9 December 2020 (Ruler)
The nature of the Coghanese political system means that no one person retains much more power than another. However, amongst the Limited Council and the Core Nine, it is argued that no individuals have more power than the Cavalier Premiere and Ambassador Premiere. Considering the former's unilateral control over the matters of warfare, police, and soldiery, and the latter's decisive power over foreign relations, import, and trade, this assertion is adequately founded.

5 December 2020 (Emblem)
The Golden Ring is a common symbol of Coghan, important enough to find its way in its national flag, in the stained glass windows of the Forum, and more. It represents unity, the cyclical nature of life and death, and valuable contribution to society and the fellow man.

6 December 2020 (God)
The Daemon of Succor has no name other than this. According to Esimaghe (the origin myth of Coghan), Succor was the Daemon who themself was strong enough to pierce the barrier at the edge of the universe to allow in other evils. Supposedly androgynous, Succor is said to motivate men and women to overly lustful actions, but is also said to be responsible for the thrill one feels when looking over cliffsides or in other dangerous scenarios, as well as envy for other’s companionship or material wealth. Rimelings are said to be agents of Succor, enticing men and women stranded in the cold to strip themselves before death.

7 December 2020 (Ritual)
The ritual initiation for Never-Nights–the Thanate acolytes of the First Prelate–is notoriously harrowing and possibly lethal. It involves climbing a tower which extends into the high atmosphere, constructed as a religious monument, then falling from its heights. In the hypoxic stupor as one plummets to the earth, prophetic visions are said to reach the more apt, who then awaken and use their winged robes to slow their descent. Those who prove inept do not survive the experience.

8 December 2020 (Secrets)
The identities of the Prelates are not known. Given the amount of social guidance and grooming required to achieve the station of Prelate Magna, their identity is usually known but forbidden from speech at the expense of a fine (at best) or decades in prison (at worse). Prelates exist for all seven central figures in Esimaghe, though, so those who represent and channel the ideologies of the Daemons are especially prone to religions violence: hence, their identities are secret.

4 December 2020 (Heirloom)

When a Coghanese soldier dies in battle, be it against the elements or others soldiers, their shield is recovered and a funereal pyre is set within its basin. The shield, scorch marks and all, is given to the soldier's family, though just as valuable are the shields given to retired soldiers after long lives of service. For some unknown reason, the shields of exceptionally strong soldiers slain in combat retain unusual magical properties.

Algid, violent gale tears through the dark stone tower. The whipping of heavy robes and cloth decorum in the wind punctuate the otherwise white noise of the incoming storm. Adani had only left the interior of the tower minutes before, but already she was frozen to her core. The incredible, icy cold of the bronze rungs of the ladder bit like razor-sharp teeth through her fingers, a new pain every time despite the numbness that pervades her. What’s worse–this was only the halfway point.

Adani ventured a glance upwards. Of course, most of her view was blocked by the girl above her–another trainee, Nebagh–and the gray-white of the snowstorm. She could barely hear her instructor at the top of the procession shouting words of determination. Definitely meant to be encouraging, the strain to hear with clarity the words on the wind over the sounds of the gale, the flapping garments, and the pain of the ice, rendered the speech annoying more than anything.

The dive tower was a remorseless experience. Adani’s muscles ached, and rung after tired rung sapped at her stamina and stung at her ice-cold hands.

Nebagh slipped, and gasped; a sheet of ice cascaded down onto Adani. The girl ducked her head to endure the shower of ice chips that had been knocked loose from the stone while Nebagh reclaimed her footing. A simple, near-unrecognizable apology was shouted down, before they continued.

Rung after painful rung, the procession lifted itself higher and higher into the sky’s expanse. Adani could no longer hear her instructor over the wind. It was up to her to make it to the top. For a moment, the initiate wished she could be in her instructor’s shoes: nimble, strong, and experienced. Never-Night Sanna had made this journey dozens of times.

Then, of course, Adani recognized that, to be as skilled as her instructor, she’d have to complete this trial ad nauseum. Judging from the ice which formed at her knuckles, the plumes of fog which burst from her lungs, it would be something to which she would grow accustomed. Or so she hoped.

Several times Adani found herself stopped by the girls above–resting to conserve and restore what strength they could. She found no bother with it. It gave her time to rest as well, and bundle as tightly as she could in her heavy, ceremonially-adorned robes.

Eventually, an aching eternity later, Adani reached the summit. The storm was in full force, and Adani could only see so far in front of her. The girls before her all huddled around spartan, icicle-bound iron posts driven into the four meter-wide platforms at the apex of the dive tower: the only areas on which one could feasibly stand, and narrow enough that even one person per platform would be cramped.

