Nara Pentare

About Nara Pentare

Nara Pentare is a human nation in the eastern mountainous region of Faedrun. It is a beautiful country, full of high mountain crags and lush, fertile valleys, but it is ringed by a treacherous mountain range that separates it from the nations that surround it, most notably the largely hostile Kingdom of Richtcrag.

This country prides itself on its independence and self-sufficiency. They are able to supply their own weapons and fabrics, building materials and foodstuffs. There is an abundance of game in Nara Pentare’s rich forests and her mountain lakes and streams teem with aquatic fare. Some trade exists between Nara Pentare and other nations, but the trade routes are long and arduous and full of dangers; earthquakes, rockslides, avalanches, and bandits are only some of the obstacles that keep land trade to a minimum. The Richtcrag have little tolerance for excursions through their lands, and those who do so had best have their approval, which is not often forthcoming and may vary on which band approved their passage.

The peoples of Nara Pentare banner under the regions they occupy. Within those regions, the major family lineages are known as Houses.

• Houses of Metal – Residents of mountaintops and cliffsides, buildings from stone and hewn directly into the mountainside. They wear fur and leathers and heavily layered garb. Their most common exports are building materials, metals, minerals, and precious gems. Livestock are less common, but mountain herding is still important in the villages. Most of the military is trained and stationed here as a barrier to Richtcrag.
• Houses of Wood – These Narans reside in the plains and forests of the flatlands. Their architecture varies by terrain, though it is often elevated and walled: communities leftover from warring times. Cotton, linen, and silk are common textiles, and they wear long and delicate garb from readily available agriculture and plentiful livestock. 
• Houses of Water – The coastal peoples, their distinct communities form and vary based on their connection to the ocean. Ports, villages, and cities built on beaches, cliffsides, and rivermouths will all be vastly unique, no two alike. They have available to them a variety of cloth choices, linen, cotton, canvas, due to plentiful trade and to help adapt to the different temperatures that come off the waters. Fish and seafood are common exports, but larger cities are popular trading hubs for cooperative syndar and human nations and are infamous merchant havens.
• Houses of Fire – Denizens that reside in the original central city of Nara Pentare, The City of Light, belong to the Houses of Fire. This is the city that houses the Emperor and most of the highest ranking noble families at its very center. It is a large cultural hub and merchant haven.

The country is rich in arts, literature, dance and music, even competitively so amongst themselves. Festivals that bring together all corners of the country to share their creations and compete are common. This competitive spirit has brought about the invention of many dice and card games as well whose pieces are highly decorated. These pastimes played in merchant cities, learned by sailors, and carried into port towns have adopted alternative rules for gambling. These games are popular in households and taverns across Faedrun.

Traditionally, the currency in Nara Pentare is based around the weight of grain and metals, typically iron. They had refused to adopt the Vandregonian coin much to the delight of their syndar trade partners, who happily barter using their own chit system.

Iron and other metal craftspeople are equally respected artists, especially those working with rarer materials. Because this craftsmanship is held in such high regard, weapons of war are precious, often passed down through lineages or claimed as spoils by rival Houses. Wielders of these weapons are expected to be artful in their skill, always striving for perfection just like any other craftsperson. This ideal is most often held in noble families, where few have actually seen the face of war.
Warriors only engage each other in combat after a formal challenge has been given. Once this challenge has been delivered and accepted, combat ensues. This ethic is true for any form of combat, from a single duel to the full extent of armies on a battlefield. While sneak attacks, ambushes, and assassinations are not unheard of, no self-respecting family or House would ever lay claim to such actions.

The City of Flame, oldest city in the country where the first palace was built, is a large multi-tiered city with the Emperor’s villa at its center. Each tier is home to different families in the Houses of Fire based on rank, and the lowest tiers are reserved for craftspeople and commonfolk. The City lives up to its name, as during the night it becomes alight with lanterns and outshines the night sky. Some say this display is a hubris against the gods, while others claim it’s in reverence to them instead.

The people of Nara Pentare are reclusive and famously hold few positive relations with outside nations. This is not only because they live in an area difficult for outsiders to reach but also that they believe that their people are the most wise, the most balanced, the most worthy to serve the Light. They are protective of their secrets and will only rarely allow outsiders to come to the temples to seek wisdom from the monks. All travel is monitored and regulated, not just for outsiders but for the everyday folk as well. All paperwork must be in order for even the lowliest of citizens to travel from one village to another. All births and marriages are recorded, as well as all deaths. The punishment for violating any regulations is severe.

