Dohobeb Priest-State

The Dohobeb is ruled by a group of priests known as the Heart of Kailio, who operate out of a large woven fortress-temple at the base of the underwater mountain of Kailopali. The Heart of Kailio is headed by the Primeheart, a council of five elder priests who are Kailio's favored attendants. Beneath the Primeheart are the Twin Brachials, two five-person council "hearts" that manage much of the day to day duties of the government. The Brachial of Prosperity coordinates tribute gathering, farming, herding, infrastructure, and conflict dispute; the Brachial of Strength handles war, hunting, fishing rights, and trade. There is also the Farheart, a group of three priests intended to serve as the chief government in Fort Otterspear - the chief military base outside of the prime island zone.   Each of these councils is advised and supported by a small staff of Heartwards, the elite priestly caste of Dohobeb. Every cephaperson to receive direct instruction from Kailio is considered a Heartward, and the entire caste is conceptualized and understood as the household staff of the Great Otter himself. Theoretically, every Heartward Squid has been personally chosen by Kailio, but in reality most of the Heartwards are chosen by one of the councils from among the lower priesthood. The Primeheart also chooses which councillors will serve on the Brachial councils, and Brachial Councillors are selected among the elite priests whenever a new Primeheart Councillor is needed. The Farheart Councillors are chosen by the Brachial of Strength, as they are more-or-less the emissaries of that council.   Beneath the Heartwards are the Tendrils: the lower priesthood, who act as the managers, officers, ritual specialists, and civil servants of the Dohobeb. The Tendrils make up the vast majority of the Dohobeb government. Tendrils account for most positions of power in Dohobeb waters, and the rank of a particular Tendril depends on how much power was invested in them by a patron. The Heartwards can change a Tendril's relative rank with ease; if a Heartward decides that a Tendril warleader is less competent than their underling, the Heartward can have their positions switched with a word as long as the order doesn't contradict that of a higher-status Heartward. This makes for administrative chaos at times, but that is avoided by having the various councils delegate out command to favored Tendrils. These Favored Tendrils are the generals, overseers, and chiefs of staff, but their status depends on maintaining favor with the Hearts. The Dohobeb is not large enough to have much of an advanced or hyper-specialized bureaucracy beyond these individualized chains of command. New groups may be made when problems arise, and dissolved when the problems are solved.   Below the Tendrils are the Commonsquid, which comprises of every Cephaperson outside of the priesthood. The Dohobeb has relatively egalitarian ideals for the commonsquid - that every faithful member of the community should live as equals. Some individuals and groups are regarded with higher status and afforded more access to resources as a result, but there are few formal castes or hierarchies outside of the clergy. There are only two categories of person below the average commonsquid in terms of law: the penitent and the foreigner. Penitents are essentially criminals, screwups, or deviants who have in some way violated the community laws and norms of the Dohobeb. Penitents carry signs of their transgressions and generally are sentenced to more odious and grueling jobs. Penitents who have done something truly terrible, like murderers, live degraded lives as community servants - this status is not inheritable, nor does it reduce them entirely to property. Foreigners, meanwhile, are meant to be welcomed but have no legal rights as people until they are initiated into the Dohobeb. There used to be formal categories of foreigners and their descendants, but Kailio dissolved those categories into a clear binary some decades ago. While this led to many foreignborn cephapeople gaining full rights and status, it also meant that protected foreign categories were dissolved. Now, killing a foreigner isn't a crime - though a commonsquid killing a peaceful foreign merchant will almost certainly attract the ire of a Tendril. If there are no witnesses, or if a Tendril is the one endorsing such violence, though? Bad luck to be an outsider. The core waters are almost always safe for foreigners to be in, but a rich traveler in peripheral waters may be a target for legal banditry.

