Coming of Age: Cultures

Sanctuary:
Sanctuary is the last bastion of the Witches, and home to trolls, werebeasts, elves, fairies, and even hybrids. The witches themselves are akin to nobility, born into low houses or high houses, and they're ruled by a council of 'crones', ancient witches.
Sanctuary itself is a large city in a basin in the mountains, with a tower in the center, and districts devoted to the different cultures and creatures that live there, but there's only one worth speaking of- the Witches.
First and foremost are the witches themselves, where life is an everyday struggle of politics, geases, promises and Gifts. Each house wants the most powerful gifts, even to the point that marrying others into their house is the prime goal of many a gambit. Young witches are taught within the large tower in the center of sanctuary, by the Giftless and the Crones, about the world around them. Most witches also take quite a bit of teaching at home, as well- at the houses and buildings around the tower if they're from a low house, or from the enormous mansions at all edges of the basin, if a high house. Notable high houses are those with spectacularly powerful gifts in their bloodline- Nirnat, with the Gift of Geas, is both strangely the most humble and important of these, with a mansion not far from the tower. Catastra is another, with the devastatingly powerful Gift of Flame, though there's only one member of the house left, and it's said he's not likely to marry. Celeste is most likely one of the most powerful, with at least three bloodlines- cousin families- within their large mansions, and Primm, the largest and least potent of the houses, carries the devastating Gift of Charm, making it a simple matter to steal marriagable witches from the other houses.
Sanctuary uses a combination of other currencies.

Izatti Clans:
To the south of sanctuary, around the rest of the continent are the Izatti, otherwise known as the barbarians. They're powerful human warriors who carry great pride in their honor and word, . They hold to the belief that the cycle of predator and prey is how the world works, and should be embraced, constantly seeking their own place in it- sometimes by tracking and hunting the largest, most monsterous creatures they can, to find what their true predators are. The Izatti opinion on females are that they're similar to flowers, as the men are similar to beasts- there to simply sit, do no work, and create art. They're taught not to cook, or clean, or hunt, but to garden, paint, sing, and think. It's chivalry to the extreme. Their opinion on the witches is rather favorable- they see Sanctuary as another clan, each paired up into woman and beast (Witch and Familiar), as they were, to the point that rare or exiled witches and warlocks from Sanctuary could find a home within the clans. In recent generations, the Clans have begun to hold honor, especially personal honor, sacred above all else.  This fixation on honor creates an interesting dichotomy alongside the concept of the cycle.
The Clans use a bartering system, instead of any currencies.

Skiitara:
The Skiitaran empire is the largest empire in the known world, ruled by their emperor. Skiitara is a place that prefers order- one needs papers to get in, papers to get out, different papers to live there, and extensive background checks if one wants to become a citizen. Their nobility has several peculiarities- one, that only the female children of the emperor carries on the line- the males become princeps, noble advisors to the king, while the females become the wife of the emperor, whoever they so choose. Every child of a princeps is also considered one, which allows for Homecomings, wherein a princeps, usually a bastard from other nations in the world, come to Skiitara to take their rightful place. Such an influx of nobles allows for a long, entangled game of politics, laws, councils, and meets. Most plots are so incredibly tangled that they never quite come to fruition, being pulled off course by other plots and plans, creating an undecipherable web of politics. At the very top is the Emperor, husband to the previous emperor's daughter, and is said to come directly from the Divine. The Divine, skiitaran religion states, is the afterlife- a plane of pure thought and imagination and sentience. They believe that sentient life was put onto the world as 'seeds', to blossom into thinking entities, returning to the Divine when they die.
There are several titles even a non-princep can get- One of Grand Knight, a warrior or fighter who underwent difficult challenges and gauntlets, even entering melee combat with the greatest Grand Knight of the age.  Magic isn't forbidden, but not quite allowed, either - Gifts and shapeshifting is forbidden within cities, or public property, without the proper licenses and fines. Outside of cities, or within one's own home, however, magic is perfectly allowed, provided the user is a citizen.
Skiitara has four currencies; Dollars, Bonds, guilders, and the outdated florin.

Wastelands:
The northern wastes, east of Sanctuary and north of the Triumvirate, is a long, smooth tundra, wind constantly howling. It is the crown of the world, with rare troll clans here or there, Land Kraken, Wyrms, and Carkinos wandering the land, alongside Titans and their Slivers. The wastelands are cold beyond belief, allowing only those with magic or alchemy to survive more than a few days. It's said that ancient magical artifacts lie there, alongside ancient arcane scrolls and beings so ancient they don't have names.
The trolls in the wasteland use food or supplies as currency, and the titans are too stupid to understand the concept.

Triumvirate:
An ancient nation who has left nothing but three single cities... but the cities have since been rebuilt into a living, thriving place, bound intimately by the three cousin families who were once siblings. They aren't controlled by single figurehead leaders, but instead, an entire family is seen as the ruler. The Triumvirate are where the Forged work and guard, now, and its said that the stranger who created the Forged were made by a triumvirate ruler's bastard. They don't have many strong beliefs - some believe in hearth spirits, others worship their ancestors, and some adopt the religions of other peoples, like the Atlaskan Pantheon, or the Skiitaran Divine. They're a small nation, living in the restored ruins of something much older, and more ancient. Cowed and bitter, living in ruins much larger than they, the Triumvirate seems a cold, solemn place - unless you go inside. Inside, where it's warm and hearty, comfortable. Almost anyone can expect to be fed, and clothed- because as they see it, everyone is family.
The triumvirate usually use Skiitaran or Veldaran currencies.

