Rulastinia

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RULASTINIA
The Howling Marshes

To the north of Nhoplan and west of Songtu lies a marshland cut by numerous rivers and streams. The land is primarily flat with an open view of the dim, dusky sky, though the terrain becomes more mountainous the further north one travels. In Rulastinia, the simplest means of transportation is by boat, with several “river roads” leading from one prefecture into another right up to the main city gates. With a constant flow of water both from freshwater lakes and the ocean to the west, and caught at the edge of the considerable Gushui winds, Rulastinia is not an easy place to keep dry… or alive.

Government: Monarchy
Official Leadership Title: King/Queen
National Colors: Black, green and silver
National Flag: A black field, with eleven green reeds under a silver crescent moon
Capital: Tsubai
Demonym: Rulastinian for nationality, Anathanati for ethnicity
Pronunciation: ROO-lah-stih-nyah
Location: Southwestern Panzhong

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

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GEOGRAPHY

Rulastinia is a cold, gloomy place. Dominated by marshlands and chilled by the winds channeled in from the ocean, it's a rare day indeed that the sun shines bright enough to cut through rolling fogs and mists. With the jagged black mountains of Nhoplan to the south, and forbidding mountains to the north, there's very few places for the Rulastinians to go. Thus, they have learned to accept their fate, and fight tooth and nail to survive every day.

Houses in Rulastinia tend to be on raised stilts to keep it above the waterline, with sturdy, wrap around porches and walkways that connect the buildings to one another in a large network of bridges. Boats and ferries are common modes of transportation, and often the only way to get in and out of a settlement without wading through hip-deep bogs. While dangerous predators might be lingering in the murky waters below, far nastier creatures hunt from the skies, and as such rooftops are angled in such a way as to make landing or moving across them very difficult to manage in a stealthy manner. Many rooftops have a single tower in the center, meant to be a watchpoint where guards armed with specially crafted arrows might fight off the horrors of the night.

HISTORY

A long time ago the ancient Thanati were kidnapped by the Nhoplani as slaves and brought back to the Panzhong continent. Eventually, these slaves escaped, and either fled back to Le'raana to become the current day Thanati, or fled inland to mix with the Songtu and become the Anathanati.

SOCIAL STATUS

While there are such thing as social classes in Rulastinian society, such as the nobility, a lot of what really decides a person's status is how they conduct themselves. A good and "pure" peasant would be in many ways higher in status than a wealthy merchant, by the quality of their deeds and intentions. Effort, nobility in action, and a willingness to sacrifice for the greater good will always be valued more highly than money by itself. However, some might argue that value isn't the same thing as power, and navigating the difference between the two can be a mire in and of itself.

CLOTHING AND STYLE

Rulastinian fashion is all about artful layers. Because of the cold weather, it's common for someone to wear several robes overtop one another, with the brightest, thinnest fabrics on the bottom, and followed by much thicker, darker and neutral tones overtop. The outer robes typically have ornate embroidery around the full, sweeping sleeves, which are lined with pockets to place personal belongings or to keep hands warm. These robes tend to be short, ending just above the knee, and bound about the waist with a wide (almost corset-like) belt.

Skirts are unheard of— between the winds and the marshes, they're just too impractical to wear. As such, all genders wear pants overtop thick tights, which are then tucked into high thick boots. Most shoes of any sort are made to be as resistant to water as possible, and there's a considerable market for special oils that will keep the damp out.

Hairstyles vary on an individual basis. Some prefer close-cropped hair, especially militiamen, but a good amount of people prefer longer hair that they can style into buns or other updos. Rulastinians don't tend to use much hair product, as the weather renders any attempt moot, but they make up for this with ornate hair pins made from metal or lacquered wood.

Makeup is considered unisex in general. Bright colored eyeliner is common, though as a rule reds tend to be avoided at all cost. Otherwise, makeup could be as simple as stained lips, or as ornate as a full faceup. It all depends on what someone can afford, or their particular means of employment.

FOOD

Heavily fish-based, with some reptiles and waterfowl, Rulastinian cuisine is almost exclusively served warm, with stews and soups being a common staple. Frog legs are a typical 'street food', fried up at small stands and eaten off of skewers.

