Jah Keved

Jah Keved
by User: Otto didact
Ethnicity	Veden, Unkalaki, Bav, Siln
Capital	Vedenar
Ruled by	Taravangian
World	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

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Jah Keved is one of the five Vorin Kingdoms on Roshar, situated in the eastern half of the continent. Its capital is Vedenar. Someone from Jah Keved is called a Veden person.

Geography and Ecology

by Isaac Stewart

Jah Keved on the world map

Located in eastern Roshar, Jah Keved is the second largest state on the planet, claiming around 5,553,000 Km². It shares its eastern border with Alethkar and Herdaz on three rivers, while in the west, it is bordered by Tu Bayla and Triax. North to south, the country stretches across the entire continent, between the Reshi and Tarat Seas.

Though verdant, Jah Keved doesn't possess many major rivers. The country's most notable geographical feature are the Horneater Peaks in the east, which form an important strategic barrier against the Alethi.

Flora and Fauna

Jah Keved contains a wide variety of animals and plants. Common species include axehounds and chulls, both of which are domesticated. There are also many species of cremlings and small sarpenthyn. There are even animals that are able to change colors. Aside from that, there is a relatively large number of horses in Jah Keved, although these are extremely expensive. Land with a high elevation is often overgrown, especially with vines, so much so that it is hard to walk without tripping. Going into a wooded area often requires a machete. There are also many rockbuds, a number of which have blossoms and vibrant green vines. The jella tree is a common species, and shalebark grows on nearly everything.

Notable Locations

Regions

• Horneater Peaks - Massive mountains on the eastern side of the country, the Peaks are the home of the Unkalaki people. Despite their high altitude, the mountaintops are habitable thanks to a series of hot lakes known as the Horneater Oceans.
• Bavland - A small mining region, known for being dusty.

Cities

• Elanar
• Kneespike - A city in Bavland.
• Vedenar - The capital city of Jah Keved. Much of it was destroyed during the civil war of 1173. It is the site of the country's Oathgate.
• Valath - The location of the Holy Enclave, the center of Vorin faith.
• Silnasen - The main city of the Siln people.
• Northgrip - The largest city located on the northern coast.

Villages

• Bornwater - A mining town in Bavland.
• Staplind - A settlement in Bavland.
• Ironsway - A town in Bavland.

Other

• The Silent Mount - A mountain where the Vanrial, an order of artists, live.
• Cultivation's Perpendicularity - Roshar's only stable perpendicularity, located somewhere in the Horneater Peaks.
• Jokasha Monastery - Home of the Vorin Devotary of the Mind.

History

Creation

The area that would later become known as Jah Keved was created at an unknown point before the Shattering by Adonalsium, along with the rest of Roshar and the Rosharan supercontinent, over ten-thousand years prior to Vorin year 1174. It is unknown, if at all, how much the geography of modern-day Jah Keved has changed compared to the land at creation.

Pre-Human Arrival

Before humanity arrived on Roshar, fleeing from Ashyn, the land that would come to be known as Jah Keved was inhabited by Singers, called the Dawnsingers.

Circa -5825 in the Vorin calendar, humanity arrived on Roshar after fleeing Ashyn and were granted the land that would become known as Shinovar. After less than a generation, they headed an invasion, slaughtering many Singers and expelling them from their land, claiming it as their own. This included the land that would come to be known as Jah Keved. This period of history was lost to time until the discovery of the Eila Stele.

by Isaac Stewart

Map of the Silver Kingdoms

The Heraldic Epochs

During the Silver Kingdoms era, the territory now occupied by Jah Keved belonged to the kingdom of Valhav. Since that time, the countries of Tu Bayla and Triax have splintered off, though Jah Keved still holds vast majority of Valhav lands, including what was presumably its capital, Vedenar, along with its Oathgate. They also managed to expand to include much of mainland Rishir, and parts of western Alethkar.

