Kherson
Region 250
Current Ruler: Gaius Aegeus Vasil

Population: 780,000

Spoiler: Stats
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Diplomacy: 5
Military: 5
Curiosity:4
Faith: 3
Luck: 1

Rolls (+pop): (ignore order, forgot I could assign them how I please)


Spoiler: The Seamont
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Spoiler: Government & Recent History
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Kherson is a loose confederation of magistrates ruling over cities great and small dotted all along the coast of the two peninsulas. Each one pays fealty to the Sea King, who sits atop the Seastone throne in the greatest city of them all, Thesallia. For most, however, this fealty is nominal at best, and over the centuries many conflicts have arisen over who will sit the throne. A dozen dynasties have sat the throne, and most have not survived two generations.

In recent years, however, Gaius Aegeus Vasil, an ambitious nobleman who wed the eldest daughter of the previous king and whom inherited the throne after his predecessor died without bearing sons, has come to power atop the Mount. Through guile and diplomacy, as well as a few choice bribes, Gaius has united most of the lesser magistrates surrounding Thessalia under his rule. Still, the region is far from fully united: while the marriage of his daughter to the son of the High Magistrate of Themos, Cletus Iketes, secured most of the remainder of the region, though the Archon of Litius remains stubborn in his refusal to bend the knee to the Sea King.


Spoiler: People
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The people of Kherson are divided into two sub-groups: the Aktí and the Geo. Both are ethnically similar, but the two cultures are distinct and largely determined by where the love: the Aktí live by the sea in the great cities, while the Geo live inland among the hills. Both have light olive skin, with wide, red, yellow, or occasionally silver eyes. Their hair is naturally dark, although the Aktí generally dye it a variety of bright, garish colors that are found along the coast. Most are fairly short, topping out at 5'8, and with 5'4 being considered average.

The Aktí are all similar culturally, although there are small differences found among the four largest cities and their smaller dependencies. Litius, especially, claims different descent and religious practices than the rest of the region, though the culture of the Aktí prevails. Across all four cities, however, is a cutthroat culture rife with betrayals; most families come to power through treachery and corruption, and fall in the same manner. As a result, while the greater cities tend to maintain tenuous truces, the many lesser cities often vie for choice fishing spots, or trade routes with the most prosperous of the inland settlements. These conflicts are often settled through the overthrow of the magistrates of one city or another, with the assistance of their opponent. In stark contrast, family and marriage ties are held sacrosanct; to betray your own blood or act against your family-in-law is considered to be the worst crime possible.
Trade is the lifeblood of the Aktí; many cities either specialize in one craft or another, or possess the raw goods necessary for those crafts. Since the vast majority of the population lives along the coast, maintaining a powerful navy and merchant fleet was paramount for the great cities, and oftentimes conflicts between them were won or lost due to their navies. As such, merchants and sailors are among the most well respected members of society, with especially prosperous merchants becoming magistrates themselves- once, even rising to sit the Seastone throne itself.


The Geo are arranged in small family groups- typically, an older patriarch leading a homestead made up of his sons and their family. Unlike their coastal brethren, most are honest and upfront in their dealings- though this often means that city merchants attempt to deceive them. They swear no loyalty to any city, instead remaining aloof of the conflicts that often plague the coast. Their main industries are agriculture and sheep herding, although some family groups own iron mines and employ prisoners from the cities to work them.

The people of Kherson follow the Doctrine of the Nine Candles, though there are some regional exceptions, such as Litius, who follow the old ways of the Grand Church. The most popular path is charity, and a common phrase heard around and oft repeated by the priests is "prosperity through charity".


Spoiler: Terrain
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Kherson is a land of long, pristine beaches, dotted by river estuaries and natural bays. Behind these beaches are long, rolling hills, stretching from the inner Bay of Prosperity to the cliffs lining the Sea of Storms. Numerous cities have sprung up along the coast, with four cities emerging as the strongest, dominating the lesser cities around them: Thessalia, Themos, Karen, and Litius. The largest, Thessalia, sits at the beginning of the White Knife, the inlet between the two main peninsulas, and at the end of the river Khoyne, which originates from behind the city.
Thessalia, the capital, is a city made up of dozens islands connected by bridges and canals at the mouth of the river Khoyne. The city is divided into two main parts: the manors and the Slums. The manors are the noble and merchant residences within the cities, clustered about the base of the Seamont, and along the hills above the city proper. The manors vary in their quality and location: some, mostly less prosperous merchants, are hardly a step above the slums, while others, the homes of the Great Magistrates, are sprawling palaces. The slums is a bit of a misnomer, a relic of when the city was hardly larger than an outpost and the Seamont a wooden palisade. The seaside, where ships dock, is populated by the homes of some of he wealthy merchants and their families live, while the great Church of Charity dominates the central island. Still, many of the islands are crowded with buildings and places of squalor, actually deserving of their nickname.
Above the city lies the Seamont, a massive edifice upon and within which is the Sea King's palace. While a few towers project above the crest, and walls defend the higher slopes, most of the palace lies within: hollowed out by centuries of kings ever expanding their palace. At the center lies the Seastone Throne, the ancestral seat of the Sea Kings. Some stories tell of secret passages, carved out of the rock by one of the later kings- though no one has ever confirmed the rumor.


Spoiler: Resources
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Export: The waters of the Bay of Prosperity are, predictably, prosperous. Rich with varieties of fish, crabs, and other sea life, the fisherman of the cities produce enough food to provide for the entirety of the seaside population of Kherson, with the capacity to produce more. Thus, as the S--- move out of their ancestral homes and encounter other places and peoples, they offer the rich bounty of their homeland: Seafood. (Is this too general?)

Import: Despite the fact that the S--- rely on ships for most of their food and their trade, high-quality wood is a rare find in Kherson. Most of the inland forests had long been cut down for their wood, and most of what remains is only fit for use as fuel for fires. Thus, the most needed import is wood.