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PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

Philosophy in Rulastinia isn't a matter of asking questions, but rather debating statements as a battle of wills. Rather than drawing upon abstract concepts, Rulastinians favor concrete historical evidence to back up their claims as to "how things should be". This can lead to some fairly heated arguments, as the same historical evidence might be used to argue opposite viewpoints, which then leads to a debate on how the evidence is being understood.
   
Religion is similar, insofar as there's no question about how the world formed or what purpose there is to be served in living. Rather, there's the idea that Good and Evil surely exist, spirits are everywhere, and the reward for surviving a harsh life in the marshes is a painless, everlasting Afterlife. While there's no set dogma outside of avoiding contact with evil spirits and living life honorably and well, Rulastinia is a land of endless superstitions. There's a million and one ways to gain bad luck or spiritual impurity, and a million and one ways to break it again and cleanse oneself of said impurities.

A few examples of superstitions:

• Never tell a fisherman "good luck", as that will surely mean his boat will sink.
• A painting falling from where it hangs means a close relation will die soon.
• Once you leave your home, don't look back at your front door, or else everything that day will go wrong.
• Whistling at night will attract thieves.
• Writing someone's name in red ink is to invite their death.
• To break a curse, wrap a glass in a scarf and have the cursed person stamp on it.
• A cat in a shop brings in money and good fortune.
• Seeing a spider in the morning is good luck, and so it should never be killed. Seeing a spider in the evening is bad luck, so to kill it is to combat the bad luck.

MONSTERS

Monsters are everywhere in Rulastinia. Evil spirits, possessed objects, cursed lands, and other beings of demonic origin exist where corruption runs rampant, and these creatures may take many forms. Only the Hunters possess encyclopedic knowledge of these creatures, possessing entire libraries of bestiaries devoted to identifying and combating these threats to the survival of the Anathanati people.

THE SUTURIGOI

The official name for the worst of these creatures is the suturigoi, but very few outside of the Hunters use this name. They're referred to vaguely in conversation, as if naming them directly will draw the beasts near. As such, the Rulastinians use "fishing" allegories, since the term (tsurigoi) in their language sounds similar to "suturigoi". A Rulastinian might comment about sharp hooks, or leather nets. Anything that can avoid saying what they exactly are, it's usually understood through context and gesturing at the sky or one's throat.

The suturigoi are monstrous, malformed bats with some humanoid characteristics. They are incapable of speech, and don't seem to have much in the way of sapience, behaving as wild animals do except for a penchant for cruelty.

They stand at an approximate six feet tall, though this measurement is difficult to confirm as they are almost always hunched over in some fashion. Their lower torso looks humanoid, though their feet are elongated and tipped with vicious, razor sharp claws. These claws are highly dangerous, as even a scratch can lead to a deadly infection thanks to layers of filth and grime. Waiting too long to treat a wound may lead to gangrene and summary amputation.

The suturigoi are notoriously difficult to kill. Simple steel does nothing but mildly inconvenience them, and with the low light present in the marshlands, even the dawn provides very little relief. Thus the Hunters utilize special silver weapons, and train their militias to aim their silver arrows for the heart, or their swords for decapitating strikes.

However, this is not what the Rulastinians fear the most. What truly makes these beasts monsters is their thirst for blood. If one manages to capture a victim, they will fly to a high perch and drain them of every last drop of blood. This not only kills the Rulastinian, but it also destroys the person's soul, and so they will never be able to reach the afterlife.

If a person is taken, and a Hunter is able to destroy the suturigoi before the kill can be completed, the victim is still similarly doomed. Unless they are executed immediately, the victim will begin to fade, their blood turning to sludge and pieces of them turning to ash and crumbling away. The victim is then trapped in a half life, a twisted, malevolent thing that will shamble aimlessly, looking for victims to bite and replace their lost blood with. This hunger is never sated, and every bite from these thralls turns their victims into even more thralls, resulting in deadly epidemics that can quickly get out of control.

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GOVERNANCE

A sovereign king, though there's no dead-set rule against a queen being in place. It's just harder for a queen to gain sovereignty because of gender dynamics and debates, and for a king or queen to "work out" the people have to mostly believe they will. Political grumblings can be quite damning, especially when the people themselves are the country's "army".

Thus, to help keep the general populace satisfied, the country is divided into prefectures, overseen by a Magistrate. These Magistrates are elected into place by the people themselves and then given royal blessing to make it official. They're more or less in charge of their given prefecture, and the daily goings-on within the populace that lives there. More importantly, they're responsible for the local militias, for keeping them fed and armed, because without them there is no doubt the entire area would soon fall prey to the creatures of the night.