Era of Solitude

Siln Dynasty

According to scholar Natata Ved, the dynasty before the Siln dynasty was ruled by the king NanHar, who invaded the area that would come to be Triax, but died in the invasion. Following his death, his brother, NanKhet, succeded the throne and was a tyrant that survived six assassination attempts. First his sister attempted to kill him to put her husband on the throne, following this their son tried to kill him, then NanKhet’s cousin, then his brother, an uncle, and finally his own son. This eventually led him to invite his entire household to a feast, where he killed and burned every member. The exact veracity of this history is questionable, due to the historical method only being in its infancy when Natana Ved wrote her record, two centuries after the events she described.

He ultimately only led for three months, and after his death, the Siln Dynasty rose to power and replaced his family as the rulers of Jah Keved.

The Hierocracy (??? - c.673)

Eventually the Siln dynasty fell, and an unknown period of time later Jah Keved fell under the sway of the Hierocracy. With the assembly of Jah Keved into the Hierocracy the ardents started ruling the nation.

The Hierocracy did not just control Veden territories, but was actually a much wider Vorin coalition, including the likes of what would come to be known as Alethkar, Kharbranth, and Thaylenah. But as it grew larger, it became more and more difficult to keep stable and consolidated, thus their power turned unstable, laying the foundations for the War of Loss and destruction of the Hierocracy.

The War of Loss (c.673)

For more information, see War of Loss.

The Hierocracy lasted until the Sunmaker, an Alethi warlord, led his kingdom in a successful revolt against Vorin rule circa 673, known as the War of Loss. Many cities were sacked and destroyed during this war and the chaos of its aftermath.

After overthrowing the Hierocracy, Sadees split Vorinism into multiple Devotaries, leaving it heavily decentralized. Furthermore, ardents had their rights to own property and political office stripped away, they were no longer allowed to amass wealth, and they were reduced into being little more than slaves. However, they were stilled allowed to excommunicate people without political consultation. They also had their claims of seeing visions of the future thoroughly debunked, questioning their authority as unquestionable religious figures even further.

This was all done by Sadees in the attempt to prevent another Hierocracy from rising in the future. The Hierocracy and its fall served to shape modern Vorinism.

Alethi conquest of Jah Keved

After the War of Loss Sadees turned his attention to the rest of Roshar, and after a successful conquest of Herdaz, he conquered Jah Keved, carving his way through the country all the way to Azir.

After the Sunmaker's death, his ten sons could not agree on one of their number as his successor. With none of them willing to forego their claim to the throne, they split the kingdom into ten princedoms, which they ruled individually as Highprinces, with no unifying government. This loss of central government in the empire led to the occupied territories, including Jah Keved, regaining their independence.

Veden Civil War (1173 - 1174)

Years later, shortly before the arrival of the True Desolation, the Veden king, Hanavanar, along with a number of highprinces, was assassinated on Tanatesev 1173 by Szeth. This plunged the country into a chaotic civil war, with at least seven different factions hoping to claim Vedenar and crown their leader king. The situation was further worsened by the presence of the Unmade Nergaoul, known better as the Thrill, leading Veden soldiers to fight with unprecedented degree of drive and brutality.

The civil war lasted for a few months, with the final confrontation being the battle at Vedenar. Highprince Valam emerged victorious, becoming the new king. However, he quickly passed the crown to king Taravangian of Kharbranth before ordering his illegitimate son, Redin, to kill him. Given Valam's poor health and his insinuations shortly before his death, it's possible he was being poisoned by the Diagram to achieve this, as it was them who instigated the civil war by sending Szeth.

The True Desolation (1173 - )

For more information, see True Desolation.

Under Taravangian's leadership, Jah Keved was, alongside Kharbranth, the first country to ally with Urithiru. Fearing that it would be overrun by Voidbringers, the king requested - and was granted - aid from other members of the coalition.. However, following the revelations of the Eila Stele, the country broke off from the alliance as part of Diagram's plan to undermine Dalinar.

