Provinces

Samsara is divided into five provinces.

1. Northern Provinces: The northern provinces extends from the Dronagiri mountains to the beginning of the Vindhya hills. It is the second largest province in the Kingdom, but perhaps the most important. It is here that the epic (some say mythical) battle between Ajeya and the Naga chieftain Nidraloka took place, and here is where the capital of Samsara is. It was originally called Ektaa or unity but no one calls it that anymore. As the freed slaves built their city, they strove to make it so wondrous that anyone who saw it, gushed that it looked like Gods lived there. The image stuck and people started refering to it as "Devanagari" or the city of the Gods.

Devanagari is home to the Palace of King Druta as well as the Sama building - the building where the councils meet and usually argue endlessly over nothing.

The Northern provinces also are the place where gems and gold are mined at the foothills of the Dronagiri mountains. They have recently started exporting gems to various foreign countries, including Kao Tur and Shou Lung, in exchange for silks. The hottest export these days is little dogs from Shou Lung that the noblewomen of Samsara absolutely adore.

The northerners pride themselves on being politically sophisticated and cosmopolitan. Though the southern provinces produce much of the culture, only the best managed to get the the northern provinces and they have access to the very finest of art and culture. They are always the first to know about any political happenings, and of course, if the KING choses to live there, they think their province is very fine thank you very much. They share a natural affinity with the southern provinces, who they will claim are "second best" as they are known to be intellectual and cultured and save their most bitter scorn for the people of the Western provinces, whom they dismiss as uncouth boors.

Their council representative is a man once famous for his diplomatic solutions that once prevented a war with Thay- Kabira. Kabira is also the author of the book "Sama, Dana, Bheda, Danda" or "Negotiate, bribe, create conflict, punish" which is considered an authoritative book on the art of negotiation.

2. Eastern Provinces: The rich delta crisscrossed by seven rivers that seem to take fertile soil from the entire country and dump it on their plains is THE biggest province in Samsara. And if you eat anything in Samsara, chances are atleast part of it grew here. The people here are simple, hardworking, and pious almost to an extreme. Labor and Rudra are their only two passions, and you won't see them engaging in gossip or speculation. The most famous city here is Bhakti, the city of a hundred temples, which is also the capital city of the province.

The simple, devout natures of the Eastern provinces means that they are often at odds with most of the other provinces, though they will tolerate the central provinces. Afterall, the central provinces make selling and trading a lot easier and have brought them a lot of prosperity. However, they mistrust everyone else, reserving true hatred only for the southern provinces of whom they are convinced each citizen is a godless, sinful, horrid human being sure to be reborn as the lowest of beasts. Maybe pigs.Eastern provinces are completely Lawgiver territory and even tactful, polite disagreement with their principles will win you some hostility. While they are far too devout to act violently, expect your conversation to come to a sudden, non -negotiable and absolute halt.

Their representative is the highly pious Lawgiver priest Chaturvedi. Chaturvedi is known to have facilitated fifteen thousand conversions in his youth.

3. Central Provinces: The central provinces are surrounded by sea on two sides, and by a network of rivers making it a trade hub for both internal and international trade. Their capital, the city of Ratnagiri (the Hill of Jewels) is home to the Trade council building and is the second largest city in the kingdom. Only Devanagri is larger.

Though Ratnagiri reigns supreme, a smaller town named Hasthi is coming into some prominence as it lies half way between both the eastern and southern provinces and Ratnagiri. Many travelers prefer to rest here and buy supplies before going on to Ratnagiri. Since Hasthi is cheaper, and also amneable to trade in old fashioned caravans that travel by road, the military has invested a fair bit of money here.

The people here are wont to be a tad abrupt, and speak their mind plainly. It is considered better for trade to be upfront with your thoughts and most have no patience for small talk or meandering discussions. However, since they are exposed to the widest variety of races, and nationalities they tend to be most accepting of people different from them. As a result, many foreigners can be found here living among the Samsarans. The Central provinces do not have any affinity with any other province, and though they view them with faint condescension, their contempt is more drama than seriously held convictions.

