Menaskor

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Menaskor as a nation is located in the eastern tropical forest of the Western continent, in the strip of land between the New Ocean and the Sea of the Three Islands. As such, travel is usually complicated between settlements, which pushed menaskorians to settle in a few dense population centers. The most important of them is Talos, the de facto capital, that was established alongside a river and provides easy access to water and sea.

The kingdom borders with a few other growing nations, specially in the east: Haar Basaadah Miishdom Jahafe, Taikar val Argata and Teltuorus Saurus. The northern border is shared with Masat.

Even though there's a few neighboring races living in Menaskor, most of its inhabitans are dragonborn: tall and physically imposing humanoid figures, covered in scales and fangs that can look menacing to an ignorant observer. They are, however, as friendly or agressive as you make them, no different from most sentient races. At some step in their evolution, multiple scale variations were introduced, and today you can find dragonborn of a multitude of colors.

## History

"It is theorized that the societies of Menaskor and Sod'lic Dyas'val have diverged over time from some common ancestor, or perhaps a singular piece of land. This affirmation may seem outlandish at a glance, but holds firm when we take a closer look and compare seemingly unrelated different fields.

Biologically, Menaskor’s dragonborn have sturdy builds and different anatomical adaptations for combat (such as clawed hands, sharp fangs or an elemental breath in accordance with their skin color). These traits betray their obvious draconic origin, and give them a natural predisposition towards physical combat. On the other hand, Sod’lic Dyas’val’s serpentborn have leaner frames, likely for a better maneuverability and a faster peak speed (both essential for underwater survival), and their innate ability to psychologically pressure predators suggests close ties with sea serpents in that they both share a desire to start and end combat as quickly as possible. This knowledge will already be obvious to anyone scholarly enough to be reading this text, and seems to contradict the initial thesis, but the context must be set up to paint the complete picture.

Sociologically, dragonborn and serpentborn both have a culture that puts a heavy importance in personal merits and self-reliance. This in itself is not rare, but it is odd that both cultures, separated by an ocean and land borders, share the same kind of group-oriented merit-based society.

Anthropologically, both nations emigrated from somewhere in the north-east of the western continent, and even if the specific location is almost impossible to pin down, ancient records exist that make reference to the remains of an ancient civilization. If these dated records talk about ruins, it is obvious why it is currently unrealistic to easily uncover further information about this antique nation. This is one of my primordial objectives: I truly believe an expedition to the north financed by the Kingdom would potentially benefit us greatly, not only by informing us of our past, but by giving us hints of our future.

Lastly, historically; this is where the stronger correlation lies, since the similarities between both origin legends are striking, and there have been no records of nearly enough cultural sharing and population intermingling for such legends to be orally transferred. There are so many common elements, that instead of telling nearly the same version with minor differences for each nation, I will tell the common story.

Supposedly, both races come from a lost nation in the north-east, where current Synxoca, Coen Keuute and Blackcliff are located; the legends talk of an anonymous pregnant human woman, of unspecified origin, that was set to be sacrificed by throwing her down a demonic pit in order to appease the spirits. Her twin children were born amidst the darkness and horrors of the underworld, and their appearance was shaped by it: one of them had a skin of hard scales, interlocking with each other to form a natural armor, fingers finished in sharp and thick claws unlike any other human, a lizard-like face suited for lunging bites, and the natural talent to exhale fire through its maw. This child will be called the Dragon. The other twin had smaller and thinner scales, almost confused with skin by untrained eyes, suited for agile movement and speed. His lean frame complemented this tendency, and its more defining characteristic was its overwhelming pressence. This child will be called the Serpent.

Among the terrors of the demonic pit, the twins stood together and fought together until they rose to the surface, in a metaphoric rebirth. The legends here are quite explicit in mentioning how “the light of the sun bathed them, and their ears were blessed by the sounds of the ocean waves”, possibly as foreshadowing for further events. The description of this pit loosely matches the Volvelek, or *Red Mouth* in coronary, in current Coen Keuute; we don’t have much reliable information about it, but from what we’ve gathered from the few travelers that came back, it’s an almost completely vertical cave entrance where the locals sacrifice captives, and is thought of as the entrance to a demonic underworld.

