Pudukhepa

*Trust in your own, or trust not at all.* - **Phrase of Pudukhepa**

## City Nation of Pudukhepa

To the south, near the source of the Neket river is the city nation of Pudukhepa. Founded in the mountains of the Teeth, the city is built across a valley which was carved in ancient times by the Neket as it spills out of the Teeth. The city could almost be considered two cities as the Neket runs directly through the center of the valley and Pudukhepa is built on along both shores. Farmland immediately surrounds the river, receiving the blessings of the yearly floods, and built all the way up to the steep mountain walls is the rest of the city. The Great Bridge of Pudukhepa connects the two shores, an ancient and marvelous engineering project which spanned the rule of multiple Ramaltas.

Very isolated form the rest of Indagar, the people of Pudukhepa, including their ruling Ramaltas, maintain a culture considered odd by the rest of the Ramal Nations. Their society is deeply insular and distrustful of outsiders, save for the Atta further north along the Neket whose people share a similar lineage and culture. Even the architecture of the city is oddly different than the rest of the Ramal Nations, eschewing artistic flare in favor of square and functional buildings. The Great Bridge of Pudukhepa wastes nothing on visual arts, instead creating a beauty out of simple, solid, functional stone. The people of the city, and their ruler, are best known for their deep pragmatism, likely born of their history, isolation, and determination to survive in the harsh climate of the Sand Seas.

A fierce independence also marks the culture of the city. The Ramaltas must rule with an iron fist else be overtaken by someone more ruthless. That said, the people of Pudukhepa believe implicitly in the power of the Ramaltas who brought order and civilization to their corner of the desert. Therefore, the people and politics of Pudukhepa are largely defined by the odd juxtaposition of a pragmatic ambition alongside a fierce loyalty. That loyalty is earned, and should someone prove to be the better of another, it is simply understood that they should be granted the reigns of power.

## History of Pudukhepa

Before the Ramaltas, Pudukhepa consisted of two rival villages along the shores of the Neket. These people spoke different dialects and were fiercely independent, sometimes even resorting to violence against the other village. However, the Neket is a formidable, geographic barrier, and as such, these two villages, although they could see each other across the river, were still largely isolated from each other. Similarly to other Ramaltas, the first Ramaltas of Pudukhepa arrived in 112 AF, leading an army of rag-tag raiders from the desert. Knowing that the key to power would be to establish a city to rival that of Tadukhepa, the Ramaltas was presented with the need to bring the rival villages together under a single banner. Having never seen a conqueror before, neither village wished to fight the Ramaltas, but both villages were reluctant to give up any independence. However, the Ramaltas first forced an alliance on the village to the east, and using their boats, crossed the Neket to force the village of the west to become a protectorate.

From that point on, the Ramaltas declared that the people of the villages, including the people of the raiders he led, were to become one people. This process was not easy, as the merging of cultures is no small task. But, under the control of the Ramaltas, both villages began to grow. The Ramaltas began infrastructure projects, leading villagers into the Teeth to establish mining operations on otherwise virgin lands. This led to a growth in wealth but to also an increase in the quality of life for everyone involved. As such, overtime, the people of the villages and the invaders began to intermingle, all enjoying the fruits of the Ramaltas. In great ceremony in 172 AF, a unification festival occurred in which the leaders of all factions came together and finally announced that from that day forward, the people of the region would simply all be collectively known as coming from Pudukhepa. Thus, the villages were culturally united into a single city.

With easy access to mining resources and control of the source of the Neket, Pudukhepa grew and expanded. Other nearby bands in the desert as well as smaller villages to the north began to come under the control of the Ramaltas. With little contact from outsiders, the society relied heavily on itself for everything that it needed and self sustained. It was from there that their insular outlook on life as well as strange culture and architecture formed,independently of the rest of the Ramal Nations.

## Pudukhepa Blood Cults

As a pragmatic people, the expansion of the Blood Cults within Pudukhepa was not as curtailed as it was in other areas of the Sand Seas. Seeing the value in the macabre operations of the Blood Mages, Pudukhepa welcomed the growth of Blood Cults. Although still largely masked, Pudukhepa is the only city nation in the Ramal Nations where Blood Mages freely walk the streets without feeling the need to hide from prying eyes. They are welcomed into the cultural rites and festivities of the city and even serve some governmental positions. The people of Pudukhepa have benefited greatly from this relationship as most often, new innovation in the practice of Blood Magic begins in Pudukhepa. Further, many scholars and aspiring mages travel to Pudukhepa to join the cults there and become educated in their ways.

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--Neil (talk) 16:31, 24 October 2016 (AST)