About those Barakhinei...

[Glenn]

Skipping over from None of the Above...I actually do have a question, if Mark can answer it. The Barakhinei-speaking countries (Barakhun, Mutkun, Hroth, and, on the edge, Rhanor) are evidently frontier states ruled by a warlord/warrior class; at the same time, they do appear to have a firm national identity. How are they organized politically? Is there a central monarch in each state, and how does he (in this case, I assume it would probably be "he") govern the warriors? Is it a feudal-style system, or has a more "modern" form of government evolved? How is the military organized--as a muster, a standing army, or (most likely) a combination of the two?

I might ask much the same question about Ismahi and Azgami; all we know is that their form of government is "despotic" (a major contrast to the republics in Flora and Erenat--I'm not sure about Kebri, although I know you've written about it) and leaves the wealthy, idle, and (possibly) frustrated noble class with a lot of time on its hands (something that, as I've said, reminds me a little of early 19th-century Russia, with its literary motif of the "superfluous man").

p@,
Glenn

[Glenn]

One additional question about the Barakhinei-speaking regions: in the Eretald map, a lonely city or settlement named Zanbalikh is visible on the Lernukh River in the desert southwest of Rhanor. Is Zanbalikh part of Barakhinei-speaking Rhanor, or is it part of the Somoi/Methelyi-speaking region beyond? The linguistic map of Erelae appears to suggest the latter. (I note that the majority of the Somoyi-Methelyi seem to be nomadic, but they apparently have some settled states as well.)

p@,
Glenn

[zompist]

Skipping over from None of the Above...I actually do have a question, if Mark can answer it. The Barakhinei-speaking countries (Barakhun, Mutkun, Hroth, and, on the edge, Rhanor) are evidently frontier states ruled by a warlord/warrior class; at the same time, they do appear to have a firm national identity. How are they organized politically? Is there a central monarch in each state, and how does he (in this case, I assume it would probably be "he") govern the warriors? Is it a feudal-style system, or has a more "modern" form of government evolved? How is the military organized--as a muster, a standing army, or (most likely) a combination of the two?

All these derive from Barakh?n, and have developed from a feudal structure, though in slightly different ways.

Barakh?n itself is a monarchy, and its strength and cohesiveness depend greatly on the charisma of the ruler. Ambekh I (in the 3100s) ruled with an iron hand, and it's been mostly downhill since then. The problem is that the barons, not the people, owe allegiance to the king. His effective strength, then, is his own fief (the valley of Barakhina), what he can offer as spoils, and the intangibles of tradition and persuasion. In some ways the present king's position is stronger, because trade and thus wealth are concentrated in Barakhina and Sulekor, which he rules directly.

Hroth is a confederacy of five barons, united (only) for defense.

M?tk?n started out about the same, but (with Dhekhnami help) the baron of M?tk?n city has acquired near-absolute power.

Rh?nor is not much more than a few nomadic desert tribes, one of which is generally recognized as paramount.

I'm pretty sure I've answered questions about Ismahi and Zanbalikh before... not that I'm not willing to answer again, but till I find that stuff I'm afraid of contradicting myself! I do know that Ismahi is advanced by the standards of Eretald (though not those of Verduria), and a fairly strong monarchy.

[Glenn]

Thank you for the information about the Barakhinei states--that's just what I wanted! (I think that some of this info is also found in the accounts of the states' formation in the Historical Atlas.)

I'm pretty sure I've answered questions about Ismahi and Zanbalikh before... not that I'm not willing to answer again, but till I find that stuff I'm afraid of contradicting myself! I do know that Ismahi is advanced by the standards of Eretald (though not those of Verduria), and a fairly strong monarchy.

Well, I found a previous thread on levels of technological advancement (not so much political) over here, and I wouldn't be surprised if the question hadn't come up on the old board as well.

As for Zanbalikh, judging from the Erelae maps, it seems to be a Somoi-Methelyi state, presumably taking advantage of better conditions in the river valley of the Lernukh to adopt a more settled way of life.

p@,
Glenn