Passing laws on a national basis is difficult as hell. While local laws are all well and good, getting a law to spread to other prefectures often requires vast time spent locked in debate with other Magistrates, and only when five or more Magistrates come together in agreement, can they then approach the King or Queen about making the law official. Meanwhile, opponents of said national law may also debate and argue their side.

MILITARY

While there is no "standing army", each prefecture has a militia who are always prepared to take up arms when the situation calls for it. Joining the militia means that on top of a citizen's normal duties at home, farming or fishing or what have you, they are also required to report for regular training. This incredibly taxing schedule is rewarded by either food or land or prestige, as a reliable militiaman is usually seen as the epitome of honor and moral goodness.

Militiamen are often not heavily armored, if at all, but are typically armed with long, thin curved blades, either as swords or a polearm. These blades are laced with silver on the edges, making them deadly effective against the bat monsters that hunt for prey in the night. Some militiamen who show a prowess for archery are given guard duty in the towers, and silver-tipped arrows to fell the beasts before they have a chance to swoop down for an attack.

The largest militias are found in the southern end of the country, where Rulastinia borders Nhoplan. The two countries hate one another with a deep passion, and skirmishes are common whenever one strays too far over the border into the other.

THE HUNTERS

Overseeing the militia are the Hunters. These are not part-time fighting farmers, but those who are wholeheartedly dedicated to warcraft. A kind of warrior-priesthood, they are responsible for training the militias, for scouting out potential monster nests, for maintaining folkloric knowledge on how to defeat certain monsters while keeping the general populace as ignorant to their presence as possible. Theirs is a lonely existence, for they're sworn to secrecy regarding everything they know, and it's often difficult for them to maintain family ties when they're given missions that take them out into the marshes for weeks at a time and they can't even explain why.

Unlike the militia, the Hunters are always armored, with layers of interwoven lacquered plates set over thick padding. While they can't be too heavy, lest they sink into the marshes, their armor is strongest over their chest, and any of the major arteries, with thick gorgets over their necks. Often, the Hunters will wear fearsome masks over the lower half of their faces, both to ward off bad spirits as well as to potentially intimidate their prey. A Hunter is expected to be proficient in most weapons, though they typically favor a set of swords for close-quarters combat.

LAWS

There are the standard crimes-- theft and murder-- that have their tolls. Depending on severity it might be something as simple as a fine, though if the perpetrator of the crime is incapable of paying their debts, they may be expected to pay in a more symbolic and bloody gesture.

However, there are certain things that are absolutely forbidden, and result in the worst punishments available. Demonology, or trafficking with evil spirits, is an executable offense. Performing such diabolical magics, or even possessing books to do with said magics, often results in a public burning at the stake, so that even the perpetrator's soul is burned away. Investigations and executions of these offenders are all conducted by the local Hunters, to be sure that the threat is real and not just someone pointing fingers at their rivals. False accusations are considered incredibly disgraceful. It is considered only polite that the accuser then offers the accused the right to cut out their tongue. It's entirely up to the accused whether they'll accept.

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EDUCATION

Education in Rulastinia is built on practicality. You learn a thing because you need to learn it, whether it's to do with your trade or because it has some importance in your life. Curiosity is a double-edged sword in Rulastinian culture, as it cannot be completely negated, but it's also not encouraged. Asking "why" is not something that is entertained beyond childhood, and being too inquisitive is often seen as acting childishly. Things work because they work, and it shouldn't matter why, after all.

LANGUAGE

As the Shijie Empire is their closest neighboring country, Rulastinians use Embass as their first language, though some might find their accent atrociously difficult to understand. While Shijie Embass is very tonal, Rulastinian Embass tends to have a flatter sound, with very little variance leading to some very difficult to differentiate homophones. Wordplay and puns are severely common.

There are some who still speak Nhoplani, though not for love of the language, as the two countries are bitter enemies and largely kept separate by razor sharp mountains. An even smaller population has kept their original Anathanati tongue alive, though this is a rapidly dying language and very few alive remember how to speak more than a few words.

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RACE

The Rulastinians are a haunted people— the product of escaped slaves from Nhoplan and the much less terrifying, if no less harsh Shijie-ren, the people of the Howling Valley understand that they have no "true" home, and where they are is the best option they have.

