Left work early. Couldn't stop worldbuilding Quintus. (Patreon)

First thing's first, I will be at Everfree and Bronycon.  While I wasn't able to make the deadline for panel suggestions at BC, I'm hoping to do something.  If nothing else I'll have a Somber Hour in Quills and Sofas.

So this is something that was rattling around in my head all night.  It's another territory / culture study.

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Sumerlan.

The Islands of Sumerlan are notorious for being the least important in the history of Ferria.  Indeed, many historians are content to simply dismiss the territory and people altogether and focus on larger and grander nations and populations.  Yet a discounting of Sumerlan would render an understanding of Ferria incomplete.

The islands of Sumerlan were born in the titanic explosion that created the five continents.  So extreme was the force that the sea crust of a primordial ocean was shattered into card like tiles and shoved to the north west.  These created the infamous navigational barrier of the Shattered Sea.  Punctuated by constant volcanic eruptions, the sea floor formed a jagged series of reefs several thousand miles long.  Some plates barely peeked above the waves, while others jutted more than a mile.  The currents of the northern gyre thundered through these rocky shoals, making passage nearly impossible.

However, humans did survive here.  Whether castaways or refugees, a population amassed on the various islands, and learned to navigate between the islands on canoes and small skiffs that could navigate reefs.  The mud on the plates proved fertile ground for a variety of salt resistant plants and crops, and within a thousand years the islands were host to not just people but a thriving variety of sea birds, insects, and plants.

The climate of Sumerlan is said to be wonderous.  It rarely raises above eighty degrees or falls below sixty.  The cliff edges act to scrape a constant precipitation off the clouds, resulting in abundant water flowing down into bays and lagoons.  The mild winters and gentle summers, as well as lack of violent storms, makes Sumerlan a delight and abundant in natural resources.

Because of the difficulties of navigating the Ferrian interior, Cuprina and Stennia sent the first expeditions to attempt to chart the reefs in order to reach the far shores of Ferria.  Though most failed, some that returned talked of naked tribal people welcoming visitors with open arms.  These stories sparked a number of myths about the Sume, such as that they could become fish, seals, or dolphins.  There were tales that the Sume could somehow control the weather or the water itself.

It wasn't until a Ferran captain, a trader named Captain Velhor, found a reliable passage through the reefs that contact with the Sume was made.  Velhor discovered the Sume were passive, generous, and welcoming.  However, Velhor, fearing some trick, returned to Cuprina with the channel charts.  The traders of Cuprina began to trade with the natives, offering copper and bronze for coral, pearls, and rare spices.  However, while Velhor's channel would get sailors to the main island of Sumer, there was no passage down the mile high northern coast.  It would take more than a thousand years before nature weathered a gap in the reefs at the Jaws before ships could progress north.

The Sume are generally regarded as a first people, despite genetic contributions from countless travelers.  The Sume are noted for their short and slight builds, fine toned bodies, lack of body hair, and blue or green hair.  The last is a mutation that is generally indicative of a pure blooded Sume.  Half breeds may possess coarser builds, body hair, and brown or black hair colors.  Sume are widely regarded as the most beautiful humans in the world.

Sume culture is functionally communistic.  There is no private property, nor any concept of personal property.  Hoarding or taking more than one's fair share is frowned upon, and everyone is expected to contribute something, even if its entertainment or watching the children.  Outsiders quickly learn that while the Sume have no property between each other, that is NOT true for non-Sume.  Outsiders are expected to offer contributions FIRST and then are given goods or food.  However, so long as outsiders are friendly, honest, and fair the Sume are generally generous.

Sume are true democracies, and political decisions are made by the people of a village, a province, an island, or the people as a whole.  Ever village has a Speaker, which represents the people of the village.  The same for Province, and Island.  There is no speaker for the Sume as a whole, but the Islands appoint ambassadors to deal with outsider concerns.  Votes are simple: by voice, tally, or placing different colored shells in a basket.

The Sume have no concept of family or marriage.  Couples pair as convenient, and polyamory is the rule rather than exception.  An expectant woman is cared for until birth.  Some women raise their babies to childhood, others entrust their child to the village.  Sume grant social status to those who earn Sah, or 'respect'.  These are individuals who provide for the village more than they need.  Sah is a nebulous concept; one either has Sah or doesn't.

The Sume are often the subject of lavacious tales, but the truth is somewhat less salacious.  To the Sume, sex is shameless, often public, and generally with multiple partners.  The Sume spend most of their time nude.  While outsiders are often taken aback, to the Sume is it simple tradition.  Consent is always required, however, and there are social taboos regarding intimacy before maturation.  More disturbing to the Sume is the notion of marriage.  Outsiders that try to court, marry, or otherwise isolate a Sume can cause great distress in the village.

