Eriwon

The country of Eriwon is in the far east right next to Koruna. Emigrants from the desert country once upon a time made it into the wealthy nation it is today, together with the help of the natives that lived there. This did not erase the demons that roam the land, but it helped cities and many small villages to form. The first settlement was Wonsu, which grew into the magnificent capital it is today.

Brotherhood - John Dreamer

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Eriwon, despite what is shown on the map to the left, is full of tiny villages! In fact, it is the one Mereldian country with the most villages and cities in a general radius of 100km. It's not like in the Middle Lands or the North Lands where you wander for weeks without seeing any speck of civilazation. No, in Eriwon it takes you at most a few days until you stumble across the next town.

The people you encounter in the land of the cherry blossoms are usually quite strict and polite. They follow traditions and value perfectly executed work. Failure is a big shame and big mistakes can even bring dishonor to the family, which is the worst thing that can happen. Do what the others do and don't stand out too much, then you'll be fine!

Traveling through the Forests

When first hearing about Eriwon one would think that there is nothing to worry about with all the pretty cherry trees, rivers and beautiful green forests. You're wrong when you think that simply because the landscape isn't life-treatening like the Korunian desert, its habitants won't be either. There is quite a high rate of demons and yokai wandering around the wild parts of Eriwon. They are a common occurence there. So common, in fact, that there even are demon hunters active that protect the smaller villages from them. Of course not all demons are a threat, though most are. There are regular attacks on people, especially on lone wanderers. There is a reason why there are a lot of half demons on the slave market...

But not only demons, but also ancient creatures like Kitsune, Soul Pipers, moon birds and the like can be found in this land. Not all of them are dangerous, but people are still wary of whoever is not mortal.

Yokai

Nue

Tsuchinoko

Kitsune

Life in Eriwon

When you live in Eriwon and especially in one of its big cities, there are certain social structures you have to keep in mind. Similar to Koruna, there is also a hierarchic system in place here that divides the sociaty into different parts.

Royalty

High Society

Middle Class

Low Society

Offscourings

King of Eriwon

Queen of Eriwon

Harem

Nobility | Guards / Soldiers | Academics

Mages | Middle Class Workers

The Poor | Criminals

Slaves | Outcasts

King of Eriwon
The king of Eriwon is respected and obeyed at all times. His word is law, no matter what he demands. While not regarded as high as a god, such as the King of Koruna is, the king of Eriwon still stands in a very high regard. Betraying him means to betray the country and is therefore punishable by death.

Queen of Eriwon
The queen of Eriwon serves more of a representatory figure. She has to bear hiers to the throne and holds almost as much power as the king. She also is head of the harem.

Harem
The harem consists of mares (corcubines) whose only purpose is to amuse the king. They are usually the (former) wives of prisoners or single noble women who thought it would bring honour to the family to serve the king in any way possible. The harem is, as one could say, backstabbing central. Every single mare in it wants to bear a heir to the throne to step up socially, but it is a dangerous game. Pregnant corcubines are usually poisoned or even killed by other members of the harem to get rid of competetors.

High Society
People of noble heritage or just those that are wealthy enough to be able to afford a very luxorious life style, are regarded as High Society. Also those that are empolyed at the palace as guards and soldiers count to that class.

Middle Class
Vendors, bakers, blacksmiths. All of them and more belong to the middle class. Sometimes it even is just a thin line between it and the High Society or even the Low Society respectively. The Middle Class also makes up most of the population of Eriwon.

Low Society
Those without occupation, who are too poor and who often call the slums their home, are of the low society. Once born in poverty it is hard to get out of it, so it is not uncommon that some resort to stealing. But not only thieves, but also other kinds of criminals are regarded lowly. Murderers especially.

Offscourings
There is just one class worse than the low society, which is the offscourings. They have no own place to belong and are looked down upon. Usually, these are those with an unusual look, which indicates a demon or yokai heritage. Demons and yokai are widely feared, so those half-bloods are regarded as nothing but vermin. Other than those, there are also the slaves. Slavery is a very common thing in Eriwon. While it keeps itself mostly to Raccardis in Koruna, Eriwon is known for mostly offering all kinds of slaves. The more exotic the better. A poor family with too many children might often resort to selling one of them to keep their family alive and so the slave markets are bustling with all kinds of slaves. Those slaves are treated the same way as animals so that equines, for example, get bridles and canines and felines get collars, etc. which marks them as the property of someone.

The people in Eriwon believe in the many local gods. There are way too many to count off all of them, but basically if an aspect in life exists, then a god exists for it too. There are thousands or even millions of them and people often go to temples to place offerings and to pray.

Your Character

Raccardis are also a common thing to own in Eriwon. That or another kind of slave. If your character is of the Middle Class or higher, then they most probably own at least one of those. (you may design one for free)

People in Eriwon speak in an Eriwonese accent (the "R" is spoken as an "L")

Your character does not have to celebrate all of the festivals, but at least the religious ones!
Your character will know Eriwon's lore and be wary of anyone who looks suspicious, fearing that it could be a yokai or a demon.
They will talk bad of people who live in the "wild lands" in herds or other ways of societies. They are seen as uncivilized and some people even think of them as witless. Most call them wildlanders.
They will own clothing since everyone in the cities walks around fully clothed. No one is seen without a cloak on the streets of a city because that would be seen as uncivilized and extremely rude.

Raccardi

Extra Lore and Ressources

With this, you have read all the most important stuff there is to know about Eriwon and the life there. If you want to know more than just these basics, like what exactly yokai are, what the festivals are, what the history of this land is and why exactly demons and yokai are so widely feared, then please consult the glossary.

Below you can find some links to glossary entries about Eriwon and the general Mereldian life. Reading them is not mandatory, but they might help you if you struggle with coming up with something more detailed for your character's life.

Clothing Ethics | Which clothes are worn where and by who?
Witness and Sentient | The difference between "people" and "animals".
The Mereldian Calendar Year | A collection of all the festivals celebrated in Mereldia each year.
Slavery in Eriwon | A collection of diary entries of slave vendors that tell the story how slavery in Eriwon came to be, evolved and is practised nowadays.
Diary of Terhi Sumanyo | A diary entry of the first Queen of Eriwon.
Settlers of Eriwon | A diary entry that tells the story on how Eriwon started to evolve in what it is today.
The Eriwonese Timeline | A list of noteworthy historical events that happened in Eriwon since it was founded.
Geography | A collection of maps of Mereldia, its countries and its cities.