Calandor (Aurora)

Realm of the Calandians Caladhan Viirali
Flag
History
Location	Calandian Mountains
Formerly	Calandian Clans
Notable castles	Ui-Calad Avi-Noor Li-Zhin Ui-Doran
Places of note	Auspicious Peak Heaven's Grace Waterfall
Government
Type	Elective monarchy
Ruling House	Clan Shizin
Head of State	Farun Shizin Va-Ghan
Legislature	Emerald Court
Military	2,000 Margrave Guard
Socio-cultural characteristics
Motto	"Inshine Riabhan Ui-Calad" Under the Moon's Grace
Capital	Ui-Calad
Official languages	none
National languages	Calandish Cala-Zhinish
Races	Cala Halfling
Religion(s)	Heavenly Court
Demonym(s)	Calandian
Population estimate	~7 million
Currency	Emerald Goshi

"Many hands make light work."

— common Calandian proverb.

Calandor (Calandian: Caladhan), officially the Realm of the Calandians (Calandian: Caladhan Viirali) is an elective monarchy established in the ancient Calandian Mountains, in the southern lands of Terra Aurora. Calandians lived high on the jagged peaks and steep cliffs of the mountains, where snow and sometimes blizzards often wreck havoc in the winter. However, the mountains are rich in ores and valuable minerals, including the hugely sought-after emeralds which plays a huge role within Calandian society and economy.

Calandor is the realm of the Cala halflings, or better known as Moon halflings outside of Calandor. For thousands of years, the halflings lived within the mountains, eventually forming warring clans that often went into bloody disputes due to the mountain's challenging terrains and harsh conditions. When their homeland was threatened, the halflings established the Emerald Court and the fortress of Ui-Calad. Guided by the Heavenly Court, the disparate clans united into a confederation of equals.

Etymology

In Calandish, Caladhan referred to the Lands of Moon-lings. The reference for the word Cala or moon appeared in many Calandian texts and daily proverbs, and had become synonymous with the Calandish language itself. In Zhinish, Cala meant the broader term of heavens as in sky rather than referring to the moon itself, which is called Shin-La or high-mother in the Zhinish dialect.

Geography

The Calandian Mountains dominated Calandor's landscape. The realm's borders exclusively followed the mountains, and authority of the realm effectively dissipated beyond the mountains. The Calandian Mountains featured steep cliffs and jagged peaks composed of hard granite with some limestone sediments, often covered with snow. Glaciers interspersed in-between the mountains on higher altitudes, but green valleys can be found in lower heights. In these valleys, Calandian farms and tends to their herds of lambs, mountain goats, llamas, and alpacas. Calandian cities were built higher on the mountains, often on small ledges or even on the peaks themselves.

Climate

Being on mountains, the climate of Calandor is harsh in winter time, and can not be too warm in summer. Humidity and oxygen is low high above the mountains, where the Moon-halflings had adapted to live comfortably.

Ecology

Deep gorges within the mountains featured lush temperate rainforest that is difficult to traverse and filled with dangerous wildlife. Some gorges featured massive green ferns and even giant mushrooms, while in others, opens into deep caverns filled with fish and other creatures. Several caverns extended to many leagues, and some are densely inhabited by fishermen, forming villages within a cave. Calandians told of a giant serpent, living within a massive underground river networks and can travel between one cave to others. This 'Mashin-Laon', or 'sleepless giant' was told to grant wishes of good people and punish bad ones, while giving blessings to caves that it has visited, marked by abundance of fish to catch.

Authority

Farun of Calandor

Calandor is an elective monarchy, where an elected monarch, the Farun (First Patriarch in common tongues), presides over matters between clans and beyond. The Farun is the ultimate commander of Calandor's levies, and has the prerogative to call some or all clans to war. Through decrees and proclamations, the Farun could grant clans special prerogatives, or in another case, stripped away a clan's authority and legitimacy. The Farun also dealt with the daily enforcement of laws, taxes, commerce, and distribution of wealth, as well as acting as the highest Judge of Justice in Calandor. The Farun is elected from amongst the members of the Emerald Court for live, after being granted by the Heavenly Court the 'Mandate of Grace'. However a plurality of Patriarchs within the Emerald Court could join together and present a motion of distrust to the Heavenly Court, and remove the current Farun's mandate to rule, triggering a new round of election.

