Province of Izchak

The Province of Izchak

Izhcak lies far to the south on the continent of Ryshael, nearly to the equator. It is an isolated province, its boundaries set by geography rather than by geopolitical mandate. Almost all of the province is covered by dense triple-canopy jungle, its tall trees soaring to the heavens and hiding one of the most biodiverse areas of Faelon under its nearly impenetrable boughs.
To say that Izchak is dangerous is an understatement and a deadly one at that. Many who go to Izchak do so seeking fabled riches. Most never return from their first trip into the jungle. Between the exceedingly hostile flora and fauna and an even more hostile indigenous population, traveling out of Izchak’s major cities or off the small number of good roads through the region is taking your life into your own hands.
The Province of Izchak is part of the The Traazorite Empire

Geography

Izchak is defined by geography. It is a vast and mostly untamed wilderness of dense jungle. Sweltering heat and nearly daily downpours drive the ecosystems of a climate that is influenced by its proximity to the equator.
Izchak’s western border is the Skyreach Mountains, a chain of high, snowy peaks that extend from the southern shores of Ryshael up its western coastal areas into the middle of the Continent. The Skyreach are dangerous for many reasons, and although their foothills are traversable, there are very few passes through its upper reaches suitable for trade. There are no good passes to the western side from Izchak.
At the Eastern foot of the Skyreach Mountains is the Gold Road, Izchak’s economic lifeblood. The road starts at Izchak’s provincial capital, Azumdim, and runs north through a series of protected kisns, or forts, into central Ryshael. Eventually, the Gold Road splits and leads to both Runahdim and Traazordim.
The Eastern border of Izchak is a lower mountain range known as the Dustpeaks. Izchak’s climate extends up the western slopes but after the divide, the arid climate of Azarim takes hold and dominates down its eastern slopes into the salt wastes. There are many passes through the Dustpeaks, including one with a major Traazorite fortress, Kisn Bahar Otish, protecting it.
The Northern border of Izchak is the Bargos Nahos - The Slow River. This winding, wide, muddy river naturally divides the jungles of Izchak from the grasslands of the Karaimeth. It was at one time home to a network of trade kisns and outposts of the Krai Jan Empire, but the Traazorites let most of them fall into disrepair after a major earthquake.
Now, only Kisn Izbalan in the west along the Gold Road and Kisn Testarok in the East exist. They are both economically vital to Izchak, with goods flowing north going through Kisn Izbalan and goods headed east to Skyfire making their way through the eclectic Traazorite Outpost of Kisn Testarok and downriver to Clearwater Bay.
The southern coast of Izchak is the coastline. It is marked by high cliffs and numerous beautiful waterfalls. Beyond the coast lies the Drowned Forest - Izsimito Baschak in the Izchan tongue. This extensive mangrove forest and series of shallow seas is even more unnavigable than Izchak, meaning the sea stacks of the Fractured Isles, which are barely visible beyond the Drowned Forest in the distance on the clearest of days, are still unexplored.
The interior of Izchak is marked by deep valleys along The Likmer Nahos - The Life River, deep basins to the north that drain to the Bargos Nehos, and rocky highlands to the east and the south. A swamp - known locally as the Thousand Eye Swamp - dominates the northeastern lowlands south of the Bargos Nehos. Only a few of the indigenous Izchaki will venture there, and those that do gather resources in its perpetual darkness are known as “Dead Men.”
Izchak has three main cities: The provincial capital of Azumdim, the Indigenous capital of Taklep, and a smaller fishing village near the Land’s End Delta known as Adizoreapa. These three cities have Traazorite garrisons and are imperial cities. The cities house the majority of the Traazorite occupation army and almost every non-Izchaki citizen.
Though some Ichaki live in the three main cities, the vast majority of them live in walled villages scattered throughout the jungle. These villages are their ancestral homes. The isolated nature of the villages, the dangers in getting there, and in many cases the dangers of approaching them means the Traazorites have almost no presence there. Izchaki wanting to live a traditional lifestyle do so in the jungle villages, far from the cities of the occupation.