The Dohobeb faithful see themselves as an island of civilization, sanity, goodness, and compassion in an otherwise mostly-barren wasteland of a world. They are aware that there are distant civilized pockets similar to themselves, but imagine themselves to be the largest, richest, and most significant aquatic community in the world. In the last fifty years this has escalated into a chauvanistic and superior attitude towards all foreigners and outsiders. Friendly foreigners are a little barbarous by nature but should be welcomed as objects of compassion - even pity. All those in service to Apex, meanwhile, must be destroyed without remorse.   This worldview is full of all kinds of stark binaries: good versus evil, civilized versus barbarian, familiar versus barbarous, innocent versus guilty. These binaries structure Dohobeban law, social views, and criminal justice. The goal of government and society is to sort and categorize people and things between bad and good camps and then punish/reward them accordingly, and the goal of a person is to behave in ways that put them in the good camp. If you are good, Kailio will preserve your soul after death and give a good life to your family. Dohobeban communities often take comfort in the clarity of these binaries: all you have to do is follow the rules and be good, and your spirit will be in the care of good.   There is a sense of optimism to it all, even in suffering. Good will win over evil in the end and Kailio is indestructable. Even if your life is bad, you are basically ensured to be in Kailio's care after death because you had the good fortune to be born in the holiest place on Halika. And if life is truly miserable? Well, the afterlife will be lovely if you side with (that is to say, obey) good, because good loves good things and leads to good things. The Dohobebans go so far as to consider the shortened lifespans of cephapeople to be a gift - that way, you won't suffer for long!   Dohobeban religion isn't particularly belief-oriented, but public expressions of doubt are deeply frowned upon. Doubting Kailio's power is offensive and ungrateful when done in the Otter's home waters - foreigners can get away with it because at least their distance gives them reasonable cause. But all people in Dohobeban waters are simply guests in Kailio's home, and disrespecting the master of the house is both rude and a sin. In the last fifty years, the growing influence of Apex in the surrounding waters around the Dohobeb state has made the priesthood extremely sensitive to any sign of doubt or disrespect to them or to Kailio. Public dissent of any kind has basically become outlawed and can only be expressed by priests within the priesthood - commonsquid must never express any direct criticism of the regime. Indirect criticism or private complaints are allowed (the state is too small to running some dystopian surveillance apparatus even if it wanted to) as are complaints of corruption by individual Tendrils (priest-officers), though one must be very careful complaining about high-ranking Tendrils.   Culturally, confidence is the chief social virtue of Dohobeb - moreso than religious faith, even. A person can acknowledge that things are bad, but it is socially more acceptable if that acknowledgement comes with a boast or a joke or an optimistic prediction. Stigma against despair and religious doubters has grown into an all-out cultural disdain for negativity, pessimism, or unalloyed concern. Strangely, this has escalated sharply as Dohobeban waters have grown more isolated and surrounded by enemies. Over the last thirty years, as the neighboring 'Empire of Lashes' has defeated Dohobeb's allies and warriors abroad and encroached on sacred territory, Dohobeb's culture has embraced a kind of fantastical denial of reality. Sure, the world outside is a wasteland of cruelty and wickedness, but Kailio and the priests are unstoppable and undefeatable. These waters cannot be taken. There is no problem that divine guidance and the right rituals can't fix. Actually, Kailio is winning. Actually, things are getting better every day. Kailio has a plan. Trust in the plan. That mindset is most overt in discussions of the political situation of the world, but has crept steadily into other parts of community life and culture.   The denial may seem extreme, but there isn't much else the people of the Dohobeb can do. Apex really is an evil god that wants to kill them (depending on how you define a god) and really has turned the world around them into a wasteland. They are trapped and isolated, where once they operated friendly trading caravans all along the coast to the Great Ibyin Reef. They do have enemies at their gate, but that gate really does seem impregnable thanks to a very real Otter-god. This stalemate has become the new normal for the next generation - what seems like denial of reality to outsiders really is true to those on the inside.   Some readers may say that Dohobeb sounds like a delusional cult of simple-minded zealots duped by a militaristic priesthood, but there is a real dedication to community care and mutual aid under all that dogma. Resources are shared readily and meals are regularly given to the hungry. Property ownership is largely limited to mobile personal items, while most property and resources are formally owned by the Great Otter with the intent to be used and shared by all people in a sustainable and compassionate way. More well-regarded or productive people may be given more access to resources, but no one is to be left starving or without shelter. Everyone who belongs to the Dohobeb is to be shown mercy and compassion. A good person who is well-regarded devotes themselves to the common good. Politeness and friendliness are high virtues, as all people exist to love one another. Jerks exist in the Dohobeb like anywhere else, but a successful jerk must cloak their cruelty in the language of compassion or friendliness. "Oh bless your heart," is a common phrase that can express both genuine affection and condescending contempt.   No Cephaperson is considered superior to another by birth in the Dohobeb - not by lineage and not by species. Kailio once said that all cephapeople were born equal, but they define their worth by their actions, and the Dohobeb takes that very seriously. The children of priests must at least performatively earn their entrance into the priesthood, even if they have significant advantages in doing so. Squiddles are the demographic majority and are considered the default, but Cuttlefolk and Octopeople are welcomed and can reach high positions of power. Sentient Sharks, however, are considered to be animals at best and demons at worst. They are not believed to be sentient like a person is, but are simply given a sinister intelligence by the Dark God Apex. They represent the viciousness and cruelty of the uncivilized world to the Dohobeb and all sharks (sentient or not) are killed on sight.   Foreigners are to be given hospitality if they are friendly and are to be killed if they are unfriendly. Friendly foreigners are expected to either move along or be assimilated, though the ongoing political crisis in the surrounding waters has led to many outsiders being pressured into joining the Dohobeb for their own good. Newly incorporated outsiders are often treated with some suspicion and uncertainty for the first three to five years, but are ritually integrated into the in-group after that.   There is a grim and infamous practice of murdering penitents (criminals), suspicious outsiders, or prisoners of war after a disaster to displace the community's sins and eliminate any potential Warlocks of Apex that may have brought the ill-tidings. This murder is often done communally, by tying the victim to a boulder and having the commonsquids either stone, flog, or stab them to death as a mob. Prisoners of war are the most common target for this behavior, but prolonged periods of famine, plague, or military defeats may lead to the destruction of penitents or disliked foreigners as well. This practice only occurs in times of crisis, though, and is not always state-sponsored.