Emerald Court and the Clan System

The Emerald Court comprises all clan patriarchs of Calandor. The Court meets once every months during full moons. The Court became a place for debates and for the Farun to receive and deliberate on issues that came from amongst the clans. large cities, such as Li-Zhin and Ui-Doran was given their own special access to the Court, though they did not have the power to vote.

Calandor's society is based upon the clan system. A clan is a powerful landed noble family, directly owning certain parts of Calandor's territory and all subjects within it. The Clans have prerogatives to levy taxes, grant lands, and call for its subjects to arm. This made the clans the most powerful authority within Calandor, at least within their own territories. Disputes or inheritance could cause the formation of new clans, or the dissolution of an old one, making the clan system highly fluid and dynamic. A clan is led by a Patriarch, or in rarer cases, a Matriarch, which acts as the head of the family, and represent their lands in the Emerald Court.

Rural areas of Calandor falls directly under a clan's control, however cities with significant commercial activities usually establish their own Commerce Guild, which presides over not just matters between merchants and craftsmen, but also on local laws and customs. These guilds paid tribute to local clans, and became the main representative of the citizens to the local clan Patriarch.

Military

Calandor relies on levies during a massive conflict to hold their defense. In peace times, the Margrave Guard acts as border guards, defending primary choke points into the mountains, as well as guarding Calandor's primary fortresses. The Guard forms the main core of troops during conflict, and answers directly to the Farun. Utilising Calandor's many mines and foundries, Calandor could reliably arms its levies and standing force with gunpowder weapons such as arquebus and bronze cannon.

Beyond the Margrave Guard, law enforcement and civil peace is kept by the Baton Officers. A single Baton Officer maintained security in a community, and is usually helped by several 'Baton Carriers'.

Welfare

Calandian populace mainly tends to the fields and to the herds. Almost everyone in Calandor involved themselves in the production of food. The foods produced in Calandor include grains, maize, potatoes, flax, onions, and spices. A small part of the populace toils in Calandor's many mines, exploiting ores, especially iron, minerals such as limestone, and precious gems, predominantly emerald. A smaller portion of the population became craftsmen and merchants. Craftsmen lives primarily in cities, where they built workshops that produce all different things, from farming tools, clothing, to weapons of war. Merchants linked communities within the realm with goods from faraway places carried by herds of llamas or alpacas.

Roads of Calandor

Major Calandian settlements are connected with a series of wide roads built by the order of the ruling Farun. Toll taxes are raised in these roads, though its price vary between locations. Great stone bridges are built over steep gorges that intercepted the toll road. Smaller roads are maintained by local clan lords, and usually in worse condition compared to the wider roads. These roads however are free to traverse, though its safety is questionable at best, especially its wooden or rope bridges. Massive height differences is tamed using the 'elevators', a carriage that utilise massive weights and animal power to move someone from a lower or higher elevations. In toll roads, there can be several of these carriages, and each are big enough to carry half a dozen of llamas and goods that they carry. Mines uses smaller version of these elevators to help people and materials move.

Inhabitants

Language

There are two main dialects of the Moon-halflings - the Calandish of central and southern Calandian mountains, and the Cala-Zhinish of the northern half of the mountains. Though sharing many similar features, including similar syntaxes and even many root words, the Zhinish received greater foreign influences, and has several root words that has no correlation with rest of Calandish, or not-often has similar words with blatantly differing meanings.

Religion

The Heavenly Court is the main religious body of Calandor. The name refers to both the Court that comprises priests and priestesses of Calandor, as well as the Court of Heaven, where the 'Great Judge' presides over the 'Balance of Virtues', the main doctrine of the belief. Many localities has an established local deities for millennia and a local system of worship. When the Court was propagated, it absorbs the local deities into the 'Juries of Virtue', a pantheon of celestial beings, serving the Great Judge in keeping the Balance of Virtues. The Balance of Virtues demanded kindness, generosity, and helpfulness from the living beings, which will be rewarded in the Heavens. While bad behaviour, uncalled violence and bloodshed will be avenged with wrath in the living world, and punishments in the afterlife. Calandian referred ancestors greatly, and believes that their spirits could visit from the heavens or even hells, to give blessings and curses to the living.

Priest and Priestess hold sermons in Temples of Graces, beautifully-built alabaster towers that usually adorns a central part of a settlement. The Heavenly Court did not have a leading figure, and its organization is devolved, with minimal established hierarchy. The title of Priest and Priestess are the highest ranking titles of the Court, each given control of a single Temple of Grace, and a group of Adepts to help them manage the temples.

