Post by Kaez on Jul 1, 2009 14:43:01 GMT -5
'Ichuk is a most pleasant place to be -- save, of course, you are a rabbit and not a man with such interests as hunting and reading and pipe-weed.' -- A Traveler's Handyguide, by P. Michen Soot
Ichuk, (pronunciation: eck-hook) the Ichench (pronunciation: eck-hench)
Major or Capital City: Ichukana (eck-hook-uh-nuh)
Other Cities: Buham, Euput, Ruhabah
All Towns: Hurubah, Mekhah, Putpah, Tuhankah
Government Type: Theocracy/Oligarchy. Ichuk is governed by the Elders, the wisest, oldest shamans who reside in Ichukana. They have appointed regional rulers over towns and cities whose authority is limited to their power of veto.
Crime and Law: Ichuk has a region-wide police cavalry and a moderate crime rate.
Professions: Farmers have become increasingly common over the past decade or two, but hunters and gatherers still make up the vast majority of the Ichuk population. While the Ash and Petal are both sparingly used, trade is common and so is manufacturing professions such as tailoring, leatherworking, stoneworking, and smithing.
Trade, Currency and Economy: The Ash and Petal are both in use, but there is no official currency of the nation, nor any banks. Trade is extremely common, with hunters and gatherers often specializing in certain hunts or products and trading for others.
Market: There are major markets set up in towns and cities, and they are generally the focal point of said areas.
Organizations: The Elders, the oldest, wisest shamans lead the nation. The regional police (Yaquahm), the Druids, and their suborganization the Wood Druids, are other organizations of note.
Celebrations and Events: Celebrations are common for everyday events, like hunts, birthdays, or solar and astronomical events, though there are no national holidays.
Education: Education in the nation is poor, relatively. There are no schools or structured educational systems and teaching relies purely on the world of the village elders and the parents of the children. They are often taught to pursue the same path as their family.
Communication and Language: Literacy rates are low, but rather unnecessary, as oral traditions make up almost the entirety of communication. There is little written word in the nation. Like the others, they speak a variant of Common.
Social Class Structure: The social classes of Ichuk could be described as laymen, shamans, and druids. The everyday man is not looked down upon by shamans or druids, though they are, more or less, the lowest social class. The shamans are the highest-ranking members of society, and the druids really take no part in organized society at all, and so cannot be classified socially.
Population: A population of around 500,000 makes up Ichuk. Uncommonly, all towns and cities combined only make up about a fourth of the population, with villages, traveling parties, and druids making up a majority.
Nature, Food and Resources: With thick woods to the north, swampland to the east, lakes and rivers to the south, and open plaines to the west, Ichuk is very naturally diverse. This gives them a wide range of animal foodstuffs and an impressive variety of plant life and resources.
Wildlife: Wildlife is common and varied. With a deep respect for animals, many small critters like rabbits and birds have not developed a fear of men, and walk the towns and cities. While hundreds of animal species are known to the area, the druids would claim many more, odder, more mysterious creatures that lurk the depths of the woods and great, barren fields.
Climate: The climate is not particularly varied throughout Ichuk, save the forest to the north, where rain falls much more frequently than it does in the moderate, warm core of the nation.
Geography: Geographically, the landlocked nation is varied of woods, swamps, rivers, and plains.
Mounts and Pets: Pets are not common at all, though horses are widely-used, with most adult citizens owning one. For such, they've developed a special significance in society.
Technology and Medicine: Technology is nil. They've never found a need for it before and don't seem to be seeking it, even in the largest cities. Medicine, though, is in the hands of the shamans, who are skilled botanists.
Subcultures: The Elders, while a few leading ones rest in the capital city, make up the governing groups of each city and town (under veto power of the leading Elders). They are the wisest and oldest shamans who have been practicing and preaching for many years.
The Druids are an elusive, little-known group. They travel, often in groups of less than ten, over plains and through swamps, generally completely avoiding towns and cities. They stay as connected to the natural world as possible, and doing so for thousands of years has granted them many reigns over the natural world and abilities. The specifics of such are only rumored.
The Wood Druids, a subculture of the Druids, are said to have the very specific ability of shapeshifting. The woods in the north are speculated to be filled with the druids, not only as men, but as animals and trees alike.
Militia: There was a long-standing military front called the Century War against Gilaan, which they successfully held, even with a great technological disadvantage. This gave the nation an impressive status and the military has since been disassembled, never again having even been threatened.
