Eurum Islands

Pronunciation: YUR-um

Adjective: Eurite (YUR-ite)

Capital: N/A

Major Islands: N/A

Population: One of the smallest in Litanaea. Concrete numbers are hard to come by, but it's probably somewhere around 500,000.

Government: Clan structure, with each clan possessing holdings on various islands throughout the chain.

Economy: Commerce raiding, piracy, and some salvage work. There is, undoubtedly a fair bit of inter-clan trade the the occasional thevan merchant have reported being stopped by eurites who merely wanted to place an order for supplies or to trade. Such instances are largely regarded as creepier than the eurites simply boarding and capturing vessels.

Politics: Hah!

Religion: They practice a form of clan-worship, focussing their beliefs into the supremacy of their individual clan. Their society is also more gender-equal than Chō, if such a thing is to be believed.

Culture: The clan structure is a top-down power system where a single individual controls the various holdings and personnel of their clan. There are usually grumblings between the clans and the occasional all-out war, but these are very much fought with the intention of absorbing a rival, rather than crushing them outright. Resources and people are too scarce in the Eurum Islands to be salting an enemy's fields.

One thevan scholar who managed to insinuate himself into the culture once published a now-infamous report titled The Noble Savage that detailed an odd set of cultural beliefs that the eurites seemed to embrace. Namely, that they are protecting the rest of Litanaea from some unspeakable evil to the east and, as such, feel that they have every right to take whatever they please from the Westerners as payment for this unending vigilance and defense. The treatise has been the topic of intense debate in anthropological circles, with various sides citing it as sacrosanct, utter garbage, an interesting viewpoint, or a hoax at best. Unfortunately, the thevan scholar died of natural causes while overseas and was never able to return and expound upon whatever findings he may have uncovered.

History: Nobody is exactly sure when the Eurum Islands were settled, particularly the eurites themselves. What records do exist point to them being one of the oldest nations (if not The Oldest) to split away from the original refugees. What is known is that the clans have been raiding their Western neighbors for as long as anybody can remember, taking whatever they desire and generally playing merry havoc with the peace and tranquility of the realms.

This raiding consists of both assaulting terrestrial cities, as well as commerce piracy, and they've yet to let anything but a massed navy deter them. Bascially, if it isn't bolted down and on fire, a eurite will walk off with it. It is widely believed that other lands might exist beyond the Eurum Islands (which are the only real stopping-off point for provisions on such a lengthy journey), but if they do, the Eurites certainly aren't letting anybody send ships past them to verify such facts.

GodTouched: If they can prove their value and their family is strong enough to protect them from the negative publicity and assaults by other clans, they can make quite a living.