Asfaran is the country where Fruitful Confusion takes place. It's known for being more varied in its culture than other countries, with differences changing depending on region and race. More advanced countries tend to refer to Asfaran as a "backwater country" and don't care much for it. Despite their variance of their culture throughout the land, there are no different dialects of their language Asfarian, so they can understand each other fine. They also have a high literacy rate amongst their people.

Contents 1 Climate 2 Geography 3 History 3.1 Bazchin's rule 3.2 Kyazi's rule (current) 4 Government 4.1 Sub-rulers: Asfaran's Lords 4.1.1 The Human Lords / The King's Brothers 4.1.2 The Demon Lords 4.2 What do they do? 4.3 Why no ryoka lords? Why only humans and demons? 4.4 Why are all the human lords related? 4.5 Will the human lords' sons get to rule after them? 5 The Asfarian Military 6 Asfarian's Mail System 7 Religion 7.1 Asnekerin 7.2 Aisnera 7.3 Athiesism 8 People 8.1 Races 8.2 Culture 9 Festivals 10 Country Relations 11 Comments

ClimateEdit

Asfaran's climate is generally very mild. Most of their percipitation is in Spring and Fall. Winter temperatures may get below freezing, but there is often little to no snow through most of it. Summer is usually hot and dry.

GeographyEdit

-map coming soon-

HistoryEdit

I don't want to be that thorough about this, so history before King Bazchin aren't going to be mentioned because they are not relevant. There are some things that are later "discovered" and I will add them here only after they've been realized in the story.

Bazchin's ruleEdit

King Bazchin was the previous ruler, and he was incredibly well-liked by everyone. During his reign, violence was very minimal between races. This generation had more mixing of races in towns and villages, and some marriages between races occurred. King Bazchin was able to achieve this by having each lord visit him quarterly to update him on the situations in their territories and what their people wanted. He was always in touch with the other Lords and aware of what was going on. He was well-spoken and good at finding satisfying compromises. He created certain regulations, ensuring Humans did not overcharge Demons when selling them meat or fish and also that they did not infringe too much on their territory, which were sources of conflict between the two. He was not able to help the Asymmetrics and Symmetrics resolve their differences, but even under his rule they fought considerably less.

During his rule there was one bad year due to a drought which led to a few violent attacks between races, but all were isolated incidents. During one such incident Lord Sraven Onikari's wife was killed, but he later remarried a Human named Nori. His people did not take it well, but tried to tolerate it.

King Bazchin was assassinated while the king was having one of his quarterly meetings with their Lords. The reaction to his death was swift and violent - the Demon Lords were suspected by blamed by Direi's high human population, and they left quickly fearing for their safety. The humans have kept their grudge to this day although it's never been proven who did kill him, which the demons continue to resent.

Kyazi's rule (current)Edit

Kyazi took the side against the Demons, and almost immediately created a law forbidding Demons to leave their own territories unless they signed an "Allegiance Pledge", promising they wouldn't hurt or kill any Humans. To add insult to injury, he also repealed the regulations which the Demons had come to appreciate. This has led to humans purposefully hunting and often over-hunting in their lands so there is less food for Demons and overpricing the meat when they sell it back to them. There are also incidents of rivers being poisoned to kill the fish they eat or forests burned to decrease the local wildlife they hunt.

Many towns and villages switched to being "Human Only" or "Demon Only", and the Asymmetric and Symmetric Demons conflict has grew worse because they wanted to handle the situation differently. The Symmetrics wanted to immediately seek out revenge while the Asymmetrics wanted to comply and leave them alone.

Soon after the beginning of his rule, the arranged marriage between Lord Cevin Zukento's son and Lord Sraven Onikari's daughter (Rafiko and Zaren) was called off because Cevin was disgusted with humans and could no longer tolerate Sraven and his human wife, or their halfling son. In later years, Sraven and Nori, and presumably their halfling son though his body was not found, were killed one evening, leaving Zaren as the only one fit to rule. Many theories went around as to what exactly happened, the most popular being that Cevin hired someone to kill them.

The Ryoka, who had been sitting on the fence between the conflicts, finally ended up siding with the Humans after a few years. Many Ryoka had been living south in Demon territory, but they slowly began to move out into Human territory, especially after the Humans began to charge even more outrageous prices and food became more scarce. Angered, Lord Cevin sent several armies out to destroy many villages and cities where Ryoka were moving to. The worst took place in Inochi, in which a very small portion of the population survived, and most were not all in one piece.

King Kyazi also created a law to protect the legality of the enslavement of Wovites, which most Humans have little issue against. The Demons, on the other hand, despise it and do not allow it into their territories at all.

GovernmentEdit

Asfaran's government is a monarchy, currently led by human King Kyazi. All positions are inherited.

Main Ruler: The king, Kyazi Age: 31 Came to power at age 17; has currently ruled for 14 years. He is married and has 3 children - two daughters and one son.

