✷ South Ilican Free States

South Ilican Free States

Languages:

Common

Biome:

plains, woodland, coastal, mountain foothills

Allied with...

in flux

In Conflict with...

the Arshakan Empire

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A diverse group of peoples and kingdoms with storied histories harking back to an age of rebellion against the Devahni empire, the South Ilican Free States boast a proud, storied history. Highly individualist, the States are a collective of disparate opinions, a people free from the rule of nations. Loud, spirited, rebellious, many words have been used to pin down the nature of the States, but above all they remain as their namesake claims: free. Less than three centuries prior, the States as far as the Altalusian border were held under the thumb of the Arshakan Empire. With every passing year, another State breaks away, raises arms against the Karmic Legions, and retells their eras of suppressed history.

Governance​

Spanning the vast and varied terrain of the crescent of Southern Ilica, the Free States adhere to no singular system of governance. Some operate as independent city-states, others as chiefdoms, some favoring feudalistic systems of cropshares and kings. There are few limits but for the creativity of a given state's denizens, the local traditions, and whether an opportunistic rival has come knocking.

Culture​

Given the wide territory claimed by the collective Free States, the array of cultures within each independent domain is commonly described as eclectic by most, or barbarous by Arshakan propagandists.

Major Cities/Landmarks​

Notable States include but are not limited to:

Ceax​

An ancient castle-city that flourished as a key point of trade along the nearby split Rivers Twain. Thin, schlerophyllous woodlands surround the city and its outlying settlements, making travel to and from the area difficult barring a knowledgeable guide or by way of rivercraft. A layered fortress town nestles at the city's heart with markets and domiciles spreading wide from its protective clutches. Situated near the northern tip of the Arshakan Empire's control, Ceax is one of the last Free States to fall, and among the first to regain independence.​

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In myths, historians suggest the city's founding to be a result of stranded Lapvonan raiders around the latter half of the Era of Many: shipwrecked, low in supplies, and no clear compass to show them home, the raiders set camp on the Ilican mainland having navigated deeper up the western rivers than they had intended. They formed a small settlement, which some records purport as little more than a bandit’s fort far from the fallen highways of the Devahni empire. Over time, they assimilated with the locals, lineages blending until few traces of supposed Lapvonan heritage remained.​

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Perhaps in a nod to these legends, Ceax boasts numerous renowned shipwrights, timberyards, and skilled pilots capable of navigating the wicked rapids of the Rivers Twain.​

Selvaris​

More a network of ranches held under common domain than a traditional city, the Selvaris State controls a vast swathe of open prairie due west of the Imperial borderlands. Known for the talent of its riders and ranchers in equal measure, Selvari messengers are as prized as their raiders are feared. It is said the State houses a people that thread the needle of absurdity. Indeed, a common boast among the Selvari is that if they can fit a saddle on it, they can and will ride it.​

Urdshawl​

If not for the strategic value of the southern foothills of the Father's Fingers, the Arshakan Empire may never have set foot in Urdshawl. A chaotic urban sprawl that decorates otherwise barren, rocky terrain, the Shawl is a city that never quite decided on its theme. Architecture taken from a variety of cultures and time periods across the Ilican continent pepper uneven rows of domiciles, markets, stadiums, and more. Hedgerows, vine-art, and the occasional bronze statue separate streets that are cobbled in places, paved in others, or dirt packed under a traveler's feet. A barracks stands at what one might assume to be the city's center... at least, it was intended to be a barracks when the Karmic Legion actively deployed from the area. In the years since the last of the Legion presence evaporated from the Shawl, the barracks were repurposed as an amphitheatre.​

History​

The ancient Devahni conquest torched most existing records of the Free States early in the Era of Chaos. Few names remain, and those that do have since taken new forms in the modern day. Each State boasts a rich history typically independent of the others, adding a layer of difficulty to the chronology of what has become known as the South Ilican Free States. The Arshakan Empire claimed the area as its own after years of bloody conquest by their Karmic Legions, but that control only ever lasted as long as the Legion presence remained. Following the Unification War in the mid-centuries of the Era of Many, Imperial control of the States had already begun to wane.

Areas such as Ceax, Selvaris, and Urdshawl which were situated at the far reaches of the South Ilican mainland boast as some of the first to break away. Even at the peak of Imperial control, these States met little in the way of resistance beyond initial conquest. In the centuries following, they rebuilt, clinging to their cultural identities, and perhaps acting as a catalyst for the Empire's current collapse. While the Karmic Legions are still renowned and feared across the southern Ilican peninsula, the Empire's administration and ability to control more than the lines on a map are not.