Ara

Ara is the westernmost Sanctum in The Niriad, and categorized by its hot, arid, and desert-like conditions. While Ara is technically one of the larger Sanctums in the common era, the majority of its land is covered by the largely uninhabitable Akorr Hevan - a huge expanse of ever-changing dunes and sand. In spite of the harsh environment, or perhaps because of it, the Arlan people are a highly enduring and industrious culture. When it comes to aethery and invention, Arlan pursuits often turn away from the natural world and toward a technological one; capitalizing on the bountiful deposits of ore and sand in their Sanctum to create a industry centered on metal and glass.

Etymology
The true origins of the name Ara have been obscured by time and a lack of recorded history. However, a possible etymological explanation has persevered through the storytelling traditions of the original great tribes.

The events of this story take place in ancient history, in the first peaceful days after the First Siege. As the story recounts; the Patron Elym Vanas had just taken dominion over the lands that would become Ara.

The great tribes living on the land at the time gathered to consult with each other and with Vanas to determine a unified same for their new lands. Each tribe put forth a leader to represent them in the naming council. After a day of debate, they approached Vanas and presented a name. The colossal elym simply remained silent, and the leaders came to understand it was not approved.

After another day of discussion, a new name was decided upon and it was presented to Vanas once more. Again, they were met with silence.

For a third time, the tribes' leaders sat down to discuss a name. This time, tensions were high. Tribal divisions were beginning to test the resilience of the naming council. Rifts turned into quarrels and quarrels to blows.

A young warrior charged with serving the naming council was troubled by the rising conflict between the tribes. No sooner had the First Siege ended that an internal war was threatening to begin, and over something as trivial as a name. The warrior thought to themselves: who was Vanas to decide what to call a land that it had only just become a steward over? The warrior strode past the squabbling council and right up to Vanas. They said a single phrase: "Ar ryn." meaning 'peace in the west'. Was it a name? Was it a command? Was it a wish? Different accounts of the story interpret this differently.

What is not disputed is that Vanas' eyes slowly blinked and their head tipped to the right in approval. In response their deep, ancient voice uttered a single word in response: "Ara".

Geography
The majority of Ara's landmass is covered by an expanse of sand-swept desert called the Akorr Hevan (ah-kor hay-von). This central region is extremely arid and lacks both vegetation and signs of life, similar to the Sahara desert on Earth. This region is almost devoid of precipitation; only receiving an average of 0.9mm (0.035 in) of rainfall a year. Akorr Hevan is also the hottest region in The Niriad; with average temperatures ranging between 25 and 33 °C (77 and 91 °F), but climbing as high as 45 to 47 °C (113 and 116.6 °F) during the mid-day, and consistently reaching over 50°C (122 °F) between the months of Makulo and Roku. From the northeast reaches of the sanctum to the southwest, The Akorr Hevan is cut in two by the Akupa Hakorik (ay-kuh-pah hah-koh-rihk); a ridge of mountainous dunes known in english as the Akoran Divide. This wall of dunes creates a natural defence for the western half of the Sanctum.

The coastal regions of the sanctum - particularaly in Kazud, Orekhet, Sindalla, and Basar Lak - benefit from the proximity of Tur-es and the surrounding ocean to hydrate the region. This span, called the Kedeha'rab (kay-daya-rahb), or the Greenlands, holds a combination of floodplains, lowlands, deltas, and the majority of the Arlan population. It also contains the five rivers that Ara has, which gather their moisture from groundwaters and minimal runoff from the Akoran Divide.

The remainder of the Sanctum is classified as the Vanashar (fan-ah-share) - a xeric shrubland. It is a dry and lightly vegetated region where both plants and animals are well adapted to the sparse rainfall. Additionally, the northernmost regions surrounding the settlements of Porresh and Afanash can get shockingly cold at the nighttime, and is generally dangerous to travel through unless properly prepared.

Ara is old
Maybe Ara only started after the 1st siege, but the Arlan tribes have been there for even longer.

Like, really old.
I would like you to imagine it is the cradle of civilization. Even though Teran is the birthplace of Niradians, Ara was not far behind.

