Ashor

Ashor is an island is an island in the southwestern Rosorro Sea, and a subject of the Sentarion Commonwealth. The island is under the joint sovereignty of the Duce of Sentar and the Princep of the Crowned Church of Merem, as with other Commonwealth subjects. The Duce is represented in Ashor by the Capidante-Generalis Ashora (Captain-General of Ashor), nominally head of Ashorite legislature and a member of the Sentarion senate. The incumbent is Patriarch Casorio Dor'Laghese, from the mainland city of Donala. Ashor has a devolved legislature and a degree of autonomy from central Sentarion administration.

The island is a stronghold of the Crowned Church in the western Rosorro Sea, a region otherwise dominated by Saherism and other denominations of the Soltiric Church, most notably the Telosine Congress Church of the Pentarchy. However religious freedom is guaranteed under both the ancient customary law of the island, tracing back centuries, and the newer constitution adopted since the formation of the Commonwealth.

Meragnese, the language of Sentar, is official language of the island despite being spoken by a minority, but the native Ashorite language is afforded recognised status. Kaval, as well as the other major port of il'Qajsa, have significant Meragnese populations, widely considered an ascendant class with disproportional power relative to their size. These towns also host major Sentarion naval facilities, on account of the islands strategic location near Hamaji, and as such there are large numbers of Sentarion (including Meerish) seamen. Kaval is known to Meragnese locals as Cavalle, and il'Qajsa as Elcassia. In the southern port town of Rha there is a Saheric Altin near-plurality, and Altin is a recognised language of the Township of Rha.

There is a dispute as to whether the native Ashorite population descend from Altin settlers of the island who converted to the Soltiric Church, or whether they date back as far as the ancient Ashorite tribes as described in the Soltiric canon from which they derive their name. The issue is further muddied by a series of invasions and counter-invasions of the island over centuries by Hamaji and Sentar, known as the Slow War, each imposing their own narrative.

Ashorim in Ortus are known to face discrimination, often attributed to confusion with darker-skinned Altin people, and Ashorim in Hamaji and elsewhere in the Saheric World are known to face legal challenges on account of their religion. There is an ancient Elsarist population in Rha, considered a distinct subcategory of the Ashorim.

Legal System
Ashor operates under a dual system of law; the codified laws drafted in formal statutes (termed "Sentarion Law"), and the ancient conventions of the customary law of the island (termed "Ancient Law") tracing its heritage over two thousand years to the pre-Merem period. As a rule, Sentarion Law is practiced in the capital and in mercantile towns, whereas Ancient Law is practiced in the rural communes. However even in the capital, Ancient Law applies to practices such as marriage, and even in rural areas Sentarion Law is applied to major criminal offences.

Organisation
Ashor is highly decentralised, with strong local rule in its subdivisions. Most of the island is divided amongst hundreds of Communes, but the three major port towns (Kaval, il'Qajsa, and Rha) are governed instead as Townships.

Communes generally operate under their own individual adaptation of Ancient Law and are organised around a village, electing a leadership by broadly democratic means. Typically this means rule by a council of Elders, usually composed of the matriarchs of all the historic families of the commune. Land and property within a commune are communally-owned and worked upon, based on historic models of familial cooperation.

Townships have a more codified structure, each with a Sentar-modeled local Senate whose members are elected by popular suffrage. Property in Townships is privately-owned as per international norms.

Each Commune and Township is allotted a specific number of seats in the national Senate, which in general has power only over relations with the rest of the Commonwealth - with minor powers for international interactions which may be suspended by the Parliament of the Commonwealth - and power to promulgate acts of Sentarion Law. National defence is the responsibility of the Commonwealth.

Diplomatic relations
Ashor is not considered diplomatically sovereign and so sends and receives no ambassadors, represented instead via the Commonwealth, however the island has trade and cultural representatives in a number of states.

Culture
Ashor has a distinct culture stemming from intermixing between Hamajic and Meragnese influences, in addition to indigenous traditions.

Ashorite palm wine is widely coveted but is not easily exportable. Ashorite architecture is regarded as rustic and quaint, using traditionally-fired brick to build bungalow-like structures to house an extended family of usually over 50 members. Windows and doors typically have horseshoe arches and calligraphic ornamentation comparable to that of Saheric temples, and houses in affluent districts of the townships are known for extensive decorative exterior tiling, and inward-facing facades built around courtyards and atriums.

Religiously,the Soltiric tradition in Ashor is marked by more rigid dedication to decrees relating to poverty, charity and tolerance. Despite the strength of the church in Ashor, there is relatively few priests or formal churches. Typically services are led instead by monks, who weekly travel from monastic communes to another commune's assembly point to lead the devotions.

Notable People

 * Almat Ramel