Free Cities:
Many years ago, a war between Veldarus and Skiitara had begun, the Order trying to claim more land from Skiitara. In return, the skiitaran warriors claimed the entire Free Cities area for themselves, during which the Forged arrived, slaughtering thousands of soldiers, Veldaran or Skiitaran alike. Soon after, the Forged vanished, replaced with the City Lords, claiming that the Free Cities would be just that - Free, from both Veldarus and Skiitara alike.
Since then, the Free Cities have become rich, trading with every nation there is, save Sanctuary, serving as the crossroads of the world. Each city is controlled by their own Lord, each City with a swarm of villages and hamlets around, supporting the population. The Free Cities have negative opinions toward magic, namely due to the influx of Order Knights from Veldarus. They speak Veldaran, once being Veldaran people, though those west of the mountains eventually learn Skiitaran.
Usually uses Veldaran currencies, but using Edgardian or Skiitaran currencies aren't unheard of.

Atlask:
Once a skiitaran colony, searching and trading with the salt dunes in the desert, Atlask was once made up of Skiitaran and Izatti slaves, they've built up a grand religion made up of three gods, heroes who freed them from Skiitaran control. For reasons unknown, it's become a practice to tattoo themselves with important parts of their lives, from symbols of their patron gods to words from a favorite childhood story. Atlask is ruled by councilors, who vote on the important issues of the nation and each take their homes in a single city. Followers of Stirge, their god of honor, duty, and patriotism, join the military and serve to protect who they can. Followers of Phell, the god of freedom, choice, and trade, usually become merchants, traders, or wanderers. Followers of Agaeros, the twin, fused gods of love, charity and kindness, are split into muliple factions. Some wander the world trying to do good, while others are silent, taking pain upon themselves in belief that it will protect others. Atlask is, no doubt, the most religious of all nations, in that there are written accounts of seeing the three gods strike down skiitaran slavedrivers personally. Agaeros with their whip, Phell with her sparrows, and Stirge with his blade and shield. Atlask speaks smatterings the same language as the Izatti, primarily due to their heritage, while the rest know enough english to get along.
Primarily uses edgardian currencies, though they've taken to using Veldaran as well in recent generations.

Kalid/Kalid Dominion:
The Kalid Dominion is technically its own nation, south of Kalid proper, though it's little more than a puppet state. There, the citizens live fearful of the giant spiders and the rare Sliver here or there, protected by the strange, eerie Kalid Hunters, who have strength beyond that of normal men and rarely speak. Due to this protection afforded to the Dominion, the peoples freely give tribute in the form of food, supplies, and materials.
There is a grand wall, bordering between the Dominion and Kalid proper, and even most citizens of the Dominion can never enter, punishable by death. While some witches are sent to the Dominion upon their coming of age, none have ever been sent to Kalid. Even this is dangerous, though, as for the past several hundred years, any witches, elves, or fairies found and identified have been captured as slaves, and brought over the wall, a place from where even the Crones cannot reach them. Both Kalid and the Dominion speak their own language, though much of the Dominion knows english or edgardian as well.
THERE IS MORE BUT ITS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Veldarus:
Veldarus was once a simple, quiet kingdom, foremost in the world with alchemy. It was plagued with ghouls, created from an alchemical reaction gone wrong, when a young man named Kristoph started up the Order, an order of knights with alchemy to slay the undead, and to fight evil magical beings, like Dragons or Maenad. Over dozens of years, the kingdom was purged of all ghouls, when the king himself died without naming an heir. Quickly, the entire kingdom embraced Kristoph as their new king. From that moment on, the Order ruled the kingdom, and after Kristoph's death, the Order continued on. The kingdom grew larger as more villages and cities gave themselves to the king, and more magic creatures were killed. Eventually, though, the Order... changed. It stopped being discerning. It stopped letting fairies and elves, harmless for the most part, live. Soon, it was a war upon all creatures of magic. Still they are the prime creator of alchemy, making potions for humankind, and making certain that their recipes don't function on beings of magic. Like the Free Cities, those in Veldarus normally speak english.
Uses Bronze, Brass, White Iron, and Gold coins.

Edgardia:
Edgardia is, first and foremost, a trading nation. Based around the mountains where they mine and produce tremendous amounts of steel, that is what their money is- chain links and staves of well-forged steel. They are a superstitious people, and they view that names are akin to one's heart- that they are so significant to a person that one normally only shares their true name with those they care about, though lately, sharing one's name has become more and more common. The Edgardian king, Javik Kalasthar, is the one person who everyone knows his name, simply because, as his predecessor said before revealing his own name, 'the king must bare his heart to his people'. Edgardia has its own language, like Veldarus, Skiitara, and Kalid, but they make it a point that their signs use no words.
Uses Corvus, Leo, and Dracon.

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Skiitaran Dollar: Worth $1
Skiitaran Bond: Worth $50
Skiitaran Guilder: Worth $150
Skiitaran Florin: Worth $1500+ - outdated and ancient. Most likely worth even more if you find a buyer, except in sanctuary where they're still in common use and within High House treasuries.

Bronze or Brass Coin: Worth $5
White Iron Coin: Worth $100
Gold Coin: Worth $750
Other Coins: Worth $250+ - Coins out of other materials and metals have been made during the long history of Veldarus, but most are no longer in circulation, other than in Sanctuary where they're still in common use and within High House treasuries.

Corvus (Steel links): Worth $2
Leo (Steel statuettes): Worth $60-100 - outdated, mostly, but some still make them, and they're worth more in foreign lands.
Dracon (Steel staves): Worth $1000

Kalid Token: Worth $1