Adani felt the tower swaying in the wind under her feet as she grasped the biting-cold metal with her raw, red hands, securing herself somewhat on a platform with another girl, Selics. She willed herself not to look down, before realizing that it wouldn’t do much harm, considering she couldn’t see more than five feet in any direction. Selics shifted, then, scraping against the ice-piled stone platform. The two shared a look of fright, and then one of determination, as the instructor called over the gale.

“We have to move quickly!”

Try as she might, Adani could not discern any silhouette of her instructor, or any other girl for that matter.

“You’ll notice you can’t seem to catch your breath,” Never-Night Sanna continued, struggling to be heard over the roaring maelstrom. “There’s not enough air up here... to maintain consciousness for very long... Hold yourselves out over the edge, and when you feel yourself slipping, let go!”

A very pregnant pause. Adani kicked some ice from the tower to keep better footing.

“We’ll try for an order for now. Nebagh, you’re up first!”

A bated minute passed, while Selics and Adani looked to one another, both of them gasping and panting in the hypoxic altitude. Selics occasionally chances a grab at her throat, as if massaging the cold, dry passageway would help in any regard.

Adani, on the other hand, found herself growing giddy. Excited, even. Never-Night Sanna told them they would respond to suffocation in different ways, and mentioned euphoria. Adani smiled even wider at the recognition of this fact, as the wind whipped through her hair and blew snow into her eyes and face.

“Chara just fell!” a voice called, panicked.
“Don’t worry. If you’re alone on your platform, go to the far corner and clear your head!”

How anybody’s head could be clear in this insanity, Adani knew not. As Selics’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and her limp body was carried on the wind to plummet, Adani began to cackle.

“Adani!” Never-Night Sanna scolded, before returning her attention to her duty. “Who else is with me?”

No answers met her in the storm, and Adani began to laugh uproariously, nay, maniacally. She began gasping for breath more to laugh with than to breathe, and could only hear a droning of Sanna’s words as the buzzing in her head grew to a crescendo, as did the storm.

With a final chuckle to herself, Adani’s tired hands and empty mind slipped free from the iron bar, and fell into the storm.

3 December 2020 (Technology)

Coghanese technology has been stunted ever since the Storm of Erasure ravaged the isle for a millennia. However, the technology of the Ancient Coga is slowly being recovered and, like a time capsule, restudied and reintegrated. Common sailing folk often mount ballista-style harpoon launchers to their ships to aid in landing distant shots, and the more affluent of Coghan often have their clothes and gear (especially metal armor!) infused with magic to keep them warm in the harsh weather.

The Coghanese calendar is divided into twelve months each of thirty days. These days are grouped into five weeks, each of six days, and "weekends" occur on the third and final day of each week. Coghan enjoys higher internal productivity by circumventing the burnout of a five-day week, but a common complaint is that the single-day breaks are insufficient to warrant longer periods of travel and leisure, despite a common understanding that they suffice as rest time from duty.
The final five days of the year are the Days of Death, wherein nobody leaves their homes, no activity takes place on the streets, and Coghan observes a five-day memorial of reverence for the year. The Forum Hall during this time is attended in full, and often the politicians of Coghan will make much interpersonal and legal headway during this time, drafting laws for debate and subsequent enactment within the first days and weeks of the new year. If a new council is to be elected, they take office the first day of the year, and the end of the Days of Death are met with five days more of feasting, festivities, and games.
The year numbering system of Coghan always had been arbitrary: years would reset to zero whenever new Prelates were consecrated. However, the general calendar system of the Realms has given Coghan a year (and alternate dating) system to latch on to, and so they have reassigned their year numbers accordingly.

2 December 2020 (Weekends)

The Coghanese Forum Hall is usually quiet on rest days, with Forums not being held (with the exception of emergency Dharre meetings or during periods of strain) over the two single-day "weekends." Usually, some soldiery is granted leave, families dine early to spend time together in the evenings, and the streets are quieter than usual–despite relatively normal commercial traffic–as conscientious citizens keep the volume down for their fellow men and women.

1 December 2020 (Origin)

The universe was born of the cosmic battle between immortal siblings of Sky, Earth, and Void, against the four immortal daemons Anger, Fester, Succor, and Cipher. The dated religious texts and modern beliefs of Coghan align with alarming closeness.

