Asoit
// The people of Asoit have a culture similar to Mexico. Their dialect sounds similar to a Mexican speaking English. People from Asoit do not have their own language, but their version of common is noticeably different than people in other areas. Some words and expressions from Spanish are used by people in Asoit but in the game they�re not played as words from a different language, they�re simply slang words used in a different region of the world. //
Lyjuans do not know very much about Asoit, as most Lyjuans have never actually met anyone from that far north. For the most part, Lyjuans view Asoitians as wild Telats because people of Asoit talk and dress like their more civilized southern neighbors.
Lyju does not commonly import any goods from Asoit and no Lyju merchants make regular trips to that land.
Kingdom of Telat
// The people of lands of the original Kingdom of Telat are from an ethnic group that is called Lacan. The Lacan have a culture modeled after the Mexican culture. Like Asoit, the dialect and manner of dress are modeled after that of Mexico. //
The people of Lyju view Telat as a far-off evil realm. Since the days of the Burning of Zirand, the leaders of Telat have been viewed as cruel and merciless. Peoples from Telat tend to have darker skin than those from Lyju. They wear strange multi-colored pull-over shirts and large strange-looking hats. This combined with their unusual accent when they speak makes Telats stand out in a crowd when they�re in Lyju. It is generally believed that Telats are rude because their culture is less concerned with the finer points of social graces.
Few merchant caravans risk the trip to Telat, but those that go can make good money. Telat has the largest herds of elephants in Ne�khol, and Telat Ivory is in demand in most regions of the world including Lyju.
Great Prilap
// The people of all of the former lands of Great Prilap are an ethnic group that is called Coots. The Coots have a culture that is modeled after Scotland. The dialect and manner of dress are both modeled after medieval Scotland. //
Over the past 30 to 40 years the Great Prilap has become Lyju�s strongest ally in the Zirand council, often siding with Lyju on miscellaneous matters. Even though the Prilap and Lyju are on opposite ends of the known world, they are strong trade partners. The Prilapan Merchant Ships arrive about once a month bringing famous Prilapan Spices and goods from Gwela, Frigod and Sorethland as well. Prilapan Sailors are common visitors to the southern Lyju port towns, and red-headed Lyju children & young adults are proof that Prilapan sailors really do have a lady-friend in every port.
Gwela
// The people of Gwela, like all other old Prilap lands, have a culture similar to medieval Scotland. //
The people of Lyju think of Gwela as a peaceful paradise. Although most have never actually met someone from Gwela, the stories that make their way down to Lyju tell of a reclusive land where everyone lives the life of the wealthy. It is said that no one in Gwela is poor and that there is no such thing as a homeless Gwel. Gwela trades Dyes and Leathers with other parts of the world, but gaining a merchant license to be able to enter Gwela can be a lengthy process. Rumors have it that a massive wall surrounds the whole territory of Gwela and the wall is always manned by the Royal Gwela Defense Force who ensure that no one enters the lands without proper authorization. It is even said that no Gwel has to pay for their home or basic foods. According to stories, all Gwels pay half of their income to the Monarch and the Crown ensures that all citizens have a place to live and food to eat. Homes are awarded based on the job that the citizen works.
Frigod Duchy
// The people of Frigod, like all other old Prilap lands, have a culture similar to medieval Scotland. //
The Frigod Duchy is the most militaristic of all of the original Prilap lands. It often sides with Telat in Zirand Council issues, and it is said that Frigod and Telat have a strong trade alliance. Lyju does not have much contact with people from Frigod. Any trading between the two lands, such as the importing of Frigod cotton, is done with the Prilapan merchants as a go-between. According to stories from Prilapan sailors, and traveling minstrels, the people of Frigod live a difficult life. Apparently Frigod is in somewhat of a civil war with soldiers from several Frigod provinces battling one another for whatever reason.
