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Castana holds different meanings for different individuals. In reality, there are two distinct aspects of Castana: firstly, it refers to the geographical region of Castana, which is more of a term to describe the land than a unified country.
This region is divided among several small states that constantly engage in petty conflicts for various reasons, most of which are trivial. Since the late 700s, there hasn't been a reigning monarch in Castana, and the prospect of unification appears distant. The other aspect of Castana pertains to its people, who can be described as a charming assortment of merchants, scoundrels, and other unscrupulous individuals. In the rest of the Curian world, merchants only hold influence within the confines of the city, their caravans, or their ships.
The presence of the crowned heads of Argalis and their vassals ensures that they remain in their rightful place, in the market, where they sell their goods. However, rumours in the courts in Aurilie, Tautenland, Lolegal, and many others circulate that in Castana, the number of merchants surpasses that of the nobility, and their trade with the Orient has bestowed upon them wealth to the extent that they consider themselves equals to the aristocracy. This situation is highly uncomfortable for honest and upright Tauten men of noble blood. Castana is a land of deceit and duplicity, inhabited by individuals who would betray you after breaking bread with you.
But that does not mean it isn't a land without its virtues either; wines of high quality are produced here. You have always been more of a beer man than your father, who loves a good Aurilién burgundy, with your mother preferring a vintage from even southern Venautra. The crafts and arts are held in high regard here, as is the development of the banks.
Something that the Castanians took over from the dwarfs, and your father later introduced it to Greifswald. A lesser man may baulk at such a financial institution. And although you prefer not to be in bed with a bunch of money-brained whingers that make up the merchant class, as the heir to a duchy of your own, your father made sure that you at least have a grasp on accounting and the day-to-day management of your future inheritance. Knightly virtues and chivalry are all fine and good, but you were not born for a life of errantry. It was perhaps then for the best that you are engaged in your wandering years now, for you are too young to be bound behind a desk or on a throne.