Their representative is the legendary Chanakya, the foremost authority on the sensitive subject of Economics. His treatiste - Arthashastra is required reading for anyone seeking to pursue trade as a profession.

4. Southern provinces: For people who live among pretty beaches and tropical, warm sunshine, the southerners are anything but easy going. Fiercely idealistic and almost militantly egalitarian, the southerners combine some commendable attributes with some very antagonistic ones. On the positive side, most of them grow steeped in culture and intellectual debate. They cherish ideals like the freedom of expression and the freedom of belief. On the negative side, they are always the spoil sports, finding fault with EVERYTHING others do. They don't take sides, and are more apt to criticize their King than support him. Southerners do not send any of their citizens to join the army.

Southerners are the polar opposite of the eastern provinces. Religion is often viewed as a philosophic attitude, and they rarely stand for anything- prefering to argue against everything or arguing for it, depending on their whims. This is strongly Mitraa territory, and Lawgivers are viewed with so much contempt most of them won't even deign to talk to you if you follow that philosophy. Southerners get along fine with the northern provinces as they see them as fellows in the pursuit of art and culture, but curiously, a strong and unusual bond has been created between them and the war-like westerners. Though they are "bereft" of culture, the southerners always support them as they admire their tough independent attitude.

Their capital city- Kalinga is an exciting city for those interested in architecture and the arts. They have more universities than any other province, and their representative is a woman (which caused half of the Eastern province to explode in outrage) named Vac. Vac (pronounced Vah-awk) is a formidable seeker whose speciality is anu shakti, which can loosely be described as the power of the atom. If she existed in modern ages, her profession would be described as some ancient, archiac form of molecular physics. However, she is more famous for the furious debates she has with Pundit Chaturvedi in the Sama council. These debates get so heated that common citizens who are absolutely uninterested in politics go to watch the proceedings purely for the theatrics.

6. Western provinces: Western provinces are described by northerners as the "armpit of samsara" and from a geographical point of view, this may be true. Everything about the western provinces is hostile - from the dense jungles, to the hostile wildlife. The westerners have had to fight off nagas, beels, predators, and unfriendly foreigners. They have had to survive droughts and flood. And eke out a living on sour soil and turbulent, treacherous waters. As a result, westerners are exceedingly tough. Children, both male and female are trained in arms as soon as they are old enough to weild a weapon and they grow up to be prized recruits for the Military. It is estimated that nearly 60% of the army is comprised of someone with atleast one parent from the western provinces. The commander of the military Gambheera is from the western provinces and the man he replaced- Jambhavan is currently the head of the western council.

There are no big towns in the western provinces, and they produce nothing of value. But in addition to the soldiers they provide in copious amounts, they are well known for another skill. Their boatmen- the charans who learn from navigating the brutal waters of the Pranshula rapids are considered the most hardy and skilled boatsmen in the world and are often employed by traders.

Westerners however do not see themselves as part of the Kingdom in any intimate way. Their participation in the military is not seen as a duty but as a "job". Bravery comes easily to them, but service does not. There have been talks of breaking away from Samsara to have their own country that is independent from Samsaran rule, and the southern province have been supportive of this. However, it has not gained popularity among the more powerful members of western province society, so this is not a big concern at this moment.

Westerners are suspicious of all foreigners except Dwarfs. Dwarfs stood by them during the Battle of Saptagiri (seven hills) and died alongside them as they defended the first seven settlements in the region against Beel tribes. Elves are particularily disliked as they are seen as shiftless and loyal only to coin, something the westerners loathe. The animosity between the westerners and northerners is also well known as both are exceedingly dismissive of each other. Westerners will tolerate southerners...barely, but will not form friendships easily with any other province member.