Weapons and Armor: There is no organized weapon or armor set since the collapse of the military. Spears, knives, and bows make up nearly the entirety of hunting weapons, and the druids are known to carry staves.
Brief Timeline: Besides accounts of the Century War and some conflicts with Rosia, no real timeline or history has been recorded besides oral legends, which are clearly mythologically coated and falsified.
Relations w/ Other Cultures: Tough relations with Gilaan marked the only indecent contact with another nation. Explorers from many other cultures have ventured to Ichuk very peacefully.
Homes: Homes are made simply out of clay, wood, or leather tents and are often small and without many furnishings.
Religion and Spirituality: The religion of the nation, though nameless, if often referred to as shamanism. It is a nontheistic belief in a peace and balance with nature. This belief echoes throughout the entirety of their culture and civilization, from their government to their architecture.
Architecture: Architecture is 80% wooden, with great care and rituals taking place for the removal of trees for wood. Clay and leather are also common, but only for lay home or traveling camp.
Clothing: Clothing is very simple, and almost completely animal products as to ensure none of their kills go to waste. Jewelry of bones and teeth, coats and shoes of fur, and clothing of leather are most common.
Arts and Literature: Literature is nearly non-existent, but art is not, depending on one's definition of art. The fine work that goes into crafting leather should not be overlooked, and is a complex and cherished process.
Entertainment and Culture: The Ichuk people are a culture with little 'entertainment'. Rituals, bonfires, and hunts are the closest things they have to what others may refer to as entertainment.
1 - Ichukana. The capital and largest city, where the Eldest reside.
2 - Buham. The smallest city, sometimes regarded as a large town.
3 - Euput, another city, nearly the size of Ichukana, known for clay architecture.
4 - Lake Duskmaaro
5 - The Blue Waters
6 - The Brown Waters
7 - Puhnhaven, a small river town.
8 - The swamplands to the north, often regarded to be a land of the dead.
9 - Ruhabah, a city of medium-size.
10 - The Hills
11 - The Changing Woods, where the Wood Druids reside.
12 - Hurubah and Hurub Lake.
13 - The Plains
14 - Mekhah, the mysteriously and only-known druidic town.
15 - The Dust Fields, a mix of dry, golden plains and sand.
16 - Tuhankah, a town by the small patch of woods on the southern border.
Ichuk, (pronunciation: eck-hook) the Ichench (pronunciation: eck-hench)
Major or Capital City: Ichukana (eck-hook-uh-nuh)
Other Cities: Buham, Euput, Ruhabah
All Towns: Hurubah, Mekhah, Putpah, Tuhankah
Government Type: Theocracy/Oligarchy. Ichuk is governed by the Elders, the wisest, oldest shamans who reside in Ichukana. They have appointed regional rulers over towns and cities whose authority is limited to their power of veto.
Crime and Law: Ichuk has a region-wide police cavalry and a moderate crime rate.
Professions: Farmers have become increasingly common over the past decade or two, but hunters and gatherers still make up the vast majority of the Ichuk population. While the Ash and Petal are both sparingly used, trade is common and so is manufacturing professions such as tailoring, leatherworking, stoneworking, and smithing.
Trade, Currency and Economy: The Ash and Petal are both in use, but there is no official currency of the nation, nor any banks. Trade is extremely common, with hunters and gatherers often specializing in certain hunts or products and trading for others.
Market: There are major markets set up in towns and cities, and they are generally the focal point of said areas.
Organizations: The Elders, the oldest, wisest shamans lead the nation. The regional police (Yaquahm), the Druids, and their suborganization the Wood Druids, are other organizations of note.
Celebrations and Events: Celebrations are common for everyday events, like hunts, birthdays, or solar and astronomical events, though there are no national holidays.
Education: Education in the nation is poor, relatively. There are no schools or structured educational systems and teaching relies purely on the world of the village elders and the parents of the children. They are often taught to pursue the same path as their family.
Communication and Language: Literacy rates are low, but rather unnecessary, as oral traditions make up almost the entirety of communication. There is little written word in the nation. Like the others, they speak a variant of Common.
Social Class Structure: The social classes of Ichuk could be described as laymen, shamans, and druids. The everyday man is not looked down upon by shamans or druids, though they are, more or less, the lowest social class. The shamans are the highest-ranking members of society, and the druids really take no part in organized society at all, and so cannot be classified socially.
