The peoples of Themakis, the Themakeis, maintain that they’ve inhabited their coastal lands since long before the people of today’s May’Kar settled the Ukor River. This is not a fact that the Dominion argues against- by all accounts, their ancestors arrived via the gulf along May’Kar’s northwestern border, which they call the Koipodean Sea, and have spent much of their history as a small nation unto themselves.
The May’Kar Dominion did not learn about the Themakeis directly, only by inference through discussions with Mushalee traders and others who had dealings with them. Eventually, though, the Register hired a navigator that was familiar with the region, and sent a group of surveyors to collect what info they could and report back. When they returned, they described a beautiful land, nearly as lush as the banks of the river, and a people on the brink of collapse.
A generation prior, the waters of the Koipodean began to recede from the shore over the course of a day. By the time the sun was setting, they rushed back in a great flood which tore through coastal and island communities. The wave destroyed homes, harbors, and markets. It drowned fields, ripped the stones from the streets, and shattered ships. Many people died not only in the initial event, but also in the aftermath of disease and famine, and their weak position made them ripe targets for raiders looking to glean what was left.
The May’Kar yazi assigned Themakis an algarad, who arrived with a nur of soldiers under their command, and wagons of tools and materials. They immediately set to work, establishing an outpost near the coast and beginning to rebuild infrastructure, drain farmlands, and bring food and medical relief to the people.
The project was an immense success, and over the next decade, the Themakeis soon found themselves resembling their former selves. And then the algarad attempted to secure tribute for the Dominion.
From the Themakeis perspective, this was a great betrayal. They were in need, their neighbor came to them on a humanitarian mission, and was now trying to extort them and claim sovereignty over them.
From the algarad’s perspective, the region was an investment. They had pulled in many favors to secure the relief materials for the Themakeis, and had even drained their own personal coffers to fund the effort. Now they were very overdue to meet their quotas, and would be replaced if they couldn’t.
Negotiations were more or less successful, at first. May’Kar began to receive its tribute, Themakis began to economically thrive once more, and a tense peace was established. Over the decades though, the region was reassessed, and deemed to be too large and prosperous to be considered a single province, and was continuously broken down into more and more algari, each with their algarad.
Today, the crown’s relationship with the Themakic algari is multifaceted and complex. Some have been cooperative, finding opportunity and sometimes even purpose in being a part of the Dominion. Others have continued to advocate for their independence, sometimes through outright rebellion, though only the smallest island communities can be said to be truly independent.They operate under vastly different conditions, with some being left mostly to local leadership and minimal oversight, and others being under ongoing martial law.
In contrast to the remote management that many algari enjoy, the Dominion exerts more direct control over Themakis. Its capital city, Akistokos, has had its leadership replaced entirely, and it operates much like a Ukorate city-state. The surrounding provinces are still assigned algarad who extract tribute from them, but that process is more local and centralized than is the case elsewhere in the desert.
Themakis is of incredible economic import to May’Kar. Its access to the ocean alone, and therefore to sea trade, is an enormous boon. But even absent this, the natural resources of Themakis opened up opportunities for the Dominion that it never had before. Wine, olive oil, honey, and seafood were previously rare along the river, but were now made accessible to the working class as well as the elites, and have since become staples of May’Kar cuisine.
The Themakic people are great city-builders. Rather than being centralized around a single state or crown, their communities are structured around city centers built for community use. Cities are places for education and the arts. The average Themakic citizen has a strong foundation in fields like mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and theology, with multiple options available for those pursuing greater learning.
Entertainment is an abundant amenity within these cities. Public performances are commonplace, making use of stages and parks built with them in mind, and are often sponsored by public figures and other nobles. Some troupes have become internationally notable, and are sought out by visitors from far away lands, while others are hired to travel and perform abroad.
The ocean is at the heart of Themakic society. During the day, fishing boats fill the coastal horizon, and large seafaring vessels carry goods for import and export. Smaller ships ferry people back and forth between the mainland and the many smaller island communities that make up Themakis as a whole. In the winter and spring, rain supplied by evaporating seawater is common, thoroughly hydrating even the areas not immediately on the shore.
One of the arts that Themakis is most famous for is glassmaking. The oldest known eyeglasses in Faedrun are of Themakic make, and glasswares are one of their common exports. Shortly after their introduction to the Dominion, a guild of glassmakers began to develop larger lenses in a joint effort with Ukorate craftspeople, which ultimately resulted in the development of telescopes, with which to view the stars.
Astronomy has always been valued among the Themakic. Knowledge of the movement of the heavens is essential for navigation upon the sea. A great observatory was built in Akistokos, so that anyone who wished could see the stars. As arcane scholars were able to observe them in greater detail, however, they began to notice patterns between these stars and their magics, leading to the development of a new discipline of study.
These star-mages are called chymeria, and much of their work is dedicated to the collection of various kinds of starlight, and the investigation and documentation of the influences of celestial objects on magic in its various forms of expression. The greatest of the chymerion are said to be able to, when everything is aligned correctly, set in motion unlikely events, which conspire to influence the future for years to come. Some Ukorate Princes are known to regularly give patronage to chymerion schools, in the hopes of procuring good fates for themselves.
Some of the Themakic algari have become integrated into the Auxiliaries, large in two regiments: The first is the Kaftaris, skilled sailors who make up the vast majority of the Dominion’s naval presence. They’re most often leased out to merchants to act as escorts, and are seen as a relatively unprestigious regiment by other career soldiers due to their limited use in military operations. The second is the Oikrates, a regiment of military engineers who have crafted and operated some of the most reliable siege weapons used by May’Kar.
The Themakic people have a complex web of faiths that they collectively refer to as the Thelatroi, which consists of many different gods which are worshiped by different people at different times. These various gods have relations to one another, stories of their deeds, and virtues which they promote in their followers. In all of these cases, the beliefs tend to be localized to different communities, with different communities having totally contradictory beliefs regarding the same figures. Two different clerics can seemingly draw power from the same god, despite having nearly opposite beliefs about who that god is. This has been endlessly confusing to the Mahsai, who previously legitimized the worship of several of these gods before realizing the depth of the Thelatroi in its entirety, and has since had a great deal of its resources locked up in trying to draw lines between its myriad different modes.