The Brightest Shadow: Oken

(This is the fifth in my series of worldbuilding posts for The Brightest Shadow, leading up to the release of the second book, A Hollow Mountain.)

The Oken are one of the most insular groups on the Chorhan Expanse, clustering by the western shore and advancing only somewhat into the mountains to the north. Their society is focused on the good of the group, with each person taking a role to serve the greater good.

The Oken are well-known across the Expanse for the quality of their fabrics and brightly colored dyes. They trade these frequently with outsiders, but within a given township, color and fabric are rigidly controlled. Each represents a different class, rank, or family (though the exact meaning varies slightly from township to township).

Traditionally, Oken always wear their mantle in public locations and do not wear it at home. The exact definition of "home" can seem strange to outsiders, as it includes some public markets and squares. Not following these customs is a source of gossip if not anger, though outsiders are generally exempt if they're allowed into a township at all.

Oken eat overall diverse diets, though generally heavy on seafood. This is true regardless of distance to the coast, so in regions where seafood is scarce it is restricted to the higher classes.

The Oken prefer to outfit entire companies with a single weapon, leading them toward generalist forms. Guards commonly use quarterstaffs, while warriors use the traditional Oken sword: a weapon capable of cutting, thrusting, and hacking in the hands of a sein-trained warrior.

The game of Shiil originated on the continent of Fareshel, but the Oken are the main culture that plays it on Breilin. There are several major rule variations, but all forms of the game are a conflict over control of the board.

In the original rules, whole groups of pieces can be removed or replaced if they become captured by opposing pieces. The primary Oken version only allows pieces to be replaced when completely surrounded, which is a rare circumstance. Generally pieces can only be placed in proximity to other pieces, but there is a major variant where this is untrue and the board can swing wildly even toward the endgame.

In all forms, Shiil is a game of strategy that requires long term thinking along multiple fronts. It has been said that the fate of kingdoms has been decided over games of Shiil, though such stories lie in times of legend.