Emirates of Sitaar

Created by u/TinyLittleFlame
=== Geography ===
Even plains covered by plant life, most of which is tall sea grass. Other plants include sea coconuts in the shallows and sea bamboo, both of which have many Sitari made plantations. The most striking feature of the region are the large number of free roaming giant starfish (a foot in diameter) that dot the grassy plains. The main role of the Sitari army in peace time is protecting these from predators, thereby securing their own major food source.
=== Biology ===
Octopus People (Human torso with Eight Tentacles). They got Short Flaps of skin between their tentacles (down to mid thigh) to help swim. They call this a skirt.
Males have a special penis tentacle (the one near the back). It has a bulbous phallic head with a slit to ejaculate sperm. Females got vaginas in their "skirts". This is basically the oviduct in which the eggs are developed. The males stick their phallic tentacle in the oviduct and spew sperm.
They have no pregnancies. Females release their sperm-covered eggs during an orgasm. They usually do this in designated enclosures.
The eggs are walnut sized when released by the female. Fertilized eggs grow up to the size of a plum before a palm-length baby bursts out of it. The whole process after laying the eggs completes in 9 weeks. The new borns initially try to crawl around but don't get far. They learn to swim a few weeks in when they consume mother's jelly and develop longer tentacles and skirts.
The females also have breasts which secrete gelatinous nutritious substance to feed their young. Due to the lack of pregnancy, this secretion is triggered by a sucking stimulus. For this reason, women planning to become a mother attach baby starfish on their nipples, which suck the nipples in search of food. Once the secretion begins, the starfish remain latched until they grow too big and are replaced with new ones.
They secrete sticky black ink from pores in their palms. This can be in powerful jets of inky black clouds or just from finger tips for writing.
They have no ears or hair but have a multitude of tendrils protruding from the top of their skull in a hair-like fashion, each a millimetre thick. These are used to detect sounds in the water. Outside of the water, the Sitari can be a little hard of hearing. Sitari who frequently interact with above sea races learn how to understand with a combination of lip reading and focused hearing. A normal Sitari will have a tough time understanding anything.
Their gills are found on the sides of their torso.
While the default skin color is pale blue, around 30% of the population can change skin color. Such people are called Rangi and are thought to be gifted. This trait is hereditary, with a larger probability of this being passed to the daughter. However, in the untrained this manifests as being able to change the shade of blue. Soldiers with this trait are trained rigorously to be able to change into a larger palette with varying degrees of success. Only the most elite can adopt multicolored patterns with no-one in recorded history ever achieving more than 3 colors at once.
=== History ===
The first Emperor of Sitaar, Ba Singse appointed his military general as the first Shamsheer-khuan after the successful conquest and consolidation of the Emirates under Ba Singse’s rule. Seven High Emirs were appointed as well, allies of the Ba Family, to rule seven Emirates.
Over time, the Shamsheer-khuan inserted himself between the Emirs and the Emperor to help govern the nation. The office of the Emperor grew very reliant on the office of the Shamsheer-khuan. By the third Emperor, Ba Gadafa, the Shamsheer-khuan of the time was in complete control of the nation and had subdued the Emirs into total obedience.
When Emperor Ba Gadafa was succeeded by Emperor Ba Akheer, the new monarch tried to dismantle the Shamsheer-khuan’s office. That attempt was quickly over when the Shamsheer-khuan lay seige to the Imperial Palace. The males of the Ba family were executed and the Shamsheer-khuan decreed that the Ba family shall no longer raise sons. There will be no more Emperors. In return, they shall retain their position as the Imperial family and the Matriarch shall be titled the Empress. They shall continue to recieve taxes from the Emirs and they may continue their life of luxury, so long as they never interfere with the office of the Shamsheer-khuan again.
Empress Ba Kaleefa accepted the terms.
=== Society ===
The land belongs to the Emirs and all those who live on it or feed on it must pay a tax to the Emir. There are seven Emirates, each ruled by a High Emir, each of which have multiple minor Emirs under their command to govern towns and adjoining lands. The High Emirs are technically subservient to the Empress, but the real power lies with the military commander titled Shamsheer-khuan (bearer of the legendary sword). The Shamsheer-khuan oversees all matters of state including tax collection, national expenditures and foreign policy. His directives are law and must be executed by the Emirs. The Shamsheer-khuan is selected once every ten years through a tournament of one-on-one combat.
