Sangal (サンガル, Sangaru) is the country directly to the south of New Yogo. The nation is the primary setting during the events of Traveler of the Void. The inhabitants speak Sangalese. They are aware of the other world, which they call Nayugul.
History[]
Sangal was founded less than one hundred years before the events of Traveler of the Void. By then island residents often led a dual life of fishermen and pirates. A pirate clan of Kalsh island managed to subjugate other pirates and established the royal family of the kingdom of Sangal. Taking control of many sea trade routes, Sangal quickly grew prosperous and built a magnificent capital and a royal palace in the southern tip of their peninsula, around the delta of Rogo river.
Geography[]
Sangal is an archipelago nation, consisting of many islands in the Yaltash (ヤルターシ, Yarutaashu) Sea, and a small peninsula bordering New Yogo on the southern portion of the Northern Continent. The climate is tropical.
The map included in the Traveler of the Void novel reveals that the southern portion of the Northern Continent situates the kingdom of Rota to the west, Sangal to the south, the New Yogo Empire in the east, and the kingdom of Kanbal to the north. To the south of Yaltash Sea lies the Southern Continent. The Talsh Empire and the land of the original Yogo Empire, now under the control of the Talsh, is located on the Southern Continent.
Part of the country, the Kalsh (カルシュ, Karushuu) Archipelago, is overrun by the Talsh Empire in an attempt to take over the entire nation[1]. In the TV drama, Sangal is a single-island nation that is completely overrun by the Talsh Empire.
Political System[]
Sangal is a monarchy[2] is governed by the king, while his younger brother usually takes the position of military commander-in-chief. The women of the royal family form the Women's Council, which oversees the country's integrity and security and protects it from mutinies. Individual islands are governed by Island Guardians in a feudal system.
Each Island Guardian must be married to a woman from the royal family, to the extent that divorce means immediate retirement of the Island Guardian. The Women's Council can force the divorce on the grounds of felony. The way an island resident is chosen to be the next Island Guardian is not clear. The purpose in creating blood relations between each island and the royal family is to protect the country from civil war; however, Island Guardians still tend to value their own island interests above the country's interests.
Sangal Royal Family[]
During Traveler of the Void, the king of Sangal is Tafmur (タフムル). He has five children.
- Karnan (カルナン), older son, the next king;
- Karina (カリーナ), oldest daughter, de-facto leader of the Woman's Council, who is married to Adol (アドル), the guardian of Kalsh Island;
- Roksana (ロクサーナ), middle daughter, married to Nouram archipelago guardian;
- Saluna (サルーナ), the youngest daughter, not married;
- Tarsan (タルサン), fourteen years old, the younger son, who spent his childhood on the Kalsh Island among the fishermen, and is supposed to become the next military commander-in-chief;
King Tafmur's younger brother, who was previous military commander-in-chief, has recently died due to a disease. Tafmur's wife has also already passed away by time of the events of Traveler of the Void, but her mother Torana is still alive.
Ascension[]
The means of ascending the throne of Sangal is somewhat unusual compared to other nations. Once a male child is born to the prince who is first-in-line to the king's throne, the current king yields his position to the prince. Throne ascension ceremony is held for twenty days in presence of many foreign leaders.
During the events of Traveler in the Void, an ascension ceremony is taking place. Honorable Guests assembled for Sangal's new king throne ascension ceremony were revealed to be the highest-ranking politicians such as kings and princes of many countries, as well as their advisors, ministers and guards. However, none of them were personally mentioned in the story, except for Chagum, Shuga, Yosam (the king of Rota), Radalle (the king of Kanbal), and his chief guardian Kahm Musa.
New Yogo and Sangal relations[]
New Yogo and Sangal are bound by an alliance treaty. As such, New Yogo is the friendliest nation to Sangal. Sangal, in turn, has acted as a shield to protect New Yogo from possible attacks from the south. Sangal's king personally visited coronation ceremony of New Yogo's current Mikado. However the Mikado, being a country's soul, can not ever leave the country. Therefore, he sends Crown Prince Chagum as his representative at the enthronement ceremony for the new king of Sangal.
Demography[]
Because of its geography, the people of Sangal are seafarers, and include a group of oceangoing nomads called the Rassharou (ラッシャロー) who spend their entire lives on the sea[3]. Most of the people in Sangal are portrayed as dark-skinned and dark-haired in the books. Brightly-colored clothes and elaborate tattoos are common among the people. Slavery is technically illegal in Sangal, but slave traders working for the Blue Hand and others regularly buy and sell people from other nations.
Languages[]
The kingdom of Sangal speaks a language distinct from New Yogo. Prince Chagum and Shuga are fluent in the language of Sangal, in addition to the languages of New Yogo's neighbouring nations. The princesses of Sangal are also depicted as being able to speak the Yogoese language. The Rassharou who live in Sangal territory speak their own language as well as Sangalese.
Gallery[]