Dask (Provinces will probably be extra stuff)

Dask: The major part of known land is under Dasken control. Laws are upheld by a peacekeeping force that is authorised to work as judge, jury and executioner. But they also are the ones who protect the nation in case of an attack. Rogue operatives are brought down by other operatives. It's capital Linek is the oldest known settlement. It is protected by an ancient wall that has been upgraded with time. It's defenses are unrivaled.
    The dasken language, the oldest known language in regular use on the continent, sounds quite glutteral and harsh, which translates over to its speakers' accents. In writing, the alphabet is made up mostly of jagged, angular lines, save for the vowels which are represented by circles with lines through them. All vowels are pronounced separately- there are no dipthongs. Due to the Dasken-Quinaen exchange treaty, all Daskens are required to learn Quinaen in school. In most official meetings between the countries, Dasken is used.
    Linek was built in a lush oasis in the middle of a cold desert region. While the small settlement could provide for itself at first, it would eventually grow until the oasis alone could not support it any more. The settlers knew this would happen eventually, and decided that if they could conquer other, more resource-rich lands, and connect them back to Linek, they could bring in enough resources for the growing city. Now the country comprises of 6 geographical regions- the Ibmisa Desert (including the lake Dask from which the country takes its name), the Thevian Coast, the Kalissa Mountain Range, the Skali Shield, the Eastern Forests, and the provinces of the Southern Plains. While urban development goes on in Ibmisa, and sometimes Kalissa and parts of Thevia, the rest of the these regions are mostly rural. Dask is very careful with its resources, and the rural regions are where most of these resources are. At the same time, the more wilderness there is there, the more risk of Behemoths there is, so the military is quite active in rural provinces.
    Dask's military essentially is its government- it not only covers defending the nation and lawkeeping with the PKF, but also education, economy, infrastructure, and healthcare. On a national level and in urban centres, there is a bureaucracy that supports day-to-day activities and organization. A very hierarchical government, with rigid rules that keep the whole thing stable and mostly scandal-free, if at the cost of limiting the people's freedoms.
    This emphasis on hierarchy is very much ingrained in Dasken culture, and children are raised from a young age with the understanding that they are part of a machine that is greater than the sum of its parts- and it is their duty as a citizen of Dask to play that part to best of their ability, lest they hinder the effectiveness of the whole. In theory, every one of these roles is as important as the next, and all support each other. In practice, this isn't quite the case. Professions directly working with the military and government naturally receive more respect, and over the years (since children are expected to follow the family trade), this system ends up looking like a caste system to outsiders. One of the results of this is every so often, riots break out in the more rural, resource-rich provinces, who feel that they have been exploited for labor and resources without getting anything but the occasional jerk operative who feels he can treat the locals with scorn in return. These riots are quickly put down through force, though in recent years the government has considered a more peaceful approach to pacifying the rioters so that they may win them over and prevent further chaos.
    Dasken culture isn't all work and rules though. A visit to even remote rural settlements will show you mosaics adorning the ground in town square, carvings on the walls of a small shrine, and frescoes on the ceiling of town hall. Daskains have a strong sense of pride towards their history, and this history is preserved on the walls, floors, and ceilings of public buildings. Linek in particular has a hall for the sole purpose of having recent big events carved on its walls and immortalized.
    The centerpiece of Dask is its armed forces, the Peacekeeping Force (PKF). It is made up of a few different divisions, and every division is controlled by its own leadership that consists of experienced operatives that have ranked up to the highest rank through impressive feats in their own area.
    -Justice division: The upholders of law. These operatives are sent to track down and deal with criminals. Each operative is the judge, jury and executioner. They can choose what to do with the criminals. Work either alone or in duos. If they need to deal with bigger threats they can call backup from the order division. Recruitment works through recommendations and a training and evaluation program.
    -Scout division: The eyes and ears of Dask. They are either sent to investigate suspicious events or places or are on patrol in areas that need to be kept an eye on. Smallest of the known divisions. Usually work alone or small squads. Max 4 in a squad. They keep a low profile. Recruitment works only through recommendations from operatives. If an operative goes rogue the one who recommended them is also removed from duty.
    -Order division: The police. They break riots and assist the Justice division when they need additional forces. They also handle behemoth killing and defense against raids. Recruitment is much more open than the other divisions since they have superiors whose orders they follow. Always in squads. The biggest of the known divisions.
    -Rogue removal division: This division has only one purpose. To eliminate rogue operatives. No rogue operative has ever escaped them. Recruitment is only from other divisions. This division isnt known to public. But its still known by some people.
    -Division that doesn't exist: Nothing to tell. It doesn't exist. There are myths about this division. But everyone who believes it exists are idiots and conspiracy theorists.
    Being cautious with them, Dask rarely exports its own natural resources. The one exception is its livestock- born and bred in the northernmost province of the Southern Plains, Dasken livestock (cows, goats, sheep) and labor animals (horses and bulls) are reputed to be hardy and more resistant to disease. Quinae gets much of its dairy, meat, and labor animals from Dask, in return mainly sending crystals, spices, and fresh produce, forming a mutually beneficial but tense relationship.
