Cydia

Cydia

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POLITICAL ENTITIES

Cydia hosts two main political entities:

• Elective Kingdom of Forzaffari: tracing its name to the conjunction of the words "Strenght" and "Business" in Early Human Tongue, the Elective Kingdom of Forzaffari has become the leading military, naval, cultural, religious and economic powerhouse of Cydia. Having its capital on the delta of River Grafiuno, it controls the most fertile land in Cydia and, as a consequence, it is the most populated state in the region. With its walled capital and a mirror city on Diverzo Island, the Kingdom controls the main commercial route between The Colonies -lead by the Twin Cities of Ombeluna- and the rest of the continent. As such, its economy is based on the trade of rare and magical resources such as the mineral Roccia Lucente -essential for humans to do magic-, Evergreen Wood from the forests of Terra Alberi, the finest iron working in the continent -made the Dwarves Guild of Eastern Ombeluna- or even Giant Hawk Claws from Finevita Dessert. All the commerce that sustains the lush way of life of Forzaffarians is protected by a robust fleet compossed of galleys and caravels that defend the most important chokepoints in Cydia from the pirates that inhabit Cape Penirati: the Straights of Nifalco and Merce.
  
• The Twin Cities of Ombeluna: owing their names to the Lake Ombeluna -wich in Early Human Tongue is a composite of "Navel" and "Moon"-, the Twin Cities and their guilds control the entire political panorama of The Colonies. These colonies comprise every populated area between the Finevita Dessert, the Finifiume Peninsula, East Ombeluna and West Ombeluna. With a political system developed overtime, the Twin Cities's Council takes the most important political, military and foreign policy decisions, but all the colonies are free to decide on the religion they follow, the economic activity they pursue and the cultural developments they seek. Despite what was mentioned above, the political centralization in The Colonies has caused a massive concentration of resources in both Twin Cities. West Ombeluna firmly controls the riverside ports that load much of the goods sent to Forzaffari. In contrast, East Ombeluna produces the finnest goods in The Colonies -including Dwarven Steel and the polished Roccia Lucente-. It is worth noting that the towns on Finifiume Peninsula are the main source of farm produce for The Colonies and, due to their physical separation from the more populated mountaineous area. The Twin Cities have deployed a considerable military presence for the protection of two lifelines: food and the goods passing through Nifalco Straight.

Geography

Cydia is the north-eastern most region of the known world -for the humans-. To the north, it borders the magical Northern Wilderness -an unexplored magical and dangerous area- and the Sea of Milecolori to the east.

The region is defined mainly by its mountain ranges: to the west, the Centauri Range; in the middle, the Ombeluna Great Range, and in the east, the Minore Mountain Range.

Thanks to the mountainous nature of the terrain, the climate varies widley bewteen relatively small stretches of land. Cydia hosts a vast array of climates and ecosystems: from dessert to mediterranean and from pine to mist forests.

To the North, Cydia hosts the magical Northern Wilderness. It is said that if you manage to cross an unnamed lake, you may encounter the tallest trees in existance. Several travelers have tried to get there, but not many have returned. Right down south from the unnamed river, it is possible to harvest the trees for Evergreen Wood.

To the west, it is possible to find the Finevita Dessert. A land said to be so hot that it is possible to cook fish on its sands. But even though it may appear as an inert stretch of land, it is actually home to wondrous fauna and flora. The colonies have established a military base for the sole purpose of collecting precious metals from the mines on the Centauri Range.

South of the Finevita Dessert, it is possible to find the Terra Centauri, which is inhabited by nomad centaur and human rider tribes. The inhabitants of these lands are mostly peacefull and their economy is based on hunting and gathering. It is said that the Centaurs of Terra Centauri are capable of shooting down Giant Hawks with just one arrow.

To the east, the Nifalco Straight separates Terra Centauri from the Finifiume Peninsula. Named after "Hawk" and "Nest" in ancient human tongue, Nifalco is the key chokepoint between the main port cities in West Ombeluna and the Elective Kingdom of Forzaffari. There is a classic Forzaffarian saying that states the importance of this geographical feature: "if you don't control the Hawk's beek, you can't decide what stays in its belly".

The Finifiume Peninsula hosts the main concentration of farmland in the Colonies. The land is the second-most fertile in Cydia as it is defined by the delta of the Luna River.

Heading east, Cape Penirati, Acambusa Sea and Diverzo Island define the terrain. Cape Penirati, inhabited mostly by pirates, houses the main village of the Pirate Cartels; it acts as their headquarters. Such organziations also control most of the islets in Acambusa Sea. Event though Twin Cities or Forzaffarian naval presence is limited in the Acambusa Sea, it is uncommon for pirates to attack large cargo ships moving between West Ombeluna and Forzaffari; specially due to the large ammount of Colonies's fortifications and their close communication system with the Kingdom's naval forces in the areas closest to important trade routes. Finally, Diverzo Island is home to the Mirror City of the Forzaffarian capital; it has a dessert to the west and a few olive forests. The large mountains provide fresh water and protection from pirates to the inhabitants of the eastern part of the island.

To the northewest of Diverzo Island, the tribes of Steppemen live in small, isolated communitites; hence the name humans gave the land: Terra Stepparis or Land of Steppes. Although the Steppemen posses rudimentary technology and poor community building capabilities, they are a large species that can sometimes measure twice the height and three times the weight of a human, coupled with their belligerence, they pose a real threat to the Colonies. The Council of the Wise from East Ombeluna believe that the Steppemen pillaging has been increasing in frecuency in recent years because one tribe has managed to control most of the resources in Terra Stepparis, forcing other tribes to find their livelihoods elsewhere.

To the east of Terra Sptepparis, the Isoleoza Archipelago marks the border of the Region of Cydia. Composed of mostly unihabited islands, the archipelago presents a mostly mediterranean climate. On the bigger island, there are three independent villages that produce the renowned Isoleoza Olive Oil with the help of their windmills. It is said that the salt coming from the Sea of Milecolori changes the soil, granting a unique flavor to the olives; also, the wind that carries the salt is essential for the windmills to work.

Fauna & Flora

The region of Cydia is home to many different types of plants and animals. Due to its proximity to the Northern Wilderness, the ammount of magical beings is larger than that of other regions further away.
Some examples of fauna are the huge gliding lizards of Finevita Dessert, the Giant Hawks that fly above the entire region, the Acambusa sea snakes -roughly the size of a human- that adhere to boats and eat their wood, and the ever more beuatiful shiny barracudas that inhabit mostly the shallow waters of the Merce Straight and Acambusa Sea.
Some examples o flora are the walking pine trees, which switch places at night in search for richer soil -they are still considered flora-, the dancing seaweeds of Defalco Bay which, if you are not careful, can wrap around you and pull you down to te ocean floor, and the giant trees of Terra Alberi -some can reach 250 meters or 656 feet tall-.

Natural Resources

Evergreen Wood: a certain magical wood extrated from Wilderness Trees that have medicinal properties. Its sap can coat almost any surface to protect it against extreme heat, moisture or cold; beware though, once poured its almost impossible to take it off.
Roccia Lucente: a mineral that, when polished, allows humans to do magic. The properties that make magic possible are still unknown, but a polished Roccia Lucente can allow the wielder to understand and choose a posible outcome of an interaction; once the interaction is done, the wielder and the element that he steered in a certain probability course remain entangled until the Roccia Lucente's power fades away.
Ombeluna Iron: a mineral essential for Dwarven Steel confection. The steel forged in East Ombeluna is said to be so powerful that it can even cut through the leather of a giant norther Bison.