After this tribulation, the Serpent and the Dragon now had to face the overworld, with its own set of challenges and harsh realities; the people of the land were not receptive to the twins’ advances, and they were often shunned or received with violence. But they persevered, and over time, after being rejected from numerous societies, they managed to create their own. The nation prospered, and under the complementary rule of the Serpent and the Dragon, became an important local power.

In academic circles, it is assumed that at this time, both dragonborn and serpentborn considered themselves part of the same species, despite the obvious physical differences. This is where the legends become confusing, since there is no consensus regarding the reason for the fall of this nation, nor is there much information about it in general. Since records about their ruins are dated more than 800 years in the past, the collapse must have happened at least around 1200 years ago, but we have no way of accurately determining if it was 1200, 12000 or more.

The one thing both mythos seem to agree on, is that something catastrophic happened that provoked a massive exodus, which caused the population to spread through the western continent. It is also told that around this time, the Serpent and the Dragon parted ways due to some kind of conflict. Whether this was literal, or merely a metaphor for the breaking of their society, is not made clear. There are some other pockets of these races around, but the nations we’re interested in for now likely come from a group that migrated to the south-east; the immense majority of dragonborn would have settled near the source of a river, where modern-day Talos is located, whereas the serpentborn would have followed the river downstream to the sea, which they would have eventually crossed to reach their current island."

*Extract from “The ancestral origin of sentient races, Compendium by an anonymous scholar, Volume I”*

## Geography

Most settlements in Menaskor are built in clearings in the forest near various rivers, expanded through woodcutting and used for building and agriculture. Talos, the capital, was established near the birth of the most important river in the area and side by side with the mountain from which it flows. This advantageous access to both water and stone made it attractive to neighbouring dragonborn, which made it the biggest menaskorian settlement in the area and, in time, the capital of the nation.

### Fauna

Aside from the common continent-wide animals, Menaskor is home to an endemic sub-species of horses, locally know as coronnial horses. These animals are stronger and slower than their traditional counterparts, which makes them ideal for agriculture and physical labour. They're also often used in the military.

## Languages

Coronary is the language of the dragonborn of Menaskor, mainly composed of harsh and closed sounds. It can sound aggressive to non-speakers, but most learn the difference quickly when they hear angry coronary. There hasn't been an effort to make a unified system of rules so far, it's mostly a spoken language, with a purely phonetic writing.

## Politics

### Internal government

Menaskor is governed by a monarch and helped by a council of advisors, whose number varies with the coronation of each new king. Historically, the most consistent roles have been Reign Affairs, Diplomacy, Military, Treasury, and People. These advisors usually have free reign in day to day decisions, but the king can always overrule them, and often does so when complaints are brought up or at times of strife. These leaders don’t have defined terms, but are rather deposed and appointed by the king when he sees fit. Although this system seems prone to abuse, the king is subjected to the same system; the people of Menaskor elect and depose their king at will, and are often the strictest critics of the elites. As such, they will be quick to throw away a king that appoints individuals based on self-interest. Of course, it’s not a perfect system: a particularly insidious individual may be able to deceive a large portion of the population for enough time to benefit, but this is pretty rare due to societal pressures. In any case, any one citizen can try to gather a few people and start the deposition procedure through its local governance.

All menaskorians have a basic military training that is included in their compulsory “education” from 5 to 15 years old (although this education is usually focused on practical applications, such as artisan work). Menaskor’s Treasury provides for those children who cannot live for themselves during their education, but once it’s finished, they’re expected to quickly make something of themselves or fall down the social ladder. Children of richer families can have a little more time to prepare, but society still expects a certain amount of experience, and an older menaskorian with little to no practical experience is treated roughly by its peers.

