Sayuri

**Sayuri** (パボリト, *Sayuri*) is one of the most notable cities of Petrico; home to one of the largest gathering of Concord Monks, due to the holy ground of Mount Katiwala being so close by. This city is well known for its religious standings, as well as the finest export of textiles and prayer beads in all of Mys.

## Geography and Infrastructure

According to the Petrico Census Bureau, Sayuri has a total area of 203 square miles (525 km2), of which only 20 square miles (60 km2) is urbanized. The remainder of the land is used as holy grounds for prayer, deity temples, and pilgrimage to the peak of Mount Katiwala.

Sayuri has an elevation of about 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and lies in the center of the Petrico Plateau with the surrounding mountains rising to 5,500 m (18,000 ft); and the largest of the mountains, Mount Katiwala, rising up to 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) above sea level. Because of such elevation, the air only contains 64 percent of the oxygen compared to sea level, so citizens have a high concentration of hemoglobin, making them function similar to Olympic athletes when at sea level. Being the highest city in the world, it receives a great deal of rainfall, about 20 inches (500 mm) between August and September. This turns to snow during the months of September and January, with about 14 inches (355.6 mm) of sticking snow during this time and temperatures with a low average of
-9 °C (16 °F). The rest of the year the city is luscious and green, having temperate climates and delightful foliage around the city grounds and at the base of Mount Katiwala.

The city itself follows traditional japanese architecture being typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Many of the buildings have sliding doors that are used in place of walls. The roof is the most visually impressive component, often constituting half the size of the whole edifice, and are easy to see over the plentiful mountains of the surrounding area. This architecture carries over to the grandiose shrines of the nations dominant religion, with shrines being made almost twice the size of normal dwellings.

## Demographics

The X800 Census reported that Paborito had a population of 324,818 people; with 257,400 people living in the urban area, with the remaining 67,418 people living in the outskirts and tending to the deity shrines, farms, and holy burial grounds. This makes the population density people per square mile, one of the lowest densities for the major cities of Petrico. For every 100 females there was 108.6 males, this is predominantly due to the farming community having a large propensity for men workers.

Because of the holy significance of the grounds that the city takes root in, it is not a surprise that nearly half of its population are monks or tied to the religious temples of the land; though this figure includes monks from surrounding monasteries who travel to Paborito for various religious purposes and are not ordinarily resident there.

## Religion

The dominant religion of Sayuri, and that of all of Petrico, is one known as Condcordis. It focuses on ritual practices and prayers, to help Concords, or practitioners of Concordis, establish a connection between their spirit and that of the deity spirits that watch over the world. Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual; this dress being mainly shown through the wearing of prayer beads, something that shows their devotion as well as their standing within the shrine if one were to look at Concord Monk's beads. The teachings of this religion focus greatly on the principles of sincerity, honesty, purity and integrity.

Concordis focuses on the worship of an abundance of deities, each typically having their own Concordis Shrine of varying size, depending on the importance of the deity. These deities are said to pass on their essence into a variety of substances, like trees, rocks, animals, or even people can posses the spirit of the deity. But their true soul rests at a place where Concordis Shrines have been erected as an offering to "house" the spirit and give Concords a place to offer their prayers and gifts to the spirit in which is enshrined there. The shrines themselves are believed to help bridge the gap between the deity and the physical world, as the shrine grows in power from the offerings given to the spirit, who in turn give its energy into maintaining the shrine. It is because of this that many speak to the overwhelming energy and beauty alive in a Concordis Shrine, a phenomena that inspires a sense of wonder and awe.

With a deity each holding their own specific purpose, examples being a god for education, a goddess for agriculture, and many more; there are a variety of temples build across Petrico that Concords can go to offer prayer, or even monetary offerings to the gods to ask for help in whatever troubles face their lives. Prayer to the gods can be done anywhere, however, but are typically done at shrines in order to be as close to the deity as possible to ensure their thoughts are heard. When not at a shrine however, prayer beads are used to help Concords meditate and enter a state of heightened being so that they can better sense the presence of the spirit dimension and send their prayers to the gods. These prayer beads are also used to help distinguish Concord Monks from regular practitioners, as Concord Monks will generally have a large red bead in the center of their prayer beads that is made from the shrine in which they serve. This is believed to give them a better connection with the deity of that shrine, due to having a bead infused with the power of the spirit itself.

Mount Katiwala is held as sacred ground in Concordis, as this location is said to be closest to the spirit realm, or Tentoji. The ascension of this mountain is said to bring one into Tentoji, where the gods can manifest themselves if one is of pure heart and devout faith. Many Concords from all over Mys travel to Mount Katiwala annually to offer their prayers to the gods and to achieve a deeper spiritual understanding of themselves and how the gods wish them to live their lives.

## Economy

With the view to maintaining a balance between industry and the environment, tourism and service industries are emphasized as growth engines for the future of the town. Many of Sayuri's rural residents practice traditional agriculture and animal husbandry, with the number of llama's equal to that of the number of residents in the town. Sayuri is also the traditional hub of the Concordis trading network of textiles and prayer beads.

People mainly plant highland barley and winter wheat, having a specialty for a variety of grain and pastry products that are exported throughout Mys. This agriculture aspect also incorporates a wide variety of beans, peas, onion, garlic, and cabbages due their low temperatures and elevation favoring these more hardy crops. Large markets are held every week to showcase the week's harvest, as well as bring together the community at a common ground. Their diet is rounded out by the mountain native cattle that are worked in herds by the rural Sayurians, as well as the occasional feast of llamas and alpacas when it was time to switch over herds. As the monks of Concordis are not one to kill animals, the butchers are held in high regards for their importance to the community.

Aside from the agricultural exports, the main economic drive of this community comes from the creation and export of religious items such as prayer flags and beads. These beads are hand carved from the trees that grow on Mount Katiwala, or are made from seeds that grow in the fertile soil at the mountains base. These prayer beads are generally used by practitioners to count the number of breaths while meditating, as well as to count the number of times a mantra was said. The beads itself are very hard and dense, ivory-colored with brown marbling; and when combined with crafted stone beads of jade or onyx, give the prayer beads a artistic beauty. The beads are said to help ward off the malicious spirits and any energies of affliction, as the holy spirits that take home in the mountain are thought to grow these seeds themselves, and infusing their power into them.

Prayer flags are also a popular item that supplies the city with part of its thriving economy. These prayer flags are woven from the wool gather from the cities larger llama and alpaca herd. These prayer flags are said to help purify a space that they encompass, to better help a practitioner connect with the deity they are praying to. These flags are generally a square piece of colorful cloth with a mantra written repeatedly across them. These flags come in five different colors: red, blue, green, white, and yellow. Each color represents the basic five elements viewed from the Concordis religion; that being fire, water, earth, air, and spirit respectively. These flags are shipped out to practitioners all over the continent and can be seen strung up around the spaces of Concordis temples across Mys.