Siltas

One of the more powerful nations on Mount Durmgrist and the largest of the human nations. It is located to the west of Mount Durmgrist in the Durmgrist ranges.

## Geography

Like Valceado, the vast majority of Siltas is a mountainous slope leading to the peak of Mount Durmgrist. Some of the slopes are relatively flat which often make paths but much of the land is made of steep cliffs making travel difficult. There are also many large plateaus, some the size of counties, which many of the nations towns and villages are built on. The north of Siltas is much steeper than Valceado and the land is typically harsher. Also, uniquely among Durmgristian nations there are pockets of high magic which have warmed circles of Southern Siltas to the extent of creating area's of sandy desert. Many theories abound about why this is the case. The official stance from the Mageocracy is that they believe the pockets of magic are a byproduct of the magic and seismic activity they believe lead to Durmgrist's formation although certain mages particularly focused on studying history know that this was a lie made up by the archmages of the Mageocracy to absolve themselves of the blame.

## History

Some time into the age of peace the nation of humanity split into two nations - The Siltas Dynasty and the Kingdom of Valceado. This was because Siltas decided the hero king was too weak and established their own line of leaders known as lord protectors. The two nations have frequently skirmished over the centuries. Durmgrist initially held much of the land but over the course of the years Siltas has taken over much of Mount Durmgrist. In the most recent war Siltas claimed the area now known as Southern Siltas. The two nations are currently at a strained peace.

## Politics

Siltas does not get on well with Valceado and while neither are at war, the nations do not trade and Siltas occasionally goes as far as to encourage playwrights and bards to include anti-Valceado propaganda within their work.

Siltas has typically neutral relations with the other nations of Durmgrist with few strong allies or enemies. The country does have a habit of allying itself with oppressive nations such as the Kingdom of Steel before the extent of their actions are revealed and Siltas quickly revokes its support.

Siltas is ruled by a lord protector, a title functionally identical to king, offering similar amounts of power and has a line of succession. Like Valceado the lord protector is descended from the leader of the nation of humanity when an Artefact of Ao fell to Durmgrist.

## Culture

### Northern Siltas

There is a clear cultural divide between the north and south of Siltas owing to the fact that the south of Siltas has only recently become part of Siltas. The geography north of Siltas is harder to live on and that, alongside propaganda and a pre-existing rivalry with Durmgrist has lead to a culture of bravado, with many Siltians joining the military or becoming adventurers to prove their bravery and strength. However a nation cannot sustain itself on adventure and war alone, so many of what are considered by Siltians to be "humbler" professions such as farmers brag about how successful their harvests have been going giving Siltas a reputation of being a nation of braggarts. The rivalry between Siltas and Valceado is strong amongst its citizens, much stronger than in Valceado. This has lead to many Siltians despising Poshment, viewing him as emblamatic of Valceadan weakness, focusing on how he doesn't attack enemies directly, an act they would view as strong and ignoring how helpful his trickery and persuasiveness has been to the party, as they view those tactics as weak. Almost all Siltians view Paramah as the best Delta Squad member and a local hero, focusing on her ability to destroy many of her foes with ease, as well as her direct attacks. They typically ignore her efforts to redeem enemies and aid in Poshment's diplomatic efforts.

### Southern Siltas

Much more hospitable than Northern Siltas and kept away from its propaganda for many years, Southern Siltas has not adopted the prideful culture of its northern neighbours and has embraced a unique culture of its own although it is similar in many ways to Valceado which it was a part of for many years. Like Valceado, the average person is content to go about their daily lives peacefully and Obaryon's Wondrous Monster Cards have become very popular, although unlike Valceado magic isn't viewed with nearly as much distrust. A unique feature of Siltian society is the rich live in the traditionally inhospitable pockets of desert, although none are foolish enough to move in to areas of desert with no oasis'. This is in part to flaunt their wealth by being able to prosper where others would struggle to survive but also to enjoy the warm weather which many Durmgristian's envy having only experienced the cold. As many wealthy merchants and nobilty moved into the deserts they established tourism encouraging those who had only ever experienced the cold to holiday in a Southern Siltian city, creating large cities in the deserts to support this new industry. Many working in these cities aren't as wealthy as its founders but the inhabitants of these cities are typically more well off than Southern Siltians who live in the cold and many of those who live in the cold still envy those living in the desert. Opinions are split on the Delta Squad and the group as a whole have their feats told less in Southern Siltas. Some who consider themselves Valceadan's who had their land taken by Siltas emphatically embrace Poshment and those who see themselves as Siltian emphatically embrace Paramah. Those who really think the grudge is stupid have "ironically" embraced Risou with far more vigour than the other two groups, holding drinking parties in his name and frequently attempting to provoke the two groups.

## Notable Locations

### Heirshome

The capital of Siltas, located in its north.