Shanidan (pronounced SHAH-nih-dahn) is a nation in the Stormlands in the northern Ilara Plaetau. In its democratic temple-communities, veneration of ancestors is central to both culture and governance, with the great halls of whisper urns places for contemplation and counsel.
Geography
Shanidan lies between the Tcheren Mountains to the west and the Amanas Mountains to the east in the northern-most part of the Ilara Plateau before the ranges converge into one and continue north. It is separated from the rest of the plateau to the south by Erei's Passage, a difficult to traverse stretch where the mountains nearly converge, becoming less than ten miles distant in some parts.
The plateau in Shanidan is no less hospitable than it is to the south - though less bitterly cold, it holds other dangers instead. The many deep canyons that cross it, carved by long-vanished rivers, are home to many dangerous beasts best avoided, and as a result nearly all inhabitants of Shanidan reside in communities nestled into protected valleys in the mountains' foothills. For a great many thousands of years, prior to the known arrival of people to the region, these rivers that begin in the Tcheren and the Amanas have instead flowed directly down into the earth in immense waterfalls that are believed to eventually connect to the Depths far below. They are generally avoided.
Most of Shanidan is effectively a cold desert. Rain falls rarely - any precipitation nearly always comes in the form of winter snow - and temperatures can swing wildly. As midday nears in the warmer months it is typical for the people of Shanidan to retreat from the heat into their homes or to rock outcroppings that serve as some of the little nature shade, yet nights bring no relief, for then the frigid air descends. Summers are short and winters are long.
Most vegetation in the region comes in the forms of shrubs or grasses well-adapted to the cold, arid climate. Trees are exceptionally rare and always diligently tended to and protected.
History
The earliest inhabitants of Shanidan were the descendants of the Shenii, a tribe that once lived in the forested lowlands of Bohaar to the northeast but almost a millennia ago migrated over the Amanas Mountains and into the plateau. Driven away from their traditional lands by incessant conflicts with the hobgoblins of modern-day Kad and Vukararn, they settled in the plateau, where they were forced to adopt their old ways to a landscape very different from what they knew. Over time they became the modern-day people of Shanidan, joined on occasion by new arrivals, mostly those fleeing the oni-ruled lands to the west.
Demographics
Nearly all Shanidanii are human. Hobgoblins, dwarves, tengu, and others are not unknown in the region but are quite uncommon.
Culture
Religion
See also: Whisper urn
Society
Languages
Despite their relative isolation, the people of Shanidan are often proficient in multiple languages. Nearly all speak Eshehi, their own tongue descended from that of the Shenii, but it is not unusual to additionally know Aanar, the most common language of Bohaar, or Ukkarak, the language of the northern hobgoblins.
Architecture and urbanization
Food and cuisine
In the dry and often desolate landscape in which they live, growing crops at scale is infeasible, and therefore though many families, households, and communities have gardens they rely heavily on their livestock. Herds of yaks and sheep are moved around the plateau to graze, often at quite some distance to the community that is responsible for, and benefits from, them. Meat from these animals is important, of course, but no less valuable is their milk and the various foodstuffs that can be made from it. The diet of the Shanidanii is largely dairy and meat, supplemented by tubers and certain grains that grow well with little water and at the high altitudes.
Fashion
The most characteristic of Shanidan clothing are their long robes of heavy yak and sheel wool, typically died bright shades of yellow, red, and pink, the exact shades of which, and their combinations, a matter of local pride in each community. These practical garments protect well against the elements, though during summer days they are sometimes shed in favor of lighter robes.
Despite the relative abundance of precious metals that are known to exist in the surrounding mountains, the Shanidanii largely do not mine or process these, and therefore jewelry is uncommon. Dress during important occasions is instead emphasized through elaborate headwear. Large turban-like headgear of sheep's wool - the more brightly white the better - are especially favored, tied in place with equally brightly colored bands of fabric.
Government
The people of Shanidan govern themselves in a democratic manor, albeit one that relies heavily on the wisdom and advice of the ghosts of their deceased. Community councils, or circles, commonly convene in the whisper urn libraries of local temples, allowing them to consult the dead when matters arise in which the living lack confidence or knowledge. Though the advice of the ghosts is generally only meant to be taken under consideration and given the same weight as the input of any other, in many though not all matters what they advocate is often the route taken, such is the level of deference. Participation in the circles is open to all adult members of a community, an opportunity nearly always taken by all when their availability allows, and they can become quite packed and raucous as the voices of the people and the ghosts all intermingle.