Aemoan

Racial Benefits
Because of the Aemoan's connection to the earth and cultual emphasis on agriculture, the Aemoan racial changes depending on the season.
 * Autumn: You gain Earth Salve, 1 Stone Bound , and 2 Bind Spells for the event.
 * Winter: Gain Ice Salve, 2 Ice Shells , 1 Ice Bolt for the event.
 * Spring: You gain Water Salve, 2 Pacify Spells, and 2 Instant Tend Spells for the event.
 * Summer:  You gain Air Salve, 2 Air Shells , 4 Crushing Air Darts for the event.

Racial Description
"Aemoa is a small country located in the southeastern corner of Gallif, the small island-continent off the coast of Terra’s mainland. It is situated between two rivers whose basin drains a mountainous area. Of the three countries on Gallif, Aemoa is the largest and the most fertile, and its people are renowned across Terra as the best agriculturists the world has to offer.

With a great reliance on water–both from the rivers and the mountains, for the purposes of irrigating their crops–the Aemoans have also developed an extensive system of canals that cuts across the country, connecting small villages and trading posts. Around these are the Aemoans’ homesteads, huge tracts of land tilled and farmed by large families. The Aemoan culture is widely dispersed and law is enforced on a local level, with families defending their homesteads against bandits and invaders rather than relying on a government. In addition to farming, there are some families who make their living as nomadic shepherds of sheep and goats; others, particularly those in the south, are sailors and fishermen.

The decentralization of Aemoan government, its dependence on the land, and its complete lack of military might–having depending on its northerly neighbors, the Lacon, for defense in the past, the Aemoans never developed an army–is mostly responsible for the entrenched position of the Runa on Gallif. As a result of the invasion, the traditional Aemoan culture has been the most impacted of all those on Gallif; and the imposition of the Hutan/Uran class-system has interrupted customary patterns of family and homestead. Some Aemoans have cut deals with the Runa conquerors, but most live in forced service to the Runa, tilling land that used to belong to them and their families. Scholars worry that the Aemoan culture, which features its own ancient language, system of writing, folklore, philosophy, and advanced medicinal practices (including herbalism, a practice widely considered lost when Gallif first disappeared), may be lost as it is supplanted with Runa culture and practices."



Culture Description
"Aemoa is a small country located in the southeastern corner of Gallif, the small island-continent that lies off the southwestern coast of Terra’s mainland. This continent is commonly referred to as the “lost continent,” unexpectedly reappearing on the map in 1601 RE after several centuries during which it was thought to have been destroyed. Just two weeks after its reappearance, before its inhabitants could adjust to their new and startling situation, an army from Runa invaded the continent and claimed it as a colony. None of the native races, who often spoke only a very ancient dialect of the common tongue used throughout Terra today, were able to resist the attack, and the Runa conquerors have started to establish estates on the more fertile parts of the island, pressing the natives into service.

The country itself is situated between two large rivers, both of which are fed by numerous tributaries, and the river system itself drains a mountainous region. The climate is semi-arid, with a wide swathe of desert in the north giving way to marshes, lagoons, mud flats, and reed banks in the south. Because of this particular geographical layout, farming in the north is rain-fed, whereas southern agriculturists must rely on irrigation from the nearby rivers and melting snow from the mountains. The Aemoans’ dependence on the rivers and their familiarity with water-systems has led to the construction and maintenance of relatively elaborate canals, which form the primary method of travel within the country.

In general, Aemoa is divided into expansive farmlands gathered around small trading posts or villages, which are connected by the vast system of waterways. The country’s borders extend over more than half of Gallif’s land mass; however, its population remains low in comparison to the other nations on Gallif and around Terra, due to the agricultural nature of the culture and its subsequently low population density. As a result of this dispersal and the isolated nature of the farmlands, Aemoa lacks a strong centralized government; instead, Aemoan families have taken to enforcing individual laws locally, fighting for and defending their homesteads from bandits or invaders by themselves, or sometimes with the help of neighbors.

The early Aemoans have been credited with the invention of modern farming, and are rightfully regarded as some of the best agriculturalists to whom Terra has yet given rise. Using knowledge gleaned from generations of successful farmers, the Aemoans are able to harness certain elemental magics in order to better foster their crops. Throughout the country, agriculture has traditionally been supplemented by nomadic shepherding, with certain families herding sheep and goats from the summer pastures near the rivers to the winter pastures on the fringe of the desert. In the marshlands, a fairly complex fishing culture developed early on in Aemoa’s history; and sailors have always been necessary to secure building stone, precious metals, and timber from the Jay’ek to the west and the Lacon to the north.

<span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">The decentralized nature of Aemoan culture, as well as its huge dependence on the land, has left the country very susceptible to attack. Historically, Aemoa has always turned to its northerly neighbors, the Lacon, for defense in times of war; it seems that, via Jay’ek ambassadors, the three countries of Gallif arranged a peace treaty long ago that remains in place today. In exchange for foodstuffs and supplies, the Lacon people are to act as the defenders of Gallif, on behalf of the Jay’ek and the Aemoans. For this reason, Aemoa never developed a centralized military force—a fact which may yet lead to the death of the traditional culture in Aemoa. Having been particularly weakened by the Great Plague of 1601 and taken by surprise, neither the warriors of Jay’ek nor the trained army of Lacon were able to respond quickly enough to Aemoa’s cry for help when the Runa invaders first made landfall on its shore, allowing the Runa army to entrench itself on the continent for good. To make matters worse, the invasion caused a devastating instability from 1601 to 1602 RE in Aemoa, temporarily disrupting trade and causing widespread neglect of irrigation systems, in turn leading to famine throughout Gallif and a further weakening of both the Lacon and the Jay’ek.

<p style="margin:0in0in0.25in;line-height:18pt;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">Of the three nations on Gallif, Aemoa has been the one most affected by the Runa invasion. Runa conquerors have been quick to set up estates and plantations throughout the southwestern portion of the country, forcing the natives to labor on the land that once belonged to them and their families. Some Aemoans have cut deals with the invaders, agreeing to a serf-like position in order to maintain control of some small parcel of their traditional homesteads; but far oftener, the Runa have reduced the natives to the position of servants and slaves. Taking advantage of the Aemoans’ knowledge of the continent, the Runa have also coaxed, bargained, or forced the natives to act as guides in launching an attack against the Jay’ek. Scholars studying the conflict predict that the Runa intend to secure the southern half of Gallif before turning to wage war against the Lacon, who remain stubbornly well-defended in the northern part of the continent.

<p style="margin:0in0in0.25in;line-height:18pt;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">The imposition of the Hutan/Uran class-system in Aemoa has done much to disrupt traditional cultural patterns, fracturing families and customary attachments to the land. Although Aemoan families remain as large as ever, many have been uprooted from their homesteads or separated from relatives with whom they normally would have spent their entire lives. Likewise, the ancient Aemoan language and writing–a complex system comprised of wedge-like pictograms that take years of study to master–have been more or less completely suppressed. Scholars worry that the language, as well as the philosophies, folkloric tales, proverbs, and advances in healing (including a system of herbal knowledge previously believed lost when Gallif disappeared) that have been written using it, might be largely lost before they have a chance to translate and record it all."

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