A Hollow Mountain: Espal, Portant, and Wahleen

(This is the third in my series of worldbuilding posts for A Hollow Mountain, the second book in The Brightest Shadow series.)

Though the three nations of the Maenhu have been referenced during the previous posts, each has a culture and history of its own. The second book only passes through them, but they'll play a major role in the series going forward, so I wanted to at least preview them in greater depth.

One example of the similarities and differences is the societal views of hair. In all three nations, hair is seen as an important part of the individual, to be treated carefully. Women's hair is generally regarded as sensual, but the proper methods of handling it differ. Men's beards are considered essential representations of themselves in varying ways, with clean shavenness being either a bold statement or a trait of barbarians.

From the outside, many view the nations of the Maenhu as squabbling factions, but some of the differences run deep...

Espal 

Occupying the western third of the Maenhu, Espal has the unique advantage of a string of islands providing easy access to the continent of Fareshel. This has had an influence on their trade and culture, though it also leads to naval weakness: they have a strong enough navy to deter pirates, but otherwise trade is highly individualized instead of controlled by the state..

One tradition unique to Espal is that politicians and diplomats often wear large metal collars, the meaning of which has varied over time. Once it had a military use as part of armor, but since the era of warrior leaders it has been said to represent the weight of office, among other things. Sometimes these are inscribed, though rarely with information readable to anyone outside of a given court system.

Espali men are expected to braid their beards according to specific styles. These are sometimes codified to represent specific positions in society, but since fashions change over time, these messages tend to be opaque to outsiders and somewhat ambiguous even to natives. Espali women are expected to wear wraps that obscure their hair, though allowing some to be visible is a common risqué statement.

Among the nations of the Maenhu, Espal has the most gender segregation, with women overrepresented in government and underrepresented in the military. The one exception to this is their archery divisions, which tend to be primarily women. Though archery is common as a practical skill across all three nations, Espal is the only nation to make heavy use of massed archery, including with sein arts.

Espali errants tend to wear leaner armor, with wraps instead of articulated joints. They're also the most likely to use adjustable visors. Many of their martial traditions are inherited from desert warfare, since Espal needs to control the Sotunn Desert in a way the other nations do not, thanks to its effect on their coastal trade.

Portant 

Situated between the other two nations, with only inhospitable seas to the north, Portant is the next best thing to landlocked. When war has broken out in the Maenhu, they've nearly always needed to fight on two fronts, leading to traditions of both aggression and of diplomacy.

Portant has the least restrictive cultural norms regarding hair, seen as purer or less civilized depending on who you ask. Men are expected to wear their hair and beards long, but keep both well-maintained. Women are expected to braid and coil their hair whenever they're in public, though different contained styles are sometimes used.

Portantese errants are notable for typically wearing open-faced helms. It's been said that in the northern forests, visibility was more important than protection, but the exact origin of the tradition is unknown. They're also the most likely to use polearms, which are sometimes seen as a lesser weapon in the other two nations, due to general use by untrained soldiers.

Deep in the history of Portant, before it was a nation with that name, there lies an ancient tradition of mysticism. Though viewed as arcane sorcerers by some outsiders, in practice the mystics of Portant have been herbalists and spiritual leaders. A few of their orders do have complex sein arts that differ from those found elsewhere in the Maenhu.

Wahleen 

To the east, Wahleen possesses both the most land of the three nations as well as the best coastlines. Without established trade routes, it had to develop a powerful navy, which it uses both for international trade and to threaten the other two nations from the sea. It is said that these advantages are countered by Wahleen's errants having less sophisticated sein arts, though this is hotly debated.

Hair is less strictly controlled, with women requiring only a hood of some sort for modesty, which is viewed as licentious by outsiders. Men are expected to go bearded, but to keep their facial hair cropped short.

All three nations stretch from the Sotunn Desert to the frozen north, but Wahleen has the largest territory that is too cold to be suitable for agriculture. Military orders have often resided in these lands, protecting the fertile south and trying to maintain control of the Chilgaan Islands north of Breilin. Winds from the Terant Ocean also leave Wahleen with the fiercest winters, so they're well-prepared against the cold.

