The Nahuac Coalition of States

The Nahuac Coalition of States is a vast realm in the central Westerlands. It borders Allaria and the Sea of Nahuac to the north, Tyveria to the east and the Jeweled Desert to the south. Its western border is the Valernian Sea.

Overview
The Coalition is the oldest human realm in existence, having developed directly from the ancestral Altanesi Empire over 2000 years ago. Náhuinn people also refer to themselves as ándaidd, the First Free Ones.

Nahuac is a land rich in lifeforms and terrain types, with hills, mountains, thick forests of all climates, misty jungles, plains and deserts, plus the beaches of three seas—including the Snaking Sea, a river so large that it’s known as the longest ocean strait in Valerna. The Realm sustains itself through its contact with nature, with hunting, foraging, fishing and various crafts related to wood, wicker and stone as its main activities, closely followed by philosophy, natural studies, sustainable building and agriculture.

Náhuinn people have a very organized society, with well-defined roles and a priority of respecting life and the magic inherent in all things, living and nonliving. Despite its relative lack of industrial and economical development, Nahuac is one of the most powerful and prosperous nations in Valerna, with a simple, yet unshakable culture, and unmatched magical and military might, having survived two Ages of History and four major wars with its structures and institutions all but intact.

Culture
The people of Nahuac are dour and quiet in daily life, and consider all noise a nuisance—save for music and storytelling. Contrary to their low-key routine demeanor, Náhuidd love epic battles and epic tales, though they don’t believe so much in the written word. They prefer to tell the tales in the form of song or narrative, and fireplace gatherings to listen to popular sagas are the only thing they like almost as much as silence. A Náhuinn citizen can remain quiet for a full week, without uttering a single word, and then spend two straight days and nights singing along to the verses of their favorite heroic legend at the town festival.

The meaning of numbers in Nahuac
Numbers and their symbolic meaning are a very important element of Náhuinn culture. Náhuinn sages know math as ixabac, ‘Numbercraft’; not a simple number system but a powerful magic school, from which everything can be ordered and understood. As every number has its own symbolism, combining numbers creates new symbols and new meanings, and to study the way they can be combined is considered highly advanced magic.

Philosophy
The most important value of Náhuinn society is endurance; the ability to forgo one’s needs as required by circumstance or by the community. Náhuidd pride themselves in accepting loss and strict measures with stoicism, seeking every opportunity to take from themselves and give to society. For the Náhuidd, endurance is a virtue, hardship is a test, and enduring hardship is the most important measure of one’s worth in the natural order.

The Rule
Nahuac is not a single political entity, but a Coalition of various separate, independent states. These states, known as ápal in the Náhuinn tongue, are not nations, or necessarily city-states, but rather communities formed by blood relations or a sense of mutual belonging. An ápal can be a single city that protects and provides for hundreds of villages, a clan that extends across a small region, or it can be itself a coalition of cities that share the same language and culture.

Separate ápalid have their own laws and customs. There are larger and smaller ápalid, mightier and weaker states, wealthier and poorer neighbors, ápalid with better and worse development or industry. The only thing the Coalition does is make sure that all ápalid obey the same rules—that all trade, travel and even conflicts between ápal states are conducted by a common set of laws and standards.

Social Structire
Like everything else in Nahuac, social hierarchy is holistic, tiered and organized to match the natural order. Leaders are only so in the sense that they serve the people, and citizens are a part of the community as long as they do their own part for its survival.

Population
Most Náhuidd are source-gifted humans or saurians, which found common ground on a tradition that values raw, primal life above more shallow, mundane concerns. Regardless of species, all life forms are equal by the law of the land.

Cities
Nahuac has less than thirty urban centers, with the rest of the territory being unspoiled wilderness, sprinkled with small villages and community farms. A few Altanesi ruins remain hidden in the fog among the woods, mostly avoided by modern peoples, or used as ritual sites. In all, Nahuac is the least urbanized Realm in Valerna, and proud of it.

Allies and Enemies
Nahuac has very complex politics, with some states having allies that are the enemies of another state, states being direct rivals of their peers, and other states having their own enemies inside.

Magic
Náhuinn Source magic is artistic and dedicated, with both Makaab rune-casters and tána shapeshifters understanding their abilities as a craft rather than a power. In fact, the Náhuinn word for ‘spellcasting’ is whíchid, a synonym of ‘weaving’, and it reflects how the people approach magic itself - as the act of entwining the fibers of reality together, something that requires work, care and attention.

Tools and Trade
Nahuac has the richest natural resources in Valerna, which make it a target for its neighbors’ ambitions. To prevent plunder of its environment, the Coalition has adopted an isolationist stance: All logging or mining operations, and any kind of industrial activities that benefit from these practices, are entirely forbidden in Náhuinn soil. Furthermore, no resource exploitation of any kind is allowed inside Nahuac except through Makaab magic, where traditionally trained wizards, hunters or foragers ask the land for its cooperation—and respect the answer if it’s “no”. As very few outsiders are willing or able to learn these methods, most foreign industries are forbidden in the Coalition.

Organizations
Nahuac doesn’t have many independent groups, as most people organize strictly in and for their community. The following are the most prominent mystic, military and political groups operating within the Coalition.

Armies
Náhuinn armies bewilder their opponents by summoning the surrounding terrain and natural forces to their aid. Even a lone Náhuinn unit is not fighting alone, as the very environment fights on its side.