Sun Refuge

Sun Refuge
Capital	Harinna's Hold
Ruler	Grandmaster of the Refuge Irshen Rava
Government	Theocracy
Demonym	-
Adjective	-
Languages	Common
Religions	Harinna

The Sun Refuge is a crusader state established by schismatic devotees of Harinna as part of their fight against Tarkuus. Despite not having made any progress in centuries, they remain, a thorn in the side of everyone.

Geography, flora, and fauna

The Sun Refuge consists of two islands, Madisa in the south and Vicaze in the north, as well as a small strip of the Skeleton Coast. When not being magically affected, the climate is generally warm year-round, though major storms blow in from the Kilche Sea on occasion.

Harinna's Hold, the largest fortress and de facto capital, is located on the island of Madisa. The shoreline of Madisa is largely rough and craggy, with no natural harbors. The island rises in altitude towards the center, where Harinna's Hold is located atop the highest point. Much of the island has been terraced in order to create usable flat lands, mostly dedicated to farms and small hamlets.

Unlike the southern island, Vicaze has no permanent population. It is geographically similar to Madisa, with craggy shorelines, but the lack of usable interior land inhibits habitation. Watchtowers are staffed by the Harrinites, tasked with keeping an eye on the mainland.

The small stretch of the Skeleton Coast controlled by the Refuge is similarly jagged and rough, and littered with the wrecks of ships brought ashore by storms - mostly merchant vessels, but some ships belonging to the holy order as well. The Refuge only has control extending a few miles inland, but keeps small forts staffed to the greatest degree possible.

Very little vegetation naturally grows on either of the islands or the coast, mostly limited to small grasses and other plants. The Refuge has planted trees, orchards, and crops on Madisa, which have taken hold moderately successfully.

Sea otters and birds are common sites on the islands, though both avoid the mainland coast. Magical sea creatures occasionally pass by in the Kilche Sea, and a number of smaller magical creatures were introduced to the islands by the holy order. Undead animals sometimes enter the mainland coast, at least until they are hunted down by Harinna's followers.

History

Pre-Refuge

Before the founding of the Refuge, the two islands were under the control of Tarkuus, though neither were put to use or inhabited. Occasionally the islands were home to a transient population of marooned or shipwrecked sailors, but they rarely remained for long.

Founding of the Refuge

In Y8925^* the Sun Refuge was founded by a collection of Harinna's followers calling themselves the Sun Blades. This group was formed by a small, schismatic group of paladins, originally hailing from the Ersas city-states, who traveled through Hellea, Thadria, and the Chaskan states for years gathering more faithful followers and resources. Driven by a belief that the mainline church of Harinna was too complacent in allowing evil to exist in the world, they set out to combat what they saw as the unholy scourge of Tarkuus. After their initial landing on Madisa and their destruction of the few undead around, they rapidly set to work building what would later become Harinna's Hold.

By Y8937^* the Refuge had completed the still-used small fortifications on the coast. Tarkuus took notice of their new neighbors, and sent a delegation to begin diplomatic relations. Predictably, they did not return. Tarkuus began its policy of sending small patrols along the border but otherwise ignoring the holy order.

The Tarkuusan giant earthworks and castle at Broken Sword were built in Y9408^*; an attack by the Refuge soon after was repulsed. From then on, Harinna's followers have pushed deeper into Tarkuus occasionally, but have never been able to maintain control. Tarkuus continues to effectively ignore the holy order, seeing it as a small nuisance not worth dealing with.

Demographics

Harinna's faithful come from highly diverse backgrounds and hail from all across the world. Though humans account for a plurality of the nation's population, many other races are common as well.

Culture

Religion

The Sun Refuge has a unique culture as a melting pot of Harinna's followers from around the world. Their worship and dedication to their goddess ties them together, and religious life is of central importance. They recognize all aspects of Harinna across pantheons, seeing them all as equally legitimate depictions of the same goddess. Worship of other deities is marginal and is largely limited to praying at small, private household shrines.. Day to day life is structured around religious calendars, though most inhabitants also maintain at least some cultural practices from their homelands.

Languages

As Harinna's followers natively speak a wide array of languages, they have adopted Common in order to communicate amongst themselves without much trouble.

Arts

Most art produced in the Refuge has religious significance or influence. It is traditional for each paladin acolyte to create an elaborate suncatcher, which is then presented to the Grandmaster in the same ceremony where the paladin receives their longsword. These suncatchers are then displayed on one of the outer rings of the open-air temple in the middle of Harinna's Hold, where they collectively reflect and refract sunlight into a dazzling array of colors.

Society

All citizens of the Refuge are required to undergo training to fight what they view as the undead menace, whether that be magical or military. Service is mandatory, though all either traveled to the Refuge for explicitly this purpose or are descended from those that did, this is rarely a point of contention. Whatever differences those that live in the Refuge might have, their moral righteousness serves to bind them.

Though their primary purpose is to combat what they see as the evil of Tarkuus, the crusaders of the Sun Refuge offer aid to others when the opportunity arises. Traveling ships can find safe harbor at Harinna's Hold, and they are known for re-provisioning and repairing ships that dock there, as long as the crew is willing to hear the word of their goddess.