They're small in stature for the most part, averaging about 5'5" for both genders with only the rare individual being much taller. Their skin tends to be pale, though tan hues aren't unheard of, and it's very common for both genders to paint their faces with vivid accenting colors around their eyes or lips.

Their hair is inky black, thick and straight for the most part, though some are born with reddish hues or a slight wave to their hair. While the presence of wavy or curly hair isn't given a second glance, the presence of red is seen as horribly unfortunate. After all, red is the color of blood, and flashing it about can only serve as a beacon for creatures that feed on it. It's not uncommon for red-haired individuals to favor scarves to cover their heads while outdoors. As a rule, their life expectancy is considerably shorter than their dark-haired kin.

Like the Shijie-ren, Rulastinians' eyes are angled, and heavy lidded. Eye color tends to be varying shades of green, and the brighter the hue the more attractive an individual is considered. Other colors are seen as wildly exotic, and perhaps a sign of an unconventional heritage.

Thanks to their mixed heritage of human and Shijie-ren, certain aspects of the Rulastinians' anatomy are altered in a way that makes them not quite one or the other. As Anathanati, and thus not quite human, their hearts and blood are incredibly important to them. While injury to the heart or excessive blood loss would be equally fatal to a human being, such an occurrence for the Anathanati starts a chain reaction, wherein their entire bodies crumble to ash and dust. Even their bones become excessively brittle, and the harsh winds of the Valley soon carry whatever remains away from the point of death. As the Rulastinians consider the blood to be the house of the soul, it is deeply horrifying to witness such a death, as the soul is then considered lost to the winds forever.

Smaller differences are that, while otherwise entirely human in shape, Anathanati possess slightly pointed ears and canines, though they never develop antlers or spots like the Shijie-ren. Body and facial hair tends to be sparse and exceptionally fine, and full beards are so rare as to be considered an impossibility.

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GENDER

Gender is a tricky mire to navigate in Rulastinia. There are those who consider traditional gender roles necessary, and that in order to succeed as a people and survive, they need to be able to produce as many children as possible. Deviating for the sake of the individual, according to these camps, is writing the eventual doom for them all.

On the other side of the argument, however, is an equally vocal reminder that they are descended from slaves, kidnapped from far off lands and rendered without their own agency. To subject themselves to gender roles, even for the purposes of having children, is seen as a deeply insulting concept. To these camps, individuality has been robbed of them for so long, it would be a crime to rob themselves of it too.

The easiest way to spark up a very heated debate at the dinner table is to bring up gender, because there can be divides in opinion even within nuclear family groups.

SEXUALITY

Like gender, sexuality is a bit of a sore spot for a lot of people. It's an exhausting, never-ending debate— and especially tiring and stressful for those whose sexuality, a core of their identity, is up for scrutiny by "traditionalists". Many people lean into this scrutiny, and wear their identities proudly in defiance, but just as often there are those who simply keep to themselves to avoid having to prove their own existence.

There is a tradition of arranged marriages, handed down from the days in Nhoplan where marriage wasn't so much a choice as it was a practicality. Depending on a person's family, and how the betrothed parties themselves feel about it, this can result in either a sense of duty or open resentment, or any other feeling in between. Divorce and extramarital relationships are fairly common, though not considered something to be terribly proud of.

For women, this is a difficult area to navigate. A heterosexual woman in a happy marriage might be given the side eye for not desiring kids, even if she "does everything right" otherwise according to her family's standards. Similarly, a sapphic woman might end up mothering plenty of children, but still may face disapproval from her family for the other facets of her identity.

All this aside, brothels are not only common, but perfectly legal, if confined to specific red light districts within a city. It's illegal to press someone into service to fulfill debts, or any other reason. So the only illegal brothels are ones who employ persons against their will, or as part of a debt forgiveness contract. It's common for someone joining a brothel to be made to swear openly before a third-party witness that they are doing so of their own volition, though it's impossible to prove that this is truly the case 100% of the time. Some criminal organizations spend a good amount of time threatening people into lying, and use fear to keep them silent.

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AVAILABLE RANKS

King: Robuhara Junichiro
Queen: The current monarchy's queen is deceased
Princes/Princesses: Presently only one Princess rank available
Kuge: [unlimited]
Magistrates: [11 ranks available]
Daimyo: [unlimited]
Lord Hunters: [6 ranks available]
Hunters: [unlimited]