Shiva

Overview
Much is to be said about the province of Shiva, some within the Antean kingdom would call them barbarians while their neighbors of Carim would consider them grand warriors. The truth is rather simple, they are both of these things. The province of Shiva is one of border mountains and rolling plains that spread across the land.

It is said that the goddess Nema crafted the horse that roamed the land, a gift to those humans that continued to worship her even after the destruction of the old kingdoms. So, in honor of their god the Shivan people swiftly took to raising and taking care of these beasts. Alongside having an abundance of horses the mountains of Shiva also produce mass amounts of iron and other metals needed for the process of steel-making. In the early years this gave the people of Shiva an edge over their Antean counterparts and a much needed trade commodity.

During the Age of Strife these mines would become a priceless asset to the Antean kingdom. Unlike the rest of their brothers and sisters the Shivan lords saw warfare as the highest calling to those of the nobility. Even creating a high society based around the martial arts and personal perfection in ones field, a major offshoot of the Antean culture. Though, through this offshoot they have saved Antean on the battlefield countless times with their screaming warriors and howling arrows. Sadly, in times of peace they are seen as nothing more than a group of barbarians by their fellow Anteans. Even to the point that they have been isolated by the lords outside of their domain.

Such an action has caused the Shivan people to become extremely untrustworthy of their brothers. The Shivans however have accepted this and have created a strong anti-immigration policy, along with a rather large standing army when compared to other Antean forces. As for the peasantry they need not involve themselves in such a warlike manner, they go about their days harvesting the rich iron from the mines of the mountains or focusing on the growth of their rice paddies.

The merchants of Shiva are known to be long distant travelers, even when compared to the salesmen of other nations. These merchants travel great distances with the natural silks and iron of the land, from these two basic resources they are able to gain great wealth by trading them for rarer luxuries not found in Antea. In fact it is common for the lords of Shiva to have entire "museums" dedicated to foreign weaponry and armor. While the peasantry will save entire months worth of coin to simply buy the spices of the southern kingdoms of the dragon scales of Amroth.

The largest city within Shiva is the capital of Yamato, a proud and ancient city that has held since the first Shivan Saiko was elected to rule over the lands by his lords. Unlike their brothers the Shivans elect a Saiko for life, this elected monarch acts as the governor of Shiva. For now the High Kings of Antea have respected this agreement and have not attempted to force a hereditary monarchy like the other Antean provinces.