However, this military training doesn’t usually come into play, as Menaskor has a professional army at their disposal. At times of peace, this small and highly trained force is dispersed in Menaskor’s cities and settlements and acts as a sort of police force. They’re not extremely effective in investigative matters as it’s far from their realm of expertise, but they work rather well as a deterrent to criminals.

### International presence

The Kingdom of Menaskor has taken a prominent position in international diplomacy through its unofficial position as public representative of the United Nations of Oestia, of which it is a founding member.

### The Crumbling

The period in which many once-prosperous nations slowly fell into anarchy is called "The Crumbling" in Menaskor. Although the dragonborn government withstood, many of its allies in the United Nations of Oestia fell victims to it. In an attempt to restore order to the territories and avoid further losses, many of them were absorbed by the Kingdom. These nations were:

* Atom
* Baluward Deu
* Hyec Fen
* Imai Turna
* Otniaki
* Varangar

The bureaucratic structure of Menaskor had to be greatly expanded in order to retain control of cultures so diverse in needs and wants, but ultimately this was possible due to a laissez-faire attitude towards these territories that only required them to cooperate in big-scale projects and to provide soldiers for the armies. The land distance between the mainland and all of these territories made such an agreement easier for both parties.

## Religion and culture

### Moral values and principles

Menaskor is a meritocracy that places a lot of importance on personal responsibility and achievements. The menaskorian culture makes it a point to provide everyone with an opportunity to achieve success and climb the social ladder, but is ruthless in its challenges and only allows the most capable (and often, equally ruthless) to reach the top. However, the higher-ups are kept in check by a continuous expectation of the population of efficiency and success; it’s not unusual to have someone reach a position of power to be immediately deposed because of a great failure soon after their appointment. This system is not seen as a weakness but rather as a strength of Menaskor, whose people pride themselves in the achievements of their leaders and see them as role models and inspiration.

### Traditions

As a consequence of Menaskor’s culture, one of the most important events a citizen can host is a duel, in which the rivals measure their abilities to see who comes out on top. This was originally a fighting practice, but has expanded into other (unexpected) disciplines, such as arts and sciences: musicians often battle in open streets using their instruments as weapons, whereas mathematicians throw complex problems at each other in hopes of overwhelming their opponents while they try to solve all of those thrown at them. This tradition culminated around 200 years ago in the creation of the Days of Challenges and Duels (commonly referred to as simply “the Duels” or “the Days of Duels”), a national event that is organized once every two years in which many skilled individuals battle it out for supremacy in their respective fields. The fighting duels are still the most popular ones, but there’s a great variety of participating disciplines. Victory at the Days of Duels often means a direct ticket to a high-paying position in the government, which means that competition is always fierce, and spectators are guaranteed a good time.

### Religion

In Menaskor, religion is treated mainly as an afterthought. There is a main religion, Coroism, based on the same principles as menaskorian culture, but it isn’t forcefully taught or plays a big role in politics. It is however assumed that all citizens belong to it, and the clergy is usually present in places of social importance, such as schools and town halls, although they act more as spiritual guides than actual preachers. There is also a subsection of the church that belongs to the army and acts as its medical sector; the few magical users of Menaskor are usually here, acting either as healers or magical support. Although it’s not a hard rule, the People’s Seat of Menaskor’s council is usually occupied by a member of the Coroism Church due to the already established structure of the Church and its presence in even the nation’s smallest settlements.

### Art

The nation’s merit-based mentality permeates society, and as such, their culture. Most art and literature is related in at least some way to a great achievement or success: the most well-known story is “*The song of the dragonfly*”, the tale of the second king of Menaskor, which came from a lower family in a lost settlement from the north and climbed the social ladder to the very top in a society very different from that of today. This book is effectively the foundational myth of Menaskor, and represents the ideal path of the citizen at the same time as it gives hope to the most unfortunate.