The origin myth of Coghan is largely based upon a set of four texts, etched into tablets and strung sequentially with chain or rope, dependent upon which set of slates is in question. Under the protective care of the Prelate Magna and in a location known only to the highest of Prelates, the four tablets describe the origin of Coghan and the world as follows:
The first book describes the plight which has befallen three immortal cosmic siblings: an eldest sister, a middle brother, and a youngest sister: Sky, Earth, and Void, in many simplified depictions. The myth states that so vast and infinite was the nothingness of their home that, when infinite boredom crept into delirium and then catatonia, the tears of isolation formed the first stars and lit the expanse.
The second book describes the sibling’s rage and attempts to break free from their prison of infinity, by attempting to pierce the rose-colored mercurial barrier at the end of time and space itself. In their infinite time, strength, and wisdom, they still failed, and fell catatonic, each of their lips uttering a cosmic wish for the wall to be broken.
The third book describes the piercing of the rose-viscid barrier by four cosmic demons, immortal, vile, and base in their motives. Only four made it through the rose-visid breach before the universe mended itself whole, but it stands to reason that of all the horrors that may exist and be birthed in the beyond, these are the strongest. These demons four ravaged the universe and wrought suffering amongst the cosmos, until the siblings were woken from their stupor in the ensuing chaos.
The fourth book describes the siblings awakening and retreat into the center of the cosmos to flee the might, desires, gluttony, and machinations of their new cosmic counterparts. To this day, the myth claims that these forces fight in the expanse above.
Despite the only very recent recovery of materials and religious artifacts from the Ancient Coga, what is understood of the former empire’s religion aligns alarmingly well with the current mythos. Whether this means the Prelate Magna had access to such texts from early on, or whether the oral tradition of the Coga as they became Coghanese was unusually robust against modification and the wear of time, is unknown.

Forty Blades derives its name from the more arduous and challenging tournament-style of play. Whereas single games never actually see more than, say, six or seven players per team facing off (and therefore no more than 24 or 28 “blades”), tournament play consists of a games series played over a few hours, with each full team consisting of ten players.
Standard organized (and professional) play of Forty Blades follows this tournament style, described hence:

A tournament of Forty Blades consists of six games (or seven, if a tiebreaker game is needed) played in order. Teams consist of no more than ten players, but the amount of active players on the ice varies per each game. Each round lasts a maximum of twenty minutes, and ten minutes are allotted between games for recuperation.

The first game is played with six players versus six players. Two individuals per team may wield seven-foot staves, and may not both simultaneously have advanced past the halfway-line into the opponent’s side of the ice.
The next game is played five-versus-five. One individual is permitted a seven-foot stave.
The next game is four-on-four. One individual is permitted a seven-foot stave.
The next game is played three against three. Both teams must agree whether to field one seven-foot stave or none. The field is usually made smaller in all dimensions for this round and the remainder of the tournament.
The penultimate game is played two-versus-two. Both teams must agree whether to field no staves, or to require both players on either side to use a seven-foot stave.
The final match is a simple duel, and seven-foot staves are disallowed.

Should both teams be evenly matched in the tournament, thus ending with three games apiece, then a seventh tiebreaker game is played. Both teams decide upon the rules, from number of players and equipment restrictions, but neither team can field a number of players greater than the number of able players on the other team (doing so would force a disqualification for the game, and therefore be marked an automatic loss). These tiebreaker games are quite unusual, since they can technically field any number of players and equipment types, should both teams be able to supply such and agree to do so. In this way, for instance, a game could be played wherein ten players are fielded and each wields a seven-foot stave.

If in the event that both single remaining players are eliminated from play simultaneously (a rare occurrence, except in cases where both grapple for too long and are therefore simultaneously “eliminated”), then the game in question may be replayed at the option of one team and agreement of one referee. Only one game per tournament may be replayed, though, so if a similar occurrence happens twice, then both teams agree to a draw, or have their play for the round judged by the three referees, who come to a consensus about the superior team for the round and award said team the victory.

Should play proceed to a game with a player requirement such that one or both teams does not have enough able players to play (i.e., a rough first and second round render seven players from a team unable to play such that the third round’s requirement of 4 able players cannot be met), then the team which can supply sufficient able players is given the win by default. The win is recorded as a perfect victory and the tournament proceeds likewise to the next game that is able to be played based upon standard rules.

As such, for teams and coaches, tournament play revolves considerably more around stamina and resource management. It’s a expectation that some of a team’s players will be rendered incapacitated and unfit to play for a few games or the rest of the tournament (deaths, while rare, are not unheard of), so managing the endurance of your tournament team as a coach is in many ways a game unto itself.