Irsmahap

Irsmahap

Primary Culture

Irsmahapan

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Religion

Elikhetist

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Traditions
+1 Diplomats
+2 Tolerance of Heretics

Rule Of The EldersGrizaka’s invasion resulted in the eradication of most of the Irsmahapan ahati ruling class, and the few survivors fled to Mattabo, leaving the human communities of the Lower Sorrow leaderless. The only authority remaining was that of the elders, the men and women of greatest age inside extended families. To fill the power void these elders organized themselves in local councils, which took decisions only by unanimity. These councils ensured the upholding of the law, maintained order and guaranteed respect for traditions. They were also the ones that dealt with the gnollish authorities, collecting taxes and tributes in their communities and delivering them to the state. Eventually a pan-Irsmahapan council was formed with the support of Gnollakaz, with representatives being selected from the eldest of every local council. It would be a staunch ally of the reformist pro-kheteratan wing of the gnollish state, supporting Kyztzerhr during the Dance of Demons and being rewarded with greater autonomy for Irsmahap after she came out victorious.
-15% Cost of Advisors with Ruler's Culture

Screaming BulletsNew times call for new tactics, and as such the main military asset of Irsmahap is no longer ahati warriors of sword and spear, but cunning slingers of strong arm and deadly aim. Cheap to produce and easy to use, although difficult to master, the sling has become the preferred weapon among the Irsmahapan. In the hand of a trained slinger a lead sling-bullet can be just as deadly as the bullet of a gnomish rifle, piercing through armor, hide, meat and bone as if they were butter. The Irsmahapan are also known for enchanting their bullets, not to improve their destructive capabilities, but to make them produce various sounds with the purpose of psychological warfare. These sounds can rank from deafening whistles to blood-curdling screams, dragon roars or just insulting remarks about the enemy commander’s mother. Many of these slingers would eventually find employment as auxiliary troops under Konolkhatep, and their enemies soon learnt to fear the screaming bullets even more than the laughter of the hyenas.
+0.1 Infantry Shock
+5% Morale Damage

Building The BridgeThere was a lot of bad blood between the gnolls and the Irsmahapan, especially after the invasion, but even the greatest rifts can be bridged. The bridge started being built thanks to the merciful treatment that Grizaka and her successors gave to the local human population, granting them autonomy and protection. The gnolls slowly but surely assimilated into Kheteratan and Irsmahapan culture, and the humans in turn took on many beneficial aspects of gnollish culture. And while the forces of the Xhazobkult threatened to undo all this progress during the Dance of Demons, they were defeated, and the bridge construction neared its end. Now, in the modern Irsmahap, human and gnoll drink and laugh together in the taverns like brothers, in the streets they greet each other like good neighbors, and in the temples they worship the Khet with equal favor. Gnolls and humans are one people in Irsmahap, the bridge has finally been completed.
-15% Stability Cost Modifier

The Southern BrotherhoodsBefore the gnollish invasion Irsmahap was ruled by the Southern Ahati Brotherhoods. Where the northern ahati remained strictly military brotherhoods, the threat of gnoll raiders led to the merchant class and warrior class of Irsmahap becoming largely synonymous. As such, southern ahati brotherhoods took on the aspects of trade guilds and largely controlled the Irsmahapan economy before Grizaka's Invasion decimated them. Even with the Ahati gone, their legacy remains in the form of an important trading tradition in the region. Now under the supervision of the gnolls and the councils instead of the ahati, the caravans keep marching, and the wealth keeps flowing.
+20% Caravan Power
-10% Center of Trade Upgrade Cost

Diplomatic Arm of KonolkhatepDue to the constant conflict, diplomacy between humans and gnolls has always been complicated. As such, when Konolkhatep was founded, the gnolls turned to their most loyal human subjects to help guide their diplomacy with their neighbors and the rest of their human population. The people of Irsmahap made up the majority of Konolkhatep’s diplomatic corps during the early years of the country, dealing with both domestic and foreign relationships. They could not do miracles of course, and their job did not undo centuries of animosity, but it did manage to make Konolkhatep less of an international pariah. As time passed more and more gnolls chose a diplomatic career, and as such the Irsmahapan grip over gnollish diplomacy weakened. They still maintained a significant presence in the diplomatic corps of the state, and the ruling council of Irsmahap would take full advantage of the diplomatic expertise that the service to the gnolls helped develop, leveraging it both in internal and external relationships.
+20% Improve Relations

Land Without HungerWith vast grain fields fertilized by the yearly flood of the Mother’s Sorrow, and massive cattle herds grazing in extensive pastures, food scarcity has almost never been an issue in Irsmahap. Bread is not lacking in any house, and even the lower classes can afford to eat meat fairly regularly. It could even be said that the average Irsmahapan peasant has a better diet than the nobles of many countries. Famine has only struck the region in times of terrible and devastating conflict, but fortunately those have been few and far between. Even when the gnolls invaded they respected the crops and cattle, as Grizaka cleverly understood the value of not damaging such a productive food source.
+15% National Manpower Modifier

The MastabasIf you travel through the deserts and drylands of Irsmahap you will see plenty of a particular type of building, great flat-roofed and rectangular structures with inward sloping sides, made out of mud-bricks. These are mastabas, and they were created to mark the burial sites of the nobility and ahati of Irsmahap. The mastabas are compact and there is no space inside, as the real grave is in a subterranean room whose entrance is completely sealed by the brick building. Emulating the monumentality of the Khet Pyramids in a humbler way, the majority of these tombs were built during Ancient Kheterata, although some of the most recent ones date from Aakhet’s rule. Today the majority of them have been partially destroyed by grave robbers so they could access the treasures of the tomb underneath, and the gnolls took care of profanating the few still intact ones. However the ancient ruins still remain, an imposing sight in an otherwise flat landscape.
-1% Prestige Decay

Ambition
-2 National Unrest

History

TBD

Strategy

TBD