Zephyris - Summary
Zephyris
General Culture: A nomadic, skyfaring culture of sailors and airship pilots who worship the winds and storms. Zephyrans are free-spirited, with a love for exploration and storytelling.
Political System: Tribal confederacy. Each airship or ship fleet is led by a captain, with a Windcaller (a bardic shaman) mediating disputes. Loyalty is to the fleet, not the land. A Wind Sovereign is chosen as the nations figurehead, though the position is largely ceremonial.
Capital City: Skyhaven, a floating city of tethered airships and platforms, drifting above the island’s coral reefs.
Race Mix: Aarakocra, genasi (air), and humans dominate, with halflings and elves as skilled navigators. Orcs are rare, seen as too “grounded” for Zephyran life.
Regions: Split into regions based geographical elements and mountain ranges.
Lightningveil Range - A treacherous mountain range where jagged peaks are infused with veins of conductive crystal. These crystals hum with latent electrical energy, often discharging in spectacular, dangerous arcs during storms.
Tempestgrass Sea - Vast, rolling plains covered in shimmering silver-blue grass that emits a melodic hum when the wind blows. Nomadic tent-cities traverse these plains, following the seasonal monsoons.
Skyreach Ridges - A series of towering, jagged mountain peaks characterized by immense, man-made terraces carved into their sheer cliff faces. These terraces serve as strategic launch pads for aerial travel and defense.
Highwind Crags - A treacherous range of knife-edged mountain ridges constantly battered by perpetual gales. These powerful winds carve natural sky-tunnels through the rock, creating a unique and dangerous environment.
Notable Feature: Some Zephyris’ airships are powered partially by Veilbreak crystals, making them targets for pirates and rival nations.
Population: Zephyris' population tends to be limited by nomadic lifestyles on the ground and tight quarters aboard ship. The nation does not have much for food production outside of the Tempestgrass Sea and what can be grown in greenhouses at higher altitudes or aboard ships.
Total estimated population: 580,000
Major Population Centers:
Skyhaven: 320,000
Windchant Drift: 120,000
Stormspire Citadel: 20,000
Cloudlaunch Port: 35,000
Galeheart Monastery: 20,000
Remaining Population: Primarily roaming the Tempestgrass Sea in smaller mobile towns and villages or semi-permanent area. Some smaller monasteries and outposts exist throughout the Highwind Crags and Skyreach Ridges.
Primary Religious Tendencies: Aerial devotion to Akadi (The Queen of Air), promoting freedom and nomadic winds. Akadi, the elemental goddess of air, movement, and speed. Zephyris's nomads worship her through sky dances and airship blessings, rejecting slavery as "grounded chains." This fits their evasive, freedom-loving ethos, with the Shattered Sea's winds as Akadi's breath. Tendencies include feather talismans, storm-riding rituals, and alliances with air elementals, viewing grounded nations like Ironcrag as stagnant and unworthy of her boundless grace.