Shian Tor
"This land is beautiful, but eerie. You could spend
weeks wandering the grass without one Shianese in
sight. And not for lack of their presence." - Oronzo Crescenzo, Narscillian explorer
Ghosts of the Grass
Shian Tor is a land rich with life. Great herds
of buffalo, antelope, and elephants roam the
open landscape, and predators trail behind.
Territory bountiful enough that one might
think is perfect to settle and domesticate. The
Shianese made this mistake once, and for the
last time. Because circling overhead in the quiet
grasslands are the most dangerous predators in
all of Yominokuni: Dragons.
The fearsome creatures jealously guard the
only permanently open Life Duct outside of
Helix. None know why the Dragons do not
simply fly South and take the city, but for
hundreds of years they have remained in the
skies of Shian Tor.
For generations, the Shianese tried to open
other Life Ducts across the grasslands, but to
no avail. So their ancestors turned to their only
other option: to survive by stealing from
Dragons. All people of Shian Tor are well
versed in stealth, but a brave few earn the title
of Yokai, or Specter. They take what they can
from the sharp-eyed drakes, and to this day,
only three Yokai have ever been discovered.Structure
Ji'e'toh
Ever since they can remember, the Shainese were never a unified nation. They quarreled, bickered, and fought over access to the water, none trusting the other tribes to be discrete enough to not attract attention. Conflict over rights to the water became almost ceremonial in nature as the tribe with the finest warriors would have the most access, and the least worthy tribe would be left to ascend into the mountains in pursuit of snow. A strong and unique code of conduct developed among the Shianese, this dogma referred to as Ji’e’toh. To warriors and civilians alike, Ji is honor, and Toh is obligation. Performing one’s duty in life and advancing the cause of the tribe can gain one Ji where failure and shame laden one with Toh. The two do not cancel each other out, there have been many who have much Ji as well as Toh. Ji’e’toh governs the way the Shianese fight as well. The least amount of Ji one can gain is by slaying an opponent. The Shianese view this as too easy and wasteful. Capturing an enemy without harming them or ending a dispute without resorting to violence gains one much Ji, but the greatest Ji comes from touching an armed opponent in combat while unarmed and without harming them. Such opponents who are touched gain great Toh and become gai’shain. Gai’shain don white robes and serve their captor dutifully for a year and a day, never touching a weapon or disobeying a command. There are many ways to gain Toh. Ordering gai’shain to do a shameful act is the greatest Toh Reminding a gai’shain of their life before donning the white, or reminding someone of Toh they have already met is shameful and incurs much Toh. Asking publicly if you have Toh implies you are unaware of the consequences of your own actions and is doubly shameful.Mountains of Exile
Finer warriors than Arboria has ever known have been belittled and exiled to the barren cliffs of Shian TorTo many Shianese, it is preferable for the entire tribe to become gai’shain before resorting to a life scraping snow off the windy peaks of the mountains. Some leaders however, are too proud to submit to their rivals, and doom their people to strife. The mountains of Shian Tor is rich with water in the form of snow, but what the plains have in abundance, the mountains lack. Food is scarce, and the few creatures that can be hunted on the steep slopes are no easy prey. Many a tribe has ventured into the mountains to never be seen again. Some wonder if there is a source of food deep in the mountains which allow tribes to stay, but many muse that a harsh death is far more likely. The mountains serve one other purpose for the Shianese. Any who manifest the Donum Aevum or any who aspire to lead their tribe must trek to the highest peak visible from the plains to a site named Burasagatta Ki, or The Hanging Tree. None speak of that test of will, but it leaves them all changed.
Disbandment
After the Great Provenire, Akil and Asherah founded the Anidinian Empire, bringing peace to the middenland. Akil was not done. He marshaled together Anidine's greatest armies and marched on Shian Tor, not to conquer, but to liberate.
His armies set upon the dragons of the grasslands with their war machines and magics. The dragons fought tooth and nail, blasting the earth as they retreated. Painful years of conflict and countless lives lost in the Eternal Fire ended in Akil's eventual victory. He had driven the dragons from their home. He declared this new land Jineinoheiya, a vassal state of the Anidinian Empire. A place where a great city to rival Helix could be founded on the lake.
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