'Magic' and Heavenly Grace

In Calandor, the notion of spiritual metaphysics are predominant within the society. Though still centered around the Heavenly Court itself, every Calandian could utilise magical powers through the use of 'Chi-Rani' or 'praying stones'. These stones are usually made out of emerald, though other kinds of precious stones are also in use. These stones are carved for their owners at their births to reflect their personalities and energy when they were only an infant. In some ways, the carved stones become the extension of its owner's spirit. The praying stones are then collected in local Temple of Graces, where the local Priest or Priestess imbued it with 'Heavenly Grace', powered by their and the owner's prayers during sermons. The stones then can be use for helping daily routines, such as heating water, lifting heavy objects, and sometimes could be used to save people from falling (owing to Calandor's dangerous terrains) and for self defense. The usefulness of the stones diminished by time and intensity of its usage, and will need to be imbued again during weekly sermons in Temple of Graces.

The Academy of Worldly Secrets, located in the northern cliff of the Auspicious Peak, is where Heavenly Court's Priest and Priestess learn the arts of magic and metaphysic manipulations. Most Priest and Priestess are taught the usual imbuement techniques, while a smaller exclusive group, known as the 'Saviour-Priests', are taught medicinal and healing properties of praying stones in a much longer time period. These Saviour-Priests usually ended up establishing local healing houses or hospices, and serves in clan courts as healers and advisors. Adepts, the servants of Priest and Priestess, usually learn the ways of imbuements from indirect observation, or when they decided to join the Academy themselves.

Customs

Appearance

The Moon-halflings dress plainly, even the clan nobilities preferred plain-looking clothing, though with a much higher quality fabric. They usually wear a beige or dark-colored loose shirt, and similarly plain-looking loose pants. Outside, the halflings always wear a beautifully patterned scarf, known as the 'caslav' or 'sky-scarf', and a round straw hat. The only gender difference in clothing is that women grew their hair long and braid them with fine detail. The braided hair then displayed above the scarf and shirt in full. Men cut their hair short and their face clean shaven, though some elders grew their beards long. Noble often wore emerald jewelry, though wealthy subjects can be seen wearing them as well. Priest and Priestess of the Heavenly Court wore white clothing with black scarf and a white-painted straw hat. Priest and Priestess shave their head clean and is not allowed to display wealth by wearing jewelry or high-quality fabric.

Clan Culture

Calandians adhered strictly to the Clan-based system. Social hierarchy is strictly followed, and any forms of exceptions are frowned upon by society. Loyalty to local clans is a sign of ultimate honour, and betrayal of one's clan is seen as the highest form of betrayal. Though contemporarily refers to only the nobility, historically, each family is some form of a clan themselves, which feign loyalty to a higher communities of clans in a feudal manner. As the population within the bigger clans coalesced, these small clans disappeared, and a bigger clan formed, with an exclusive noble class emerging from the 'inner clan', the direct family of the Patriarch. Naming conventions in Calandor follows their clans, as well as their family surnames. Members of the 'inner clan' however can only use their own clan names in addition to their call-name.

Social Mannerism

Calandians are reserved and generally polite. Though emotional expression are not strictly forbidden, excessive emotional outbursts are frowned upon without a proper social cause. Every Calandians are expected to use formal form of Calandish with their elderly or with higher-ranking persons no matter how close they are, and are expected to come to their aid when asked. On the other hand, the elderly are expected to respect the youth's independence and wonders, and are mandated to help them with education, labour, and self-defense.

Union and Family

The family unit is the main social unit of Calandian society. Marriage, then, became a very important step in Calandian live, and many marriages were arranged since the brides and grooms were in pubescent years. 20 years is the average age of when a Calandian men and women united in marriage. Though predominantly patriarchal, women are not explicitly barred from owning properties or holding offices. However, a women in Calandor is mandated to serve their parents, and after her own marriage, to serve their husbands and children. Men is expected to be the provider of the family and became the family's face in public affairs. Children in Calandor spent most of their childhood helping their parents in keeping the household, or in the labour of their parents. Wealthier children could opt to receive tutelage from well-known tutors, or even apprenticeship with craftsmen or merchants. Familial mandates are gone when a men or women decided to join the Heavenly Court.