Sacae (Japanese:サカSacae) is the easternmost nation ofElibe, situated to the south ofIlia and the north ofBern. It is by and large a sweeping expanse of grassland, bordered to the north and south by mountains; these mountains house bands of bandits who wreak havoc on settlements near their mountain homes. Its status as a "nation" is loosely defined, as it possesses no central government but rather is home to a sizable number of nomadic tribes and the occasional city.

The number of nomad tribes of Sacae is nebulous.Guy referred to the Kutolah "one of the three tribes of Sacae",^[1] but later said that he had never heard of the Lorca, and it is stated that twenty years later, the Djute clan suppressed and eliminated multiple other Sacaen tribes.^[2] This suggests that there are three major Sacaen tribes in addition to a sizable number of minor clans. While many tribes live nomadically and constantly travel the plains, there are some, like the Lorca, which live in permanent settlements.

The necessities of nomadic life have resulted in a small number of combat styles seeing wide practice among Sacaens to the general exclusion of most others: the majority of Sacaen warriors are horse archers, necessitated by the need to hunt the swift game of the region;^[3] others tend to be infantry sword-users who prioritize agility. Additionally, a large number ofshamans were part of the warrior forces of the Djute clan.

Characters from Sacae

Character	Description	Appears in
Hanon	The "Divine Trooper" of theEight Legends.	None
Hassar	The late chieftain of the Lorca clan.	None
Madelyn	Hassar's wife, formerly a noblewoman ofCaelin.	None
Lyndis	Daughter of Hassar and Madelyn, and one of the few survivors of the Lorca.	The Blazing Blade
Dayan	Chieftain of the Kutolah clan, dubbed the "Silver Wolf".	The Binding Blade
Rath	Son of Dayan, banished from the Kutolah in his youth.	The Blazing Blade
Sue	Daughter of Rath and granddaughter of Dayan.	The Binding Blade
Guy	One of the Kutolah.	The Blazing Blade
Sin	One of the Kutolah.	The Binding Blade
Monke	Chieftain of the Djute clan.	The Binding Blade
Thoril	One of the Djute.	The Binding Blade
Marral	One of the Djute.	The Binding Blade
Brakul	One of the Djute.	The Binding Blade
Kudoka	One of the Djute.	The Binding Blade
Kabul	One of the Djute.	The Binding Blade
Chan	One of the Djute	The Binding Blade
Uhai	A member of an unspecified Sacaen tribe, and the "Soaring Hawk" of theBlack Fang.	The Blazing Blade
Karel	A legendary Sacaen warrior, once the "Sword Demon" and now the "Sword Saint".	The Binding Blade,The Blazing Bladev
Karla	Karel's sister.	The Blazing Blade
Fir	The daughter of Karla andBartre.	The Binding Blade
Rutger	A survivor of theBern assault on Bulgar, of mixed ethnicity.	The Binding Blade
Glass	A Sacaen bandit. He claims that the gods fear his "peerless" swordplay.	The Blazing Blade
Kel	A mercenary in the employ ofBrunnya.	The Binding Blade

Notable locations in and tribes of Sacae

Bulgar

Bulgar

Main article:Bulgar

Thede facto capital city of Sacae, Bulgar is the region's largest commercial hub. The city prides itself as a "free city" which has never had any one ruler. Its central position between Ilia, Bern and Etruria has allowed it to prosper as a trading post between the three nations. The city was a permanent home to several of Sacae's clans.^[4]

On her initial journey to avenge the Lorca, Bulgar wasLyn's first stop, and it was here she metKent andSain. At the dawn ofBern's war twenty years later, Bulgar was assaulted by Bern's forces and many Sacaens were massacred, with survivors few and far between. Afterward, it was occupied by Bern's forces under the command ofRoartz, until theEtrurian army under the command ofRoy came to liberate it.

Mani Katti shrine

A small, ancient shrine which once housed theMani Katti lies on the notheastern outskirts of Bulgar. Said to contain a powerful link to the world of spirits, it was common practice for travellers to stop by the shrine and pray for a safe journey. The shrine is surrounded by a small number of homes.

Mulagir ruins

Mulagir, the weapon ofHanon of theEight Legends, was housed in a set of ruins. These ruins were occupied by the remnants of the Djute clan following their defeat.

Kutolah tribe

Sue and the Kutolah

The Kutolah are one of the largest, most powerful^[5] and most influential of the Sacae tribes,^[6] led byDayan, the legendary Silver Wolf. In response to a prediction by a village diviner, Dayan's sonRath was banished from the tribe at a young age in order to avert "a great disaster" foreseen, and was welcomed back over fifteen years later. Twenty years afterward, in the wake of Bern's invasion of Sacae, the Kutolah were largely wiped out by the combined might of Bern and the Djute; Dayan's granddaughterSue was tasked with leading the tribe's women and children to safety, while Dayan and the tribe's warrior remnants remained behind to slowly fight back and chip away at Bern's hold on Sacae. After Bern's fall, Dayan reconstructed the tribe.

Djute tribe

The chief rivals of the Kutolah, led byMonke, the Djute had become the most powerful clan of Sacae by the time of Bern's war. In the war with Bern, the Djute sided with Bern and led the extermination of those in opposition. When the Etrurian army came to Sacae to free it, the Djute were their first obstacle, and were defeated and largely wiped out; its survivors travelled to the Mulagir ruins to attempt to prevent the Etrurian army from obtaining it themselves.

Lorca tribe

An apparently minor and lesser known tribe,^[7] the Lorca tribe was led byHassar. The Lorca resided in a village to the west of Bulgar, in the shadow of the Taliver Mountain bordering Bern.^[8] The tribe was wiped out in an offensive by the bandits of Taliver, who had poisoned the drinking water of the tribe before raiding it in the dead of night to finish the job; according toLyn, only ten or so of its members survived, herself included.

Etymology and other languages

Kutolah

Djute

Lorca

Gallery

• 

  A castle on the Etruria–Sacae border

• 

  The Djute clan's settlement

• 

  Bulgar

• 

  The interior of a mansion on Bulgar's outskirts

• 

  The area just outside Bulgar

• 

  The ruins housingMulagir

• 

  An area to the northwest of Bulgar, where Lyn made a temporary home following the fall of the Lorca

• 

  TheMani Katti shrine

References