Sorethland
// The people of Sorethland, like all other old Prilap lands, have a culture similar to medieval Scotland. //
When Lyju people talk of Sorethland on of the first things that comes up is the relationship between Sorethland and the two Elven Kingdoms. Both the Cinwes�Don Elves and the Jem�Verilolin Elves have a very close relationship with the peoples of Sorethland. This goes back to the very formation of the Sorethlands as an independent kingdom. During that time Elf and Man fought side-by-side against the armies of the Prilap. Now, it is said that almost half of the Jem�Verilolin Elves, and almost a third of the Cinwes�Don Elves, actually live in human cities in Sorethland. And traveling minstrels tell stories about Elven cities where humans live in peace and harmony with the Elves. Some people say that the peoples of the Sorethlands have become more Elf-like and others say that the Elves of that region have become more Man-like. One way or another, they have built a strong bond.
Lyju trades with Sorethland, through the Prilapan merchants, for sugar cane. Some Sorethland sugar cane also comes from Lyju merchants who travel to Ulas, because the Sorethlands and Ulas have built a fairly strong trade alliance.
Jeand Barony
// The people of the Jeand Barony have a manner of dress and speech that is modeled loosely after the people of Australia. There are even Kangaroo type critters on the Jeand Peninsula. //
The peoples of Jeand are most widely known for their unusual accent, and their blunt manners. Lyju nobles tend to look upon people from Jeand as simple and rude. The most notable aspect of Jeand society is a series of magical portals that tie several Jeand cities together. Minstrels who come to Lyju from Jeand tell stories of magical travel available to all citizens and travelers, for a small price. Each of Jeand�s four major towns and cities have a magical portal that ties to another one of the cities and commoners often travel from town to town through these magical portals. These portals are always present and, as long as there is no line to use them, the travel from one town to the next is almost instant. This makes trade and travel between towns commonplace.
Jeand is known for the Peppers that it trades. But most important trade fact is that the dwarves of Denderholme sell gold, platinum, iron, mithril, and precious gems to Jeand who in-turn trades them to many other realms in the area. It is said that Denderholme has a verbal agreement with Jeand that it will only trade with Jeand, thus the other realms of the region rely on Jeand for some of its most important imports.
Ulas
// The people of Ulas have a manner of dress and speech that is modeled loosely after the people of Australia. Since Ulas is a part of Jeand Peninsula, the Kangaroo also inhabit this land. //
Ulas is known as the land of magic. For some reason the peoples of Ulas are inherently magical, and almost all Ulasians can use a least a limited amount of magic. Ulas is the home of the legendary Towers of Ithcul, the center of magical learning in Ne�khol. Traveling minstrels claim that an enchanted forest in the middle of Ulas, the Silverleaf Forest, is the source of the high concentration of magic abilities in the lands. It is said that Ulasians who move to different realms bear children whom are no different than normal people, and that when foreigners conceive a child while in Ulas that their child is almost always born with some innate magical abilities. Many would-be parents trek to Ulas in he hopes of conceiving a child with magical talents.
The trade goods coming from Ulas mostly notably include sugar cane, papyrus, and magic items such as potions and minor enchanted items. The Ulasians have a fairly strong trade alliance with the peoples from the Sorethlands.
Koiharland
// The people of Koiharland have a manner of dress that is modeled loosely after Native American peoples of the 1800�s, and their speech resembles 1800�s Native Americans speaking English. //
Commoners in Lyju look at Koiharland, which is typically called K�harlan�, as a land of cultureless savages. The peoples from K�harlan� live in permanent structures, but the homes are not nearly as architecturally sophisticated as in most parts of the civilized world. The Koihars still follow tribal chieftains and believe that witch-doctors can brew a cure to anything. Most Lyjuans have not actually seen any Koihars, but traveling minstrels tell stories of K�harlan� as a much different society than you�d find in any Lyju town.
Lyju does do some trading with the Koihars, most usually getting fine furs from the wildlands.
