Prakhmir

### Densities:

20% Human, 20% Dwarven, 20% Elven,15% Giant-Kin, 8% Half-Born, 7% Draconids, 5% Beast-Folk, 5% Other

### Exports:

Raw Materials, Industrial Goods, Processed Goods, Weapons, Ships, Technology

### Major Settlements:

Miskagrad, Oshov, Nebodar, Xeniaburg

Prakhmir, being a harsh land, tends to breed only the hardiest of peoples. Though they are largely scattered and sheltered, Prakhmirans remain resolute in the face of the engulfing wilderness and constant threat of orbital death. Though larger settlements are rare, the powers that generally rule over larger parts of Prakhmir tend to build fortress-cities in the impact craters of meteor impacts, using the rim of the crater as a defensive wall. Due to the nature of the craters, these cities use the lakes that tend to form as support, a source of water for the burgeoning population. Such cities are built with a faint hope that lightning will not strike the same place twice, so to speak.

Outside of major cities, the people tend to live in small, mobile enclaves or nestled into the crevices of mountains, as they value cover and protection above much else. These small villages tend to rely heavily on hunting and gathering, as to settle down for agriculture needs both untainted soil and a less dangerous environment, though some such farming villages exist. Some braver individuals live solitary lives among the highlands and deep woods, content in their isolation.

## **Government**

Prakhmir’s government is rather decentralized due to the city-state based nature of its civilians as well as multiple rural communities, but in general, it has a single government. The government is composed of both a General Council of Cossacks, which handle the military branch of the governing and are generally in charge of logistical issues therein and city military defense and the like, with a civic leader known as an Ataman. This Ataman serves for life or until pushed out of their position by the General Council, but this happens generally only in times of treasonous behavior or intense incompetence, and has a number of fail-safes to stop a complete military take-over. This Ataman is a nominated role, chosen by another general council that is composed of members of every part of society, from the clergy and cossacks to the workers and farmers, and the candidate can be selected from almost any walk of life if they are willing. Finally, though not technically part of the government, there is a last advisory council of officers and officials from various fields.

## **Prejudices**

Though there are few real species prejudices in Prakhmir, there is an intense disdain and prejudice against magic.  In Prakhmir, spellcasters are excessively rare. Babies born with innate magical ability are often born dead, malformed, or otherwise overwhelmed by the blight that taints the land, and those that can survive birth have little control over their magic and are for this reason a danger to both themselves and others. As such, spellcasters are generally ostracized, as they are a beacon for wildlife, a threat to order, and generally abhorred. Of sorcerers, the most common are aberrant and wild magic. Of warlocks, few are willing to make a pact with the twisted deities of the sphere unless desperate. Of wizards, there is little to study due to magic being so spurned. The least common, however, is druids. Few are capable of communing with or understanding the flora and fauna that survive in the wastes, and fewer still of emerging sane after doing so.

As such, spellcasters are pushed out of societies if not sanctioned, and even then are occasionally hunted down if they make themselves too known or too much of an issue, generally by the Umbral Legion, but more superstitious peoples and smaller villages hold more violent standpoints against spellcasters in general.

Another prejudice many in Prakhmir hold is an intense disdain for aasimar. As opposed to the general view of aasimar as a good omen or something to be praised, those in Prakhmir shunt their disdain for religion and deities onto the aasimar as well, seeing them in the way most others see tieflings, as a cursed bloodline of ill omen. As such, few aasimar live to adulthood, though in the opposite, tieflings are treated normally and with respect. After all, those who are born of the Hells are more prepared to survive hell.

Finally, many Prakhmirans hold prejudice against high elves. In the way that many look at half-orcs, Prakhmirans hold grudges against high elves due to their perceived haughtiness and bias towards other races. They dislike them due to perceived weakness, though Prakhmir is home to very few high elves, and there isn’t much bias towards Wood and Sea Elves as well as Eladrin.  Prakhmirans are generally incredibly tolerant towards goblinoids, orcs, and half-orcs, as they are both strong and capable.

## **Crime**

Crime is very rare on Prakhmir, solely due to the immense punishment it brings to those that are caught. Due to the strained resources of the planet, many cities do not have the ability to deal with long-term incarceration, and thus rely more on disposing of criminals through various methods. A popular way is through exile, merely sending the criminal out into the dangerous badlands that surround most settlements with little preparation, though they are typically given enough supplies for several days and a weapon, that they may survive for at least some time. For less serious crimes, the punishment is typically some forced labor or possible corporeal punishment. However, for more serious crimes, execution is generally the only outcome, often in ways meant to make a point and warn others to not commit crimes that could disrupt the fragile natures of the settlements.

The modern government of Prakhmir holds a very liberal standpoint on forgiveness for piracy, in that if minor pirates wish, they can receive full pardons and amnesty on Prakhmir, as well as safety from any government that would seek their extradition. In exchange for this safety of mind and the chance to start anew, the pirates are not allowed offworld of Prakhmir, and though they may not receive the best lodgings and opportunities, they still have the chance to put their past behind them and start anew with a new life. However, this mercy only extends so far, as there are some pirates that are deemed too far gone for the Hetmanate’s mercy.

## **Climate/Geography**

Prakhmir is a strange, desolate planet that has endured grievous trauma in the past millennia. From the outside, it appears as a pockmarked orb of white, grey, green and blue. However, near the southern pole is a singular, massive impact crater from which massive surface cracks run along the surface of the planet, miles deep at some point. The planet is gradually more volcanic towards the south, to the point that while the northern hemisphere is mostly forested highlands with climatic differences, the southern hemisphere is largely covered in ash-covered volcanic wastelands, splintered trees, and craters. Despite this, life continues on both sides of the world. Another geographical quirk of the planet is that due to the major impact on the southern pole, the planet’s spin around the dim star of the system is contorted. Thus, every year, each pole experiences a roughly 3-month long winter where the sun never rises, and a 3-month summer where it never sets. Though this effect is lessened around the equator, there is at minimum a week of light and week of dark.

The planet itself is surrounded by a massive, Kessler-effect style asteroid sphere, generally referred to by the planet’s population as “The Broken Halo of the Gods”. It is common knowledge that this field of splintered rock is the blasted apart remains of the planet’s moon, composed of chunks of stone in various sizes. The moon itself still remains in some small capacity, though the half of it that remains is little more than a wasteland. What caused the cataclysm that broke their moon apart is unknown, or if it merely came into being in this state. This field of asteroids is precisely the reason Prakhmiran ships are armored, to be able to withstand small impacts and navigate safely through the belt.

Though it is already beset by trouble, the planet is constantly buffeted and bombarded by meteors, some too small to merely be a constant meteor shower, but often ones large enough to create impact craters or airburst. These are seen as the most threatening, as the planet’s surface is covered in craters created by these magical meteors. Though ones charged with magic are rarer, they leave devastating marks on the planet’s surface, and change the very landscape around the impact site. The largest crater on the southern hemisphere was one such meteor, speculated to be a piece of the moon that fell from orbit. Occasionally, the meteor itself survives the impact, and such stones are heavily treasured and immensely valuable.