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| − | {{Country
| + | Being revamped! |
| − | |capital=
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| − | |ethnicity=
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| − | |demonym= Thanati
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| − | |colors= Red and gold
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| − | |emblem= Serpent
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| − | |government= Monarchic theocracy
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| − | }}
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| − | =Overview=
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| − | The kingdom of Thanatos is made up mostly of one large island with a few smaller ones surrounding it. The smaller islands are generally kept for the Necromancers and their research, though there are a few small villages that have appeared around them. The land was rather rich and fertile when the first necromancers arrived, but with all the death magic practiced there it has taken its toll on the land. It is by no means barren, but the farmers have to work to get crops to grow and it is quite expensive to raise the larger livestock. Animals other then pigs and fowl are rare to see, owned only by the wealthy. Horses are also quite rare on the island and few can afford their care.
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| − | Despite their small size, Thanatos has managed to avoid being over taken by the larger nations mostly by doing their best to stay on good terms with them and by being far more trouble then they are worth. They wield a lot of power that few outside of their kingdom really understand, which leads to a lot of fear and superstition about what they are really capable of. And even if and when a larger nation crushed them, the land they would gain would hardly outweigh the money and men lost to take them.
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| − | Common is still spoken through out most of the island, but over time they have developed their own language. It is tonal, the sounds effecting the meaning of the word. It can be hard for people to pick up the language and most natives have a heavy accent when speaking common.
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| − | They trade heavily with other nations, exporting luxury items such as their cloths, rich dyes and many spices and bring in a large verity of good they can’t make or grow on the island. Much of their grain supply comes from the mainland.
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| − | '''1. Kingdom colors'''
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| − | Red and Gold
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| − | '''2. Animal'''
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| − | Snake
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| − | '''3. Flag'''
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| − | A dark red flag with a gold uroboros in the center
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| − | =Culture and Society=
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| − | '''1. Society'''
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| − | Thanatos is not that different from most of the other countries. They tend to be a little distrustful of outsiders at first, having not forgotten the reason they first fled to the islands. But the Necromancers love knowledge and welcome people of learning. The chance to study new creatures is always exciting and when magical beings arrive on the island, it is not unheard of for them to go missing.
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| − | They are dedicated to learning and even scholars with no magical aptitude can still rise far in society. While there is little effort to educate the poor, there are several schools for those that can afford them. Anyone with magical powers can apply and the church will pay for their education in exchange for them joining the church when they graduate.
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| − | There is almost no middle class in Thanatos. Most of the people are poor farmers or craftsmen. Though there are few in abject poverty. Most can make enough to live decent lives. There is no nobility as the kingdom lacks a monarch. But those who have managed to make money, mostly through trading or have risen in rank through the church fill out the upper class.
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| − | Zombies are not an uncommon sight on the islands at all. They have replaced slaves, doing much of the simple, manual labor. As zombies lack fine motor function they can’t be used for everything but they are a handy work force that has almost no upkeep cost. They are expensive, so most small towns will only have one or two, owned by the richer families. Owning a zombie is a sign of wealth and prosperity.
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| − | Healing magic is rare on Thanatos. Almost no one with magical or psychic healing is born there and few are willing to move from the mainland to settle there. Because of that, they have developed advanced medical skills. It helps that they have no problem cutting up human bodies to see how they work.
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| − | '''2. Race'''
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| − | The people tend to have darker skin, ranging from a pale caramel color to a dusky bronze color. Their hair is mostly light in color, blonds being the most common by far. Because there isn’t much verity in the food choices there, the people tend to be slightly malnourished in general, leading to shorter heights. The males tend to range from between 5’ to 5’6” and females between 4’10” to 5’3”.
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| − | '''3. Style'''
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| − | White hair is currently one of the big fashion trends on the island and many people use cosmetics or magic to try and get that effect. Clothing tends to favor bright colors and patterns. As dye is expensive, most commoners settle for patterns and colors in smaller amounts, trims or sashes are common ways of getting color into their clothes.. Head scarves are also popular and few people are seen without them.
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| − | There aren’t many animals to use, so leather, fur, wool, etc. are rather uncommon in clothing. They use mostly plant fibers to make their clothes. Silk is a bit more common, but still rare. They do have amazing plant dyes, making beautiful rich colors and have developed the ability to produce some complex and beautiful patterns.
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| − | As flesh is in no way scared to them, piercing, tattoos and scarification are popular and considered very attractive. Some are more extreme then others, but even small children tend to have some sort of body modification. Clothing is often rather revealing by most countries standards, to better show off their body art. Flesh sculpting is not unheard of among those that can afford it, making them stand out in a crowd.
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| − | Being a bit on the husky, stocky side of things is considered quite attractive, as only the rich can afford to keep the extra weight on and it emulates their Goddess. | + | |
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| − | '''4. Gender'''
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| − | The genders are mostly equal on Thanatos, though there is a definite bias toward woman. They tend to find it easier to move through the ranks in the church and most of the leaders are female. Men can do anything females can, but they tend to have to work harder at it to prove themselves.
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| − | '''5. Sexuality'''
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| − | Homosexuality is considered to be quite disgusting and in parts of Thanatos, people have been beaten or killed when discovered to be practicing it. In the larger cities, it is easier to get away with, but is still frowned on. Sex is a way to create life and wasting it is an affront to the Goddess. Any form of birth control is forbidden as well. However, that has never stopped people from looking for loopholes.
