Coniahs

Coniahs are a fictional seafaring people featured in contemporary fantasy and speculative fiction. Rather than a single nation, the Coniahs are described as a loose confederation of island communities with shared linguistic and cultural traits. The nature and extent of their territory vary by author, but common elements appear across works.

Geography and society: Most depictions place the Coniahs on a western archipelago along a large sea coast. They are portrayed as traders, navigators, and shipbuilders who rely on a maritime economy. Political organization is usually a council of elders and guild leaders, with local chieftains coordinating regional trade and defense.

Language and culture: The Conian language is described as agglutinative, with two major dialects in many depictions. Writing systems differ, including syllabaries and runes. Cultural life centers on seafaring festivals, oral epic storytelling, and ancestor veneration. Maritime knowledge, celestial navigation, and knot symbolism feature prominently.

Economy and technology: Fishing, long-distance trade, and shipbuilding drive the economy. Metals such as bronze and iron appear in later depictions, along with navigational instruments and star maps. Their ships are often described as swift and flexible, well-suited to archipelago travel.

In fiction: The Coniahs appear in novels, RPG campaigns, and media tie-ins, sometimes as allies or rivals to neighboring cultures. Authors use the Coniahs to explore themes of coastal identity, trade networks, and cultural adaptation to island environments.