Though king Taravangian pledged himself to Odium, Jah Keved was not part of his deal. However after the Battle of Thaylen Field Taravangian began preparing Jah Keved to switch sides. He did this by promoting people Odium could control, putting his troops into position to betray Dalinar ,and subtly indicating to his followers that the war was a problem for Alethkar and Azir. When Taravangian gave the order the Vedens turned on the Coalition of monarchs and joined Odium.

Government

Monarchy

Monarch

The Vedens have a long history of monarchies. The monarchy, while powerful, is not autocratic. Its power over the highprinces is maintained primarily through access to soulcasters, all of which are owned by the monarch. The monarch also spends much of his time setting the highprinces against each other, likely to prevent them from getting to powerful.

The ruling monarch traditionally takes the first dahn. This means that he socially outranks anyone, including the highprinces, except for the monarchs of other powerful Vorin nations.

Rules of Succesion

After a monarch, most often a king, has died, a member of his family will ascend to the throne. This is generally his eldest son. After the heir ascends the throne his dahn changes from second to first. The death of a monarch might also lead to a civil war, with each of the highprinces attempting to claim the throne.

List of Known Veden Monarchs

Veden Monarchs
Name	Length of Rule
Siln Dynasty
NanHar	Unknown
NanKhet	Unknown
Unknown
Post-Siln Dynasty
Hierocracy	??? - c.673
Sadees the Sunmaker	c.673 - ???
Unknown
Hanavanar	??? - Tanatesev 1173
Interregnum	Tanatesev 1173 - Ishi 1173
Valam	Ishi 1173
Taravangian	Ishi 1173

Princedoms

Even though Jah Keved has a monarchy, it is divided into a number of princedoms, each ruled by a lighteyed highprince. These princedoms essentially act as independent kingdoms, with the highprince as their king, the Veden monarchy being mostly ceremonial. Each of the princedoms is named after the family controlling it, which leads to names such as Valam and Evinor princedom.

Each of these princedoms also has its own military, largely independent of one another. The highprinces often squabble and fight each other, trying to claim land from the other princedoms for themselves.

The princedoms contain many isolated estates. The brightlords of these estates have their own vassals, who rule hamlets or possess no land. The brightlords who rule settlements are called citylords. While these lords are sworn to a highprince, they mostly rule independently and will only answer to greater authority when called upon.

Highprinces

The rulers of these Veden princedoms are called highprinces. They essentially function as the leaders of sovereign nations, rather then just heads of administrative districts. The Veden highprinces take the second dahn.

Prior to the Veden civil war, known Veden Highprinces were Valam, Abrial, Boriar, Evinor and Jal Mala. Some of the highprinces died during the civil war however, and newly crowned Taravangian appointed two new highprinces to replace the ones lost. The two men are brothers, the elder of which is named Nan Urian.

It is unknown how new highprinces are chosen, but they are only chosen from the powerful and high ranked lighteyes, which likely allows for some people to become a highprince based only on wealth and power. The Veden monarch can also appoint new highprinces.{

International relations

Alethkar

The Vedens have an interesting relationship with the neighbouring country of Alethkar. The Vedens and Alethi have fought many small wars against one another, mostly over the same territories. These wars tended to be fought between the individual highprinces of the nations, although the Veden king Hanavanar took interest in the conflicts and ordered a small invasion to test the Alethi defenses around the year 1155.

Despite this, the relationship between the nations is quite well. The nations have a very similar culture, with both of them being Vorin nations. Furthermore, a marriage of lighteyes between nations is seen as nothing particularly out of the ordinary, nor is it forbidden by any laws. The Vedens also have extensive trade treaties in place, which allow them to trade with the Alethi for cheap.

Military

“ We talk of Jah Keved's weakness, but that’s relative. They still have a huge standing army, strong fortifications. If the enemy wades into Jah Keved now, while solidifying their own power, it will drain their resources and stall their conquest. ”

— Dalinar Kholin on the Veden military

For most of Jah Keved’s history each highprince maintained their own military. However, it appears that following Taravangian's crowning, the surviving units have all been folded under his command. The civil war was catastrophic for the Veden military - many units suffered over 50% casualties - yet even with those losses the Veden military boasts an enormous number of soldiers.

