Long ago in Anatolia there was a particularly dry season. Crops were wilting, famine abounded, animals were dropping dead in the heat, and people were searching for answers. One night, out praying for answers, a young man named Sarkimuna was visited by the image of Topalkhan, the patron god of travelers, messengers, and explorers. Topalkhan showed him a new far-away place, one that was fertile and abundant with food, a place to call home for him and any who would follow. Many followed him out of Anatolia, eventually settling in the land they would come to call Vuazrayava, or the Sea of Barley, so named for the fields of wild barley they found growing along the rivers of the region. Sarkimuna was called “pilot” and became the first ɲetl, or king, founding the city of Ghibalb along the Topalerazra, the Topal River, and the Kiyorakuazra, or the Lake of Good Omens.

Since then, Ghibalb became the center of the Vuazrayava people. Pilots keep information flowing between Ghibalb and the settlements outside of it, protecting trade routes, delivering messages, and leading caravans of people. Ghibalb maintains trade routes with many of the states surrounding it, both along the twin rivers and beyond. Organization and architecture rule the day, as it is seen as honoring Topal's gift to work and develop the homeland. It is a very stratified society, with the poor generally staying poor, those of moderate income staying that way, and the rich remaining rich. The lone exception to this paradigm is the rank of "pilot", which is extremely meritocratic and attainable by any with the strength, smarts, quickness, and drive to claim it.

The people follow a pantheon of Gods shared with many from the Anatolian region from which they migrated, revolving around Baalkhan, Kalikhan, and the Black Sun, but often in less extreme forms than those found from where they came from. A major focus of the Vuazrayavazaɲata - the people of Vuazrayava - is fire, though it's ability to separate the mortal from the immortal. Bodies are cremated after death, sending their immortal essence into the sky to be with the gods, while their earthly remains (ashes) are collected and stored in labeled clay urns. These are sorted and stored in a massive collective series of catacombs under the city of Ghibalb, where they can be visited by relatives looking to their ancestors for strength. Fire is also used ritually - it is believed that creating a likeness of the gods in any way brings part of their immortal essence into the mortal realm, and while that is used to make important prayers to the gods, these creations are burned soon after use, as to keep part of the gods trapped on earth is seen as a grave insult and offense. The only permanent references to the gods exist through symbols created to represent them.

Claim Type: City-State

Tech Type: Middle Eastern

Focus: Administration

Map: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/513995652816961537/519162066360205316/2w3nggy.png