Oddly enough, their most positive relationship is with the Syndar Nations. Some theorize this is because the Naran people believe that their gods did not create the syndar. Therefore they are not unbalanced like other humans, but something different entirely and perhaps equal. While they often accept visitations from Celestine representatives of each Kingdom, they share a particular enthusiasm for isolation with the neighboring Kingdom of Fawyth, and somehow this has created a bountiful system of trade. While diplomacy flows smoothly between them, little is known about the innovations and advancements they create together.

Societal Hierarchy

At the center of the Naran government, literally and metaphorically, is the Emperor of Light. The Emperor is not just the ruler but also the vessel of the Divine Light and speaks as the mouthpiece of the sovereign deity Hanhuo. The title of Emperor is inherited by divine ‘worth,’ trained in magics and chosen by a special monastic order of bridge casters, the Seekers of Light or colloquially known just as ‘Seekers.’ It’s rumored that previous Emperors have held a strong enough influence to sway the final decision towards their preference, but ultimately the Seekers choose and announce the Emperor’s predecessor. The child of an emperor can potentially inherit the title, but it is not guaranteed. The child must prove their capability and worth, and any noble family can put forth candidates to be trained by the Seekers and considered for the role. Because Emperor is not a hereditary title, there is often a political maneuvering for power in marriages with the ruling families fighting to stay in high rank. Many noble families send their children to be educated in magic with the hopes to earn the right to become a monk and potentially be chosen as the next emperor.

Because bridge casting is attributed to these ranks, casting to some capacity, at least within nobility, is incredibly common. However, bridge casting is reserved for monks and monastic orders, who are believed to be the only ones who have trained extensively enough and been deemed worthy of holding the responsibility to balance the arcane and the divine. Because the Emperor must always first be trained as a monk, the Emperor will also always be a bridged caster. To ensure the regulation of who can become bridge casters, the monastic orders are not only spiritual leaders but also train their own enforcer groups. These investigators and battlemages ensure rulebreakers of this creed are dealt with. Any who are caught daring to try and grasp the knowledge of both magics without proper training and oversight are severely punished and may lose the use of their hands.

Some fringe groups believe that the spouse of the emperor holds a dichotomic role as the vessel of the Divine Dark, a voice for Hanhuo’s counterpart Shehmtzo, and that the new Emperor’s suitors should be chosen by the Seekers and not the Emperor or their family. However, this view has not been adopted by any Seekers in the central monastic order. The Emperor’s spouse holds no distinct title and can be called many things, both reverent and resentful, depending on the political climate and state of the country, such as Consort, Empress, Concubine, etc.

Surrounding the Emperor are the noble families who lead the Houses. The nobles are the land stewards, holding ancestral lands, determining governors and generals who have earned the right to oversee the regions and care for and listen to the people living there. Every citizen within a region is considered to be of that House, though families are still very much separated by bloodline and status. These bloodlines are carefully recorded to track the order of birthright. Being of a House does not mean you are eligible for noble inheritance. 

Everyday Life

Balance, peace, and honor are the driving principles of “polite society.” Living in a secluded region, they are a tightly knit community and accustomed to close proximity to their families and neighbors. In order to maintain peace, one must maintain good relations with others, whether one is high or low in rank. There is a strict code of behavior that governs all members of Nara Pentare society; man, woman, and child.

The imbalance, either of a person, household, region or nation as a whole is believed to cause imbalanced spirits and are the superstitious reason for anything from bad luck to natural disasters. Harmony with the surrounding environment is equally as important, both to maintain this balance but also due to their geographical and diplomatic isolation.
While this is often a positive, it can be detrimental. Members of a household or neighbors may turn a blind eye to mistreatments to maintain “peace,” or violence may be enacted amongst the nobility in anticipation of preventing uprisings or coups.

It is considered the height of bad manners to show intense emotion in public, and emotional outbursts are frowned upon. Yelling in anger in public or weeping in hysterics are examples of behavior that would be thought of as uncouth. On the other side of this, it is considered rude to call attention to another’s bad manners, so the one who exhibited such behavior would be shamed as would the one who drew attention to it.