Fortifications and defenses

Jah Keved boasts strong fortifications, entering their territory without sufficient preparations is generally considered to be a horrid idea bound to mire the potential assailant in years-long conflict, and a massive drain on resources.

A major focus of the Veden strategy is the defense of the strip of land between Horneater Peaks and Alethkar. Though narrow and underpopulated, it's a verdant, rich land that can be used as a staging area for any invasion of Jah Keved.

Tactics

The Veden armies are known for their unique raiding tactics. The army operates in smaller raider groups, about four thousand strong, backed by a powerful main force. Those raiders are highly mobile, capable of harrying the enemy while avoiding direct confrontation. Despite this, the Vedens are very capable on a large battlefield, usually fighting in large shield walls. Their generals are noted to be excellent, even by Alethi standards. The Vedens use drums to communicate on the battlefield.

Shards

Jah Keved owns a lot of Shards, about twenty blades and an unknown number of sets of plate. This means that Jah Keved, alongside Alethkar, has the most Blades of any other kingdom on Roshar.

Culture

Peoples

Jah Keved is composed of at least four distinct ethnic groups - Veden, Siln, Bav and Unkalaki.

Veden

“While your food sits well in my stomach, the amount of bowing and scraping you show ardents made me uncomfortable. ”

—Kabsal on the people of Jah Keved

The Veden people are typically associated with pale skin and violet eyes. Although many Vedens, particularly in the south, look more like the Alethi people. These are generally tan with dark, typically black hair. Vedens are not a subtle people, brimming with passion and vice.

In Veden families, the sons have two-part names, with the latter part being their given name, while the former references their order or birth. The first four sons are called Nan, Tet, Asha and Van. Should one of the sons die or be disinherited, his younger brothers all move up a level; for example, Tet Balat becomes Nan Balat. The numerals are used mainly in formal context; siblings usually drop them when talking among themselves.

Siln and Bav

The Siln people live in and around the southern city of Silnasen. They are noted as being less technologically advanced than the rest of the country, with highly ritualized warfare. Their apparent independence from Veden rule may stem from the fact that they were once a sovereign city-state.

The Bav people live in Bavland, a small region in the south-western corner of the country. They are mostly miners, and have their own language and culture largely separate from that of the Veden, although they are still Vorin.

Unkalaki

For more information on the Unkalaki people, see Unkalaki.

The Unkalaki - or Horneaters, as they are called by outsiders - live on top of the mountains known as Horneater Peaks. They are one of several peoples with Singer ancestry, and have some attributes that set them apart from other Rosharan humans, such as their unusually strong teeth (which is where the "Horneater" nickname comes from) and the ability to occasionally hear the Rhythms. Red hair is also a typically Unkalaki feature, and are a mark of Horneater ancestry on a person from outside the Peaks.

Though the Horneater Peaks are nominally part of Jah Keved, the Unkalaki have their own language, system of beliefs and government, and don't seem to see themselves as Veden citizens. However, the Veden still claim the right to levy troops from among them in times of war.

Caste system and Division between the Sexes

Like the other Vorin cultures, Veden culture is divided into two major castes, the lighteyes and darkeyes, separated by, as can be surmised, the color of a person's eyes. The lighteyes form the upper caste, with greater rights and privileges, while the darkeyes are the lower, working caste. Aside from that, each caste is subdivided into ten ranks, with the lighteyed ranks being called dahns, while the darkeyed ones are the nahns. The Veden monarch, for example, is the only person in the country holding the first dahn.

Much of Vorin culture, and by extension Veden culture, is based upon the book Arts and Majesty, which is a book that outlines what is proper for men and women. This book led to a division between, among others, the professions of men and women. Women are permitted to learn how to read and write, and expected to manage a household. Feminine arts include painting, reading, writing, and music. Daughters are also expected to help with the family finances. More confrontational positions, such as politics and militaristic positions, are considered masculine -- however, men are forbidden (or at least heavily discouraged) from learning the alphabet.

