Kareshi

The Kareshi is a relatively small ethnicity whose influence far exceeds its size. Being renowned sailors, traders, and scribes, they reside in coastal city-states and islands, with several small fortified outposts scattered throughout.   For outsiders, the Kareshi appear shrewd, calm, and only loyal to contracts and their own kin.  

Empires rise and fall, trade endures

- Old Kareshi saying

  Their appearance is influenced by their outdoor lifestyle, and their skin ranges from olive to bronze in tone of colour, darkened by the sun. their hair, typically worn long or bound up tightly with bronze rings and cords. Outsiders describe their eyes as sharp and expressive, with dark colours, although green is also common, especially among the female part of the population.   As a people, they seem to favour layered garments, with sleeveless tunics, wrapped cloaks and sashes bound around their mid, heavy with seals, and coin-pouches. Seeing a Kareshi without some jewelry is rare, as their jewelry typically consists of gold, glass, coal and etched silver, often with the family's symbol carved into it.  

City-States

Kareshi live in city-states, and each is ruled by councils of merchant houses, eldar ship captains and temple priests. The councils and the city-states are rarely united politically; at most, one or two will unite for a time to control a section of trade. They never fight each other in open warfare, instead conducting sabotage, espionage and the occasional assassination. They rarely do, preferring to stay neutral, but sometimes they offer their services to some of the larger nations, like in 564 when the city-state of Ishkarel was hired by Principality of Clifia to transport its army.  

Military Tradition

While they avoid open warfare, each city-state has fast, well-armed vessels used to patrol the sea lanes for pirates and other disruptions to trade. These vessels carry marines who are experts in boarding actions. Their greatest weapon is economic pressure; they can cut off trade to cities, even those that lie far inland, so if a governor or king has angered them, they put pressure on the economy until the other party surrenders and gives in.