Food and cuisine

Though the islands of Madisa and Vicaze are rocky and home to little native vegetation, the inhabitants of the Refuge have been remarkably successful in their agriculture. Crops have been introduced by arrivals from around the world, leading to a somewhat unusual cornucopia. There is, however, very little livestock kept in the Refuge, owing primarily to a lack of grazing space. Some inhabitants keep poultry, but this is effectively the extent of animal agriculture on the islands.

The cuisine of the islands reflects the region’s unusual agriculture. Meat is de-emphasized in Refuge cuisine, primarily due to a lack of livestock, though fish is eaten relatively often. Fish is frequently dried and salted for preservation, and then reconstituted later. Many frequently used ingredients are not grown on the islands and can only be acquired by importing them. Some common dishes include the following:

• Dishes of rice, seafood, vegetables, saffron, and other spices. The exact ingredients can vary widely depending on what is available. Saffron can be hard to acquire in the Refuge, and other spices are frequently used as replacements.
• Spicy olive-based sauces with potatoes, taro, or other root vegetables
• Fish marinated in vinegar-based sauces
• Mussels with onions and other vegetables
• Thinly-sliced fish in a citrusy sauce
• Breaded salted fish

Architecture and urbanization

Essentially the entire population of the Refuge lives in or very close to Harinna's Hold. Small outposts without permanent residents exist on the island of Vicaze and on the Skeleton Coast, but otherwise none live off the island of Madisa.

Buildings in the Refuge are built almost entirely of stone, as it is the only resource they have in great amounts. Cut stone bricks are the most common building material, with roofs constructed of wood, tar paper, and thatching. Though the aesthetics of architecture are not ignored, buildings tend to be fairly simple and austere in appearance regardless.

Travel

All travel to and from the Refuge is done by sea. Land routes would necessarily pass through Tarkuus, and are therefore highly ill advised. The Refuge no longer has functional teleportation - it did at one point in its history, but a raid from Tarkuus destroyed the tempest hall that made it possible.

While most of those born on the islands of the Refuge are inducted into the ranks of Harinna's devotees, the Refuge also welcomes clerics, paladins, and warpriests from elsewhere who wish to assist the Refuge’s mission. Nearly all who join are devout worshipers of Harinna, though a rare few others (in particular, followers of Shai) have immigrated to the Refuge as well. All new arrivals are carefully vetted to ensure they are committed to the aims of the Refuge.

Magic

A large proportion of the inhabitants of the Refuge are magically capable. Almost all magical practitioners use divine magic, though there are some that fuse their religiously-acquired abilities with arcane learning. Among casters with familiars, doves, falcons, and basking lizards are by far the most common.

Education

The Refuge provides education for all its inhabitants. Religious matters are of central importance to schooling in the Refuge, though students also learn about more mundane and practical subjects as well. Education is free for all children living in the Refuge, and also available to new arrivals who wish to learn more. Literacy rates in the Refuge are very high. The clergy of Harinna also maintain a small publishing operation, where they produce copies of her holy text.

The clothing worn by those living on the Refuge varies, mostly depending on an individual’s culture of origin. Generally, however, most clothes are made of red and gold fabric and adorned with symbolism representing their faith. Glass or crystal brooches of Harinna's holy symbol are particularly common.

Government

The Sun Refuge is a theocratic state, led by the Grandmaster of the Refuge, currently Irshen Rava. The Grandmaster is a position appointed by a vote held by the Refuge's older and more experienced paladins, clerics, and clergy of Harinna, and passes to a new individual when the prior holder of the title dies or steps down. The Grandmaster can unilaterally dictate every action and matter of importance to the Refuge, though usually delegates to their circle of handpicked senior advisors to handle regular tasks.

Economy

The Refuge relies heavily on outside support. The islands do not produce enough food or other necessary resources to support their population, small as it is, and therefore need to import goods from elsewhere. Both raw material and money is mostly donated by Harinna's clergy elsewhere or by foreign states.

Relations

The Sun Refuge poses something of a problem for other states around the Kilche Sea. Despite its existence as an empire of undead and necromancers, Tarkuus mostly keeps to itself aside from trading with its neighbors - a highly beneficial relationship for Khapesh, Avaris, Rudamun, and, before its collapse, Akhom. None benefit from instability with Tarkuus, yet also wish to avoid provoking the ire of Harinna's followers within their own realms. Khapesh and Avaris occasionally send tribute to the Refuge as placation, but otherwise remain uninvolved. Fortunately for them, the Refuge currently poses next to no threat to Tarkuus.

The pirate crews of the Blacksand League mostly view the Refuge positively, and refrain from attacking any ships flying the colors of the goddess. In return, they enjoy safe harbor and promises of peace at Madisa, which can be useful to avoid engaging those trying to bring them to justice.

Tarkuus and the Refuge exist in something of a cold war - however, it is a war only one side is dedicated to fighting. Harinna's followers do not pose any real threat to Tarkuus and are only an annoyance to the undead garrisons on the western part of the Skeleton Coast. If any desire arose, the forces of Tarkuus are confident they could easily overrun the islands. However, Tarkuus recognizes that doing so would endanger their peaceful ties elsewhere and invite otherwise avoidable meddling in their lands. Tarkuus only puts up a token resistance to the holy order, allowing the Refuge's expeditions to enter a small section of its territory to give them a sense of victory. Disposable patrols are sent to the border, more to keep an eye on things than to actually serve as guards.