Nhoplan have ample time and resources to consider their creations, and as such, Nhoplan is filled with various artifacts, many of which are enchanted to perform a task that might otherwise not be possible. Education (in the right way) is highly encouraged, and so Nhoplan is a powerhouse of knowledge, with entire libraries devoted to the movements of the stars, with intricate devices mapping paths of comets in real time.

LANGUAGE

The Nhoplani language is very elaborate, with an overly complex written form. It takes years of study to accurately navigate Nhoplani script, as many words share similar written forms based on context. The slave population is kept almost entirely illiterate, and very few slaves learn more than a few words necessary for their tasks, instead relying on their own personal hieroglyphs to create meaning.

[nephero]

RACE

[concept art here]

The Nhoplani are an enormous people. Their torsos from the hips up are human, with dark umber skin and long, wavy black hair. They possess dark eyes unless blessed by a deity, wherein the iris color changes to reflect that deity's particular patronage for a mage. From the hips down, the Nhoplani are gigantic scorpions, each possessing a thick, black carapace that they are careful to keep clean.

The slaves of Nhoplan are unlike anything present in the entirety of Panzhong. They are odd, standing on only two legs, and much smaller in height than the Nhoplani themselves. Their hair, as if to highlight how strange and unusual they are to Panzhong, is a bright, vibrant red. These people were stolen from a far away land, brought back to Nhoplan many millenia ago and kept as a slave population. Several times, these slaves have attempted escape, with a band fleeing back across the sea to eventually found Thanatos and another fleeing inland to become the Rulastinians.

[nephero]

GENDER

Gender in Nhoplani society is considered set in stone, with a higher social value placed upon daughters and women. Women are in charge of the home and the family, as well as holding the most important offices of government and society. The "important" tasks, such as government, priesthood and combat, are considered feminine work and it is expected of daughters to take powerful positions in their local communities, or at least of their own homes.

Male Nhoplani are often the artists of society, given more time to accrue skills and knowledge as they are not expected to take a more active role in their society. Becoming artists or musicians or any type of creator is also seen as a way to become closer to the creator goddess through imitation, and so such work is often heavily encouraged for men.

SEXUALITY

Sexuality in Nhoplan is rather fluid, depending on one's place in society. Powerful women who can afford more than one consort are permitted to do so, as there is no question of lineage for her own children. They are free to romance whoever they wish, as two Nhoplani women can join together to create an even more powerful household while keeping several consorts to ensure the continuation of their lines.

Men are similarly able to romance whoever they wish, though it is very difficult for them to create a household of their own, instead relying on the patronage of a house to live comfortably. They often do not get to choose whose household they become a part of, instead relying on their mothers to set them up with good matches that will adequately care for them in exchange for providing daughters.

The Thanati slaves are heavily encouraged into opposite-sex pairings, with slave-owners arranging marriages that they believe will be beneficial to them.

[nephero]

AVAILABLE RANKS

Holy Dynast, Daughter of Creation: [1 available]
Royal Consort: [Unlimited]
Crown Princess: [1 available]
Royal Children: [Unlimited]
High Priestess: [1 available]
Temple Priestesses: [Unlimited]