Ta-Kanasiti
From World of Kralis
| Regional Information | |
| Population: | 250,000 (75% Tavia, 10% Druas, 5% Terga, 5% Ssaevu, 5% Other) |
|---|---|
| Capital: | Qeturie Nal'Tyl |
| Government: | Monarchy, Ruled by King Lyyr Tylkrilith |
| Major Religions: | Elal, Ammavaru,Saravasiti MorningStar and Gwyn Cyroe |
| Imports/Exports: | Timber, Gems, Silver and Jewels |
Ta-Kanasiti, elven for Elven Home, is the second largest elven realm beyond the borders of Lathia. It is a forested mountainous home that borders the kingdoms of Panthias, Myanothia, Duchy of Harr and Ceithlenn. It is a place of wild animals, ancient secrets, and mysterious magics. It is a place of honor, beauty and magic. It is a realm that has seen defeat and enslavement, it is also a realm that has seen conquest as well as separation from the rest of the world. It is a place of grand elegance, steeped in ancient tradition and elven lore.
Slightly more than 250,000 elves of various types call Ta-Kanasiti home. It is the largest continuous inhabited elf-kingdom on Ta Los, born thousands of years ago as a separatist colony fleeing the War of the Elves. This has created a very tight knit populace amongst the elves that call this realm home.
The region is dominated by the Via'Asthierr Mountains and the Uvai'nil Hills. The whole area is shrouded in thick forests, warm glades, and quiet streams. It is a small reflection of Lathia, however, unlike Lathia, Ta' Kanasiti is not magically protected from the cold winters or the heat of the summers in the north. It is however protected by more or less by great magic and many of its villages are shrouded in a Magical Barrier to prevent hostile monsters and other forces from overrunning the nation.
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Life and Society
Life in Ta' Kanasiti is not like a typical day in Lathia. Where Lathia is somewhat magical in its day-to-day goings on, Ta' Kanasiti is much more harsh in its reality. Life, while not extreme, is not one where the elves can "sing all day long". Rather there are everyday chores that must be accomplished by everyone within the realm. However, this does not mean that elven life is hard and cruel.
While elven life is easily twice that of humans, and much longer than most other mortals, it is not a life that is spent in any quiet contemplation, rather Ta' Kanasiti elves spend most of their days attending to matters of the House, the home, or the state.
Elven Houses
When the elven Houses of Via' Asthierr (descendants of House Silveal), Asthierr Sylth (descendants of House Malzin)and Via Mysi (descendants of House Quisnar ) left Lathia and broke from their ancient home, they also broke free of the rule of Houses. While Houses are still of great importance, they are not as influential as they are in Lathia. This tends to cause some strain between the two nations as Lathia sees Ta' Kanasiti disregarding the decrees of Ammavaru and the Quarial Ta'luthin. But Ta' Kanasiti views the decrees not as strictly as the Lathia elves. Because of this they do not participate in the Druc a'Orruanil, rather they believe in the power of a royal house that is created once every 200 years through a selection process called the Loqai Quarial Opatur.
The Loqai Quarial Opatur is a test of the very best of each of the Houses who travels to the city of Asthiert Valoth and spends several days in meditation in the Church of Quarial Ta'luthin. The chosen one is marked with a risen tattoo on their chest, just below their neck of the Quarial Ta'luthin. This individual and their House becomes the Royal House for the next 200 years.
While Lathia recognizes the legitimacy of the Royal House of Ta' Kanasiti, it is disappointed in the realm, as Lathia sees this as a distancing of the elven culture by elves of Ta' Kanasiti.
In the world beyond the borders of either Lathia or Ta' Kanasiti, elves from both nations still hold the honor of their Houses above all else.
Ta' Kanasiti is now home to 250 recognized Houses.
Community
At the very core of the realm is the Nisarturi (Community). Each community whether it be a town, village or one of the great cities, is the most important aspect for Ta' Kanasiti elf. Considered by Ta' Kanasiti elves to be equal or even greater than the reputation of a House, the community is what keeps the elves of the north bonded together even beyond conflicts between Houses. This aspect is further fostered by the wild northern lands that Ta' Kanasiti is a part of. Unlike Lathia, Ta' Kanasiti has had to learn to get along with its northern neighbors in mutual defense and respect.
Each community is made up of two or more families from either the same House or from other Houses. In most villages and towns the community is made up of at least two Houses of four to six families each. At the core of each community are the elders and leadership of the community. These tend to be a mixture of members from varying Houses, or in the case where there is but two Houses these tend to be a mixture of the various members of the families of each House.
Each capable member of the community is given task to perform a specific duty for the community. This not a hard fast rule but rather one by which the community has its various guilds, shops, taverns, etc. All elves of the community are given a free choice as what they are to do, but if they are to remain within the community they are required to pursue and perfect their interest. Often this leads to new ideas or variations on older ideas that take on a grand life of their own.
Customs and Dress
In most aspects of elven life there are a wide ranging number of customs that elves hold on to. This is as much true for elves as a whole as it is for the realm from which they come from. Ta' Kanasiti elves have a more liberal view of elven customs were as the Lathia elves certainly have a more rigid and strict view of the same customs. When speaking of elven customs you are often talking about the very nature of elves themselves as the two are very much intertwined with each other.