Population: A population of around 500,000 makes up Ichuk. Uncommonly, all towns and cities combined only make up about a fourth of the population, with villages, traveling parties, and druids making up a majority.
Nature, Food and Resources: With thick woods to the north, swampland to the east, lakes and rivers to the south, and open plaines to the west, Ichuk is very naturally diverse. This gives them a wide range of animal foodstuffs and an impressive variety of plant life and resources.
Wildlife: Wildlife is common and varied. With a deep respect for animals, many small critters like rabbits and birds have not developed a fear of men, and walk the towns and cities. While hundreds of animal species are known to the area, the druids would claim many more, odder, more mysterious creatures that lurk the depths of the woods and great, barren fields.
Climate: The climate is not particularly varied throughout Ichuk, save the forest to the north, where rain falls much more frequently than it does in the moderate, warm core of the nation.
Geography: Geographically, the landlocked nation is varied of woods, swamps, rivers, and plains.
Mounts and Pets: Pets are not common at all, though horses are widely-used, with most adult citizens owning one. For such, they've developed a special significance in society.
Technology and Medicine: Technology is nil. They've never found a need for it before and don't seem to be seeking it, even in the largest cities. Medicine, though, is in the hands of the shamans, who are skilled botanists.
Subcultures: The Elders, while a few leading ones rest in the capital city, make up the governing groups of each city and town (under veto power of the leading Elders). They are the wisest and oldest shamans who have been practicing and preaching for many years.
The Druids are an elusive, little-known group. They travel, often in groups of less than ten, over plains and through swamps, generally completely avoiding towns and cities. They stay as connected to the natural world as possible, and doing so for thousands of years has granted them many reigns over the natural world and abilities. The specifics of such are only rumored.
The Wood Druids, a subculture of the Druids, are said to have the very specific ability of shapeshifting. The woods in the north are speculated to be filled with the druids, not only as men, but as animals and trees alike.
Militia: There was a long-standing military front called the Century War against Gilaan, which they successfully held, even with a great technological disadvantage. This gave the nation an impressive status and the military has since been disassembled, never again having even been threatened.
Weapons and Armor: There is no organized weapon or armor set since the collapse of the military. Spears, knives, and bows make up nearly the entirety of hunting weapons, and the druids are known to carry staves.
Brief Timeline: Besides accounts of the Century War and some conflicts with Rosia, no real timeline or history has been recorded besides oral legends, which are clearly mythologically coated and falsified.
Relations w/ Other Cultures: Tough relations with Gilaan marked the only indecent contact with another nation. Explorers from many other cultures have ventured to Ichuk very peacefully.
Homes: Homes are made simply out of clay, wood, or leather tents and are often small and without many furnishings.
Religion and Spirituality: The religion of the nation, though nameless, if often referred to as shamanism. It is a nontheistic belief in a peace and balance with nature. This belief echoes throughout the entirety of their culture and civilization, from their government to their architecture.
Architecture: Architecture is 80% wooden, with great care and rituals taking place for the removal of trees for wood. Clay and leather are also common, but only for lay home or traveling camp.
Clothing: Clothing is very simple, and almost completely animal products as to ensure none of their kills go to waste. Jewelry of bones and teeth, coats and shoes of fur, and clothing of leather are most common.
Arts and Literature: Literature is nearly non-existent, but art is not, depending on one's definition of art. The fine work that goes into crafting leather should not be overlooked, and is a complex and cherished process.
Entertainment and Culture: The Ichuk people are a culture with little 'entertainment'. Rituals, bonfires, and hunts are the closest things they have to what others may refer to as entertainment.
1 - Ichukana. The capital and largest city, where the Eldest reside.
2 - Buham. The smallest city, sometimes regarded as a large town.
3 - Euput, another city, nearly the size of Ichukana, known for clay architecture.
4 - Lake Duskmaaro
5 - The Blue Waters
6 - The Brown Waters
7 - Puhnhaven, a small river town.
8 - The swamplands to the north, often regarded to be a land of the dead.
9 - Ruhabah, a city of medium-size.
10 - The Hills
11 - The Changing Woods, where the Wood Druids reside.
12 - Hurubah and Hurub Lake.
13 - The Plains
14 - Mekhah, the mysteriously and only-known druidic town.
15 - The Dust Fields, a mix of dry, golden plains and sand.
16 - Tuhankah, a town by the small patch of woods on the southern border.