Another tradition of the Sume are sports.  Sume take extreme pride in athleticism, and men and women complete together for a variety of contests, ranging from running to swimming to cliff climbing.  Unfit visitors are often viewed with pity by the Sume.  Sume also take pride in dance, music, and singing.  While many oral histories exist, the Sume do have a written language adapted from the Cupric alphabet.

The Sume religion is an animistic version of the twelve gods.  Rather than have shrines and temples to specific gods, the Sume will create shrines to a specific place and all the gods present.  Missionaries often attempt to convert them to the twelve and one, but eventually abandon attempts in favor of coconut wine and amiable companionship.  Sume leave sacrifices to the gods on these altars, but most are cast into the sea.  A few Sume venerate the Sea Mistress aspect of the Fury, but they are generally looked upon as odd.

While most Sume do not use clothing, they have a weaving tradition for tools, such as baskets, slings, harnesses, and umbrellas.  The Sume invented the last, using woven palm fronds or silk.  The latter was brought to Sume by outsiders, and silkworms thrive in the cooler uplands.  Sumerlan produces two dyes made from sea snails; a deep purple and lighter blue.  Sume also make sandals from bark and woven palm rope.

Sume are polylingustic, with all Sume speaking Su first, a SOV language.  Many Sume also pick up at least one 'trade tongue', and many can speak Irrynian, Cuprinian, Kolbolian, Caertongue, Osword, Aranish, Florish, Estlanish, and others.

Many would suspect the Sume would be easily colonized by outsiders.  However, Cuprinan, Stennian, Irrynian, Arani, Os, and even Guldyrrian efforts to conquer the islands failed.  Not because of conflict with the natives, but because of utter indifference by the Sume.  Many would be colonists found imposing their will difficult, and many others felt a strange lethargy and indifference.

This is due to the Seafly.  It is a tiny insect that carries an anesthetizing agent, when infecting a human, causes a constant release of dopamine and serotonin.  The Sume have developed an immunity to the agent that the invaders lack.  Many outsiders become increasingly docile, even feeble minded, cared for by the Sume as one of their own.  Leaving the island will lead to a full recovery, eventually.

As a result, most people are interested in stopping in Sumerlan rather than staying.  However, this was complicated for centuries by the Jaws, a pair of enormous reefs hundreds of miles long.  The sea currents would build to such a powerful degrees that they were pushed up above sea level to pour in a constant waterfall in the middle of the ocean.  Studded with massive, jagged pillars from the shattering, no ocean faring ship could cross.  Then an earthquake caused a drop in the center of the Jaws, leading to the Closing Fang strait.  Due to the phenomenal currents that rip through the strait, almost all traffic is from south to north, though some skilled sailors have traversed it in reverse.  

Sume have a difficult time in foreign lands.  The Immaculate Cult and Twelve and One frown on Sume sexuality and nudity, and Sume rarely understand the need to cover oneself.  There have been attempts to enslave Sume, but it's generally regarded as a waste of time.  Sume sicken quickly in foreign lands, and their willfulness means they do not follow orders well.

Sume names are a difficult matter for foreigners to grasp.  Many simply refer to themselves as I or one, because a Sume can change their name at any time, and for any reason.  To a Sume, a name is a label that can be taken off or put on at any time.  Many Sume adopt a half dozen names for dealing with their friends and village.  Thus a Sume might introduce themself as 'Twaho of the cunning spear' to one person and 'Welia Softsong' to another.

Many like to imagine the Sumerlan as a primitive garden frozen in time.  This is not the case.  The Sumerlan know they are surrounded by powers and do not value ignorance.  Through great effort, they constructed the Port of Spires on the north face of Sumer, just beyond the strait, to cater to sea traders proceeding further north, and for moving cargo south across the island.  They've introduced the Arani schooling system, emphasizing mathematics and language skills.  More and more Sumerlans are becoming merchants themselves, plying the Shattered Sea to Dyne, the Caernlan, and even Guldyrr.  A few even experiment with outsider fashion, though it has let to become popular with most Sume.  Other Sume are catering to Arani and Irrynians seeking 'rehabilitation' on the warm beaches and in the company of beautiful naked men and women, and the Sume are more than happy to take their money for the village.

It must be pointed out that while the Sume have no martial tradition at all, and in fact abhor by violence, they are capable of punishing or chastising outsiders that seek them harm or are belligerent.