In 981

981 places us in the Circle equivalent of the end of the High Middle Ages.

In our world:  The key historical trend of the High Middle Ages was the rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about great social and political change from the preceding era.  The robust population increase greatly benefited the economy, reaching levels it would not see again in some areas until the 19th Century.

  The High Middle Ages produced many different forms of intellectual, spiritual and artistic works and saw the rise of modern nation-states in Western Europe and the ascent of the great Italian city-states.

NB.  The High Middle Ages ended with a series of calamities most notably the Black Death.

For further information on life in this time period Medieval-Life.net is actually a fairly good gloss on the subject.

Some Major Differences Between Our World and the Circle:

   1. The major outside cultural influence on the European-esque cultures of southern Harkania are Indian-esque not Arab.

   2. The ability of a fairly good percentage of the population to use magic has had some profound effects upon things like the life span of the average person etc. 

The Macro Environment:

  The Free Cities are called such because they are each their own independent city state.  They fall into two major groups:

•  The cities of the peninsula are roughly culturally equivalent to medieval Moorish Spain with a few major differences:

1. Their outside influence does not come from a culturally Arab group but from the Amranti who are, basically, culturally Indian.
2.  They are polytheistic.

• The cities of the eastern coastal planes are roughly medieval British.  Unlike their neighbors on the peninsula many of these cities are henotheistic and devoted to Tyrako.

Both groups live in a Fudal system that has evolved a small, but wealthy, merchant class.

  The Southern Planes - like the Anatolian Plateau - has never been conquered.  Armies travel by boat down the river or walk the coast line, but never even bother to try to subdue, or even explore, the interior.  As a result the planes are covered in a mishmash of remnant peoples and cultures. 

  The Western Reach (the area west of the mountains that run down the west side of the Sanka'a) has three major ethno-cultural groups:

• the Human culture is vaguely South German (Austrian/Bavarian) though some areas are effected by the Dwarven and Vaunted influance.
• The Vaunted are a cultural mishmash resulting in something vaguely Welsh.
• The Dwarves, and areas effected by them, are vaguely highland Scotish. 

The Western Reach area as a whole is known  for its cultural emphasis on artisanship.  It is another place the feudal system has never caught on but, rather, has a tendency towards clan based politics and early, low level, mercantilism.

  The Revedine Territories are Franco-Germanic and live in a somewhat less enlightened Fudal system than the Free cities.

  The Scandervaadi are Norse / Celtic.  The Fudal system has never really taken off here though endentured survitude and bond slavery are common as are slaves who have been captured from other peoples.  All children, however, are born free.

  The Northern Coastal cities From Aroad to Kislev are Hanseatic in nature. 

  Nuscovy is Russian. 

  The Darkridge area is vaguely Lithuanian.

  The Flat is vaguely English.

  The Greenmont is vaguely Irish.

  Zebulonium was magically burned off three thousand years ago and repopulated from the surrounding areas.  So it is European with 2.5 thousand years of living in a desert to shift the culture... vaguely Syrian (of the late Hellenistic era) maybe.

  The Sunset Islands are inhabited by two cultural groups. 

• The Amranti are vaguely Indian with a Vedic type polythiestic religion.
• The Azhua are Lizardlike and vaguely Aztec/Incan.

It should be noted that the Amranti and the Azhua trade high quality slaves, Harkanian procured and otherwise, as far away as the Marble Coast.

Return to:  The Charnel Lord's Gambit