Far back in antiquity, Del'Hanas was always a successful port. Cradled in the safe waters created by the embrace of the Regnan peninsula and the White Reach, the city enjoys the best of all aquatic environments: Unique access to both warm and cold saltwater fish, fine weather (save for the fog that often enshrouds the eastern Regnan coastline), and sheltered seas. Its proximity to the Reach has likewise resulted in a tradition not just of skilled sailors, but of captains and crews well acquainted with the unforgiving reefs called the Teeth of Delaros. None can navigate this treacherous formation more easily than the Hanasi, with their sleek and maneuverable vessels that sit high on the water.

It was inevitable that Del'Hanas would eventually grow into a buzzing hub of trade, home to many of the imports that find their way into the Federation from around the continent. Once officially dedicated to Delaros, however, the longstanding adherence to worship of orderly work and hierarchy can still be felt in the city-state's culture: Strict laws govern the port, which once forbade the sale and consumption of alcohol, promiscuity and extramarital sex, same-gender relationships, and more. Naturally, this led to the rise of underground speakeasies and brothels (which existed especially to satisfy the most taboo kinks and fetishes), particularly in those areas of the city where foreign traders spent the majority of their time. Federal assimilation came with a harsh admonition to dismantle these "anti-hedonism" ordinances, and the ancient Hanasi regulations that mimicked what they saw as the "life of Delaros" were eventually replaced with more progressive Regnan statutes.

Nonetheless, the majority of citizens still worship the Eternal Captain, and those who trespass on social expectations are sometimes persecuted by their neighbors where they cannot be persecuted by the authorities. Likewise, the port's local constabulary�known colloquially as the Seaguard�make it their policy to scrutinize now-legal establishments that cater to "morally questionable tastes," using the tiniest infraction as excuse to raid or shut down taverns, inns, bordellos, and similar. Perhaps unsurprisingly, after having had over five hundred years to enjoy Regnan liberalism, the average Hanasi on the street�whether they are devout orthodox or not�generally turns a blind eye to such distractions in the day-to-day, and two pubs or escort services seem to spring up in place of every one the Seaguard closes.

The Hanasi work ethic and hierarchal spirit has been strongly influenced and subverted by Regnan ideas in recent centuries, but remains present even in local government. Largely a thalassocracy, saltwater captains have enormous political voice in the daily operations of the port, represented in council by the guildmasters of the Shipwrights, Traders, and Craftsmen, as well as the city-state's current highest-ranking priest of Delaros. This voting bloc is balanced by the popularly elected "Voice of the People," who stands for the interests of those not directly involved in seafaring. As a whole, the Hanasi's greatest concern is their continued dominance of oceanic industry and the suppression of pirates, particularly in the White Sea and throughout the White Reach. The bulk of the Regnan navy makes berth in Del'Hanas, and until recent events necessitated their presence in blockading the archipelago, the city-state used its considerable influence to put Federation ships to work hunting down corsairs and freebooters that threatened trade lanes. There is no higher crime on the east coast than piracy, unless maybe it's barratry.

The city-state has a fierce rivalry with Gvante, on the west coast, whom Hanasi see as a nest of unscrupulous merchants and ne'er-do-wells, little better than pirates. Orthodox worshipers of Delaros have a difficult time justifying doing business with Gvante do to a stereotype that persists even so long after Unification; prior to the formation of the Federation, occasional wars between the two naval powers were not unknown. In contemporary times, the Hanasi smugly hold their artisanal advantages over the heads of their neighbors in Gvante, as evidence of their superiority: West-coast ships might be able to stay at sea longer and carry larger payloads, but they are sitting ducks in the water when faced with the swiftness and grace of modern Hanasi corvettes�a disparity that is not really new. Thanks to the recent invention of cannonry, the vessels of Del'Hanas have become even more powerful, and the old designs of Gvante relegated to an ever more antiquated position in Federation service as the corvette fleets hold the White Reach against Serene incursions.