Ekaachi (culture)
Diverging from their Rahikayan cousins in the late 8th century, the Ekaachi were born of a distaste for the constant warring between their kings. To them, the idea of marching strong men and intelligent boys into a river after every failed skirmish was abhorrent. Instead, they follow a policy of free trade along the ports of their river and its surrounding coast. Their obsession with trade amongst a land of warriors has earned the nickname of 'River Jackals', preying upon justly-earned spoils of war with vague promises and backhanded haggling.
Despite their reputation for avarice, the Ekaachi are much more charitable and open than their neighbours, their large port cities attracting visitors from places as far flung as Aversaria. Leaving their fighting to mercenaries rather than their kings, the pockets of the prominent Ekaachi merchant class have grown fat. The Ekaachi know most Kashiryan languages fluently, and at least a single word in every foreign one: 'barter'.