I'm sure you can put some high-level development stuff here.
They mostly chilled in the south south or the north north, for trade purposes.

Oop - maybe they develop metallurgy around now?
They kind of popped off when they discovered glass and metal, not gonna lie

Industrial rise
Ara is fun because they are very advanced in some areas, but not that advanced. Kinda steampunk, but like... dustpunk? Is dustpunk a thing? Can I make it a thing?

Modern-day
Today, the Arlans staunchly maintain their ancient cultural traditions while simultaneously benefitting from a society that relies the least on the unbridled use of the aether. They're pretty cool. If something is cool and helpful, it was probably made by an Arlan.

Demographics
Ara has a total estimated population between 2.2 and 2.3 million inhabitants, with more than half contained within cities and settlements in the southern ring of the Vanashar and Kedeha'rab. The city of Ikran is the political capital of the Sanctum, but only houses about 35,000 Arlans. The most populated city is Chov Tor, with an impressive 65,000 Arlans who consider the city their home.

The people of the desert sanctum are some of the oldest civilizations that remain in The Niriad, however the harsh environment and the sanctum's basically-closed political structure does not make it easy for immigration. Only between 8 and 9% (~183,000 inhabitants) of the Arlan population hail from other Sanctums - mostly the neighbouring sanctums of Kondra or Tur-es, and at one point in time, the grassland sanctum of Erna. The remaining 96% of the Arlik population are native to the Sanctum; meaning they belong to, or can trace their ancestry back to one of the great houses of the Arlik tribes.

Religion
=== "While the beings of chaos gave us life, they do not control it. We must remain vigilant and fight for balance in a world that wants desperately to spin out of control." (Deken Kefe Amath-dehar, head of the Basar Lak tribe 1, 2134) === Culturally, Arlans fall on the side of nok allegiance, and are the strongest practitioners of Nok Positivism. They identify more with the values of peace and control associated with the universal pole of Nok and generally view chaos as something that needs to be dampened and used in careful measures. Unlike Sanctums like Irx, their relationship with the elym is more akin to a begrudging alliance. Arlans recognize the power that the chaotic beings have over their environment and their existence, but give them no more control than that. Arlans challenge the elementals more frequently than the other Sanctums, and often go out of their way to build success without aethic intervention. Surprisingly, their patron elym appears to encourage this behaviour; Vanas has mainly kept out of the affairs of the Arlans, focusing on overseeing the elementals in their dominion, and only intervening upon request.

Languages
The people of Ara primarily speak a unified language aptly called Arlik. The language was originally considered a dialect of Erantu - the ancient language spoken in Teran. However it has since developed into its own language. The root Arlik language has a 99.7% proficiency rate in within the Sanctum.

As with all other Sanctums, Nowaton Akenakik (Nunik) is taught in Ara. Adoption of Nunik as a secondary language is relatively easy for the Arlans because Nowaton Akenakik pulled many grammatical practices and from Erantu and from Ancient Arlik. Even though Nunik is used mainly by Arlans who are expected to interact with individuals from other Sanctums; such as leaders, scholars, and merchants, the general Arlan population is one of the most bilingual nations - with a 79-82% proficiency in the secondary language.

Economy
Steady, surefooted, and uniquely Arlan. Let's talk metal and glass.

Trade relationships
Who are the Arlan's friends? Enemies? Frenemies? Who writes in their yearbook?

Government, law, and politics
Discuss the leadership! Ara is fun because of the advanced tribal system.

Law
Legal information

Politics
Political information

Culture
So much to talk about here! Make sure you throw in how utilitarian they are.

Social structures
Family structures

Traditions
Holidays, quirks, and superstitions?

Songs and stories
Not sure what would go here yet, really. But I'm leaving a space for it.

Popular pass-times
Sports, parties, etc.

Landmarks
Wow! What is there to see in Ara?

Notable Arlans
Aba Kaz, famous inventor! Durnes, alchemist!

Travel and transportation
Map of all the paths I guess! Plus dryop information.

☁