Confederacy of Saremitas

The Confederacy of Saremitas, also known as the Saremitas Confederacy, or simply Sarem, is a confederation comprised of a a large number of clans united as one people located across extreme north of Sphaera. It is bordered by Reakin in the east across the sea, the Kingdom of Zewan-Tal in the south, and the Conclave of Kergen in the west. Circumstances forced six separate groups of people to band together in early history. Their alliance became the Confederacy after a series of protracted inner conflicts.

Sarem is embodied by its six leaders of the Great Clans who gather once a year at Mount Saremitas to discuss and implement state policy. Despite being largely frozen for the better part of the year, Sarem is sustained by agriculture and horticulture.

Etymology
Saremitas is the name of the mountain where the various clans first gathered to form their confederation. The united tribes took their name from the peak which brought forth their nation.

Geography
The confederacy is located at the northernmost end of the continent, following the north coast and several small and large islands nearby. Most of the country's territory is taiga or tundra, with harsh winters and short summers, the soil somewhat fertile but frozen too much of the year to be fully made use of. Huge evergreen forests cover the landscape in between plains of ice and snow.

As harsh as the north is, however, there is still life in this frozen landscape. The more southerly lands are, if cold, able to be farmed and survivable. Most of the nation's people live in the south, with only scattered groups residing to the north.

History
The Saremitasian clans' origin lies somewhere in the south, though their northward journeys happened in the distant past. What is known through a combination of written and oral history is that they were once all separate, coming from different areas. Through war and plague and famine they were driven north, six weak, scarcely functioning clans. Encountering each other, they at first attempted to keep from contact and remaining in their own territories, but over time they came to rely upon each other enough that they began to discuss unification.

Many took objection to this, and several wars were fought as the clans tried to quell internal dissent. Eventually, the clan who would become the Reakin fled the region, settling elsewhere in order to preserve their own independence. It wouldn't be until the burgeoning Wunizan attempted to drive the foreigners out that the clans became united. After a drawn-out, painful war, the Wunizan were forced to surrender all of their lands, their importance and influence only surviving through luck and their occupied population.

It was after that that territory was drawn up and the confederacy's system outlined, at a meeting atop a frozen mountain called Saremitas. Over time, this became the country's name.

Government
The government of Sarem is a confederacy that operates in a hierarchical system – Each clan, large or small, controls a certain area that they govern and set policy for. The smaller clans of a region meet with their superior Great Clan, usually once a month, in order to deal with larger problems, and then once a year the Great Clans' leaders gather on the mountain, Saremitas. Gatherings can be called during the rest of the year if necessary, but not easily.

This is not the original system – At its foundation, every clan would have been equally powerful in terms of political clout. However, the smaller, weaker clans quickly gravitated to the stronger, or towards their traditional rulers in the case of the Wunizan – As such, it functions more representational, with smaller clans entrusting their voice at the gatherings to the Great Clan they serve.

Clans
There are six Great Clans, formerly seven. All but one are named using the suffix '-in', which denotes a grouping. Many men also use this suffix, there once having been a tradition of male children taking on the clan as their name. From southernmost to northernmost:


 * Laruin
 * Mocthin
 * Hagesin
 * Tongi-in
 * Raxumin
 * Wunizan

Military
Sarem's military is divided between all the clans- each O-mehain is expected to maintain and train their people in preparation for war. There is also a peacekeeping force in the form of the Inuxtin, who patrol the clan's roads and investigate crimes. Actually calling the regiments to war is a process that takes weeks, meaning that response to an invasion is, naturally, slow. The military is primarily male, with women only serving in the Inuxtin or militia when absolutely necessary. They divided into units of approximately one hundred to 150 soldiers, each filling a certain role. They are mostly armed with Y-bladed spears or long bows, with short blades or small axes as a sidearm, but units using larger swords or other unconventional weapons are not unheard of. Cavalry units are uncommon in the clans, due to the environment and the scarcity of horses or other mounts, an irony considering that their former member the Reakin is famed for its mounted armies. In battle, they fight through maneuvering, cutting off small forces of the enemy to eliminate them one by one – Communicating through shrill, ear-piercing war flutes called apa'a.

As far as military success goes, the clans have a good record. In the few skirmishes against the Reakin since their unification, they've had complete success, while their invasion of the Wunizan ended in a total victory.

However, they are otherwise mainly untested – All talk and no proof to it. Besides the occasional internal conflict, the Saremitas Confederacy has yet to engage in a major campaign against a continental power.

Language
The language of Sarem is dominated primarily by a large number of suffixes and prefixes that change the meaning of words involved. Most true words are monosyllabic, but with the prefixes making it mean anything. For example, Hagesin, composed of the prefix ha, the suffix in, and the true word ges. Ha as a prefix calls upon their religion, invoking greatness or size, while in is a suffix usually used for groupings or leadership. The word Ges simply means farmer, and so Hagesin could be translated as 'great farmer people'... It loses something in the translation. However, this is not actually the translation; The prefix doesn't add to the word, but rather it defines what follows it. With ha in front of it, ges is established to mean a very large farmer – A plantation owner, or even a merchant. Merchants and plantation owners are rarely called hagesa anymore, but the word still sees use now and then.