Errants in Wahleen wear the bulkiest armor of the three nations, and correspondingly wield the heaviest weapons. Female errants are common and tend to wear hoods over their armor, despite the helm already covering their hair. This isn't actually required by propriety, but many women prefer it as a matter of keeping the army civilized.

Food and Culture 

With metal at a premium and frequently controlled by governments, the people of the Maenhu tend to eat with utensils we'd call chopsticks. These can often be sharpened at one end, however, and come in distinct styles between nations. All three nations are working with similar foods, but exactly how they're prepared and eaten varies considerably.

This has been a first glimpse of the Maenhu, not an exhaustive explanation. Notably, the path of the errant is a strong but limited one, and not every warrior with potential can follow it. All across the Maenhu there are also warriors calling themselves Fools, though they stay out of the limelight and don't receive the acclaim of errants.

The Maenhu will be introduced in the second book, then play a critical role in the third and be a continuing presence in the series. Please look forward to it, and feel free to ask if you want to know about any more details!

A Hollow Mountain: Conflict in the Maenhu

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

Where the Chorhan Expanse was moving toward warfare, the northern part of Breilin is already deeply entrenched in several different conflicts.

Sotunn Raiders

The Sotunn Mountains are the largest range on the continent, the passes challenging and the summits uninhabitable. There are two networks of passes that link the Maenhu and the Chorhan Expanse, one on the eastern end of the range and one in the west. Since both reach major northern rivers, these passes are major highways of trade... and that means raiders preying on that trade.

Numerous clans of raiders have sprung up in the mountains over the past few generations, from the organized Coldsteps to the mansthein-hating Bloodskins to the Stormpeaks who prey on other clans. Instead of a long tradition, their society has formed from this brutal lifestyle. With limited food in the mountains and merchants increasingly avoiding the passes, they're engaged in a long war of attrition. They're one of the few cultures that's oppressive to women, and untrained young men are also second class citizens.

Sotunn raiders lack technology and steal all their weaponry, but they have one innovation that makes them feared: their training techniques focus on the body first, rendering them able to fight through most wounds. As such, they can conduct charges that would be suicidal for any other force, overwhelming caravan guards and stealing what they need to survive.

The Mansthein 

Several centuries ago, mansthein sailors shipwrecked off the coast of Wahleen and were rescued by humans. More followed and they were slowly incorporated into the nation, independent of the Silver Senate or other mansthein leadership. Most speak Reili and view themselves as Wahleenese, though they aren't fully integrated with the human society.

Over those years, Wahleenese mansthein have assimilated in many ways, notably their use of armor and head wraps for women. They're a sufficiently separated population to have developed a uniquely reddish coloring, related to the Feinan ethnicity but still distinct.

All that changed when a Zeitai arrived on the continent, bringing with him a new legion straight from Orphos. Wahleen was split between human and mansthein, with the mansthein's imperial ambitions fracturing business relationships and increasing tension all across the Maenhu. Worse, the Hero is now traveling north...

War in the Maenhu 

Espal, Portant, and Wahleen have a long history of warfare. Prior to the modern era of respect codes and ranked errants, there were countless atrocities, many of them still remembered. The borders between the three nations have been redrawn countless times, and the leadership councils still argue over certain regions.

These ancient conflicts may be mostly dormant at the present, but they're not easily suppressed. Currently, warfare is limited to controlled engagements. Scholars disagree about whether these standards can contain conflict between the nations or whether the Maenhu is a powder keg waiting for the right spark...

A Hollow Mountain: The Maenhu

(This is the first in my series of worldbuilding posts for A Hollow Mountain, the second book in The Brightest Shadow series.)

The second book in The Brightest Shadow takes the main characters out of the Chorhan Expanse, exploring the the northern part of the continent. They'll journey across the Sotunn Mountains, a brutal range filled with vicious raiders, and to the nations of the Maenhu.

The northern region of Breilin, bounded by oceans and the vast Sotunn Mountains, forms a distinct cultural region. Though considered the far north by many, it spans a significant latitude, ranging from hot desert in the south to frozen shores in the north. Though the three nations are similar ethnically, they have sharp cultural differences and a history of warfare between them.