    The most widespread religion of Dask involves a pantheon of patron gods made up of the children and relatives of the ruler deities, Korin, King of Heaven, and Sabel, Queen of Heaven. It is said that including Korin and Sabel's grandparents and parents, there are 64 generations worth of gods, who watch over mortals until they die and return to their domain. Religion is mostly a personal affair, with most people keeping small altars to their chosen patrons in their home, with quiet, simple shrines being set up to regional and provincial patrons set up out-of-the-way parts of towns and cities or out in the wilderness. It is considered rude to ask too much about a person's piety and religious affairs, and outright insulting to attempt to convert someone to the worship of your chosen patron(s). Priests have the duty of maintaining public shrines, and holding wedding and funerary rites, though most of them have other professions in addition to being a priest- most are also soldiers. Like most professions, this duty usually runs in the family. Holidays are simply days of rest, with most people spending the day with their families, with few religious overtones to any celebrations that do happen. Funerals are held very shortly after death, have only close family and friends attending, and usually resolved within the day, with others in the community notified of the deceased's death the next day. Weddings, on the other hand, have solemn, serious ceremonies followed by celebrations that typically last for three days straight. Coming of age rites are performed at the age of 16, which is the same age people are eligible for recruitment into the military. Coming of age usually involves a test, though the type of test depends on what patron(s) the family follows.
    The symbol of this religion as a whole are the combined symbols of Korin and Sabel- Korin's symbol is a half circle depicting the sun, while Sabel's symbol is the half-moon. The bulk of the Dasken religion is passed down through oral tradition, with a few writings compiling various different myths and folk tales. In particular, the creation myth is widespread.
    In it, Korin proves himself to Sabel's grandmother by lifting the continents out of the ocean, earning Sabel's hand in marriage. Later, Sabel wanted to make her husband a gift for his birthday, and so cut out small pieces of the coast sculpted them into various shapes, and brought them all to life, as something entertaining for the family to watch and maybe interact with. These were the first animals- though as Sabel's first creations, they were somewhat simple, and eventually wasted away and died. Later, one of Sabel's younger children, Zirka, got an idea from watching these animals. Like her mother, she sculpted out parts of the coast, but made them similar in shape to her own family, as companions for her and her siblings, and called them humans. In the start, they were excellent companions- intelligent, curious, creative, sociable, but all too aware of where they came from, and all too aware of their own mortality. Knowing they were born from gods, they hoped to one day be their equals. This lead them to create bigger societies, more complex mechanisms, and search for knowledge. Zirka and her siblings regarded their fevor with simple amusement, until one day, this group of humans packed up and left the coast. From that day onward, they no longer responded to any attempt by the gods to contact them, and acted as though they didn't exist at all, which saddened Zirka greatly, though she still had hope that they would return to her. However, seeing her little sister upset angered Kronis, the oldest daughter of the family. As punishment, she 'uplifted' some of Sabel's animals, turning them into terrifying monsters, and sent them to humanity's new home to destroy it. They would have succeeded, but there was one thing Kronis was not aware of. In their venture to build their own home and ascend to heaven, humans had learned to work together, and more importantly in this case, fight together. Though one behemoth could lay waste to a village, a village's worth of humans with enough planning and ingenuity could bring down a behemoth. Over the course of many bloody years, almost all of Kronis' original behemoths were slain. But as she set to work making more, she was caught by Zrika, who asked her what she was doing. At first, Kronis lied, and said she was making replacement humans for her siblings. Zirka saw through this lie, and asked her again what she was doing. Eventually, she caved and told her sister the whole story- the behemoths, and how they were slain. Hearing this, Zirka took some time to think about the incident, and came to the conclusion that leaving the care of the gods was in the end, good for humanity. She then decided she wanted to reward her former playmates with power and immortality like the gods, what they wanted all along, and appealed to her father Korin to make it so. Korin stated he could not uplift every human to godhood, but he would ensure that upon their deaths, they would be brought back to Zirka to be her friends once again, and that whenever they should need it, humans may ask the gods to lend a little bit of their power. Unfortunately, Kronis was punished for desecrating her mother's creatures by being sealed into the corpse of a behemoth for ten years- unwittingly, this lead to their return, as she revived the behemoth from inside it, and eventually did the same to several others. Ten years was all she needed.
    One notable, albeit secular, holiday is celebrated all over the country at the end of the harvest season that involves a large feast before winter comes. It's also associated with healing, and gift-giving. One of the few joyous celebrations in Dask. In the last few days leading up to this holiday, farms in other provinces have no tax on their harvest, allowing them to keep as much of the food they produce as they like for the feast.
    The flag of Dask is a blue background with a sword pointing down surrounded by 12 red circles, representing the 12 provinces.