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Country famous for its rules and regulations in society. The saying goes that in Colend you battle with ribbons and words not steel. Everything they do has meaning to it, even the colours they wear and how they layer them.
Capital: Alsaes
Language: Kifelian (branch of Sartoran)[1]
Ruler: Carlael Lirendi
Heir: Shontande Lirendi
Colend's wars have been very few. Seldom have they had a standing army. Conflict has been resolved through extremely highly developed and refined social mechanisms for centuries, giving the Colendi a formidable reputation for cultural sophistication--also for snobbery, elitism, decadence, moral ambiguity (at best), and for a multivalent approach to the concept of truth.
Alsaes is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It sits where two rivers come together. Centuries of delicately balanced magery keep the city from ever becoming marsh or bog. It is veined with canals, most of them charmingly curved that no matter where you are, or where you look, the view is pleasing to the eye. This includes the trading sections of the city: if you do not want to tend to your window boxes and painting your shutters regularly, then Alsaes is not the city for you. The royal palace lies at the north end. After a couple of abortive attempts at castles, Alsaes gave up being militarily defensible. There are no walls, there are only the eight gates, all of them beautiful, some only accessible by water: The Gate of the Lily Path, the Gate of Reeds, Thorn Gate [very old idiom for the site of military executions centuries previous], Gate of Silver Willow, Gate of Pecan Blossoms [courtship and declaration], Gate of the Crown, which is used for royal processions and for artisans whose master works have been granted Mastery; then the last two are Autumn Gate (old gate of harvest, which is used primarily to ship goods in) and Summer Gate (for shipping goods out).
There are magic Destinations at most of the Gates, but if you attempt to enter the city via magic, you had better have arranged ahead of time with the royal herald-mages.
The inner canals are mostly named after old aristocratic families, but the main one is the Crown Skya Canal.
The gates all have different names and attributes, as well as traditions. All of these things can, and do, change in meaning, depending upon intent. For example, newcomers to the palace traditionally enter through the Gate of the Lily Path, which is the old Summer Gate, which is closest to the palace. A family member summoned to return can use that gate, signifying displeasure with the family, but entering through the Gate of the Silver Willow, which is the traditional gate through which mourning boats drifted, would send a far grimmer message. However, the Gate of Silver Wands can also be referred to in conversation when a courtship is not successful--or when someone wishes a swain would go away.
The Gates have districts nearby; artisans' shops are roughly divided by district, strictly controlled by the guilds. Competition is considered good, so you'll find the silversmiths along this canal, and carpet-makers along that one, etc. More spread out are eateries and the pleasure houses and entertainment spots, strung between the three playhouses, whose histories alone require a long entry (the tension between plays, players, and the aristocrats they serve and satirize has been long and fraught).
The Colendi social season begins with the King's Regata on the canals, with everyone in the city participating with decorated gondolas and boats. The season ends with the Blue Night Masque on September 1st. But the most famous event of all is the yearly Music Festival. Those far-sighted enough to notice such things are aware that this festival is the cauldron of the world's artistic expression, for the greatest musicians come from everywhere to compete. The judges are selected from among people in the city, and might eve be visitors: they do not know one another, their votes are cast in secrecy and isolation before the Silver Feather is awarded--which always makes the winner's (or winners' if a group) careers for life. It's the going back and sharing of new ideas that shapes art, of course.
Colend's history is long and varied. (See General Timeline). Because the kingdom has no naturally defensible borders (the mountains at the north end could be called one, as it was raised to keep the Chwahir out, but hasn't quite succeeded in doing that, which it succeeded in was denying Colend access to the sea) trade is of crucial importance. Marriage and parties were considered to be Colend's best weapons of defense. The Lirendi family has ruled nearly as long as the Landises have ruled Sartor, though the Lirendis have not descended in an unbroken line either sons or daughters. There are cousins and marriages and adoptions in there; basically, if you are going to rule in Colend, your name must be Lirendi.
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