[hider=Shostic Summary]
[b]Summary[/b]
Shostic (pronounced SHOSS-titch) is a civilisation located on the vedatanni peninsula, and the bytes on either side, with some mountain territory.
The Shostic people are peaceful and abhor violence, focusing more on trade and piety. Their most common exports include cloth of wool, hemp, and cotton, salt, copper, iron, and wood.
They have three gods, Sky, Earth, and Sea. These are made up of much smaller gods in much the same way a stained glass picture is made up of smaller pieces of glass. In both cases, the smaller thing exists and must be acknowledged, but it’s the bigger picture that is truly revered.
The Shostic people pay their respects to the gods through certain activities such as hang gliding, farming, and trading.

I’m on the Discord and have 5 pages of info in a google doc, so if you want to be a retainer, just ask for access and I’ll shoot it to ya, we’ll work something out :)
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[hider=Bazlinn Cotz]
[h3][b]Bazlinn Cotz[/b][/h3]
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[b]Superficial[/b]
Bazlinn Cotz is a 42 year old merchant from the Shostic tribes. Some would say the most wealthy and successful. Some wouldn’t. All agree that he is among that number, though. He has a grand total of 23 dedicated trading ships bound to his name, not including contractors or smugglers. What good merchant would admit to owning any smuggling ships?

He is tall and “padded”, a side effect of a wealthy lifestyle. He has eyes full of a tired enthusiasm and a face like a cracked stone slab. His brownish hair has salt streaking it, something he considers a gift from the Sea. His nose is nearly offensively obvious. This is only somewhat remedied by full cheeks and prominent brows.
Contrasting his status, he wears drably coloured hempen tunics and skirts, only adorned with a richly dyed sea-green sash to show piety to the Sea. Although the clothes are drab in colour, the cut and cloth is clearly quite fine.


[b]Persona[/b]
His drive, the reason he continues to live and the impossible goal for which he strives, is [i]Prosperity[/i]. He pursues this using his [i]Wit, Resources, and Charm[/i], though several things stand in his way. Most notably, his [i]Condescension, Hypocrisy, Weight, and Age[/i]. To elaborate on the first two: he condescends on those who hold beliefs he deems morally lesser, such as ones that allow for violence and reckless spending; and he is hypocritical in that wants Prosperity but is usually funneling more money into his business than back to those who need it.

He is commended as virtuous for his [i]Humility and Passivity[/i], however he is condemned for his [i]Greed and Unaired Greivances[/i]. He is humble about how he presents and adorns himself, and endears himself to lower classes, yet does little to offer real help. He is unwilling to fight or condone violence, much to the joy of many, but it's no secret that he wouldn't miss certain people were they to disappear.


[b]Things he done gud at[/b]
As a highly successful merchant, he is exceptionally good at [i]Trade, Economics, and Language[/i], even boasting [i]Literacy and Numeracy[/i].
In his youth he worked for his father in a shipyard. And so he has a natural competency at [i]Shipbuilding, Sailing, and Navigation,[/i] though his age and weight keep him from doing this regularly.

[b]Allegiance[/b]
First and foremost, Bazlinn owes allegiance to [i]The gods, Earth, Sky, and Sea[/i], and their prophets, [i]Fraz Growth, Fraz Wind, and Fraz Tide[/i] respectively.

Next, he owes loyalty to the [i]Shostic[/i] civilisation and the city [i]Zwchc[/i]. (Pronounced SHOS-titch and ZUUCH-s respectively.)

Last, he owes loyalty to his company. Employees, ships, and goods are all worthy of this attention in his eyes.

[b]History[/b]
Bazlinn was born to a middle class shipbuilder and his wife, who raised him and, one by one, three other younger children. 

Bazlinn was the first and only one to help his father at work after he came of age, the rest pursuing other avenues.

He and his father made quite a team. They built up a beaming reputation, which caused business to flood in, filling coffers, bellies, and ambitions. Even the Fraz Tide was praising the ships they built, no small feat.

Once his father became unable to work due to age, Bazlinn inherited the business. He immediately set his sights high.

In a stroke of ingenuity, he had the idea to build two ships at once, taking it step by step. When a ship was commissioned, he would build one extra, keep the superior ship for himself. He'd praise the other vessel as he sold it.

But he didn't want to sell ships forever. He resolved to try his hand at the mercantile arts. 
   He realised that to do this, he would need greater knowledge of nearby ports, and how they operated. His solution was to approach common folk, and offer a deal. He would pay them to go travel to reputable cities, get drunk, and learn. They were to enter these cities and find out what was in short supply, what was being produced, what the local conflicts were, and who the wealthy were.

Based off this information, he drew charts of what could be bought and sold where, and for how much. If somewhere could produce alcohol, but not so much iron, he would get iron to them, and alcohol from them.

Following this, he would send another ship with much the same purpose, but this time he stationed an emissary on each. They were nominally members of his company, and had messages to deliver to the wealthy in each port. They would propose trades based off of the aforementioned charts, giving small gifts to show goodwill (and, of course, wealth).

In a relatively short period of time he had himself some good connections who were willing to trade with him, because as it turns out, everybody likes wealth.

He's particularly proud of one of his connections, a tribe that produced exceptional charcoal. They had previously politely refused the offers, as they did their own trading. 
Bazlinn had his sights set on this charcoal, though. He organised a meeting with their chief, and came armed with an idea that everybody would profit off: Bazlinn would manage the tribe's trade routes for them, allowing them to focus on more pressing matters.

They accepted, seeing the benefits in having a merchant manage their trade.

(Now here is where more recent history starts. Because the rp is still quite young, I wanna leave this as a blank, to be filled with other players. If you're interested in having an ic connection with Bazlinn, hit me up, I'll be more than happy to write something with someone!)
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