Helman Culture

Geography
The Helman Empire is located northern side of The Continent, and is the largest nation of the world in terms of territory, while also being the eldest nation that still exists at present. A steep mountain range located at the border prevents invasions to Leazas, and the Kinani Desert splits the territories of Helman and the Zeth Kingdom, disabling both nations from invading the other. Due to this geographycal handicaps, despite being a military empire, Helman has faced severe troubles in trying to expand towards his opposing countries. To the west of the Kinani Desert there's the Crystal Forest where the Kalar live, discouraging Helmanians to try to cross as entering in Kalar territory usually results in instant death for any human.

Just like with Zeth, the western border of Helman delimits with the Monster Realm but the country is secured by a massive fortress called the Fort Banra that spreads through the country. Made of sturdy rocks and protected with catapults, thousands of soldiers live inside this wall to protect the nation from invasions from the Monster Realm. The fort, however, has seen little conflict due to the fact that the northern territory of the Monster Realm is where the Demon King Castle was built and, with Gi as the Demon King, no Demon Army ever attempted to attack Helman during its history. At present, the northern territory belongs to Gi's daughter Hornet and her Hornet Faction, which is a non-agressive faction that seeks peaceful coexistance with humanity. Because of this, Helman has never faced large-scale wars with the Monster Realm.

The capital is the Imperial City of Lang Bau, where Helman's Government rules from. It is protected by the Imperial Guard of the Helman 3rd Army and is the most advanced city in Helman with a complex and intricated architecture. While not many people know it, Lang Bau was built right on top of the former Capital of the Holy Magic Sect, Detna Luca, and coserves many of its artifacts deep hidden within the Imperial Palace.

Society
At present, Helman has around 51 million people. Most of its population live in towns or larger cities, though there are many outlaws like thieves and other small groups that settle near towns as well. Helmanians typically tend to have brown, black, or other dark colored hairs, and their skin tone is often darker than the people of Leazas, with many of them looking slightly tanned, with many poorer ctiziens boasting darker complexions. Traditional colors are usually brown, black or dark blue, and their clothing usually consists of several layers in order to protect people against the cold weathers. The National Embles consists of a blue flag with an elegant white "H" in the middle.

While Helman possesses a huge territory, most of its land is cold and barren, with many mountain passages that don't allow human settlements to be set. The overall country is dry and grants little support for vegetation, preventing crop yields to be created and making the nation starve for food. It is a very cold country with devastating winters. Their most useful resources are minerals and rare metals, making the nation thrive on heavy industrial business. They are specialized in the extraction of several geological materials from the earth, which are often used for trading with other countries or for their own use. It is their main source of income and the basis of their economy. However, living conditions in Helman is extremely poor, with a low life expentancy and living standards. Naturally, due to the extreme levels of poverty, the crime rate is very high and there's a strong business for slave trading, and it is not uncommon for parents to be forced to sell their daughters as slaves. This is the overall state of the country, with many people living poor lives without food, proper housing or education, and most people can't support their families unless they join the military.

As a Military Nation, the Helman Army is the country's biggest feature, being the world's most powerful army. Due to the atrocious living conditions, Helmanian are typically very tough and sturdy, accustomed to living a harsh life. Men are notorious for having big and well-built bodies, and even women are often strong and fit. Most of Helman's national budget goes to the military, and their training facilities have produced some of the strongest fighters in history of humanity such as Fletcher Modell, Thoma Lipton and Minerva Margaret. Joining the army is the safest way for Helmanians to ensure a solid economical state, as other jobs are usually very bad-paid due to the substandard state of the country. Among the people however, there's a strong prejudice and sexism against women, who are seen as weaker and inferior, which is even more prominent in the military. Female soldiers usually struggle a lot in the Helman Army and face a lot of discrimination from males, and usually have a hard time climbing the ranking ladder even when they prove successful in the battlefield. Cream Ganoblade is a shining example of this.

Helman is a nation that has seen little techonological improvement, with most of their building and architecture being built with mostly stone or metals. They are retarded in Magic Research as well, as even Leazas overwhelms them in this aspect, and due to the deplorable economy, importated products from the Magic Kingdom of Zeth are uncommon. The former Prince Patton Misnarge has commented how Magic Vision, a very common device seen in the average households in Leazas and Zeth, was very rare in Helman and mostly used for military purposes. Their equipment is also subpar when compared to the one seen in other kingdom, with their largest Banra Fort being mostly protected by Crossbows and Catapults, while Zeth's Maginot Line is equipped with highly advanced automatic systems. Their weaponry and armors are also of a lower quality from the ones seen from Leazas, being heavier and cumbersome, though still effective.

Most Common Helman Foods

 * Steamed Potatoes: Just like the name implies, potatoes that have merely been steamed. Extremely common food in Helman due to its simplicity and being fairly flavorful.
 * Boiled Daikon: No kind of soup stock used. Traditional Helman food that consists only of finely chopped daikon tossed into boiling water.
 * ====Raw Gomu:  Local Helman dish consisting of gomu, an insect that lives inside trees, sliced and eaten raw.  Extremely tough to chew and thus very difficult to eat, but contains high nutritional value. Food poisoning frequently occurs, so it is now illegal to sell in shops. ====
 * ====Helman Bread:  Staple food of Helman. Very tough, and only produces the slightest flavor when chewed well.  It won’t go bad for almost two years so it's used as preserved food in other countries. It is extremely tough and most people from other countries can't eat it, but Helmanians are very used to it. Patton has claimed that he doesn't like the bread from other countries because he finds it too soft. ====