Mythos and History

To the typical Izchaki, there is no difference between their history and their mythos. They are one story; they live their lives and worship their gods accordingly.
The Izchaki mythos is unique in Faelon. They believe that they were created by the god Jalik Gamash as food for his thriving jungle garden. They mark their early years as a constant fight for survival that they almost always lost. In their communal cultural memory, they were at the bottom of the food chain.
This changed when an Izchaki spiritual leader called for help from any other god that would hear her. Soon thereafter a fire appeared in the sky, heading to the west. According to the Izchaki, Jalik Gamash feared fire more than anything and scurried west to see where this fire would land.
The fire exploded in the western mountains, and there the Izchaki walled him up in a valley and guarded the wall day and night. The Izchans, free from Jalik Gamash, gave their homage to Terez, goddess of fate, who appeared to the Izchaki and took credit for the fire in the sky. They also learned how to manipulate stone from Gem Iztind, their god of the earth.
From these interactions, the first Izchaki villages were made, with walls high enough to keep out the predators of the jungle. The Izchaki still venerate Terez, who sent the fire, and Gem Iztind, who taught them to work with stone, as their primary deities.

Later histories speak of a small Izchaki Empire that took form in the years immediately preceding the Krai Jan Empire. The Izchaki emigrated from the jungles of their current province and built a small trade Empire with the herders of the Karaimeth to their north.
The city of Skyfire, the Izchaki Empire’s crowning achievement, was built on Clearwater Bay in the eastern part of Karaimeth. There they traded with the Mishdadan, the Azari, and even the Mershael in the years before the Krai Jan forced the Izchaki into the Ruby Empire.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Izchak’s history is one of occupation. There was constant war between the Krai Jan and the Izchaki. When the Traazorites promised to free them from the Ruby Empire, they were more than happy to take up arms with the Traazorites.
However, they simply traded one Empire for another, and have found themselves under the yoke of the Traazorites since they threw off the sadistic rule of the Krai Jan.

Demography and Population

The Izchaki are a Chaler people, though one that developed away from the larger Chaler influences of the Krai Jan. Most Izchaki speak two languages: Izchan, their heart language, and Chalish - The Language of the Traazorite Empire, the language of the customer or the oppressor, depending on which Izchaki you are talking to.
There are some similarities between Chaler and Izchan suggesting a common ancestral language, but Izchan developed independently of Chaler and only the most studious Faelonian linguists can see the commonalities today. Izchan is spoken in both Izchak and Karaimeth, a legacy of their short-lived empire there.
The Izchaki people have organized themselves into nine large groups of people with similar cultural, social, and religious outlooks. They call these groups Gaura. The Traazorites refer to them as tribes.

The Greensplitters

Of all the Gaura, the Greensplitters are most associated with the Traazorites. They live in the northwestern areas of Izchak, north of the Likmer Nahos from the foothills of the Skyreach Mountains into the Creator’s Basin region.
Their Arikat - First City - is Urikirit, which sits astride the Gold Road north of Azumdim. Urikirit is used as a showcase city for what relations between the Traazorites and the Izchaki could be.
The Greensplitters commit the most young men to the Traazorite Provisional Legion in Izchak, the Shakazal Legion.

The Stonecutters

The Stonecutter Gaura live east of the Greensplitters in the Creator’s Basin to the edges of the Thousand Eye Swamp. Their Arikat is Aftgalichak - Highwall. It sits astride the main trade road between Taklep and Karaimeth. They are also friendly with the Traazorites and contribute to the trade of the region and the Shakazal Legion.
The Stonecutters are more isolated than their Greensplitter kin and worship Gem Iztind above all others. They joined the initial alliance with the Traazorites against the Krai Jan.
They have grown wealthy trading with the Traazorites and helping to supply security to trade caravans traveling the road along the Likmer Nahos and north from Taklep to Kisn Testarok.

The Domesticators

The Domesticators are the third Gaura that make up a strong alliance with the Traazorites. The Domesticators live east of the Thousand Eye Swamp into the Eastern Highlands to the edge of the Dustpeak Mountains. Their southern border is the Yakmai Nahos, the Falling River, which crashes down out of the Dustpeak Mountains. Their Arikat is Siraber, which lies high into the region in the foothills of the Dustpeaks.
The Domesticators worship Terez supremely and are the only Gaura willing to brave the Thousand Eye Swamp for its rich resources. They have a reputation as fearless warriors but also as those who would do anything to make money. The Domesticators don’t care about their reputation so much, as they have been living their way for millennia.

The Fatechangers

The Fatechangers are a neutral Gaura - They do not actively associate with the Traazorites, but they do not make war against them either - unless provoked. The Fatechangers live in the Eastern Highlands south of the Yakmai Nahos and east of the Likmer Nahos, which turns south at Taklep.
The Fatechangers are one of the more politically active Gaura. They use their good standing among all of the Gaura to forge peace and ensure the survival of their people, something that they consider a sacred trust from their patron goddess Terez.
Their Arikat is Infa - which in the Izchaki tongue means Destiny. They assign a Fateweaver to every Arikat in Izchak. These Fateweavers work tirelessly to bring peace and prosperity to the people without going to war against the Traazorite occupation.
However, when diplomacy fails, the Fatechangers are just as zealous about going to war as they are devoted to peace. It is often the decision of the Fatechanger Alark to go to war that signifies a major unification of the Izchaki Gaura.

