Kingdom - Gandew

Gandew Kingdom

A massive lone mountain in the desert holds the entire populace of Gandew, mainly composed of Darfaries and a few travelers passing by. You can stop here, but keep your hands and mouth to yourself unless you want to face off against a Darfaries citizen or a giant guard in heavy chitin armor in one of the dueling pits. Though, if fighting is your jam, then have at it! They love to crack the skull of troublemakers! Or you might score brownie points if you break their skull instead.

If you cause trouble or run your mouth, but don't want to visit the pits to square things away, then you can go instead on a free, one-way ride on the "Goodbye Cliff"—a colossal ballista that will launch you alongside Wozefaries and Sorefaries babies into the desert. It's a wild ride, but some adrenaline junkies prefer that over going through the inner tunnels to get out of the only down to one of the main doors because it is a long ride.

By the way, make sure to stop by the Grand Hall near the top of the mountain! You will love the sights! It might even make you want to move and live there, but you better be a Darfaries born in Gandew if you want to say that out loud.

Talking about being a Darfaries born, depending on when you visit, you might see a group of people reunited in a local community center arguing loudly while someone screams at everyone while holding a bloodied book… Don’t worry! That’s just the Blood Book ceremony. This ceremony starts with the head of the family or village opening the book and stating the expectations and promises of a given signee from last time, then the signee gives an update on what they succeeded, what they failed, and what the new expectations will be. During this time, any other participant may promise something to the signee being reviewed, or outright challenge them to a duel to, for instance, bash some sense into their head or for failing to do something promised, or even resolve any bad blood between participants. Once the signee is fully reviewed, they sign in blood to make them responsible for complying with what they stated. Once everyone is done being reviewed, the bookkeeper signs in blood and seals the book away; then, all participants have a feast to celebrate life.

You might also take a while to get used to the architecture since most buildings are part of cavern systems, and the temperature changes can be rather harsh. Lastly, don't be worried if you hear a deathly scream; it's probably just a Wooly about to become steak.

Guards

Gandew Guards are the most physical ones, and they’re brutal about it. If their blunt weapon touches you, you likely won’t be going anywhere for a while. They tend to travel alone for customary reasons, but you would be foolish to think they are easy pickings. Their chitin armor is tough, and they earn their paycheck with the blood and tears—of their enemies. Also, don’t expect to strike up many conversations with them when they have their helmet on; they are generally more reserved than other guards, but the issue is that their helmet locks their large tusks in place, preventing them from opening their mouths. Some still say, “Pfff—it was a design flaw with the armor, but they won’t admit it because Darfaries being Darfaries, am I right?” However, scholars proved already that it was to create a silent servitude, so it was a feature, not a bug.

Names

Citizen’s names often lean towards Asian Names, specifically Chinese/Japanese. 

Usually, people have “High-Gandew”, “Medium-Gandew”, “Low-Gandew” as the city name. For all intents and purposes, that’s the law of the land, and you will likely be ostracized if you don’t have that on your badge. However, it seems that the culture has relaxed a bit on that front, such as people shortening “Medium-Gandew” to “Mid-Gandew” in badges and getting away with it. At this rate, they might officially accept “Mid-Gandew” when talking with the guards or kingdom personnel.

Notable Kingdom Citizens

  • Asa the Powerful

  • Nooru High-Gandew Tough-Hammer

  • Satomi High-Gandew Tough-Hammer