"All Roads Lead to Zenithstrand"
ACASĂ, THE MARKET PLACE
OVERVIEW
Racial Breakdown: Ajaunti 55%, Savar 30%, Hobling 5%, Other 10%.
Major Industries: Trade, Glasswork, Jewelry, Tea
Population: Acasă has the lowest population of all the Shadow Isles, with a dense distribution. Most live in Port Acasă.
Capital City: Port Acasă
GOVERNMENT
Government: The Coalition Alliance governs Acasă, dictating most of their laws.
Otherwise, the island is one clamorous marketplace driven by coin. Clans Istrati and Lacusta and the Savar pride all have their own hierarchies.
Current Ruler: Nicu Istrati, the First Son of Mirela Istrati, holds the Coalition Council seat and is the current Council Representative for Zenithstrand and Acasă. Mirela Istrati is the Mama and ruler of Clan Istrati. Though she is not a formal ruler in the eyes of the Coalition, her position in Clan Istrati grants her significant political clout by proxy to her son.
Ragini is the leader of the local savar pride, Naboothri. Though she maintains peace with the locals and the Coalition, her political views are isolationist.
Military: Soldiers and guards are rare careers for Acasăns. The standing military of Acasă is powered by coin, mostly comprised of hired mercenaries from other Coalition Islands. The pirates of Bileostrav are often hired as personal guards or escorts for merchants and their wares.
GEOGRAPHY
Acasă is effectively a large beach covered in infertile obsidian sand. As Acasă is the closest island to Zenithstrand, people and goods will often pass through Acasă on their way to Zenithstrand. The ocean bank separating Zenithstrand from Acasă is too deep to walk across and too treacherous to sail a large ship through, but it is possible for someone of adequate physique to swim or row a small boat across. Ships with passengers bound for Zenithstrand will often dock at Port Acasă, leaving their passengers to disembark and make their way from there. A rope bridge built by the Ajaunti allows passage from Acasă to Zenithstrand on foot, but crossing the bridge is treacherous, so those with coin will often pay to be ferried across instead.
Few inhabit the inner parts of the island. The famous markets of Acasă, as well as most dwellings, ring the shores of the island as Acasăns rely on the sea for their diet and vital trade. Sea shore cliffs exist on the northwest of the island, but many smaller ports dot the other shores.
HISTORY
Before the Shadow Isle broke apart, there was only Clan Istrati. These Ajaunti came to the island as most Ajaunti would: in search of adventure. Their camp, though it rarely stayed in the same place twice, was their home. They called it Acasă.
After a time, members of Clan Istrati were sated by their adventures on the island and yearned to see the shores beyond. However, others wished to linger for a little longer: they’d grown fond of herbs native to the island, which were a week shy of harvest. “Just a week more,” they implored. “What’s another week for another cup of such delectable tea?”
The Clan lingered for another week. But in that week, great misfortune struck: the Rupture. The very island split into pieces; the horrific force of the event killed many Ajaunti. Those who tried to flee the island by boat were lost to the sea, never to be seen again.
The surviving family members that had wanted to leave blamed the others for their grave misfortune, calling them selfish and short-sighted. “We lingered too long, and now we can never leave lest it be over the graves of our family! Their spirits are trapped in the sea because of you! We’re trapped here because of you!”
The other Istrati grew angry. “How were we to know this was going to happen?!” they shouted. “All we wanted was tea! But you wanted to leave… you knew this was going to happen, didn’t you? That’s why you wanted to leave, wasn’t it?! But you didn’t say anything about it! What did you do to bring the wrath of the ancestors down upon us like this?!”
The family bickered on and on without end. In fact, the feud between the two families remained so fierce over time that the Ajaunti who had wanted to leave eventually broke off from the Istrati name and formed their own clan, Clan Lacusta.
Cursed to remain in the Shadow Isles, the two clans eventually settled on a small island, which they named Acasă. There they took up the role of trade merchants. During the war between Nitrem and Dominion, Acasă became a prominent, bustling neutral trade port that funneled valuable goods to both sides of the war effort. Their trade empire eventually attracted some Hoblings; as they became invested in Acasă’s dealings, many of them decided to make Acasă their home. Recently a savar pride, under order of their Queen Matriarch Allana and by Ragini’s leadership, came to settle Acasă as well.
Port Acasă has seen much wealth and prosperity. Despite this, the two Ajaunti families continue their feud. Many still attempt to usurp or sabotage the trade efforts of the other family at every opportunity -- all the while blaming the other for their cursed state of existence. Though enough time has passed for some Ajaunti to feel that their family should be reunited, for many the wounds inflicted are too deep to consider reconciliation.
POLITICS
The Ajaunti have a mutually beneficial arrangement with Tezoth: the dragon permits their existence so long as the Ajaunti abide by the law and keep everyone in the Shadow Isles fed with their trade empire.
In international matters, Acasă is a hotbed of political activity. Its central location and lavish halls are ideal for holding Coalition summits and meetings. Though it is not unheard of to see an emissary of a different city state in Acasă, emissaries do not have a permanent presence in Acasă. Emissaries typically enjoy extravagant Ajaunti hospitality as guests, then return to their homes after their business is concluded.
