Dhai

Small country located on the northwest corner of the island of Grania, an island at the far tip of the Saiduanese continent. Also the name of the people inhabiting this country. The country is divided into Clans, and the land between the clans is toxic, contaminated and crawling with poisonous plant life. People take the Line, a shining chrysalis that travels along tirajista-trained cables, or, to a lesser extent, they travel the roads by day.

Origins
Dhai was established 500 years ago by former slaves fleeing their masters in the neighboring country of Dorinah. It's said the satellite called Sina was especially powerful during that time, allowing Dhai sinajistas, who outnumbered sinajistas among the Dorinah, to escape their servitude.

Government
Dhai is composed of fourteen clans and a ruler, the Kai. 'Kai' is a hereditary title that passes through the mother's lineage to the child with the greatest ability to call on the power of the satellites. At the opening of The Mirror Empire, the previous Kai, Kirana Javia Garika, has died and the title has passed to Ahkio Javia Garika.

A new constitution was adopted when Kai Ahkio called a meeting of the Clan Leaders at Clan Osono. It established a council with the Kai and Clan Leaders four times a year, rotating the location of the meeting to a new clan each time, to debate matters of state. Clan Leaders would continue to be elected by their clans, and each clan had the same weight when voting motions into law. The Kai line was still hereditary. Oras still chose the Kai from among the Kai line.

The Kai can't request taxes or conscript milita without Clan Leaders permission.

The Kai's spouse is given the title of Catori. At the opening of Empire Ascendant, the current Catori is Mohrai Hona Sorai. The previous Catori was Lohin Alais Garika.

The fourteen clans are Clan Adama, Alia, Badu, Daora, Garika, Mutao, Nako, Osono, Raona, Saiz, Saobina, Sorai, Sorila, and Taosina. Clan Garika is considered the single most powerful clan.

The ceremony to become Kai includes the new Kai washing their hair in the blood of the previous Kai and eating their heart in front of the country's clan leaders. A feast is prepared from the rest of the body, and the entire audience partakes in it.

Gender
The Dhai recognize five genders - female-assertive, female-passive, male-assertive, male-passive, and ungendered. Each gender has a corresponding pronoun. Genders are chosen freely, but it is unusual for adults to change their pronouns.

Romantic & sexual relationships:
Polyamorous, open relationships are the norm. Marriages include varying numbers of people. Descent is traced through the person giving birth. Touching someone in any way without prior consent is considered extremely rude. The Dhai do not value or expect individual privacy.

Funeral rites
The Dhai honor their dead by preparing and eating their bodies. All parts of the body are consumed except the head, which is reserved and interred in the temple catacombs. Red is the color of mourning

Magic Use
Using gifted arts against the non-gifted is considered a grave crime. The Dhai take it so seriously that even when the Temple of Ora is attacked and Clan Garika milita begin killing the Oras, the Oras did not use their gifts as weapons to defend themselves.

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