Marriage

Generally, marriages are arranged by the parents of the couple, or if the subjects are old enough, by themselves. If the family has many daughters, the women may court and decide on a suitor themself, but if this is not the case, a marriage will be arranged. When a Veden couple marries, the spouses retain their family names. The children of the couple all use the surname of only one parent; it's unclear whether it's always the father's, or if it depends on the parents' relative dahns. It is a custom to buy gifts for family members of the couple, with boys often getting weapons and women jewelry.

Fashion

Veden fashion varies between the castes, lighteyes and darkeyes. This divide is enforced by the religion of Vorinism, which is the state religion in Jah Keved.

Fashion designers in Liafor and Yezier have great influence on lighteyed fashion in Jah Keved, with much of Veden clothing being designed in these countries, based on Veden fashion trends with their own cultural flair. Despite this, the Vedens do still have their own traditional clothing.

Jah Keved and Alethkar have very similar fashion styles, enough so for Liafor to market to them using the same fashion folios.

by Dan dos Santos

Contemporary Male Fashion

Masculine fashion

Veden men often wear trousers and shirts that lace up the front. Most of the clothing made for lighteyes is made from silk, which comes from a plant that floats in the ocean. Beards are eschewed by the nobility, although this doesn’t stop some lighteyes from having them.

A piece of traditional men’s clothing is the ulatu, a knee-length skirt. They are generally worn with a simple shirt and a long robe or coat. Another common form of male clothing, typically worn by warriors, is the vakama. The takama is a form of long, pleated, calf-length skirt. The Vakama and Ulatu have similarities with the Alethi takama. Traditional Veden clothing is worn with a mink pelt.

Feminine fashion

Veden women wear a wide variety of clothing, including skirts and colourful blouses. A common form of clothing for the Veden lighteyes is the Vorin Havah. The Havah is formfitting through the bust, shoulders and waist, and has a flowing skirt; fitting with Vorin ideals, these Havah have a long left sleeve, hiding their safehand. These sleeves often have a pouch to store belongings known as a safepouch. Havah are often made of brightly coloured silk, which is thin enough to allow women to easily grip objects with their safehand, when necessary.

In the years around c.1173 the Alethi tan and hair color are seen as marks of true beauty. Lighteyed women often arrange their hair high in a complex series of braids secured by four steel spikes.

Darkeyed women tend to wear simpler clothing, and tend to wear gloves on their safehand rather than large sleeves. Wearing a glove on the safehand in this manner is seen as immodest and an inherent sign of lower class, and therefore is not typically practiced by lighteyes.

Languages

For the Unkalaki language, see Unkalaki#Language.

Jah keved is home to multiple languages, including Veden and Unkalaki. These two languages are very different. The Bav also have their own language, although it is unknown how much this languages differs from Veden and Unkalaki.

The Veden language belongs to the Vorin language family, and is close enough to that of the Alethi to be mutually intelligible for both sides. Many Vedens learn Alethi in their youth. The Unkalaki language is a part of the Dawnate language family, which means that although the vocabulary is distinctive, it shares similar grammar with the other Dawnate languages. When speaking Veden, or other Vorin languages like Alethi, the Unkalaki have a distinct accent. One feature of this Unkalaki 'accent' is a tendency to use gendered pronouns (e.g. "he") in places where a non-gendered pronoun ("it") would be more appropriate.

Games, Sports, and Entertainment

Festivals

The people of Jah Keved celebrate various fairs and festivals to celebrate special occasions. One such festival celebrated in Jah Keved is the Middlefest Fair, which celebrates the coming of the Midpeace.

Games

Due to Vorin precepts against predicting the future, Vedens avoids gambling and games involving random chance. Because of this their games tend to revolve around skill rather than chance. One popular game in Veden culture is Breakneck, which is often played in gambling dens. Many people in Bavland also wat h and bet on Shallowcrab fights.