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| − | =Religion=
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| − | There is only one religion worshiped by the people of Thanatos. They are tolerant of the fact that other people do not follow their teachings, but they don’t really approve of it being worshiped on their island. They worship a female deity, called Inima. She is primarily a Goddess of rebirth and fertility. There is no real death to the people of Thanatos. The body is only a fleshy husk, made up of various elements. Any alchemist could break it down to its base components. They care about the soul, the part that makes up the personality of the person.
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| − | Because of this, they don’t have the same respect for the body most people have. They see it as a nothing more then a temporary home for the soul. Raising undead is fine with them because it is just borrowing that flesh for a bit longer. But things that harm or destroy the soul are anathema to them. They find that utterly abhorrent and it is punishable by death on the islands.
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| − | The island is ruled by the church. The religion is very much built into their everyday lives. No work is done on holy days, church is attended regularly. While people may have different levels of faith, everyone at least goes through the motions. It is expected and looked down on when people don’t give at least lip service.
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| − | Within the church, knowledge is held in high regard. Even the lowest priests spend years in school. Those that aren’t sent out to the various villages and parishes spend their lives in the schools or churches, making books and compiling what they have learned. The larger churches possess massive libraries, rivaling or surpassing those of the larger kingdoms. While many of the books are available for people to see, they are fond of their secrets and have large collections that no one outside the upper ranks of the church are allowed to see.
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| − | '''1. Necromancy'''
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| − | Despite what most outsiders think, Necromancy is a complex art and can be broken down into several different schools. Most practitioners have abilities that overlap with other schools, but tend to specialize in one of the schools. Not all Necromancers fall into these schools and someone developing a new ability is not unheard of. However these tend to be the most common.
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| − | '''2. Raisers'''
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| − | These necromancers specialize in the raising of undead such as zombies and ghouls, the creation of shades and remnants. They make the dead walk again and are always looking for new creatures they can raise. Mindless golems made from bodies make up part of Thanatos’ military force, created by the Raisers.
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| − | '''3. Flesh Sculptors'''
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| − | As their name implies, these Necromancers have learned to melt and mold skin and muscle like clay. They can rearrange features and bone. Adding parts from other creatures is a common practice.
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| − | '''4. Soul Speakers'''
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| − | Mediums. These Necromancers have an affinity for ghosts and spirits. They can summon and communicate with the dead.
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| − | '''5. Entropymancers'''
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| − | Masters of the forces of decay and entropy. They can rot things with a touch and have the ability to affect luck, which is just the decay of probability.
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| − | '''6. Bonemancers'''
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| − | Similar to Flesh Sculptors, but bonemancers have learned to manipulate bones. More than any of the other Necromancers, these are most geared toward combat. They can turn their bones into armor or weapons, the magic able to make the bones much stronger then normal. As they have to pull the bones out of their skin, it takes someone with a high pain resistance to master this art.
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| − | =Government and Ranks=
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| − | The church rules the island, so there isn’t the traditional nobility that one sees in the superpowers of the world. But inside the church, it works much the same way.
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| − | '''1. Mat-joo-Raat'''
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| − | The leader of Thanatos. They are elected by the Teo Jaaos when the current Mat-joo-Raat has died or retired. They function much the same way a King or Queen does, having absolute authority.
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| − | '''2. Tep Jaao'''
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| − | Second in power only to the Mat-joo-Raat, they help rule the islands. Can’t directly veto the Mat-joo-Raat, but they can influence their choices, having quite a bit of political power. Can remove a Mat-joo-Raat, but it has only ever been invoked once in the history of Thanatos, when the leader descended into madness and tried to declare war on Serendipity.
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| − | '''3. Moo-ni'''
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| − | Holy men who spend their time cloistered in the temples, they are in charge of collecting and caring for the holy libraries. They also record history and record many of the islands findings in books. They are an odd rank, with no real power but are highly respected.
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| − | '''4. Tam-ma-baan'''
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| − | These are the people in charge of enforcing the religious laws, protectors of the faith. They are the highest rank one can achieve in the military. They answer directly to the Mat-joo-Raat and can even arrest the Tep jaao. All Tam-ma-baan have some sort of special ability, generally Necromancy but not always.
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| − | =Laws=
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| − | There are two bodies of law enforcement in Thanatos. There is one for the civil laws and another for the theoretical laws. For the most part, Thanatos has pretty standard laws, following in line with most of the rest of the world. But it does differ in a few places. One large one is that while murder is illegal, it is not considered as big of a crime as it is in other places. For most people, that is seen as the ultimate crime and is generally punished by death. However, because of the people of Thantos’ rather unique views about death, murder isn’t generally as harshly punished. They are generally only put to death.
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| − | The biggest crime that can be committed on the island is to destroy a soul. That is considered the worst act imaginable, to take someone out of the cycle like that. It is the only crime punished with the destruction of the offenders own soul. Soul sucking or draining is considered quite vile and is punished by being given to the church for experimentation, often ending up on a necromancer’s table.
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| − | Homosexuality is not technically forbidden by the church, but it his frowned upon and in the more rural areas is often treated like a crime. Using any form of birth control is absolutely forbidden and punished by time in jail.
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| − | =History=
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| − | Thanatos is one of the youngest powers in Le’ranna, formed when a there was a large scale witch hunt against Necromancers. Their strange, dark arts, association with death and a rather vocal and dangerous minority led them to be hunted out of all the other nations. Gathering together, Necromancers, their families and those just accused of it fled the main continent to a large island, settling down and forming the beginnings of Thanatos.
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| − | [[Category:Countries]][[Category:Thanatos]]
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