The Royal family’s matriarch is the Empress of the nation. The royal family is not allowed to have any sons. Any sons the females bear are given away. This is to maintain harmony between the royal family and the Shamsheer-khuan’s office.
While soldiers are on the Emirs’ payroll and spend most of their time defending their local territories, all soldiers are part of the same Imperial army and are subservient to the Shamsheer-khuan. This concept is reinforced as, every soldier is mandated to spend three months in training camp every year. Camp is set up twice an year. While half the army is away training, the other half is on duty. So the camp is up for six months and for the other six, everyone is at home. The Shamsheer-khuan spends a month and a half in each camp.
Sitaar is a marriage-less society. Children take the family name of the woman who brestfeeds them. This may be the biological mother, a woman from the mother’s family, a woman from the father’s family, or any other woman that wishes to adopt the child. Households are built around the mother. She is the Matriarch of the house and her offspring live with her until her death.
In many ways, Sitaar is a patriarchal society and women are generally expected to stay home and take care of the kids. However, lower income households do have working women.
=== Culture ===
The Sitari hold great respect for lineage since they believe their ancestors can intercede on their behalf with the Great Ocean Spirit Vaia and bring them great fortune. Therefore the Sitari strive to please their ancestors by following their ideals, fulfilling their dreams and wishes, maintaining and visiting family shrines, and by honoring them through rituals conducted by monks.
The Sitari view the most sacred bond to be that of mother and child. More specifically, this bond is with the woman that gave suckle to the baby, not the biological mother as it is very common in the Sitari for women to adopt children not born from their own eggs.
The Sitari do not wear clothes. Instead, they decorate their bodies with inked patterns that function like temporary tattoos. The richest Sitari have servants skilled in the ink arts that decorate their employers in elaborate and intricate designs. Most Sitari however, ink themselves in simple designs. On special occasions women visit ink parlors to get decorated well. Those who can afford it also adorn themselves with precious gems and pearls as well as precious metals forged and fashioned in the lands above the sea.
Sitar is rich with the arts in many forms including poetry, prose and plays, as as well as ornate wood carving and rock sculpting. All major towns have theaters while villages often play host to travelling performers. The ancient art of shadow puppets is very popular in the rural areas.
=== Magic ===
Shamans exist that can communicate with the dead and summon spirits. Shamans are revered and often hired for rituals. The mainstream magic is different from necromancy as it does not manipulate the dead. Necromancy does exist though but seen as a dark art and its practice is punishable by a gruesome death.
=== Major Exports and Imports ===
==== Exports ====
Sea-weed fabric, sea-bamboo and its products, Manta Ray leather goods
==== Imports ====
kelp cord, coral, sea silks, jewels and luxury items.
=== Posts: ===
Emirates of Sitaar 
Sitari Religion
Fauna of Sitaar
Sitari Architecture
Floating Ports and Other Aqua-accessibilities 
Festivals of Sitaar
Aboard a Merchant Ship
Courtship, Children, and Family Structures
An Unlikely Friendship
The Whale Port of Sitaar
Daughter of the Shamsheer-khuan 
Working Women in Sitaar
Ports of Sitaar
Little Sparkling Flower
An Important Lesson
An Older Type of Sitari Ship
All Grown Up
Flowerpicking 
The Naari Tree
The New Shamsheer-khuan 
Market Monday The Ocean Belly Festival
Taking the Shabaaz home
Tehzaaba the Killer Coral Plant
The Seven Emirates and Their Emirs
The Morning After 
Fa Babies!
Naughty Indulgences
Fahasha, the City of Whores part 1
A New Hope for Zafaria 
WSW Pursuit of Propulsion
Fahash, City of Whores part 2
The Sitari Script
Yet Another Animal Inspired Submersible
A Gift For the Emir
An Unexpected Baby
The Reclusive Emir
The Intruder
The Green Gentleman 
Treating With the Sunken
Lessa the Huntress
Glory to the Suna Name
Sitari Settlements and How They Tick
WSW The One Armed Bandit
Trans-Emirati Aquatic Train System
Be Our Guest
Return to Fa Manor
Money Matters: Banking Basics
Money Matters: Stock Exchanges
Confessions of an Heiress
Money Matters: Wire Transfers
The Nations of the Laukatal Sea Come Together
Beneath the Waves