The Peakwalkers

The Peakwalkers live among the cliffs and jagged stones of the Dustpeak Mountains. They are unique among the Izchaki in that they don’t build walled cities in the jungle, preferring instead to live above the imminent danger of the jungle in cities they carve into the mountainside.
From their Arikat of Tegiset, they look down from their lofty perches on the triple canopy below them. Their stories tell of a people who did not wait for a god to save them and instead left the jungle long before Terez sent the Skyfire.
The Peakwalkers are seen as aloof by the other Gaura. They have their way of doing things and do not wish to mingle much with the other Gaura.
The Peakwalkers worship Gem Iztind, Amaia - the goddess of Death, and have a form of ancestor worship that is unique to the Izchaki. Their religious practices, like the rest of their culture, have developed apart from the rest of the Gaura.

The Children of Terez

The Children of Terez are the most devoted of the followers of Terez, and by far the most devoted to the ideas of fate and neutrality that she stands for. If there is a mystical Gaura, it is the Children of Terez. They see portents everywhere and are more apt than any of their kin to follow those portents to their conclusion.
The Children of Terez live south of the Likmer Nahos from Taklep to Azumdim. They form a cultural barrier between those Gaura to the north who are friendly to the Traazorite Empire and those who are downright hostile to the Empire.
The Children of Terez have their Arikat at Kitapel, deep in the Izchaki jungle south of the Likmer Nahos. Kitapel sits dangerously close to the territories of the Izfora, those three Gauras that are in constant active rebellion against the Traazorites.

Children of Gem Iztind

The Children of Gem Iztind are one of the most aggressive of Izchaks’ Gaura. Not only have they declared a perpetual war with the Traazorites, but they are just as likely to go to war with another Gaura who gets in their way or will not declare war on their oppressors.
The Children of Gem Iztind live west of the Likmer Nehos and south of the Children of Terez. However, their warriors strike deep into Traazorite-held territory and often raid caravans traveling the Azumdim-Taklep Road. Currently, many of their warriors are conducting raids around Adizoreapa.
The Children of Gem Iztind hold the Izchan earth god as the object of their worship, but they have not devoted His knowledge to beautifying their cities as the Stonecutters have. Instead, they have taken a more practical approach and made their cities huge, sprawling metropolitan areas hidden under the canopies of Izchaks’ jungles.
Their Arikat, Bizutaret, is the largest indigenous city in Izchak, larger even than Taklep. The Children of Gem Iztind dedicate large swaths of their cities to farming and zarn husbandry. These efforts have paid off as they can trade far more than the other tribes. The markets of Adizoreapa are full of produce and zarn products that come from the sprawling yet hidden cities of the Children of Gem Iztind.

The Stone Watchmen

The Stone Watchmen live along Izchak’s beautiful Southern Coast. If they appreciate its natural beauty, they do not say. They are a Gaura on a mission: To protect Izchak from the Chugabru - The Screech Demons - Which they say tried to invade Izchak long ago and were beaten back by the warriors of the Stone Watchmen.
Today, the Chugabru are the only thing the Stone Watchmen hate more than the Traazorites. Their villages are all aimed at one purpose: to quickly and completely repel another attack when it comes.
To this end, the Stone Watchmen have erected thousands of stone head statues along the southern cliffs. They all point south/southwest, and each is carved to represent the head of a ready and determined Stone Watchmen warrior.
The Stone Watchmen occupy the coast from the foothills of the Dustpeak Mountains across the Land’s End Delta and along a narrow swath of coastal land to the west. Although they don’t occupy a deep portion of land, their protectorate does extend nearly the entire length of Izchak’s southern border.
The Stone Watchmen’s Arikat is Geb Hirat - The City of Eyes. It recalls their eternal vigil along the southern coast. It is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Izchak. A river flows through the city's center before plunging hundreds of feet into the sea below.
From Geb Hirat and other fortress villages along the coast, the Stone Watchmen keep their eyes on the skies for any sign of the Chugabru’s return. In the meantime, while they wait, they make war on the Traazorite oppressors.

