Cultural
The Forgotten Stripe
The Forgotten Stripe is a symbol widely depicted throughout multiple different Forgotten cultures. It originated with the Venath-Lebisk, who were also credited as the founders of the Forgotten religion. Its color varies from place to place, but the design stays pretty much the same: one large line encompassed on either side by smaller lines of similar color.
Some examples:
The State of Leteil
The Forgotten Republic
The State of Yeseik
The Rain-Dry Republic
Brands/Companies in Dipamu
While the Bequin Federation had a free market, there were not many large-scale private businesses that became nation-wide. The few businesses that did, tended to be funded by or adjacent to the Bequin government. So, in the following list, I will mark down the company's affiliation with the Bequin government.
NILL (Protection, Assistance, Navigation, National) -- Army Supply Company
Connection to Bequin: Funded by; eventually owned by.
Although originally formed as a private company with the sole purpose of providing troop rations, NILL soon became heavily integrated within the core of the Bequin military system. It became the primary means of equipping and feeding the nation's military -- a job that the Bequin government struggled with in the past. NILL would stockpile warehouses full of weapons, armor, tech, food, specialized kits, and other useful items, and provide most of it to the military. It also acted as a semi-social-service system, giving out medical and nutritional aid to those in need.
Sya Inc. -- Technology Company
Connection to Bequin: Covertly funded by
Sya Inc. was a technological company (technological in the fantasy sense) located entirely in the Hunes. During its beginning years, it primarily worked on advanced weaponry and transportation systems (the former contributed to the invention of the Ditafo (DTF: "Flame Spitting Device"), which was essentially a musket). But after that, Sya Inc. turned its focus to working with portal technology -- something that Bequin pushed them for. The company worked on this for years, until one of their prototypes quite literally imploded their headquarters, putting a complete stop to the project and destroying the company.
Dipamu Liwim (Formerly Sterm's Ceisalh Co.) -- Boating Company
Connection to Bequin: Formerly none; eventually funded by; eventually largest consumer
Dipamu Liwim was a seafaring company formed in the Tacmalh Alliance prior to the Bequin Federation. It was fortunate enough to be the Bequin Naval Force's main ship supplier; and so, its success scaled with the empire. At its peak, Dipamu Liwim owned nearly 90% of the seafaring industry in the entire world and had an average of 12 naval bases on every island in Dipamu. Due to the vastness of Dipamu's ocean and its fortunate place in history, Dipamu Liwim became a transportation juggernaut.
Bequin-Anixie Project -- Colonization Company
Connection to Bequin: Created by; funded by
While the Bequin-Anixie Project can be misconstrued as a simple idealistic product of the Bequin age of expansion, it was actually a real company. The Bequin-Anixie Project was effectively like a real estate company, except instead of selling land to people, it would more often than not just give it away. It worked more as a social-service disguised as a private company in order to rapidly colonize Anixie.
Design in Dipamu
Bequin/Tacmalh
Architecture: Old Bequin/Tacmalh architecture implemented a lot of dark wood and limestone. Oftentimes, a home would have a dark wooden base with a darker wooden roof (that would oftentimes have brown-painted limestone as scattered tiling). The style could be best compared to a darker Nordic-style longhouse. Sometimes lining along the base of the building will be used in a variety of darker color options: navy blue, maroon, etc.
Clothing: Clothing within the higher class of Tacmalh was, most of the time, large brown and beige cloaks and robes with decorative linings of navy blue spread about in unique patterns.
Weapons: Swords were the most common weapon in the Bequin Federation, even past the invention of guns. Most lower-class swords looked like basic long-cutlasses, but the main thing I would like to bring attention to was the higher-class swords. Bequin high-class swords combined the importance of war utility and ornateness. They resembled European Hanger swords, but with a few key differences: Bequin swords had a black pearl grip, a dark metal finish for the blade, subtle engraved patterns along the meeting point of the blade and the grip, and a ribbon flowing from the bottom representative of its nation's colors, most famously orange for the Bequin Reign.
Rain-Dry
Architecture: The architecture of the Rain-Dry implemented a lot of medium-tone wood and not much else. What with the lack of other resources, homes all looked quite similar, with a stripped-log-cabin aesthetic. A unique feature of these houses was that they had a one-way slanted roof, oftentimes with foliage to decorate the top.