Because Acasă is a tiny island, a single Coalition seat belongs to Zenithstrand with the Acasă populous lumped in. Since Zenithstrand is currently unsettled and the resident wild elves care little for the seat, the seat is temporarily occupied by prominent Acasăn Ajaunti. The Ajaunti who hold the seat maintain good relations with the wild elves of Zenithstrand for both trade and political reasons. As such, those who hold the Coalition seat typically act with both Acasă and Zenithstrand’s interests in mind.
For internal matters, there are very few laws. Any power to be found is found through the market. Acasă is essentially one large chaotic marketplace with everyone yelling over each other to be heard. If one has the coin, they do as they please. Each Ajaunti family and the Savar pride run themselves with little influence aside from the Coalition laws. Each family or pride has its own system of hierarchy and rank.
There are two prominent Ajaunti families in Acasă: Istrati and Lacusta. The two families have an intense rivalry; when they are not fighting for the Coalition seat, they are living a life of extravagance and aggressive business deals to compete for their self-declared title of “Merchant Prince”. The title of Merchant Prince has little meaning to any outside of this feud.
RELIGION
Acasă does not have a church or any public altars, as most worship is done in the privacy of citizens’ homes. Most of the Ajaunti of Acasă worship their ancestors; however, their time in the Shadow Isles has exposed them to other gods and some Ajaunti have chosen to follow these gods. No one god is dominant.
The local Naboothri Pride of savar is polytheist, worshipping most gods, goddesses, or dragons, with the exception of dark gods and the dragon Styphon. Worshippers of dark gods or Styphon are typically attacked on sight.
SOCIETAL VIEWS
Ajaunti from Acasă are a superstitious lot. One of their more well-known beliefs is that their ancestors were swallowed into the the gaping maw of the sea and drowned when the islands separated. Since that horrific event, the Ajaunti believe the spirits of their ancestors are stuck in watery graves and the presence of those spirits prevents any of their Ajaunti descendants from leaving the Shadow Isles. Though the Ajaunti can move freely between the different islands of the Shadow Isles, they are convinced that any boat attempting passage across the Ghost Sea to the mainland with a Ajaunti on board will never arrive at its destination. Those who try will never return. The only exception to this curse is an Acasăn Ajaunti who has married into a mainland clan.
The populace of Acasă equate status with wealth and generally view extravagant lifestyles as a means of portraying both. Thus, it is a commonly accepted practice for theni to obtain a wealth of possessions rather than coin -- sheer coin, after all, cannot be easily flaunted. Beads, jewelry, fancy clothing and the like are worn as everyday garb. The latest fashions are always desirable. Extravagant parties in luxurious houses are held whenever possible.
It is said by the Acasăns that “All roads lead to Zenithstrand”. There are many stories and legends that try to explain the origin of this phrase. On first look, one notices that all the roads on Acasă lead to the northern shore, where Acasă and Zenithstrand were once a single island. The Aja, however, say that the phrase refers to the many ports on the shores of Acasă. Though they fear the sea itself, they do not fear the boats--nor do they fear the treasure the boats bring, whether that be wealth in trade or in culture. Because of these boats, they can meet a variety of people and see a variety of places despite their curse of immobility.
The Naboothri Pride, the pride of local savar, believes themselves above all other races. They take pride in expanding and rebuilding their race for their motherland. Although they maintain peace with the other races of Acasă for political reasons, the savar leader Ragini is isolationist and avoids interaction with non-savar.
ECONOMY
Farming here is difficult, so Acasăns tend to focus on fishing, glasswork, and trade.
Ajaunti merchants almost never leave Acasă to deliver goods. Acasă does not export goods; rather, the exported goods of the Coalition states and foreign lands come to Acasă. People of all races, shapes and sizes will come to Acasă to buy and sell. Acasăn Ajaunti are not usually picky about who they trade with, so Acasă often serves as a third party through which Nitrem and Dominion can make trades without having to directly interact. However, one can tell with whom a particular Ajaunti tends to favour trade by their garb. Those who trade with Nitrem often wear darker colours and silver jewelry. Those who trade with Dominion often wear brighter colours and gold jewelry.
Aside from trade empires, there are some notable industries in Acasă. The Savar are predominantly known for their prowess in fishing. The bones and scales of the fish they catch are often sold to the Ajaunti, who will in turn use them for crafting jewelry. Glasswork from Acasă is renowned throughout the Coalition due to the particular hues the local black sand imparts to the glass. The good relationship the Ajaunti maintain with the wild elves of Zenithstrand allows Acasă access to the many herbs of the Zenithstrand wilds, most of which are used to create remarkable and wonderful teas.
RANKS WITHIN ACASĂ
The only rank that holds true political power within the Coalition is the Council Representative.
Coalition Council Representative > Ajaunti Houses* > Savar Pride > Everyone else
*The Ajaunti House that holds the seat is ranked higher than the house that does not. As the seat is a fluid position, so too is the rank of the Ajaunti houses.
Each Ajaunti clan has its own ranking system. This is typically as follows:
Mama (the Matriarch) > “Merchant Prince” (the firstborn of the Matriarch) > Immediate family to Mama (siblings, other children, etc.) > Other family members
The title of “Merchant Prince” is typically claimed by the First Child of both families. Though the title has meaning within the Ajaunti of Acasă, it has no political power within the Coalition.
The Naboothri pride was created to settle Acasă and is a noble caste; however, one’s former caste from Felnir determines one’s role within the pride.
The Hobling merchants on the island measure rank by how much wealth one wears.
CONTRIBUTORS
Kim Barron