Many customs arise from the various Houses and families that make up a single House. There are also the social customs that are prescribed to by the elven nation itself. Many of these, depending on whom speak to, are meant to nurture the physical and spiritual link that all elves feel towards each other.
All customs, at some point or another, are based upon the strict rules of engagement amongst the Houses. In Lathia, these rules are unbending and rigid, while in Ta' Kanasiti they are more flexible allowing for alteration as the need arises. In the northern lands of Ta Los an adherence to the strict rules of the Houses, would have cost the loss of the realm of Ta' Kanasiti.
However, despite these two differing view points of the House customs, the one custom that has not changed is the Juhre Nal'Idra (Feast of the Dead). While on the surface appears to be a horrific, almost evil act, the elves view this as a time of morning, and calling it the Feast of the Dead is as close to an interpretation to the actual act as any. While the Juhre Nal'Idra seems cannibalistic, and in many non-elven eyes it is, it is a spiritual religious undertaking by all the elves of a House.
Whenever an elder of a House dies, the members of that house, if they are able to attend, partake in the flesh and blood of the elder. In this way, they are gaining and continuing the knowledge that the elder had. The consumption of the flesh is blessed by a high ranking priest and the drinking of the blood is always mixed with holy wine created by the priest. The entire body of the passed elder is not consumed only a small bit of the flesh is taken and broken down to give each elf that is in attendance a small portion, often no bigger than the size of grain of rice.
Unlike the Lathia elves who tend to be more aloof, stand-offish and who view physical contact such as hugs and handshakes as repugnant, the Ta' Kanasiti elves are much different. They tend to be warmer and more open about who they are and willing give friends, family and acquaintances firm handshakes or even hugs to show affection.
Elves of Ta' Kanasiti dress appropriately for the weather, the surrounding lands and the work that they do. In this, they are very much akin to the northerners of Panthias. Most wear linen cloth or wool pants depending on the season, with long sleeved shirts and a heavy vest, cloak or coat during the winter months and short sleeved, light cloth shirts for most of the spring and summer months. They tend to wear varying colors of greens, blues, yellows, and soft browns.
Major Cities
Where Lathian architecture is the most elegant and crafted in such a way as to work with nature by molding it into what they desire, Ta'Kanasitian architecture is heavily influenced by the northerners that they have come to respect and live with. Instead of magically molding trees to form homes, buildings or other structures or summoning the element of stone to rise from the earth, Ta' Kanasitian architecture works with nature but does so in a sculpting manner using the carefully selected wood and mined stone, particularly white granite or blue-grey granite, they have built very unique and lasting architecture.
Ta' Kanasiti elves have come to love the enduring aspect of stone and the absolute permanence it can bring. This love for the use of stone has given many of elves of the north a fine hand with the use of stone and structures of it that often rivals the dwarven craftsman. Even the smallest village within the realm is built primarily of stone.
The three grand cities of Ta' Kanasiti are built with such precision and such engineering that they are often called the most magnificent cities in all the north. They all have tall spires, grand towers, and looming buildings of grand craftsmanship. The streets are built from tight fitting stone that it is nearly impossible to distinguish the lines between stones.
Asthiert Valoth
Situated in the Uvai'nil Hills the capital Asthiert Valoth rises high into the air built upon the tallest hill within Uvai'Nil. Blue-white pinnacle towers and green tiled roofs sparkle in the sunlight. It is divided into several sections, each behind a thick wall of blue-white granite, it is home to roughly 100,000 elves. Built in 9,500 B.F.A., it rivals the grand white city of the Lathia elves, Aethier. Ashtiert Valoth surrounded by a very high granite wall that is pierced only once by the Muneri Valoth (Road of Light) on its eastern side. The hill that the city is built upon is the fountain head springs of the Nau'nil Ratrel (The Laughing River), that the elves have used to surround the whole hill creating a deep moat like barrier, the waters are then allowed to flow freely into a small basin to the west which has created the Alu Lunia (Pool of the Moon).
Surrounding the whole city are hundreds of farms and fresh fields of wheat, barely, corn and other vegetables. The Muneri Valoth leads east for several miles before it branches off to the various roads of the realm.
Cyranthor
South along the shores the Nau'nil Ratrel stands the harbor city of Cyranthor. It is the first city that those that travel up the Nau'nil Ratrel come to and is known as the Southern Gate as it is charged to protect the southern border from "undue influence". Cyranthor straddles the river as large, elegantly crafted bridges of granite bridge the two halves of the city. In the center the elves have built an island from which they can control the river. It is a formidable fortress that sits directly in the river that extends roughly 1,000 feet up and down the river, giving the guardsmen within the ability to halt any river traffic that they need to.