Sub-rulers: Asfaran's LordsEdit

The Human Lords / The King's BrothersEdit

Kavin: Human Age: 29 Territory capital: Direi (also country capital)

One of the most popular current rulers; many would rather have him as leader then his older brother, especially demons. He does not support the idea of revolutioning their government that their demon lords have, primarily because he does not want the country to go to war. Even though he disagrees with his older brother Kyazi's treatment of demons, the two are very close. Kavin is on good terms with Zaren Onikari. Married and with two children, both boys.

Dyon: Age: 27 Territory capital: Munari

Most known for letting the enslavement of Wovites become incredibly popular in his territory, even though he himself did not support it. Like Teho, he has tried to be neutral on most issues. Married and expecting his first child.

Isen: Age: 25 Territory capital: Bizake

Not trusted or well-liked by any of the other leaders or even some his own people. He rules mostly through fear and is often oppressive. He has a very strong distrust of demons. Unmarried.

The Demon LordsEdit

Zaren Onikari: Symmetric Demon; Age: 24 Territory capital: Akarin

The first ruling female in Asfaran; She became leader when she was sixteen after her father and human step-mother died. She has strongly voiced her opinions to the others about wanting a change in their government. Zaren doesn't like that the people don't have much say in how things are run, especially the humans.

Teho Nakachi: Asymmetric Demon; Age: 18 Territory capital: Shiki

Took rule at age fourteen - parents killed when they attacked Akarin in disagreement over some of Zaren's actions. Teho has tried very hard to remain neutral on the issue of their government - his people doesn't bother humans, and for the most part humans leave them alone. He finds Zaren a larger threat because like Kavin, he also doesn't want to see the country go to war. He also holds a grudge against her for what happened to his parents. He has two younger adopted sisters.

Cevin Zukento: Symmetric Demon; Age: 48 Territory capital: Kazachi

Cevin enjoys his position of power, and although he dislikes Zaren, he also wants to change their government. However, their tactics are different. Where as Zaren has tried to negotiate, Cevin has been actively preparing his people for war. He has one son, Rafiko.

What do they do?Edit

The King is in charge of all national laws and foreign relations. Lords can create laws pertaining to their territory, as long as they don't contradict any national laws, and laws regarding commerce with other lords' territories. The lords all have their own armies, and the King also has his own.

Why no ryoka lords? Why only humans and demons?Edit

When the number of lords was origionally decided, it was done so based on the population of the races so that they would be proportionally "represented". There were three human lords, two symmetric demons, two asymmetric demons, and one ryoka. However, since the lords are allowed to work independently and at times even against each other, this has led to the downfall of the ryoka lord and one of the asymmetric lords. Both had their land taken by force by another lord (the Zukento family and Onikari family, respectfully).

Why are all the human lords related?Edit

When they chose who the lords would be, they thought it would seem fit for the human lords to all be part of the single "superior" bloodline. It also ensured more loyalty to their king. There have been times when there weren't enough males of the right ruling age however. Depending on the circumstance, either the land is split so the human lords that are available get more, or a trusted military officer is chosen to rule temporarily until one of the sons is old enough.

Will the human lords' sons get to rule after them?Edit

Only if the King does not have enough sons and something happens to them that they can no longer rule. Otherwise it is always the King's sons.

The Asfarian MilitaryEdit

Asfaran's military has, for the most part, been very inefficient and ineffective.

Direi has been notorious for having possibly the worst assortment of people as their soldiers. Often recruits join because they were forced to (their father was a soldier and wants the same for them) or because they think the job will be easy. The latter has only come about within the past 15-25 years and is seen mainly with the younger recruits. The removal of Demons from Direi and Kavin's territory in general has created a false sense of security. Since they only hear of the "terror" Demons cause and see none of it, the fear feels distant to them. Direi being farther in Kavin's territory, many Demons may try to sneak in to cause trouble are caught long before they reach it.

Asfarian's Mail SystemEdit

Asfaran's mail delivery system is very slow, but somewhat efficient for what their lack of technology allows. Mailmen are typically assigned a general route to follow which is roughly followed depending on what letters and towns they have to deliver to. When they arrive in a town, they deliver what letters they have for that town and then sign for & pick up those which they can deliver next on their route. Routes typically overlap so letters usually get picked up to be delivered within a decent amount of time. When a letter arrives in a town, it is then delivered to the particular address by local in-town mailmen. Mailmen can stray from their route if they so choose and since so many routes overlap, it is often not that big of a deal as another will likely pickup what they would have gotten.

When you drop a letter off for delivery you can choose between three types of service:

• Human - The slowest of the three as it's just someone walking on foot. Depending on where the letter is going, it could take weeks or even months to get there. This service is the cheapest.
• Ryoka - Ryoka typically travel in their Mahlik (animal) forms and may run for most of the day that they travel. They deliver in half the time as humans usually.
• Demon - Since a demon mailman will fly for his entire trip, he is by far the fastest and thus also the most expensive. They can deliver mail typically in a few days to a few weeks, depending on the distance.