Each person is entitled to harmony and peace in their own homes, and within themselves. If a person does something to disturb the harmony of someone else’s home, an apology is to be expected, and when unpleasant news is shared it is expected for the deliverer to apologize for the disruption. However, while the societal norms demand its citizens be emotionally reserved and maintain a surface calm, there are still dedicated spaces which are deemed appropriate to convey emotion. Naran art and performance is rich, expressive, and vibrant. Dedicated festivals celebrate histories and holidays with parades and loud music, and the beat of drums and the thunder of war cries echo during times of war. In the comfort of one’s own home, Narans are free to express their emotions and affections to their families without fear of ridicule.

The second is a denotation of the Blessed Three, the three most important entities in a person’s life: Their family or House, their spouse once they are married, and then themselves.
These may be sacred items, intimate gifts, or affluent statements: jewelry worn somewhere on the body, also in a stack. They can be worn casually but will certainly be worn during ceremonies and celebrations. The gifting of one of these symbols is a private affair that traditionally very few guests are invited to witness. These small ceremonies most commonly occur at the birth of a child, during marriage, and are especially important when an individual leaves one House to marry into another as this is seen as a change to the core of their identity.

Religion

Naran mythology tells tales of cosmic beings who have always been and had created humanity as the vessels to live amongst the world made for them, whose purpose would be to create beautiful art, songs, poetry, and likeness in sculptures to venerate them. At the seat of this hierarchy is the God of Light, supreme ruler of the heavens and creator of the stars. The gods are said to have each been the creators of the spirits and talking beasts who are sent to guide the humans or challenge them with tests of morality.

Gods:

• Hanhuo – The embodiment of light, he is the sun, moon, stars, fire, and sky. He is the first creator and knower of all things.
• Shehmtzo – The embodiment of darkness, she who is the deep of the ocean, the depths of the undermountain, and night itself. She is said to be the courier to the afterlife and keeper of the unknowable.
• Hankyeko – A fickle god of the wind, weather, and storms. Their affinity to air has made them a patron of music, song, and speech. It is said that sailors sing songs on the ocean to appease them in hopes of a safe passage.
• Baohk – Builder of the mountains, tender of the forge and the hearth, they are a patron both of war and of the homestead. Mountains and homes, families and armies alike, are only as strong as the foundations they’re built upon. This god is often consulted at the start of new beginnings.
• Sithuris – Tender of the earth, its forests, and all green things that grow. As a shepherd-like figure, they are also the caretaker of all mundane beasts. They are the patron of farmers and wayfinders. There are often small shrines for them at the crossroads of well-walked highways.
• The Lark – A Trickster and patron of trade, chance, luck, echoes, and cheer. A common choice of champion deity for merchants and performers.

In folklore, spirits exist as servants of these gods: as guardians of the land and as deliverers of their lessons. The people of Nara Pentare try to live in careful harmony with these spirits. They believe they are reactive to the emotions of mortals- positive emotions resonate with sweet spirits, while negative emotions resonate with bitter ones. Strong emotions of any kind agitate them, which can cause them to manifest in hazardous ways in the surrounding land. The people of Nara Pentare have developed a culture of carefully practiced stoicism and celebration to avoid rousing these spirits without first presenting offerings to them as appeasement. It is not uncommon for a House to use a symbol of an animal or spirit that resides in a god’s domain in their heraldry to represent their devotion to their patron deity.

History

According to the histories of the Naran people, they were once a migratory populace who settled in the bountiful nook of land in between the mountains and the sea that is now known as Nara Pentare. Despite this bounty, the threat of invading hostiles drove the people into strife, and for a long century, each community warred against one another as well as the outside world as self appointed nobles fought to lay claim to the surrounding land and its resources. As the countryside burned a single man who claimed to hold the power of the Light stepped forward. With a righteous fury he garnered followers and subjugated the warring Houses, either with words or with war. From the ashes a new foundation was built, and the strongest and wisest of the magic users who considered themselves the most enlightened deemed this chosen of the Light the Emperor.
With the Houses now unified, the Emperor established the Houses of Fire from his closest confidants, built the City of Flame, and erected the country’s iconic looming palace.