The GodKillers

Legend tells that when the Skyfire drew Jalik Gamash into the western mountains it was the Godkiller Gaura that walled him up in the valley and guarded the wall. It was the Godkiller Gaura who fought the Krai Jan as they came down off the plains and the Godkillers who were nearly destroyed by the Ruby Empire when none came to their aid.
The Godkiller Gaura is perpetually angry at nearly everyone. Time has given plenty of room for their grievances to fester until everyone is an enemy of the Godkillers. From their homes deep in the jungles south of Azumdim they mount raids against the Traazorites and any Gaura that does not do likewise.
The Godkillers make their new Arikat at Mardoruta - Last Stand - deep in the jungle. From here they not only plot the end of the Traazorite occupation, but the final battle between Amaia, the goddess of the dead, and Jalik Gamash. They believe this battle will finally free all Izchaki for eternity.
The Godkillers are the most militarized of the Gaura. They have an extensive military and make use of the native Chasers as cavalry mounts. Their armies also include Priests and Priestesses of Amaia, the only known users of death magic among the Izchaki.

Religion

Religion is complicated for the Izchaki. They share a cultural history that claims that their god, Jalik Gamash, saw them as nothing more than food for his creation. This gives the Izchaki an inferiority complex cosmically, but it also binds them more strongly to Terez and Gem Iztind, whom they see as their saviors.
All Izchaki recognize at least four gods and goddesses: Jalik Gamash, the god of nature, Terez, the goddess of fate, Gem Iztind, the god of earth and crafting, and Amaia, the goddess of the dead.
Though each of these deities is present in the daily life of every Izchaki, each Gaura chooses which deities they will venerate and how. Taklep holds yearly ceremonies for Terez, where all Gauras gather to celebrate and hold a yearly council deep in the caves behind the city.
Taklep used to house great temples to Terez and Gem Iztind. The Traazories occupied the old temples and turned them into fortresses. They were replaced with the Temple of Runah Ascendant, which is now the largest building in Taklep.
Despite a rich religious heritage, many Izchaki, especially in the northern Gaura, have converted to worship of Runah - The Sun God. In some cases, they simply add Runah to their pantheon. In others, Runah becomes their prime veneration. These converts are usually zealous and disliked by many of their kin.
In the cities, the worship of Runah has advantages: you do not owe the Kisir Doria - The Unbeliever’s Tax - that must be paid to do business in the cities if your name is not on the Temple’s roll. Attending Runah’s Temple also has social benefits and is a path to full Traazorite citizenship. Many in the city adopt pieces of the oppressor’s faith to get by, but it does not endear them to their jungle kin to the south, who view them as traitors.

Political Structure and Territories

The Tribal Structure of the Gaura used to rule Izchak. Yearly councils in Taklep would negotiate peace, settle border disputes, and nominate an Alark for the Gaura. Now, little remains of that system, save an informal council that meets each year during the festival of Etua Jaibal.
In reality, the Traazorites have political authority in Izchak. At least, in the cities they do. Traazorites spend little time outside of the cities or main roads of Izchak - it is too dangerous for them otherwise.
Still, the Governor of Izchak, appointed directly by the Emperor, has power in Izchak. He rules from Azumdim, a modern city that has been built to be a home away from home for all the Traazorite merchants and nobles that live in Izchak.
From their small piece of Traazor the Governor and his military look out over the vast jungles of Izchak and pretend to rule that which they can not even see - the Gaura. The Governor knows very well that if the Gaura of Izchak were ever to unite the Traazorite interests in Izchak would be wiped out - so he spends a great deal of time making sure that they can not and will not unite.