In ancient times it was ruled by an empire and fiefdoms controlled by powerful warriors, but for the last several centuries it has been dominated by three nations that continually fight over their borders. Where the Chorhan Expanse is a meeting of countless strangers from across the world, the Maenhu is a firmly established and insular region.

The three nations of Espal, Portant, and Wahleen are each governed by a semi-democratic council. This system has proved remarkably durable over the years, allowing powerful sects to maintain seats while limiting their control. Likewise, the rise of a merchant class was easily absorbed into the council system with the creation of mercantile seats. Overall, the Maenhu has a weakened noble class, spreading authority across more social institutions.

Most warriors in the Maenhu are known as errants, following a wide variety of paths that nonetheless have certain elements in common. The Maenhu has pioneered the use of sein with metal, both when creating and wearing equipment. Sufficiently powerful warriors might be able to cut ordinary steel, but armor forged in the north and filled with an errant's sein takes on far more durable qualities.

Though a few errants operate independently, most operate within a national army, sect, or organization. They are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with a code of respect, though this is often more theory than practice. An errant's status is precisely ranked in accordance with the Maenhu's system.

Ranks 

In ancient times, the mystics of Portant pioneered a technology to precisely measure sein. This was eventually refined into an object called the Wooden Judge, which simultaneously welcomes and resists sein flow: when a person touches it, the wood reaches a certain equilibrium, which can be used as a way to approximate the depth of their sein.

Use of Wooden Judges during the imperial era was rampant, the centerpiece of a campaign to locate peasants who were training and crush their rebellion before it could begin. In the modern era, how much a Wooden Judge reacts to an individual determines their rank, and in turn their position in the Maenhu's warrior society.

Beginners are known as Ironsquires, often weaker than soldiers with sein training, but groomed to ascend higher. Once they have reached the rank known as Ironlord, they are considered errants in truth and gain both privileges and responsibilities.

Each of these ranks has subdivisions, skipped over for our present purposes. Once someone passes beyond the peak of Ironlord, they're considered Steeljudges. Though Steeljudges can no longer be evaluated by Wooden Judges, they have their own methods, eventually leading to the peak rank of Steelmaster.

Unlike the Chorhan Expanse, training in the Maenhu follows a strict order. Ironlords focus almost entirely on their sein, with bodily arts being reserved until Steeljudge. The average peak Ironlord has exceptional understanding of their sein, but physically is no more than an athletic person. By the time they reach the peak of Steeljudge, this has radically changed, and as Steelmasters they explore deeper matters of soul.

Beyond Steel 

Though multiple nations incorporate steel and heavy armor into their sein arts, the Maenhu is unique in how far it has pushed its forging techniques. Its most characteristic technology is bloodsteel, traditionally red but actually able to be forged in multiple colors.

Bloodsteel is forged not just with blood, but with the embodied sein of a warrior. Compared to ordinary steel, it retains a sharper edge for longer, but its true potential is seen when a warrior gives the blood for their own weapons. The steel becomes a part of their body in a spiritual sense, able to carry far more of their sein than it otherwise would. Though others might be able to use it well, or value swords forged by particularly powerful warriors, its true peak is only available to one.

Other techniques abound, from ordinary ways of making lighter steel to mystical arts such as soulsteel. Except for certain complex mechanisms, the forging techniques of the Maenhu are unmatched for their potency and variety.

A Hollow Mountain Release

The new book is out! Please expect a series of three new worldbuilding posts over the next three weekends, but for now, I hope you enjoy the book. ^-^

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0964H588M

Description: The arrival of the Hero was worse than anyone could have imagined.

The Hero's mad quest to purge the world continues beyond death, but a journey to the far north promises that knowledge might succeed where power could not. Allegedly there are wise sages who understand the Legend, though Tani fears that they have also been consumed by its light. As the group travels into fearsome mountains, they can only hope to prevent the Hero from destroying new lands.

Though the sage's mountain promises a simple destiny for everyone, it will test the earthly commitments of each individual. Tani will have her moral ideals challenged, Slaten will encounter a strange young woman among barbaric raiders, and Celivia will struggle with the demands of her military superiors. All will need to change as they meet the steel-clad errants of the far north, and their war that has been simmering for generations...