The King and Lords rely on their own personal royal mailmen, who deliver exclusively for them. They don't use town post offices but see only the people they are delivering to and from. There are no humans in their employment, only Ryoka and Demon. Their mailmen used to be almost entirely demons, but since the tensions between demons and humans worsened, many were let go and replaced with Ryoka (A few of the mailmen the Demon Lords usually used were able to stay but the Human Lords only use the Ryoka). King Kyazi will not let any Demon mailmen into the capital city Direi, so they often have to find a Ryoka or Human to hand it off to.

Every year there is a competition in late spring/early summer to find a new recruit for the royal mailmen. It starts in the same city each year and the participants are each given different letters to deliver and different end destinations. They are typically in different directions, but are always the same distance away from the starting city. Since both Demons and Ryoka may compete, Demons are given cities much farther away than the Ryoka to compensate for their slower speed and making it more fair to both races.

One of the current mailmen waits in the end city for them to arrive, checks all their mail was delivered, and then signs and dates for their finish. Whichever participant is fastest is offered a position as a royal mailman, which is a very huge honor and many Ryoka and Demon mailmen hope to one day compete and win. The end cities change each year and whichever city was the end for the winner usually gets some money from the government as a "prize", making the race more exciting for Asfaran's citizens. During that time of the year people are often on the lookout for any racing mailmen and cheer them on.

ReligionEdit

AsnekerinEdit

This religion believes in multiple gods, who are usually each representitive of a single idea or element of nature. Asnekerin ("ACE-NECK-ER-IN") is mostly believed in by humans and ryoka. [This is why you will hear people exclaiming "Oh the gods!" as opposed to what we say - "Oh my god!"] The most popular god people reference to is Cearno, who is the god of both life and death.

AisneraEdit

Aisnera ("ICE-NER-AY") believes in only one god and is mostly followed by the elves. There are differences in how it is followed - some more strictly in following the original traditions, and others more casually who focus more on the message of their holy text. Their prayers are often done through song.

AthiesismEdit

Demons are mostly athiest and thus do not believe in any god. They believe that things happen to people because of their own actions, and there is no "higher power". Most also do not or do not want to believe in the wish granter or the anegi race's existence. This is because they do not think it is fair for a race or being to exist which can do anything it wants easily and without earning it.

PeopleEdit

RacesEdit

The following races are native to Asfaran: Humans, Demons, and Ryoka. About half of Asfaran are magic users.

• Humans: 48%
• Demons:33%
• Ryoka: 18%
• Other: 1%

CultureEdit

Most Asfarians are literate, but only those in the wealthy class can read the cursive version of their alphabet which is used in all important documents. The wealthy class are also the only ones with middle names - the rest only have a first and last name.

Asfarians are often very fun-loving and enjoy social events, especially ones that are a bit competitive. This had led to the development of two games that Asfarians simply adore - Deceit and Freefall. The latter is a game for magic users and is most popular among Demons and Elves. Deciet on the other hand is popular amongst everyone. To not know the game or like it is extremely unusual.

FestivalsEdit

Asfaran has several festivals.

• Soshra Askim Festival - Literally translated as the "New Sun" Festival. This festival celebrates the beginning of Spring and most consider it the beginning of the new year. It is celebrated on the second Sunday of March.
• Zaser Iskain Festival - May 9th. Literally translated as "Successful Dream" Festival. The intention of the festival was supposed to be to celebrate goals people have accomplished and to give people a break for working hard to achieve them. However, most interpret it instead as a day to procrastinate, party, and worry about what they have to do later. More people tend to get drunk on this festival than any other, and as such, it has gotten a bad reputation as being a "celebration of slackers" or "pointless holiday"
• Ashtroh Van - June 15th. Literally translated as "Mail Day". Every day this year the race to choose the next recruit for the royal mailmen begins.

Country RelationsEdit

Overall Asfaran has a "bad" reputation amongst other countries. Asfaran does not do much trade with other countries and tries to remain isolated.

• Matré's leaders think Asfaran could be a powerful country if their people were more united and were more open to trade. The Matreian government primarily wants to keep an eye on Asfaran and see where they go. Their citizens don't hold much esteem for the country primarily because of its highly prevalent racism and violence. Asfarians do not know much about Matré and only know that they are a force to be reckoned with.
• Kraiss had little interest for Asfaran and Asfaran the same for them. Kraiss thinks of Asfaran as a "stubborn, backwater country" because of their government's initial refusal for what technology Kraiss had to offer. Asfaran's citizens know that Kraiss has better technology, but they don't know what that means and few care to know. However, now that Kraiss has found a technology Asfaranians would be interested in, their interest in the country has grown exponentially and they want to push their ideas to Asfaran in hopes of making a profit.
• Su'Son
• Geirna
• Zuhon actually likes Asfaran and its people. Even though racism is a problem, they are intrigued by the variety of Asfaran's culture that's due to racial differences and respect it.
• Jagery believes like Matre` that Asfaran could be a powerful country. However, they want Asfaran to have its civil war and revolution in hopes that such events would move the country in that direction. Being too small to be able to compete with Matre` or Kraiss, they want to ally with Asfaran. They especially want Asfaran to have a democracy like them. However, even though they want to help, they cannot because Asfaran is so against any outside intervention in its country.
• Vwatnam