Bohaar (pronounced boh-HAHR) is a nation in the northern Stormlands, a much more verdant land than the rest of the continent with a landscape defined by innumerable rivers and bodies of water. Once far more unified, today this hydraulic empire remains only loosely connected, the lake-cities paying only nominal heed to the decrees of the central Imperial Palace.
Geography
Bohaar lies between two mountain ranges - the Amanas Mountains in the west and the Rain-Shroud in the east - where water collects into streams then rivers that flow down into the floodplains of the lowlands. It is around these rivers, and the lakes they feed, that Bohaar has grown. The largest - the Thorn, Shroud-Ran, Dtiir, Ice, Vire, Harii, and Hummingbird rivers - all eventually meander and flow into the immense and marshy Reed-Crowned Lake, the seat of Bohaari power and civilization. From there they drain out through the Gold-Hewn River into the Gulf of Bohaar in the north.
In the south Bohaar is bordered by the drier regions north of the Tazak Mountains but south of the floodplains.
Most of the landscape of Bohaar is remarkably flat, aside from the foothills of the mountain ranges and some uplifted regions between the rivers. A mix of temperate forests and grasslands cover the terrain.
While significantly warmer than much of the southern Stormlands, and in general more moderated than on the plateau or the southern steppes, the weather in Bohaar can be highly variable. Summers are warm and rainy, while winters bring snow and cause the rivers to freeze.
History
The empire of Bohaar is quite ancient, by the standards of the Stormlands, having first formed around the Reed-Crowned Lake in the middle of the eighth millennium. From there it slowly spread outwards, incorporating one by one the previously independent city-states along the many rivers of the land. Unification, while certainly involving conquest, was much more driven by religious concerns, as the successive emperor-priests and emperor-priestesses had the close support of the clergy of Eraamn and Seriil. Over the centuries and millennia their control of the floodplains waxed and waned, as they came into conflict with the tribes of the forests and the hobgoblins to their south. These nearly constant clashes greatly increased the influence of the emperors of Bohaar, as they were able to ensure a semblance of security through directing imperial armies and mage-generals where needed.
By the middle of the tenth millennium Bohaar had unified the forests and grasslands, either driving out or assimilating the various tribes, and only its long-time foes of the hobgoblins yet remained, but in Y9628* this threat too was removed. The hobgoblin tribes, who had long coveted the wealthy and prosperit of Bohaar, looked in fear at the rise of the mage-autocrats of Tazak to the south, and together approached the emperor-priestess with an offer - in exchange for imperial support in the form of weapons, advisors, and regular payment of gold and silver, they would cease their raids on the southern cities of Bohaar and become loyal subjects of the empire. The emperor-priestess agreed, and thus the vassal nation of Kad was organized from the tribes. Bohaar was finally at a state of peace that could be enjoyed by all in the empire, not only those in the core around the Reed-Crowned Lake.
Ultimately, however, it was this peace that would lead to the slow decline of Bohaar. Without an external threat - and with the clergy of the Bohaar pantheon having slowly decentralized away from the Imperial Palace - it became less necessary to heed the orders of the emperor, and the armies slowly returned to their home cities, their previous centralization always a matter of convenience rather than loyalty. By Y9900 the emperor-priests of Bohaar, once leaders of the most centralized state in the Stormlands and its only empire, were almost vestigial, relegated to a role that was ceremonial and spiritual rather than political.
Demographics
The people of Bohaar are largely human, hobgoblin, and dwarven, with considerably smaller numbers of tengu, elves, and other ancestries.
Culture
Religion
See also: Bohaar pantheon
The Bohaar pantheon is the predominant faith in the riparian cities of the empire. Worship of Eraamn, Seriil, and the Nine Rivers of the Night is widespread, as acts of devotion are necessary to keep the evil influence of Ob, the creator god, at bay.
Unusually for Stormlands faiths, the Bohaar pantheon places a strong emphasis on the importance of religious leadership, who through their divinations of the sun, moon, and stars act as intermediaries between the good gods and their followers. Historically these clergy have been closely connected with the emperor of Bohaar, and this association has remained even as imperial power has waned significantly in recent centuries.
Worship of the Bohaar pantheon does not imply exclusivity, and many who do so in Bohaar also maintain traditions regarding the shaping and veneration of ancestor monoliths, or reverence for the heroes of the Dustwalkers.
Languages
Aanar is by far the most-spoken language in Bohaar, followed by Ukkarak, the language of the hobgoblins vassals in Kad. Other tongues are not unknown but are uncommon.
Architecture and urbanization
Effectively all major cities in Bohaar, and many of the smaller towns as well, have been built either along one of the region's many rivers or within its lakes. Originally done for religious purposes - around the waterways of the northern Stormlands is where one can be closest to the Bohaari gods - the construction of cities in these locations was continued for defensive reasons as well. Each lake-city is built upon small islands within their respective lakes that have been slowly expanded outwards over the centuries with fill from the surrounding shore, forming densely populated settlements that can be, and historically have been, easily protected from invading hostile forces.
Each major lake-city is typically built across multiple islands, connected by bridges, walkways, and floating gardens. Many are intricately laid out in grid patterns. Riparian cities are typically less elaborate, though they too are built heavily upon the water, with many buildings supported by stilts over the river.
Bohaari settlements away from the waterways are usually considerably smaller, rarely larger than small villages, and typically exist to harvest and produce resources that are then funneled to the major population centers.
Food and cuisine
Fish is central to the Bohaari diet, but so too is crayfish, waterfowl, and fruits, vegetables, and grains like amaranth that are cultivated in well-irrigated fields along the rivers.
Fashion
Hollow wooden or reed earrings are popular accessories in Bohaar, designed and crafted so as to sound like wind chimes when their wearer moves. Robes upon which rows of reed rods have been affixed are often worn by Bohaari priests of Seriil with a similar effect.
Names
Bohaari names are matronymic. A typical name has the format "Iin Matronym Given", where Iin roughly means "child of" and the matronym is the individual's mother's name.
Government
Though they continue to style themselves as emperors, today the rulers of Bohaar only have direct influence around their strongholds of the Imperial Palace in the Reed-Crowned Lake and the Imperial Retreat to its southeast. To the other cities and settlements of Bohaar, their orders matter little, followed if convenient and ignored if not. Still, due to their ongoing close association to the clergy of Bohaar the emperor-priests and emperor-priestesses continue to be spiritually important as the foremost diviners of the word of the gods. While not hereditary - each emperor is chosen by the combined clergy of Eraamn and Seriil upon the death of the previous individual in the role - certain families have nonetheless formed dynasties, albeit ones that rarely hold the throne in succession.
The various cities and smaller communities of Bohaar are also heavily theocratic in nature, though where some are autocratic others are instead ruled by councils of priests. The few remaining forest tribes, meanwhile, tend to prefer consensus-based direct democracy.