Valencia

''“Welcome to Valencia. What’s that? You see nothing but sand? Well that’s a good way to die around here,  open your eyes because the desert doesn’t need any help offing us.”''

Valencia,  Jewel of the East,  Aal’s Arms, Desert Rats,  Sand Demons. Call them what you want. Valencia is young enough to retain a young nation’s fervor,  but old enough to be shrouded in mystery to those unwilling to brave the oppressive desert heat. Notorious in the West for repelling Brausau’s advances this insular kingdom has few friends.

History
Valencia is the natural result of two of the most primordial forces in the world. Water, and war. The fertile valley that houses the capital of Valencia was always a gathering place for desert people. Typically drawn from odd cloth the people who constructed the hut city of Valencia were known for their wanderlust and lack of reverence for their home kingdom’s social mores. They traded with the natives, primarily kitsune immigrants from the Distant East centuries prior. A small confederation of tribes and families cropped up to govern the growing settlement.

In the west the territory had something of a reputation as a prison colony. Not quite incorrect either, as many who were pressed into lives of crime (or otherwise found themselves there) fled east into the desert to rebuild their lives. So an invasion was a simple political move when the mineral wealth of Valencia’s desert was assessed.

While Brausau has since come under leadership with different priorities the source of their enmity stems from profiteering and grudges on both sides. They marched their armies across the Argus pass and into the desert. The hut city was ill equipped to defend themselves,  and with no forewarning quickly found themselves pushed back into the mines,  holding the entrance as a choke point.

What happened next has been retold so many times that no one can confirm its validity. The rumors that the Daiymo of Clan Seito favored a white haired girl with golden skin, and intervened for her love is the official story,  and the royal family are all white haired with dark skin so perhaps it’s true.

What we do know though,  is that the desert foxes rode their war elephants and sand mammoths into the army’s flank. Ridden by Seito sorceresses and mystics these titanic beasts crushed men as their masters turned them to ash. The forces of Brausau were driven halfway across the desert before they could regroup, and by then Clan Caname had joined her forces to Seito’s,  not one to be outdone by her rival. The two of them butchered the army, leaving only a handful of starving men to tell the story.

“What happens out of love occurs beyond the grasp of good and evil.”  Or so it’s said. Thus was Valencia born.

Geography
Valencia is a desert kingdom. Its capital of the same name is ensconced in a fertile basin around a lake fed by a subterranean river. The desert is formed by a mountain range on its western border, which curls to the north cutting off any moisture bearing air. Air currents prevent the eastern ocean from providing any rain either, outside of a once yearly rainfall that heralds the end of planting season for farmers.

The southern city of Aal’s brush is another story,  however. A sparsely wooded tropical paradise, it has proven much more habitable than Valencia. Aal’s brush has become something of a tourist mecca as well as supporting a thriving port city subservient to Valencia’s crown.

Government
Valencia rules by hereditary monarchy. Below the crown there are enforcers and advisors that help the ruler’s will become reality. The crown holds its power due to the combined will of the People, and Clans Seito and Caname. Those three institutions hold the power to strip the mandate from the monarch in the event of a loss of faith. The exact mechanics of this are violent and dreadful however, so it’s fortunate that it’s never happened.

Outside Valencia’s walls Oases and Villas are ruled by Proxies,  who are often locally appointed leaders. Aal’s brush has a duchess,  and tensions between the city and the crown have been growing for decades.

The current Queen is eight years old,  the crown thrust onto her brow after a sequence of events that began with the black death,  and ended in the near eradication of her bloodline. She is currently married to the Daiymo of Clan Seito,  but their relationship is just a formality to allow the clan to act as a steward until she comes of age.

Economy
Valencia is primarily self sufficient,  but trade is vital to quality of life in the desert. Fortunately for the arid kingdom her desert is rich in precious metals and gems. Furthermore Valencian Iron is said to have strange conductive properties, dubbed Cogsteel by the Steamwrights of Arkadia, this metal lends itself to enchantment as well as technology. Valencian steel and tungsten are things of myth and legend.

Beyond that there are several plants and animals endemic to the desert that are prized in other kingdoms,  so trade is robust through the port city of Aal’s Brush. Eylstrana is Valencia’s primary ally and trading partner in the west. Her ships also risk port in Myyyanmar, as well as doing business with the Prismatic Isles.

Laws and Culture
Valencia bears most of the laws one might expect. No slavery or theft, murder or rape,  etc. Most of Valencia’s laws are centered about curbing violent behavior,  with property law being secondary as there are few properties to begin with.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Valencia is Aal’s Tithe. Aal’s Tithe is the practise of the wealthy tithing to the poor. This constant wealth redistribution has two effects;  Ending generational poverty, and preventing a true caste system amongst citizens. Clans Caname and Seito participate in this tithe,  albeit in a more limited way as the two families act as Valencia’s armed forces. Instead of tithing a complete share of wealth the Clans take on volunteer roles in many of Valencia’s civic programs. Teaching self defense, watching rites of passage from afar,  guiding young priestesses on their pilgrimages,  and so on.

This policy is a source of great debate,  as some view it as stifling the ambition of Valencia’s best and brightest, while most view it as a natural extension of Aal's teachings testing the strong and supporting the weak.