Plurality is established through the suffix -a or -n. The suffix -n is usually used for words ending with a vowel sound, while -a for those ending with connecting consonants.

In spoken conversation, there are several more prefixes and suffixes used to indicate respect or titles. When transcribed, they are usually unconnected to the word (Ure [Name], for example).

Religion
The religion of Saremitas revolves around the sun as a primary god, known as the Sustainer. From it comes light and heat, and it provides a comforting influence to a harsh land. The Sustainer made the North in order to test His own power, and so His light only reaches it for some of the year – For the remainder, He must rest and recover from the exertion of protecting His chosen people. For the dark months, the northernmost clans must band together and stand against the darkness that their lord drives away; There are festivals of light in the dark months where massive bonfires are burned for days.

There are a great many creatures in Saremitasian myth, usually related to the ice fields – Tracts of barren ice that stretch for miles, the remnants of ancient lakes. Many young men have ventured into these places in search of semimythical islands located within, but almost all succumb to the cold and starvation. Those who return are usually deluded, telling tales of wolfmen called Ice Fangs, women with insect's heads, and beasts of indescribable horror and form. None of these exist in reality, but have earned a place in the clans' mythology.

The religion of the Fen is tolerated, considering the two nations' close mythological connections. Other than that, though, religious dissension is regarded as a high heresy and often punished severely, especially in the Wazama.

Family
Families live together in large communal homes called Jahu (Jah-who, plural Jahun) that generally house between two and ten families, with the average being three or four. They are usually patriarchal, but matriarchal Jahun are common in the Wunizan and Mocthin, and not unheard of elsewhere. They follow a similar structure to the Clankeepers- One person is the master of the Jahu and given the title Ure (IE "Presenting Ure Hydrall"), and their immediate family are usually the more important members. Below them are the families of the Ure's sons and daughters who have not left to form their own Jahu, as well as the families of their servants (if they have any). A child is not usually expected to leave and form their own Jahu in the event of their marriage unless they come into a large sum of money. Instead, they remain and live in the family house. When the Ure dies, his title is passed on to the eldest child, and while some households survive such a shift it often results in the Jahu splitting the funds of its former Ure and each subfamily going off to form their own.

However, this results in long-running feuds and other logistical problems, as would be expected of having so many isolated families. As such, many ordinances have been passed reducing the size of the Jahu, their ability to have conflict with other Jahun, et cetera.

Amusingly, this also has led to Saremian cities looking as though they consist entirely of many palaces of varying size and quality, with markets arrayed out front to display the family's wares. In many cities the Jahu system is breaking down entirely, as single-family homes or apartments are becoming more economically viable and less space consuming, and at the same time 'mini Jahu', derisively called Jahi, have begun to appear, being tightly packed structures still keeping the old system but at both a smaller scale and lesser extravagance.

Jahu are generally unique, but follow a certain design- Centered around a large circular room, there are seperate outlying structures (Hua/Hua-a) attached via small hallways. Each Hua will house a family's quarters, storage, and other facilities. A single Hua is reserved for kitchens and food preparation.

Because so many families may become part of a Jahu, it may eventually become too large for the structure by limits of design. Usually a family or two may leave to form their own Jahun before that point, but in the case that they can't a second circular structure may be built and more Hui added to that, and so two Jahun will be located on the same property.

Clothing
Clothing in the Clans is predominantly wool or furs, leather being common as well. Fancy silks, cottons and such are completely useless in a country where half of it is frozen for most of the year. Most clothing is modest, form-concealing and thick, usually involving gloves and boots; Hoods are often worn as a separate garment, consisting of the hood and a capelet reaching the middle back, covering the shoulders and upper arms - As such, their clothing often seems to lack an upper part, with sleeves often lacking a shoulder portion, since loka (as they are known) are often worn casually, indoors, where the extra layer would be uncomfortable. These detached sleeves and such are seen more in the noble caste, however.

Demographics
The Confederacy is primarily composed of two major ethnic groups - While each Great Clan has its own stereotypes, they generally identify together. There are the Ra-in, or 'clansmen' as it is often translated, and the Wunizma, the original inhabitants.

Inra
The Clansmen are in most respects Asiatic, to use an Earthly descriptor, their eyes slanted with dark irises and black hair. However, they have shorter, stockier bodies, as well as more facial hair; well-adapted to their harsh, frozen climate. They resemble the Meiya, with rounder faces and pointed chins - However, they have a stronger profile. They are the dominant population, possessing most of the best land and money - Some 80% of the population.
 * Average Height: 5'7" - 5'9" men, 5'3" - 5'5" women

Wunizma
The natives of the northern wastes are, compared to their fellow Saremitasians, pale and sharp-featured, with narrow eyes and wide mouths, their eyes usually lighter colors and hair similarly lightened. Their features tend to be thin and drawn, giving them a somewhat sickly or tired appearance to foreign eyes. While fewer in number, they are highly connected, with long-lived ties between their tribes. They still pay fealty to their ancestral leaders in the Wunizan. They tend to be shorter than the Inra.
 * Average Height: 5'4"-5'8" men, 5'1"-5'5" women.