Eastern Sanctuaries

The Eastern Sanctuaries are a location mentioned in the Fear & Hunger series.

Lore
A land to the east of Europa. The region's capital and holy city, Jettaiah, is a hotspot for trade between the west and the east. A place where poverty and riches can be seen side by side in streets filled with exotic scents from spice vendors, it is notable for being the birthplace of the old god Alll-mer.

The Eastern Sanctuaries are referred to as a sultanate, at some point in history ruled by Nas'hrah, an extremely power-hungry New God who led his lands into multiple campaigns against the Kingdom of Edo during the 8th century, which proved to be fruitless expansion endeavours.

Regardless of his inability to conquer Edo, Nas'hrah's certain respect for the warring arts of his adversaries led him to form Yansa Aryuaban, a new country inside the borders of the Eastern Sanctuaries that had high-status war prisoners from Edo appointed as central figures and ordered to mimic the ways of Edo as closely as possible, breeding a warrior class for the so-called 'eternal kingdom'. Although it took hundreds of years, ultimately Nash'rah's wish was granted with the warrior class Jizamurai, born in the Yansa Aryuaban.

Nash'rah's cultural influence is also imprinted in the existance of the Yellow Mages, a sect of magical practitioners who use otherwordly powers only to their own benefit and to further their own agendas instead of dedicating their lives to worship. Although their presence has been slowly fading over the years, they still can be found revelling in chaos as their master's ideology states.

The Eastern Sanctuaries' history of peculiar approaches to otherwordly powers does not stop with Nas'hrah's followers, however - its spice production goes much beyond food flavoring, as spice forges were widely used by magick practitioners back in the day to customize the properties of one's otherwordly skills. The eternal kingdom is also home to a sect of sorceresses called the Virgin Mages, notorious for being the creators of the Warding Sigil skill.

At some point of history, the Eastern Sanctuaries joined forces with the Voroniyan Republic, becoming a part of the Eastern Union. As the authorities constantly oppress its people, many civil rights organizations are in activity, organizing protests commonly met with violence from the army as a response.

Cahara from Fear & Hunger hails from this region, specifically from the city Jettaiah. The capital is also where journalist Karin Sauer from Fear & Hunger 2: Termina spent most of her early life after being abducted by her nursemaid Dalia. Another character from the same game, O'saa, went to the Eastern Sanctuaries to train as a Yellow Mage despite being born in Abyssonia.

Trivia

 * The Forgotten One's map, Alll-mer's lore equivalence to Jesus Christ, and Jettaiah's Hebrew roots all imply that the region is based on the sultanates and kingdoms once situated along the Fertile Crescent. In modern times, this region is commonly regarded as the heart of the Middle East.
 * Jettaiah is based on the city of Jerusalem, one of the holiest cities in the world among the three Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Jettaiah's holiness is derived from the birth of the Alll-mer, whereas Jerusalem is holy for various reasons relating to King Solomon's Temple, Jesus Christ's Crucifixion, and the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey.
 * Jettaiah's importance to trade also resembles that of Jerusalem, whereby exotic goods and spices entered medieval Europe and the Mediterranean Sea by way of the Silk Road.