Sometime before the year 190, it is said that various orders of monks performed several large divination rituals at the behest of the Emperor. From these rituals, a presence was detected across the ocean, and a ship was sent to investigate with little but naught more evidence. After a lengthy voyage, they located what they believed to be the source of their detection, an island surrounded by reefs and richly covered in forests. Soon after sending word back to the mainland, several more ships arrived to expand Nara Pentare’s holdings and establish a colony.
In 197, the Emperor and the Seekers, noble families of the Houses, and any who were lucky enough to fit onto the homeland ships fled Nara Pentare in response to the sudden appearance of the undead, settling the newly established colony. More and more ships arrived until they began to trickle, then stop entirely. In the year 199 the final ship brought news that Nara Pentare had completely fallen to the undead hoards. Any survivors who remained on Faedrun were forced to flee northward, scattering and seeking refuge wherever they could. Very few were successful in boarding the Alliance ships that eventually made it to Mardrun.

On Mardrun

The settled island lies west-southwest of Mardrun and is significantly smaller than the Nara Pentare homeland and has no mountainous regions. The Naran population has been severely reduced, and the country is now a large urban province as most of the peoples have condensed on the rebuilt City of Flame.
The Houses of Metal have been utterly displaced and have struggled to revitalize. Their large militant power serves no purpose in keeping out Richtrag anymore and the ground is too sandy to mine, so they have distributed to naval jobs in the Houses of Water, agricultural roles in the Houses of Wood, or mercenary-like professions within various noble families. This drastic change to their identities, professions, and House affiliations has created a divide, especially when considering how they represent their Blessed Three. Some believe the Houses of Metal have fallen and should integrate with the remaining Houses, while others hold tightly to tradition and their origins.
Severely depleted of mining resources; iron and stone are now rarer commodities. Additionally, there is no large game on the island, and local animals are at risk of being overhunted due to the rapid influx of humans. There was little room on the Naran ships to transport sufficient supply of livestock. Many of the herds that exist on the island are coveted as renewable resources for fiber and dairy and are fiercely protected from poachers. Red meat is rare and game birds are expensive, largely reserved for the wealthy. The island nation now mainly relies on fishing and farming.

Some diplomatic and trade relationships have been established with Newhope, as there is a small populace of Nara Pentare in a district there, but contact is few and far between. Ships carrying ambassadors and trade goods make the journey across the sea rarely. The governance of Nara Pentare has been keen on remaining isolationist despite the clear challenges caused by their doing so. Though the Nara Pentare who reside on Mardrun have had no trouble becoming accustomed to the ulven, Nara Pentare ‘proper’ has had very few interactions with the ulven Clans. No one is quite sure why this is, as most would think that Nara Pentare would view the ulven with a similar curiosity as they do the syndar.

Playing a PC or NPC from Nara Pentare

Nara Pentare contains a variety of regions and the peoples within are equally unique. Originally, inspiration for the lore pulled from specific parts of East Asia, but has now expanded to be more inclusive. These inspirations are used in a variety of combinations and contexts, but are not meant to come together in a homogeneous mix. Players are expected to be respectful of real-world cultures, be aware of proper representation, avoid tropes, appropriation, and racist stereotypes, and should also understand that Nara Pentare is not an attempt to recreate any one group exactly. While historical and fantasy inspired East Asian garb, props, and weaponry are an option for those looking to play a Naran character, they are not required nor excluded from other Kingdoms of origin in our game.

There are out-of-game requirements for Naran garb/props/weapons. Eastern style items must not have any printed or pre-written calligraphy. If items do have calligraphy, it must have been done by the player or the player must provide proof they’ve done research to understand what that calligraphy says.

Q: Why?

A: The Staff of Last Hope LARP recognize that the previous iterations of content written for Nara Pentare fell short of cultural sensitivity and we have a duty to make sure future representations in the game are respectful. East Asian character calligraphy is widely appropriated for aesthetics. This is a symptom of orientalism, which is the depiction or imitation of the Eastern world in a romantic or fetishized fashion by the West, and not a genuine effort to understand any particular country’s rich culture. We ask that players be mindful of the props and garment they choose when curating a Nara Penatre “look.” We discourage anyone from viewing a real language and culture and thinking “this is Naran” without giving it a second thought to understand its true meaning, intention, or origin. 

Q: How is this different from using the elder futhark as Ulven, or using Latin for ancient syndar, or other language examples?

A: Staff and players have given great care and effort to create alphabets based on the elder futhark, as well as translate rituals in Latin for immersive purposes. Some players have asked to sing songs in other languages or speak in their second language and want to know where that language may fit in within the world. Various other fantasy alphabets, codes, and runes have been created in the many years of this game. Please remember that the intention is to enhance the LARP immersion and experience with great effort. What we do not want is the blind inclusion of language for the sake of “aesthetic” or convenience. Culture is not a costume.