Sahaladir

The southern territory in the archipelago. Sahalians highly favor integrity, procedure, and the rule of law to the point that suggesting any degree of impropriety to a Sahalian in a cruel insult. There are no factions equivalent to Arbans or Gaelians in Sahalian society and political infighting in member states tends to be shut down quickly through interrogation and reeducation for those uncouth enough to behave poorly.

As with Arbas Gaelith, the Sahalian government is a representative republic with members chosen from the member states. Unlike Arbas Gaelith, however, membership in the ruling council is split into voting members and advisory members with newer member states falling into the latter until their local government structure and devotion to the ruling principals has been evaluated by the entire council. Member states that join voluntarily are afforded a shorter term in advisory status than those annexed due to strategic need.

The most common Sahalian religion is [name], a polytheistic worship centered on earth and nature. Devotion is expressed through ritual spellcasting where practitioners are expected to uphold themselves in the highest regard lest the ritual bring ruin upon them. While the emphasis of the religion is on the ritualized practice, most devotees see their daily interactions as an extension of this ritual and therefore subject to the same level of personal accountability.

Most Sahalians see the crystals as a boon from the earth and therefore subject to use in daily life. There has been some debate among Sahalians about the best way to interact with the crystals as an expression of devotion to the gift from the earth they are seen to represent. It's not uncommon for a crystal to be used in religious rituals.

In practice, Sahalian rule tends to be dogmatic and unforgiving. Rules are applied to the letter with little regard for circumstance. That said, punishments tend to be relatively light, limited to reeducation programs intended to bring law-breakers back into civil society as quickly as possible. Still, it is not uncommon for the law to have no perfect application to some circumstances, leading to unfortunate consequences (such as separating families so the parents can be put into reeducation).

Sahalians tend to see Arbas Gaelith as a bastion of rampant corruption and self-indulgent excess among its elite, though the Gaelian philosophy of introspection has made some minor inroads in Sahalian life. Of course, many Arbans point to this trend as evidence of the Gaelians' traitorous nature (reinforced by the Arban motto Sahalian Gaelian).