Overview

The culture of Kamiato's societies is well developed. While the specifics of each society and territory's cultures are covered in more detail in their respective Geography and Societies pages, this page covers general information about Kamiato's currencies, languages, and technology.

Commerce

In many parts of Kamiato and throughout the Kaiju Realms, commerce is dependent on a system of trade and barter. Despite this, coinage has also become widespread over the past few millenium. In Kamiato, coins are primarily minted in Hinode, the Shogunate of Steel, and in some city-states throughout the Dragon Isles. The Shogunate of Steel's mints were only established recently, so their coins are far less numberous, and have yet to circulate far beyond its borders. In the Dragon Isles and Hinode, the most valuable standard currency is a large gold coin plate worth ten times the values of a typical sized coin. While most appropriately-weighted gold, silver, and copper coins are accepted in most territories of Kamiato, regardless of their origin, the people that dwell within the Spiritwood and th Isles of Mist have little need for coinage, and are unlikely to accept it. Instead, people in these territories still rely on systems of trading and bartering practical goods, or in some cases, exchanging favors.

In certain parts of Kamiato, ancient coinage from bygone eras may be discovered in ruins and other remnants of civilizations long past. Hoards belonging to creatures that covet treasure, and vaults of the incredibly wealthy and powerful are equally likely to possess these relics. Some of these coins may be made of platinum and other exotic materials more valuable than the standard copper, silver, and gold of the present era. Even coins made of common materials may still exceed their material worth for certain collectors interested in the land's history.

Festivals

Many festivals are celebrated throughout Kamiato. While particular territories may have their own days of celebration based on their history or traditions, celebrations of certain festivals are held all throughout the archipelago, from the Dragon Isles in the south, to the Isles of Mist in the north. These are typically centered around seasonal periods and astronomical phenomena. Seasonal celebrations can very in their exact traditions and rituals depending on the region—the Isles of Mist lack the vast paddies of rice that are harvested during the harvest season in the Heartland—but the act of celebration itself is widespread enough to classify it a holiday or festival of all Kamiato.

Languages

Kamiato's Common language is spoken throughout the archipelago, and is essential for anyone who finds themselves interacting with many different peoples, especially in the more cosmopolitan regions. The orcs once had their own distinct language, but this has largely been replaced by Common, outside of isolated communities or individual orcish clans and households. Despite this, many of the sailors in the Dragon Isles, even though who only speak Common, have acquired various orcish jargon into their vocabulary.

Mutually intelligible dialects of a language called Sylvan are spoken by halflings, some yōkai, and Kamiato's native elves—the primal elves, sea elves, and shadow elves. The Elves-from-Afar—high elves and wood elves—primarily speak Common, but those who remain tied to their heritage and traditions may still speak dialects of Elvish. The dwarves and masaru each speak their own languages, while the lion turtles and the ryūson share an ancient language related to the Aquan dialect of Primordial.

Technology

Kamiato's technology is roughly equivalent to a standard medieval fantasy type setting with the notable presence of handheld gunpowder-based weapons, as well as fantastical inventions and technology powered by magic or mere inventive brilliance. While the average village manages to get by on basic technologies and agricultural techniques, the College of Hanabi's alchemists and tinkerers in the wartorn lands of Hinode, as well as the inventors enlisted by the Shogunate of Steel have made significant advances in technology. Thanks to these dedicated researchers, matchlock firearms, handheld artillery weapons, cannons, and siege engines have played a major role in the past few decades of warfare. Certain factions among these tinkerers and inventors desire to advance technology for the purposes of improving the lives of Kamiato's people, but the development of weaponry and other military technology has far outpaced technology for more humanitarian purposes.

Black Powder

Over the course of the past several decades, since the invention of the first black powder firearm by tinkerers at the College of Hanabi, thousands of black powder weapons have been manufactured. These are not available to the general public, to the bulk of rōnin. Officially, only the engineers who produce them, specialized battalions of soldiers, and specially-licensed rōnin have access to these powerful weapons. Despite the official status of these weapon, they have not been kept entirely from the hands of criminal, pirates, and the more unscrupulous rōnin who choose not to hand them over. Matchlock teppō arquebus, handheld ōzutsu cannons, hiya zutsu rocket launchers, and tan-zutsu pistols are some of the more common black powder weapons that have been developed in Kamiato.

Black powder weapons of all sorts cannot be purchased in ordinary stores, even those permitted to sell weapons, and are illegal for civilians, including most rōnin to own. Rōnin who work closely with military factions, or have a good enough reptuation may be able to acquire licenses that allow them to purchase firearms from a military arsenal or guild merchants, otherwise, they can typically only be obtained through theft, military service, looting battlefields, and other unusual circumstances. Plain gunpowder, firecrackers, and smokebombs are more accessible especially during Kamiato's festivals which often make heavy use of fireworks and other spectacular displays that depend on the explosive material.

More details regarding specific pieces of black powder technology can be found on the Equipment page.

Ancient Relics

Archaeological discoveries in Kamiato have uncovered traces of ancient civilizations from the Age of Duality, when deities still walked the lands of Kamiato alongside mortals. These traces reveal a civilization with its own highly advanced technology. Often unassuming relics may possess capabilities beyond those that are apparent on the surface. While historians, archaeologists, and scholars seek to uncover these relics for the purposes of better understanding Kamiato's past, tinkerers and inventors seek them to learn from and enhance or inspire their own inventions, while others still covet these relics, believing they are the key to gaining control of the entire archipelago.