Description:
Nerat is, and has been for the past several hundred years, controlled by a monarchy of dwarven ancestry called the Kornna family. Inheritance of the crown and control of the land is passed from eldest child to eldest child and is non-gender specific. The current rule of Nerat is held by a female, Queen Anna Kornna, and should she die, it will pass to her eldest son, Leon Kornna.
Each city within Nerat which possesses a population above 50,000 serves as the administrative hub for a province of the realm, and is represented, as well as controlled by, a governor. As cities grow in size, the provinces of the realm are actually redistributed and new governors are assigned to any regions which have come into existence. All governors are appointed by the crown and may have their position revoked if they displease the ruler. These appointments are supposed to be relatively skill based, but are often more a matter of politics, interrelations, and friendship with the ruler. Bi-annual assemblies of the Governor’s Council are standard and provide a forum for voicing concerns about the state of the nation and inter-city conflicts. In addition, the current queen is also quite fond of travel and spends a significant portion of her time on the road visiting the cities of the realm, as well as traveling abroad.
Most of the major cities of the realm are actually two part constructions which have been integrated into the mountains they inhabit. Generally, there is a visible top surrounding a mountain and then an underground section which fills the mountain and extends downward. This vertical integration and underdark construction helps to ease the pressure of high population in a limited space, and also provides for more secure linkage between population centers than the sometimes fickle high mountain roads which join them across the surface world.
Within the vales that rest between the mountains of Nerat, scattered villages are quite common and generally form where roads between upper portions of cities cross. Due to the latitude, the effects of elevation are somewhat mitigated and crops can be grown within these areas for close to a normal season. Beneath the world, this dotting of villages is also mirrored at points where the underground roads between cities merge, and cavern communities can be quite vast, growing subterranean crops in constructed meshes that if viewed externally would look like a piece of foam.
With their complete encircling by other nations, and no seaport access, Nerat maintains an extensive military to dissuade action by other nations. All inhabitants of the realms (male, female, and all races) are required to serve a 4 year term of service with the military and after this term still retain their arms and equipment should the need for their reinstatement arise. Separate divisions of the military are maintained for both surface and underdark warfare, but no naval group exists due to the non-existent surface water access of Nerat.
With regard to the cuisine of Nerat, there are two foods which are quite popular and unique to the region. The first is a stew called Sam-po. The stew is made primarily from a fruit called Ella, which grows in the underdark and forms in a tightly packed layer structure. (Taste-wise, Ella has hints of what we would know as cinnamon and tomato.) To prepare Sam-po, Ella is soaked for several days, and as it soaks the layers of the fruit separate and, if sliced properly, fall off into sheets. Red meats, such as beef, and several spices are then added in small quantities and allowed to simmer for a few hours. Cooked properly, Sam-po has a warm, mouth filling flavor with a hint of zest.
The second dish is actually a dessert called Zamshi, which is also created from Ella. Once again, Ella is soaked until it separates, however, the soaking solution is one almost entire saturated in brown sugar. After separation, the sheets of Ella are rolled into foot long sticks and then allowed to dry or sometimes cooked. This process creates a light, flakey dessert with a powerful cinnamon / sugar flavor.
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