Karraduith
The third largest city of Ta' Kanasiti sits on the acknowledged border between Ceithlenn and the elven realm. It also sits on the edge of the desolate region called the Scar. It is a heavily protected city, hidden by thick walls and the last remnants of the Uvai'Nil Hills. It is home to the largest regiment of the Legion of the Wind as well as just over 30,00 elves. It has few farmlands surrounding it and is considered by most of the Ta'Kanasiti to be a frontier city.
Major Features
The entire realm is connected by well maintained broad, cobbled paths that are wide enough for carts to pass each other with ease. These roads while built by the elves traverses the natural landscape so that they are neither straight nor are they cutting through hills, or vales to accommodate the route. However, neither are they cumbersome to use. Where it crosses a stream or small ravine bridges have been built, but always are they built with the uniformity of the surrounding forest kept in mind. Simple stone huts, with tiled roofs sit by this roadside at regular intervals to provide shelter in times of violent storms.
The Silver Star mountains have special importance to the Ta' Kanasiti elves, not only does it take up a majority of Ta' Kanasiti, but the elves believe that it is the mortal realm home of Saravasiti Morningstar. The mountains themselves never experience a harsh winter, the spring is warm and very green while the summers are warm and comforting There seems to be an endless supply of fresh water springs, small lakes and countless streams that make their way through the lush forest of the mountains.
Uvai'nil Hills
Running through the center of Ta' Kanasiti the Shining Hills are low, rolling hills that are more akin to plains hills than actually hills found in other locales of Ta Los. These hills take up the lower portion of the land east of the Via' Asthierr Mountains and run to the edge of the Great Northern Forest the Storhet. They have only a few pockets of tree groves, while the rest is filled with fields of green grass. At their very heart rises the capital city of Asthiert Valoth. The hills have many hidden caves that are used by the elves for various reasons. The lower half of these hills, where the caves are the deepest and most interconnected, lies the burial glen. This area is sacred to the Ta'Kanasiti elves and is blessed, holy ground that keeps out Negative Energy for the most part, ensuring that those that have passed on do not rise again in undeath. Yet, there are the occasional occurrences where a number of elven undead have walked the caves in search of rest. One legend holds that all the dead House of Ardia Nyth were awoken by greater forces than Negative Energy long and this House is now the known as the House of the Dead or the House Ni-Dra'Nil and they walk the nights, the deep caves and even the realms of DeepEarth.
In 900 B.F.A. during the Rhemstar Wars between Panthias and Ta' Kanasiti the elves constructed a might fortress in the western realm of Panthias, here the elves created mighty spells of dark power to be used against the Panthians. Over the next 25 years hundreds of Isande are slain by these magics, many right at the foot of the fortress as they assailed it with warmachines. Then in late 875 B.F.A., the elves attempted to construct a dark, chaos filled spell that would forever bar humans from crossing into Ta' Kanasiti. The spell somehow becomes corrupted, many sages think that Azahak or Mala had their hand in this, and blasts the whole area, stripping it of all life. Those elves that were caught in the fortress and along its boundaries were forever linked to this place. It is now a huge ruin of broken stone, dark hallways, and dungeons, dark smoke still rises from the darkness that has become A'mithar Fier. It is a place of death where chaos, negative energy and countless undead reign.
Important Sites
Major Organizations
The Drutah Nal Ta'Jahu
The Drutah Nal Ta'Jahu are the warriors and fighting force of the elven people of Ta'Kanasiti. These warriors are heavily trained warriors that insure the safety of Ta'Kanasiti, at any costs. Unlike the Legion of the Wind, the Drutah Nal Ta'Jahu is an organization made up of several bands of warriors that operate not only in Ta'Kanasiti but through out the Northern Realms, defending the elven way of life as well as dealing with any threats, perceived or real, to the northern elven nation. A number of bands of elven warriors, and independent agents, have been known to operate as far south as the Kingdom of Nazhyrn or the Empire of Rinsha Adynshra.
They exist outside the royal decree, and many see them as outlaws, brigands, bandits or murderers. Yet, they are a welcome sight to many an elf or strong elf friend in the north. They tend to operate in secret when they can, but are not against bringing the fight to the enemy when it is clear that such a fight is the only way to put down any threat against the elven way of life.
While they are fanatically elven, they are not welcome in the lands of Lathia or areas that Lathia elves have taken up residence. Despite this the Drutah Nal Ta'Jahu will do what they can to even stop threats against Lathia.
The Legion of the Wind
The standing army of Ta' Kanasiti is the Legion of the Wind. It is the officially recognized army and defenders of the northern nation. It has on average 35,000 elves in standing spread through out the realm and can muster an additional 25,000 from the various villages through out Ta' Kanasiti. The Legion is made up of several smaller military units. These are the Quis'rohu (Pegasus Riders) that are charged with the defense of the skies above Ta'Kanasiti; the Qelvar Acari (Sword and Shield) who are charged with the border protection of the realm., and finally the Rajuh (Legion) that is charged with internal protection and guardianship, these are the watchmen of villages, and the guardsmen of the cities.
Nearly every elf at some point in their lives, generally after they have completed the Tema Elvaleen (Rite of Ascension), serves in the Legion. It is here that they are trained and prepared for battle, the elven way or the Jahu Nal Qelvar.
