The Giado Territories

13% Halflings

6% Half-Elves

7% All Others

The Giado Territories were one of the Realms of Ahlus.

## History

The Giado Territories were a region of Ahlus made up of some three dozen clans, tribes and households, all ruled over by a local Governor. Each Governor sat upon an assembly of delegates, a council led by a member elected from amongst their number. Over the years, the Giado Territories have engaged in fierce conflict with the warring empire of Codorne, eventually allying with Kingbourne to conquer the troublesome Realm once and for all, before joining the Astedian Empire as a self-governing state in peaceful manner.

The Guild of the Wistful Willow, specialising in Evocation magic, was based in the Giado Territories.

## Society

Given their disconnected and borderline isolationist way of life, most residents of the Giado Territories are self-sufficient, taking great pride in what can be achieved within their local community when unified towards a singular task. It is not uncommon for storms that sweep through the territories, prone to tearing through fields and farms on a whim and so it is necessary that all members of society are able to offer meaningfully to their community. It is not uncommon that residents of the Giado Territories might be born, live and die within the few miles of their home - and do so contented in a life well-lived and aptly served.

In times of war, this insular way of life is mimicked in the discrete factions of military units raised, each of which will fight with relative autonomy until guided elsewise by their Supreme Commander.

## Cuisine

The Giadoese primarily dine on the staples that grow well within their territories. Bread baked with dark rye grains are amongst those most commonly found in bakeries, as well as dried crispbreads laced through with nuts and seeds - a popular choice for travellers and adventurers alike, given the low moisture content and subsequent proclivity to long-lasting edibility.

For most families, pork and fish such as salmon, bronze-bone mackerel and crayfish serve as the central nutritional staples, both usually smoked. Despite this, Giadoese cuisine is far from bland. Spiced jams stewed from cloudberries, elderflower and merryberries are laced through pastries, wild mushrooms are poached in buttermilk infused with dill and black garlic. The tart fruits of sea buckthorn shrubs are bletted with ice and used to sour other dishes, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom feature heavily throughout, but instead it is for their peppers that the Giadoese are perhaps best known.

Almost akin to the truffles scattered in the soils to the south, Giadoese peppers are highly prized in both traditional dishes from the Realm and in more recent years beyond. Export of the peppers in both fresh and powdered forms is highly monitored by the Giadoese government which has further expediated surging costs - and with it demand in the halls and courts of the wealthy and powerful across Ahlus. Subsequently, there have been multiple attempts to try and cultivate strains elsewhere in the continent but to limited avail. Within the Giadoese borders, the peppers are consumed in many forms, ranging from simplistic optional additives when combined with onion and lime juice, use of their leaves to flavour broths, to Olechino, a dish of roughly chopped rye grains, flavoured oils, anchovies, toasted crispbread fragments and, in some recipes, in excess of six different cultivars of Giadoese peppers.