Between 1 and 2 million people live in the Dohobeb - estimates are hazy. The population is 85% Squiddle, 10% Cuttlefolk, and 5% Octoperson.

Dohobeban waters reach 450 miles across at their longest point and are 270 miles wide.

The Dohobeb has two standing armies: the semi-feudalistic central commanders, who are assigned to posts on the periphery of the main territory of the Dohobeb, and the Forward Army at Otterspear.   The central waters of the Dohobeb are protected by the Favored War-Tendrils, a dozen or so powerful commanders. Each commander has ten assigned captains, each of whom operates a warband of ten to one hundred warriors. These Favored War-Tendrils have significant autonomy and report directly to the Brachial Council of Strength at Holy Kailopali. Warriors are recruited more-or-less profesionally rather than as levies, and each captain is assigned a fief of territory to collect food and supplies from through their civilian government liasion. Warriors are often recruited from these peripheral territories as well. These outer garrisons often engage in trades and farming when there is no active threat - in areas of lax leadership or low danger, they are basically militia.   The Forward Army, meanwhile, is a more disciplined and active fighting force with a dedicated supply line back to the Sacred Mountain and an entire civilian community at Fort Otterspear dedicated to producing military supplies. The Forward Army is directed by the Chosen General, the most respected and revered military officer in the state who is directly overseen by the 'Far Heart' (emissaries of the central government). This force is smaller than the central garrisons, but is more consistently drilled and dedicated towards combat alone.   Dohobeban fighting is all about a mix of highly mobile javelin-armed skirmishers, axe-and-spear wielding heavy infantry, and mobile fortifications. Sledge-mounted woven structures are dragged onto battlefields as bases and fortifications, and fighters within use a mix of javelins, pikes, and spears to make direct attacks hazardous. These mobile defenses then serve as supply hubs and bases of refuge for the skirmishers, while heavy infantry waits nearby to move in to charge any enemy who approaches. Pikes used from below are often used in block formations as well, driving the enemy up while skirmishers seek to flank and lob javelins on the retreating enemy from above. This mix of combined fire and coordination can easily disorient and frighten less-coordinated enemies - these battle tactics were incredibly effective against the "Hundred Nation Horde" a century ago. Unfortunately, the new enemy of Dohobeb (a warlord named Ten-Lash) has been far more successful in exploiting the predictability and slow movement of this fighting style.

The economy of the Dohobeb is overwhelmingly agricultural. Crabcow ranching is common, as is shellfish farming. Dohobeban agricultural practices overlap with their fish-hunting and fish-farming practices: Dohobebans curate and garden the local seagrass and weave seagrass clusters into useful fish and crustacean nests. Essentially, they create a landscape of woven seagrass semi-reefs. This is a unique semi-wild ecosystem that has thrived over the last few centuries. Reef fish have even started to adapt and move into the region, competing with the local indigenous fish. The magical calm created by Kailio helps keep this environment pristine, though it also takes immense effort in the part of the Dohobeban people.   The Dohobebans are largely rural and are dispersed into many villages across the territory. Many villages include elaborate woven structures that combine mud-packed seagrass and stone. Woven buildings are even placed on sledges and pulled by Crabcows and Giant Lobsters.   Every part of Dohobeb's economy relies on that relationship between people and seagrass - it is the source of Dohobeban architecture, basketry, clothing, agriculture, and infrastructure. Specialty seagrasses have been more or less domesticated as well and refined for their consistency, color, weight, flexibility, and durability. Dohobeban baskets are well-regarded: they are so carefully woven and tightly bound that they are actually water-tight and serve as perfect liquid seals.

Once, the Dohobeban army was actually very involved in trade. Promising warriors were sent out with goods as training caravans to gain battle experience, learn new styles of war, and make a profit abroad - and were rewarded for their success with loot and rewards. These expeditions were called "armed pilgrimmages" and at their peak they essentially transformed Dohobeb's fighting force into a sprawling mercantile web. These caravans have become extremely rare in the last thirty years, after the fall of Dohobeb's nearest ally (the Reef-State of Monososi).   Groups of warriors still go on "armed pilgrimmages," though these often turn out to be little more than minor raids and scouting missions. The ambitious youth who carry goods with them and venture out to seek the old trading partners usually never return, and such expeditions are discouraged. The Otterine Banner, the flag carried by trade-warriors to mark their status and discourage raids, has gone from a badge of safe passage to a dinner bell for opportunists.