Military

Many militaries are operating in Izchak. The most numerous are the warriors of the Izchaki Gaura. There are also the Legions of the Traazorites and the rebels of the The Eclipse Sisterhood.
Each Gaura has its military traditions, favored weapons, and tactics. However, they do share some commonalities. Warriors tend to adopt traits of some of the more vicious zarn of the Izchaki jungles, even wearing their skins or painting their bodies to match them for combat.
Izchaki's weapons are crude but very effective. Many Izchaki favor a ripper made of wood and metal or zarn teeth. Others use war clubs made from wood and stone. For ranged weapons, the Izchaki favor a blowgun. They tip their barbs with bits of neurotoxins from local wildlife. These toxins incapacitate and kill their prey, be it zarn or Traazorites. Almost all Izchaki warriors carry a Longknife on them: The Jalik Izhamari.
The Izchaki favor hit-and-run tactics to standing in formations such as the Traazorites. Their raids are lightning fast, over as quickly as they begin. They do as much damage as they can in the surprise and retire back into the jungle before the enemy can regroup and focus their overwhelming manpower and superior weaponry.
The Traazorites keep two legions in Izchak: The Viper Legion and the Shakazal Legion. The Viper Legion is an Imperial Legion led by Sason Fadalos, a veteran of many Izchaki conflicts and a native Izchaki himself. The Shakazal Legion is a Provincial Legion led by Herik Zenta, a political appointee from Runahdim. Though Fadalos is the Senior commander and has a nominal charge of both Legions, the Governor of Izchak has the final say over all military matters.
The Legions are spread throughout Izchak, mostly in the city garrison. Many more man the Wall, the giant fortification behind Azumdim that keeps the ferocious wildlife behind it at bay. The Izchaki believe these are servants of Jalik Gamash looking to harm his creation again. Members of the Shakazal Legion that have manned the wall will verify this belief.
The Traazorite Legion is at a severe disadvantage in the jungles of Izchak, where they are unable to deploy their legions in strength and have had to adapt to the guerilla warfare the Izchaki are famous for. Although they have been successful, they are still at a disadvantage outside of the few natural clearings and the cut fields around each of the province’s three large cities.
The Legion spends most of its days escorting merchants along Izchak’s dangerous roads. If not being preyed upon by the Gauras, the deadly zarn that live under the triple canopy are a constant threat to anything that moves in the jungle.
To this end, the Traazorites have built Kisn Tarok - way forts - throughout the province, each a day’s walk between, and constantly garrisoned by at least a small contingent of troops to defend the way fort and refit caravans and military patrols as they travel the perilous countryside. Under no circumstances do the Traazorites or the Izchaki travel the jungle at night. They retreat to their way forts and villages to wait out the darkness behind a wall and as many torches as they can light. The Night belongs to the jungle.
Lately, the Traazorites have turned to friendly indigenous Gaura to train them in jungle warfare. The new troops, dubbed Mutachazar, are hand-picked legionnaires, Blade Brothers, and a mix of warriors from the local Gaura led by a Legion officer and advised by a local guide.
Another militant force in Izchak is the Eclipse. The Eclipse’s popularity has begun to grow in the cities of Izchak where the indigenous population feels helpless to do anything about the Traazorite occupation. They are a long way from the jungle villages, most of whom wouldn’t accept them anyway, and so disaffected women in the city have been swelling the ranks of the Eclipse, who promise to do something about the Traazorites.
The Eclipse have no sway over the jungle villages. The Gaura believe that they will bring more trouble than they cause, and refuse to allow them a foothold among them. So they stay in the cities, hiding amid the population and waging a war of opportunity against the Traazorites from the centres of their power.

Agriculture and Industry

Izchak has much to offer the world. Otherwise, Traazor would have little stomach for losing so many troops to the jungle and its occupants. Besides the souls that the Sun Priests insist belong to Runah, there is much wealth to be brought out of the jungle.
Izchak’s mineral wealth is legendary. The gold mines along the eastern slopes of the Skyreach mountains make Izchak worth the sacrifice of so many Traazorites alone - and even more so when the Greensplitters are lending their population to the mining efforts.
Various other deposits can be found throughout Izchak, including precious gems, which are rumored to be lying on the ground around the jungle - a deadly misconception that drives many would-be prospectors into the jungle never to return.
Many medicines can be found beneath the boughs of the jungle as well. The Izchaki have used these bountiful beneficiants for years, and now sell many at the markets in Azumdim and Taklep. Concoctions both helpful and harmful can be found in these markets, all eagerly bought up by Traazorite merchants that will take supplies north to the rich and powerful of the Empire.
Beyond these, the Rishas - farms - of the Izchaki villages produce many tropical fruits, vegetables, and grains that are bought by Traazorite merchants. Zarn products are also plentifully supplied by the jungle villages who have learned how to raise zarn and farm even in the deep jungle.
The riches of Izchak are plundered by the Traazorites, but not without some capitalization by the Izchaki as well. The economic benefits of the Traazorite Empire are undeniable, a fact which leads the three northern Gauras to keep allying with them and the three neutral Gauras to at least tolerate them and take their coin.
Private enterprise in the jungles of Izchak is prohibited by the Traazorites for the safety of everyone involved, but that does not stop enterprising individuals from trying.  Many dreamers and schemers have come from all over Faelon to find the storied riches of Izchak.  They go into the jungle, eager to find shattered and abandoned Izchaki cities rumored to dot the jungle, or to pick up precious metals and gemstones off the ground as in the stories that they have been told.
Kisn Testarok, on the border of Izchak and Karaimeth, has become a haven for economic jungle incursions and black market dealers. It matters little that most such endeavors end in tears, as there is a long line of enterprising fools getting off boats in Skyfire and making their way to Kisn Testarok, sure they are going to be the next one to strike it rich in the sweltering jungles.