Location: Calay
Calay is a nation with rich sea-faring heritage, founded thousands of years ago and enduring despite many trials from the outside world. Calay is located in the south-west of Yatha: a thin strip of heavily forested land between Galbard in the east and Lilica in the north, with a short segment of the bank of the inner sea to the north-east. Yatha's rocky south-west coast and a number of small, barely habitable islands off-shore are patrolled by Calayne sailors.
History
According to Calay's oral tradition, its people arrived on Yatha untold generations ago, ferried across the ocean on the back of a great wolf. At the time, the continent was largely devoid of developed civilization; the Calayne spread far and wide, forming many disparate tribes. They were the dominant force on the continent for a time, despite their fragmented organization. Invaders from the sea were often rebuffed before they could make landfall; those that did were fiercely opposed by Calayne warriors well-suited to fighting in the wooded terrain. Their only significant losses came in those areas unsuited to the Calayne fighting style.
The empire that would become Holmia and Galbard invaded after a time, establishing strongholds in the eastern reaches of the continent. More adept at permanent construction than the Calayne, the invaders developed large and varied settlements, all while harried by fighters from the forest. Soon, dusk fell over the Calayne, greatly reduced to only a few scattered tribes, as the new empire took hold.
Modern Calay formed with the demise of that empire. As Holmia and then Galbard fractured from it, the Calayne enjoyed a period of resurgence. The three tribes that had survived their long night gathered together and formed one nation; the resultant republic sent warriors to expand the edges of their territory, reclaiming some of their ancient homeland. As Galbard regained its footing in the world and developed a more sophisticated military, they once again threatened Calay. The wolves denied their advance. The modern borders have been in place for nearly a century.
Calay's history is punctuated by the appearance of several figures known to the Calayne as prophets. These prophets are said to come in a time of need to teach something vital to the Calayne, to foretell some great event, or to lead them through a time of struggle. The prophets of legend appeared infrequently, no more than one every few hundred years. They are each known by a name indicative of the role they performed; for example, the Teacher. There has not been the appearance of a prophet since the founding of Holmia and Galbard.
Culture
The people of Calay can be roughly divided into two groups: those residing on the coasts and living off the sea, and those residing in the interior of the land. Those who inhabit the coast are sailors and fishermen; those of the forested inland are most often hunters and craftsmen. All Calayne have a strong cultural identity involving reverence of the sea and of Calay's native wolves, a reverence that shapes almost all aspects of their day-to-day lives and their perception by the other peoples of Yatha. The Calayne are referred to—whether with scorn or with frightened admiration—as wolves or dogs.
The Calayne of the coast have a long tradition of sailing, shipbuilding, and piracy. Calayne ships are known for their speed and sturdiness, often outclassing larger ships when it comes to naval combat. The sailors themselves, dressed in pelts and wearing large, intimidating teeth as decoration, are swift and powerful.
Most legitimate seafaring Calayne make a living escorting merchant ships from Lilica and elsewhere away from Yatha. Calayne sailors can easily navigate even under the haze, which causes other vessels to run astray. As such, if a trading party desires safe passage to or from Yatha, they must form a contract of escort with Calay. This also serves to protect the traders from raiding parties.
Those raiding parties often come from Calay itself. As Calay controls the sea, it charges a high price for passage through it. Those who cannot or will not pay are fair game for hunting parties who would run them down and take their wares. Such activity is not illegal or immoral according to the Calayne; they hunt in the forest and they hunt at sea. However, those Calayne who attack boats from their homeland, such as fishermen, or ships under protection of other Calayne are hunted down without recourse.
Religion
The religion of Calay stems from their tribal history and their legendary creation. According to that legend, the Calayne were birthed by a great wolf. They lived on her back and constructed many cities, living with her as she wandered the ocean. However, soon the people grew too large, and the wolf could not support them. Thus she traveled to Yatha, where she knew the land would suit her children and be theirs on which to thrive.
The wolf is known as Mother Adrassa and the place where she set her young down is called Sundarva, a holy forest and the site of all conferences of the Calayne republic. Some Calayne, particularly the fervent Cult of Adrassa, believe Yatha's four towers are Adrassa's legs turned to stone while she rests, her body standing high above the haze. The cult seeks to reawaken her by performing rituals at each tower, but they have thus far been unable to access them all. Calay's own tower, the Tower of Evening, is located off the coast of Yatha on a rough, rocky island.
Calayne funeral rites speak to their reverence of the sea. When a Calayne is slain, or dies of sickness or old age, their body is wrapped all in furs and textiles, weighted down with heavy stones, and set into a small boat. The boat is carried out into the ocean and made to sink, so that the body will find its way to the seafloor. To the Calayne, the bottom of the ocean is the gateway to the afterlife, where the dead might find rest. In death, every wolf of Calay is given rest; all struggles of life are forgotten and all hardship erased when the wolf's spirit passes into the afterlife. A death at sea, such as in battle, is considered a very noble death.
Some in the Cult of Adrassa believe a prophet has appeared among them. They address him simply as the Prophet, as his deeds have not yet lent him a name. Even outside the cult, where he is sometimes known as the Orator, he has attained some popularity—winning favor as a man of wisdom, elevating levels of religious fervor, speaking to Calayne pride and legacy, and demanding the people regain their ancient birthright over all of Yatha. Some more moderate Calayne view him as dangerous. He is little known outside of Calay.
