Ayktia

Language
Ayktia falls in the branch of linguistics that stems from the old Elissim Empire. The language has developed to a unique brand of language, much like Portuguese and Spanish. Currently, only the coastlines possess a multi linguistic population.

The majority of people in the Ayktia region are illiterate. Only the wealthy merchant, noble, and priest classes typically are literate. Most farmers learn basic mathematics so that they are not cheated at markets.

Origin Tales
Ayktia was one of the first regions conquered by the Elissim Empire. In that time, the people were highly nomadic and contained no real culture of signifigance. The traditions were replaced with Elissim traditions and establishments.

Because of the climate, the traditional Stone Structures produced by the Elissim were not usefull. As such, the traditional structures were mostly recreated with wood. The artisans of Ayktia put their unique influence and stamp on the structures, creating a blend of cultures.

* If describing this in Earth Terms, it would look like Roman Archetecture was built out of wood with heavy Japanese influence.

Toward the end of the Elissim Era, the Empire faced resistance from freedom fighters who eventually would become the God Slayers. These soldiers fought in hit and run battles and caused nearly unending nightmares for Elissim soldiers. When the Elissim Empire finally left the region, different clans were created to keep the peace.

Folk Tales
Popular folk tales are centered around the ansestors and their travels. The story tellers of Ayktia, otherwise known as chroniclers, focus on these ansestor stories. Chroniclers typically begin a story with a lengthy family line going from a current modern individual to the subject of the story.

Favorite stories of individuals typically have elements of the old gods, support from the divine, and typically the villains involve practitioners of Arcane magic.

Family Tree
Clan list: All clans have their own family tree. There are numerous minor clans, however all individuals would find some way to trace themselves to one of these clans.

Religion and Spirituality
Religion in Aykita is centered around ansestor worship. Every town has a shrine dedicated to the ansestors. It is believed that once someone has passed on to the next life, they require all the same needs as a normal mortal. Sacrificing food and money are the most common sacrifices. Temples are dedicated to many passed ansestors, but some temples are dedicated to a single person.

Specifically within their religion the Aykitan people believe that a person can be elevated to a God. It requires the deseased individual to attain a specific amount of worshipers, and a location for themselves, be that a temple or personal shrine.

Through their history, there is a few individuals who achieved the status of God while they are still alive. These individuals were viewed as paragons of the religious beliefs and achieve miracles. These Paragons are believed to achieve god status the moment they pass to the next life.

Because some belive it is a novelty an individual can achieve god status, many arcane magicians attempted to achieve god status in the past. These self proclaimed gods were typically dealt with by a group of government sanctioned God Slayers

Magic
Acedemic Magic is strictly forbidden. Official use of magic is limited to magic from divine sources. It is commonly believed that Acedemic magic is a gateway to acts of Necromancy and perversions of nature. These are considered the highest offense that can be taken.

Mainly arcane magic, or Acedemic magic, is viewed as an individual attempting to take the power of the gods for themselves.

Politics and Power
The Ayktia people are built around a clan structure. These clans unite under a single banner in times of hardship under a single leader elected by the clan leaders. This Warlords then proceed to conquor or defend the land.

"No man is an island." -KATSUROU

Typically coastal cities have trading contracts, however most non Ayktian merchants do not make it past the harbor. This is typically because the Aykitan people do not trust the outsiders. Outsiders tend to make a mockery of their honored traditions by attempting to cheat the systems.

The clans typically agree with one another on only a few issues. Religion and Non Acceptance of strangers are the largest issues that the the clans all agree on.