Clothing: Clothing in Rain-Dry, because of its location in a rainforest, was always very heavy yet cold. Most of the time, people would wear scarf hats and clothes using thinner, but stronger, fabrics.
Venathian (Leteil)
Architecture: The architecture of the Venathians was never really distinct. Because of the sheer size of their kingdoms, no real specific architectural style emerged. One unique feature, though, of Venathian architecture was the simplicity behind the residency. Oftentimes, homes would be small shack-like cabins with animal hides strewn about the outside walls.
Frize/Kies
Architecture: The architecture of the Frize was based a lot on the harsh cold environment. They would oftentimes use a light-tone wood as purely the structure for their primarily stone and animal hide housing. While not necessarily tents, the housing cannot be properly described as a traditional home. Circular building structure was common.
Fleimer
Architecture: Due to its position in a desert, Fleimer architecture would always be lackluster, implementing almost no wood or stone. The main houses were made out of packed sand and several seaside resources.
Trois
Architecture: Trois architecture used a lot of light-tone wood. It utilized painting and foliage to create beautiful patterns alongside houses. Sharp yellow lines could be found painted around the outer walls of the houses.
Bequin Settlements
Architecture: New Bequin architecture was incredibly similar to the old, dark, and gloomy predecessor of Tacmalh architecture. While it still maintained its complex Nordic-style roofing and patterning, wood was slowly replaced by dark limestone and the complexity of such patterns was replaced for utility.
Hunde
Architecture:
Zanzae
Architecture:
Martial Arts
The Bequin Federation, in an attempt to preserve culture, nationalized several martial arts forms from various regions of its realm. It had three primary classifications: Holoqim’iqs (General Warfare), Cemifo’iqs (Bladed Dueling), and Tosid’iqs (Blunt Dueling). Tosid’iqs was a combination of fist-fighting, staff dueling, and other blunt weaponry. For the purposes of this, I will provide two of the most notable examples from each.
Holoqim'iqs:
Demoos (Classical Tacmalh'ic) - Demoos was originally a training tactic for the fleets of the classical Tacmalh Alliance. After peace had been securely established, this training tactic slowly turned into a form of artistic naval simulative warfare. To put it in short, Demoos was a gamed rendition of actual ship battle. In a classic and lawful Demoos battle, the two competing teams would have to board the opposing ship. They are armed with wooden swords coated in black paint. They would also be forced to wear all-white clothes. If you got hit, you were 'dead,' and once an entire ship was surrendered or killed, the victors would be declared. These games legality were contemplated by the Bequin government several times since it was a very dangerous sport.
Teseqip (Venathian) - Teseqip was an ancient game originating from the southern tribes of Leteil. This game is effectively a reenactment of a small battle, with both sides consisting of 10 - 15 people. Both sides are left in a field with no weapons, and they were tasked with simply beating the opposing team. The only way to beat an enemy is to tackle them to the ground, and as long as the tackle isn't considered indiscernible (meaning that both players collapsed to the floor), the remaining player would keep going on in the battle. This would happen until one team beats the entire other team (or if the other team surrenders).
Cemifo'iqs:
Byqwo (Classical Bequin) - This was a form of saber-based dueling using traditional Bequin swords. There were two main forms: Two-handed and one-handed. In the most popular version--one-handed--both duelists must place their secondary hand behind their back. In Byqwo, players were given more points when defeating their enemy quickly. This resulted in a very demanding and force-based sport.
Sibs (Trois) - This was a much more tactful version of sword fighting. It is very similar to modern sports fencing; however, in Sibs, the swords are quite a bit shorter. It was big with the elite before Bequin conquered Trois.
Tosid'iqs:
Hund'iqs (Hunde) - This martial art was staff-dueling. Both sides would wield a staff the length of their wingspan, and whoever hit first won. The rules were quite simple for many reasons, but it resulted in a very diverse array of talented soldiers. Some wielded their staffs like spears, and others preferred a more wide and open stance. Interestingly, Bequin fascination in Hunde culture and their warfare can be seen in the name of this martial art.
Iqip (Late Bequin) - This sport was first introduced on the island of Anericae. It consisted of two players and no weapons. The unique appeal of this martial art form was that it was heavily elbow-based. Although it isn't a specified needed aspect of the sport, it became a part of the culture of Anericae. It diverged from what we would call regular fist fighting during the population boom of the region.