Orthkehm

Orthkehm is a vassal Nation of Atletchia in estern Eldham mostly inhabited by Ickin. The Nation was founded by three Ickin, Bhilhelm Thorne, Yoka Kuokelle and Kat'n Lomalek July 2022, although they did not fully establish themselves untill August the same year.

History
Yoka saw the nation as a new Bluefield (a holy city that was raided by Yimmu-Audal), where they could rebuild their religion, He had seen the city been destroyed, and so Yoka was more than excited to build this new civilisation. Bhilhelm was focused on restoring the ickist faith aswell, and was more dedicated on fame and power than Yoka was, and from that dedication he grew massively rich, thus giving him the title Bhilhelm the rich. Before the people of Orthkehm settled, they formed good relations with multiple other nations and cities so that they could get support if necessary, such as Oceanside, Atlechia and the blackwall clan.

The Ickin first chose to settle next to Anglunia, but the Anglunians did not appreciate their precence and they were forced to leave, luckily, Aurea proposed to make them a "grand duchy" and gave them a couple requirements that they had to meet in order to become an independent nation, it was stated that if Orthkehm could gain at least 20 active members, they could pay a fee to gain their independence. Aurea gave them an island in a unnamed sea, but what the Ickin didn't know is that the sea was disputed territory between Aurea and Drackar, and therefore Drackar told them to move once again. It is unknown why Aurea put them in disputed territory, but one theory is that Aurea was trying to use Orthkehm as a message to Drackar. That was the last time Orthkehm was forced to move, after that things seemed to be going smoothly.

With the help of Jammy, Bhilhelm built the first city of Orthkehm and they started a pact with Oceanside and Blackwall called "the triumvirate pact" made to unite their people, after the pact was made the three cities basically functioned as one vassal nation under the rule of multiple other nations, safe to say, the pact was a success.

Government
Orthkehm is governed by three groups called clans, each clan worships their own respective god in the Ickism pantheon.

Hinynik
Founded by Bhilhelm Thorne, Hinynik (meaning the bright ones) worships the god of wildlife and vegetation Kreath, Hinynik was also the first clan created. It serves as the commerce and economy guild of the nation, most of Orthkehm's income is thanks to the Hinynik clan due to their huge amount of farming, mining and diplomacy.

Kutinek Udeker
Kat'n's clan Kutinek Udeker (meaning enlightened watchers) is by far the smallest out of the three, they worship Memu, god of the mind and the soul. The clan was founded by Kat'n Lomalek shortly after Hinynik.

Karthhok
Although being the last clan founded, Karthhok (meaning the dark ring) has historically been quite ahead of Hinynik Member wise, however, their rivalry has recently entered a standstill both having 6 members and not incresing, Karthhok serves as the nation's military and keepers of history. The Karthhok clan worships Hjemu, the god of blood, king of the ocean and bulwark of the living. Karthhok's higherarchy consists of four main classes, uninitiated, initiated, armor priest and voidbane. Uninitiated are those who are part of the clan but do not worship Hjemu, Initiated are those who are part of the clan but do not worship Hjemu, armor priests are specialized priests who are tasked with creating the armor and holding the rituals for initiating a voidbane, voidbanes are holy warriors of Hjemu.

Voidbanes
The Holy warriors also called Voidbanes, are the finest example of a Hjemu follower, they attune their mind to the void, which protects them from its evil power, and lets them see things other cannot, such as void demons and ghosts. Although, going through the trials needed to gain this power is extremely dangerous, and could lead to insanity, death or being dragged right into the void by demons.

The trials can be different depending on who is being put through them, it usually involves an immense amount of focus, endurance, and reflex tests. The act of becoming a voidbane is called descention due to the connection that is made with the void.