Religion
Valencia is also known as Aal’s Arms. The Aalite religion and Valencian culture go hand in hand,  one would not exist without the other. Aalism promotes discipline,  generosity, self improvement,  and fortitude. Aal’s clergy fulfill many civic roles. From the Man in Rags personally advising the queen to local priests offering last rites

Domains:  Common domains for Aal clerics include fire,  war, strength,  protection,  cold,  destruction,  healing,  knowledge,  and community.

First Mystery of Aal: Stone
The first thing a child of the desert learns of Aal is the principle of stone. In the desert there is no one to save you. Only through one’s own strength, discipline,  and cunning can anyone brave the burning sands or void cold nights. Valencia stands within an oasis of comfort,  but remains surrounded by brutal conditions that are both a shield against her enemies and a whetstone for her people’s strength.

A more nuanced and refined interpretation of this mystery is one of self ownership. A girl is a product of her parents, her skills and life given to her by her tribe. When she enters the desert that is washed away. The desert will not permit her to live because her parents love her. When she returns the remainder of her life is a product of her own strength and discipline,  earned in the crucible of sand. This belief teaches Aalites to never judge a person by their upbringing or race. Everyone who has reached Valencia has taken ownership of their destinies from who or whatever held them before.

This mystery is symbolized by all the people of the desert.

Second Mystery of Aal:  Mud
When a child becomes an adult they learn the second mystery of Aal. They’ve spent their life so far becoming strong, skilled, disciplined. Enjoying their childhood and being selfish as children often are. Entry into adulthood means a view of the greater whole. Strong individuals can build a strong kingdom, but strong societies build legendary ones.

The principle of mud is that you are never truly alone. A child learns this when her father points out the hip flask she used on her pilgrimage. The artisan that made that flask developed their technique over the course of decades, mastering it because they know that someday their flask would help a little girl or boy survive their pilgrimage. Everything she carried with her on her journey contains the hope of its maker, and the strength of those who gathered the material.

A child of the desert is armored in the hopes of their people,  and the hopes of Valencia are given form by the strength of her children. Stones make poor shelter, but when bound by Mud become homes.

This mystery is said to be embodied by the laborers and craftsman of Valencia.

Third Mystery of Aal:  Water
After adulthood a Valencian learns the other mysteries at different stages of their life,  and sometimes out of order. The mystery of water is typically the third one learned by fledgling adults. Water is the medium of life and travel. Survival is dependent upon it, travel to other places on the continent is made easier by it. Water is an intimate substance in which disturbances affect the whole.

The allegory is that of knowledge and mercantilism. In the previous mysteries a Valencian learns that it is through a combination of Stone and Mud that Valencia was made. In it through water that it survives. Trade brings vital cultural exchanges, enriches life in Valencia with products from other lands,  and is the pathway for news. A merchant isn’t simply a money minded trader, but an envoy of Valencian ideals and the Aal faith. They forge alliances with other businesses,  other nations, and are critical to maintaining Valencia’s relationships with its allies.

This mystery is embodied by adventurers and merchants.

The Fourth Mystery of Aal:  Blood
Blood binds all things. Everything that is alive bears some form of fluid that acts as blood,  and for the vast majority that fluid is, well,  blood. As the desert tears skin from your flesh,  taking its blood sacrifice you are joined with it, and all things within it that have paid that tax.

So sharing blood is a poor excuse for intimacy. It is not with whom you share blood that matters,  but who stood with you as you paid the desert’s tax. As an adult builds a life on their own, finds a lover,  starts a family,  sometimes they have to let go of where they came from. Those who bleed together are united by experience, not some weak symbolic fluid.

This mystery is embodied by military companies and adventuring compacts.

The Fifth Mystery of Aal:  Flame
So you’ve learned of the things that compose a person’s life. Of personal and communal strength, of friendships and new horizons. Many stop here, but for desert children who must know more the fifth mystery of Aal is that of flame. You did not stop when your children were born did you? Do you wonder why? What burns in your heart that keeps you going?

Jihad drives you forward. Described simply as the holy struggle against the enemies and dangers of Valenca. Plucking dangerous bandits from Aal’s arms to make the sands safe for pilgrims. Jihad is also the war within oneself against sin and weakness.

When Valencia was young we only had four mysteries. The land was peaceful. When the first invasion of the west began it was the strange desert foxes that taught us of Jihad,  of flame. Without knowing our name they painted the sands red with westmen’s blood. We honor that clan still today. If you see a fox in the desert ask her her name and give her water. So Aal demands.

This mystery is embodied by the Clans Seito and Caname of Valencia.

The Sixth Mystery of Aal:  Darkness
So many things remain shrouded in mystery,  and the sixth lesson comes piecemeal. Only clerics or priests of Aal will complete this mystery,  but many learn snippets. Darkness is the lesson of forgetting, of safeguarding things best left unknown,  of bearing terrible knowledge in the Aal forsaken circumstance it may be needed.

The Black Desert. The edge of the world and end of light and life. The unholy machines beneath the burning sands. The great automaton that stalks the old ruins. Dragons and their names. These are the types of things a master of darkness knows. To each her own demon,  and to others theirs as well.

This mystery is embodied by clerics of Aal.

The Final Mystery of Aal:  Keys
The final mystery of Aal is known only to her Queen,  the Man in Rags, the Daiymo of Clans Seito and Caname,  and the Knight-Commander of the Twilight Rangers. The contents of this mystery remain the object of speculation,  but no real information is available.