Sports

The Vedens enjoy dueling. Classical ideals dictate that men should duel with swords and without shields. They also dictate that the men should use sweeping methods of fighting, which are said to be an imitation of fighting with a Shardblade.

Religion

Vorinism

Jah Keved is one of the five Vorin Kingdoms. The vast majority of Jah Keved is Vorin, with only the Unkalaki as a notable exception. The Vedens are far more religious than the average Vorin. The Veden version of Vorinism places a higher importance on the trappings of the faith, such as the safehand and the strict division between masculine and feminine arts. In particular, the Vedens are noted to be highly respectful and reverent of the ardents. They are also extremely traditional in the particulars of the Vorin doctrine. The centre of Vorin church, the Holy Enclave, is located in the Veden city of Valath. The Bav are also Vorin, although they are not as strict as the Vedens.

The Unkalaki religion

The Unkalaki have their own religion. Their religion is polytheistic, with a set of higher gods, like the gods of the waters, trees and mountains. Aside from these gods they also worship spren. The Unkalaki believe that underneath the regular water on the peaks is the Place of the Gods, which is likely Shadesmar. Despite having their own religion, the Unkalaki still receive Veden ardents who come to the Horneater Peaks to preach Vorinism.

Architecture

Manors and estates

Jah Keved has many isolated estates. These estates are generally made up of a manor, the residence for the lighteyed owners, a separate servants’ building, a guardhouse and a large garden. These estates of Jah Keved lack most of the more recent discoveries in architecture and engineering like storm cisterns. Generally, Veden architectural styles are very close to Alethi styles. A typical manor is built after the Veden ideal, tall and imposing. They are often built of square stone blocks and contain small windows, with the walls being dappled by dark lichen. Almost all of the manors have large dining halls for feasts, these halls have numerous tables, with the most important one called the high table.

Greenery

The Vedens love greenery, they decorate their gardens with cultivated vines and rows of shalebark. These plants are often cut and trimmed into shapes. The current architectural fashion includes having a number of rare plants placed in a jumble. Buildings often have plants draping them and falling from windows.

Economy

Currency

As with many other nations on Roshar, their economy is based upon glass spheres with cut polestones in their center, known simply as spheres. In the mint, they check sphere weights in order to see if they fell into the proper categories. The value of polestones, and thus the worth of sphere denominations in their economy, is based around the value of the substances a polestone can transmute another substance into.

Merchants and trading routes

The northern city of Northgrip is very important to Jah Keved’s economy. Many goods eventually pass through Northgrip. There are a lot of merchants that bring goods from Northgrip to the rest of the country. A lord who wishes to make use of the roads for trade needs to pay for the patrols and maintenance of said roads. This money is given back to the villages where the materials are harvested or made. Like in other Vorin countries, aside from Lighteyes, only darkeyes of the first and second Nahn can become merchants. These merchants often use Chulls for the transport of their goods. The chulls are harnessed and controlled with complex leather bridles. Lighteyes sometimes engage in trade deals with each other, hoping to get favour with lighteyes of a higher Dahn.

Foreign Trade

Many of the goods produced by the Vedens eventually goes abroad. The Vedens also import many things from abroad. Among the exported goods are rare and expensive floral dyes. Jah Keved has trade treaties in place with Alethkar, which allows the Vedens to trade for cheap.

Notable citizens

For a full list, see :Category:Veden.

• Shallan Davar, the first Lightweaver of the new generation of Knights Radiant
• The rest of the Davar household, including the father, Lin, as well as his four sons Wikim, Jushu, Balat and Helaran
• Malata, a Dustbringer Radiant in service of the Diagram
• Valam, a Veden Highprince-turned-King and the liege lord of the Davars
• Hanavanar, a Veden king, whose death caused the Jah Keved civil war

Trivia

• At 5.5 million square kilometres of land, Jah Keved is a little over half the size of the United States.
• Szeth hid one of Gavilar's black spheres somewhere in Jah Keved.

Notes

This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.