Elulas
// The people of Elulas, like Koiharland, have a manner of dress that is modeled loosely after Native American peoples of the 1800�s, and their speech resembles 1800�s Native Americans speaking English. //
The folks of Elulas are very similar to their Koiharland cousins, except that most of the Elulasites (pronounced el-�oo-la-sites) are nomadic. There are some formal villages, but the majority of Elulasites spend their lives moving from one place to another in small, family-centric, mobile villages. Occasionally northern Lyju towns will be visited by Elulasite travelers or merchants peddling their leathers and furs. The Elulasites are viewed as barbarians by most civilized Lyjuans.
Alimur
// The people of Alimur have a manner of dress and mannerisms that are modeled after medieval British however the speech is more similar to modern-day American English. //
The realm of Alimur is a very militaristic land. Every male Alimuran is required to spend 2 years in either the Alimur Militia or the Navy when they turn 16. Unlike the Great Prilap, whose sea vessels are mostly merchant ships, the vast majority Alimur�s sea vessels are warships. It is common knowledge that Alimur rules the seas, coastal towns around Ne�khol (other than Telat) are leery when Alimur warships come to port. The Alimur Navy even patrols the waters around the Simir Isles, to �keep the Zirand Council safe from Pirates�.
The leaders of Alimur still ensures their people that someday soon Alimur will reclaim the fertile lands and lucrative salt deposits that are rightly theirs, but which are now known as Lyju. Even after 200 years, Alimur is still bitter about its defeat by the Tirge in the battle for the land that is now Lyju.
The people of Lyju view Alimur as a constant threat. The Alimur army is constantly massed at the border, and the majority of Lyju�s Militia is positioned in forts that are within visual range of the Alimur border. Alimur warships constantly troll through the waters along the Lyju coast. The people of the Lyju town of Bliryn live with the threat of Alimur on a daily basis. There is a lot of debate by Scholars and �Experts�, some of whom feel that Alimur would never dare attack and others claim that an invasion is immanent.
Lyju does not trade with Alimur and by Royal Decree of Duke Johan no merchant caravans are allowed to enter or leave Alimur. This trade embargo has been imposed on Alimur for the past 15 years. When it was first announced it was hoped that Alimur would remove the soldiers from the Alimur/Lyju border so that Lyju would remove the embargo. But now Alimur does all of its trade by sea. Their primary exports are Silks and Dyes, and its said that Alimur�s closest trading partner is Telat.
Kingdom of Tirge
// The lands of the old Kingdom of Tirge (which made up most of the southern half of Ne�khol) were occupied by people of 3 different ethnic groups. The Siesa in the area that is now Jeand and Ulas. The Dians in the area that is now Elulas and Koiharland. And the Ritons in the area this is now Alimur, Lyju, and Tirge. The Ritons of Tirge, like the Ritons of Alimur and Lyju, have a manner of dress and mannerisms that are modeled after medieval British however the speech is more similar to modern-day American English. //
The lands of Lyju and Tirge have held an uneasy peace since Lyju was created by the Zirand Council around 200 years ago. The Tirge monarchy is anxious to rebuild its once-great empire, and Lyju is the obvious first step. Over the past couple of centuries the Tirge and her people still refuse to refer to Lyju as Lyju, instead they call it Middle Tirge. Which, of course implies that Alimur should be called West Tirge.. but that is not the case. Alimur won its independence through war. That, and the fact that Alimur has the most powerful Navy in the known world, has earned it a place of respect in Tirge. But Lyju, on the other hand, seceded by the wave of a pen in Simir and Tirge is not shy about its wishes. Twice in the past 2 hundred years Tirge has gone to the Council petitioning to re-annex Lyju but was unsuccessful.
The people of Tirge treat Lyju like backwards neighbors in an uncultured, and illegitamate, land. Since Tirge and Lyju export Salt as it�s primary product, there isn�t much trading directly between the two lands, but many Tirge merchant caravans move through Lyju to buy items from other areas of the known world.
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// Information about the 8 Demi-human lands whom are members of the Zirand Council will be posted soon. //
