Bonnon

To the great empires and cartographers, Bonnon is an empty spot on a map: a small, tropical region at the heart of the Gauntlet of Green. Western traders and travelers know that Bonnon is something more. This small rainforested region is a densely packed realm of lakes, rivers, creeks, and villages. The central road through Bonnon is the primary route across the Gauntlet of Green, connecting trade routes in Samvara, Larazel, and Sonev. In recent decades, this trade has massively increased in scale. Caravans crossing the jungle along that main road are now extremely common and well-supplied by local villages and towns. The road is well-kept, with numerous taverns, waystations, and eateries along the way catering to the growing foreign traffic.
Of course, to the average trader, Bonnon is basically just its road. Many merchants assume that Bonnon is a single unified kingdom or people, or they consider Bonnon to be a strip of friendly villages along the roadside without any kind of politics of religion. Only a small handful of people truly understand the political, cultural and social diversity and density of this place. Bonnon is not "wilderness," it is not "scattered tribes." It is some thirty-five densely packed kingdoms, federations, and peoples. Many of these people are not sedentary, nor are their political organizations centralized, so they can be easy to overlook. But they are getting more organized, more commercial, and more densely populated every year as wealth flows into the region. The rise of tropical cash crops like rubber and coffee have intensified this process. Bonnon is on the verge of a radical social and political change into something new, something outward-facing.

Society and Culture

The Bonwe Identity

While culture and politics is fundamentally local, the peoples of Bonnun have certain shared norms, systems, and social structures. These are obviously modified by local conditions. Additionally, there are certain broad ethnic-cultural differences at play: while most people here speak and identify as Bonwe, others speak languages and carry social elements from neighboring groups: the Sarezanwa, the Mekeklo, and even a large Mamanpa community from the far Northeast.
For these ethnic overlaps in perspective:

All of these groups are fairly fluid in Bonwe society. The Bonwe and Sarezanwa are both members of the broad Ozwa language-culture group as well - the barrier between the two regions is porous culturally and geographically. There are certain historic cultural political differences between the regions (they hardly see themselves as parts of the same people), but mixed Sarezanwa-Bonwe communities and traditions abound here. Some non-Bonwe (or Bonwe-hybrid) families separate themselves and their extended kin as ethnically distinct and clearly label themselves as a people apart, but that tends to happen more often when there are supporting institutions. And ethnic difference does not mean ethnic conflict, though it can at times. People mix, intermarry, overlap, extend. Hell, there are many Bonwe people along the coasts beyond what is considered geographically Bonnon.
Certain local political groups identify strongly as non-Bonwe; some of these participate in Bonwe religious-cultural traditions and political meetings, while others set themselves apart. The most aggressively outsider non-Bonwe groups are the Vamek (who organize themselves in very different ways and identify purely as Sarenzanwa) and the Palashiami (who are Mamanpa exiles with their own language, laws, and religion).

Daily Life

The Bonwe are a semi-agricultural people, who farm and garden but also hunt and forage. The balance between these forms of life are geograpically dependent: along the creeks, rivers, and lakes, irrigated agriculture is present and sedentary farming is more prevalent. In the hills, terrace fruit and yam farming occurs but there are longer seasonal periods where hunting, trapping, and foraging become dominant modes of production. Farming here tends to be pretty land-intensive. The default here is the ten-field system: households have ten field plots that they cycle between over a decade, allowing each field to have ten years after harvest to refertilize. Forest often overtakes these depleted fields, which is seen as part of the necessary regeneration. Kitchen gardens, perpetually refertilized by household trash and waste, serve as year-round fields for medicine and foodstuff, but have smaller crop yields. Yams, taro, and bananas are the most common crops, though some also tend to rice or maize. Along lakesides, many reeds are also farmed communally - particularly salt reeds, which are excellent at draining salt from the soil, to then be burned for their salty ash. Suntail Grass is increasingly farmed as well. 

Where farming alone is not enough, people often migrate between two to three pre-built village sites seasonally to prevent local ecological depletion. These migrations can be partial and often represent more of a temporary diffusion than a total mass migration: some people move out to the other village sites for better food access, while some stay in the main village site. Moving between village sites is not considered "nomadism" locally - who is nomadic and who is sedentary is actually a very important cultural conception. 'Nomads' or mobile people move between smaller camp sites further away from the main village site, and move far more frequently than the village-goers. That said, the village is still the center of their life, the place to return to with their jerkied meats and foraged goods. Nomadic hunter groups may be gone for months, but it is considered abnormal for them to be gone for over a year before returning to their household. Most return every 3 months. Nomads also serve a key role as peddlers, carrying surplus goods from village sites to barter in other communities.

Things have changed in the last century, slowly at first but now quickly. Cash crop farming is on the rise and wage labor is becoming more common. Since the Kingdom of Surumev consolidated its rule over much of the best coastline in 1994 ME, nomads are increasingly drawn into seasonal wage work in the diamond mines, turtle hunting convoys, pearl diving businesses, and cash crop estates. As foreign religions have spread, so have the teachings of priests that have deemed sedentary farming "civilized" and nomadic foraging "uncivilized". Local rulers have been leveraging wealth from these systems to gain comparitive advantage: wars are becoming bloodier, and some ambitious royals are considering territorial expansion. 

Mobility, Gender

The Bonwe people embrace a kind of segmented mobility, where some people are encouraged to embrace a more nomadic lifestyle based on gender, birth, or even species, while others are encouraged to be more sedentary. The sedentary groups serve as anchors around which the more nomadic groups orbit, but they are bound together by kinship, companionship, resource pooling, romance, and religion. Masculinity is associated with mobility and some communities go so far as to push all people assigned male into mobile social groups. These mobile groups vary in their paths and occupations based on the economy and geography: some fish, some hunt, some forage, some even mine. Male groups often drift between political units seasonally - certain times of year, for example, draw large numbers of people to the Southern coastline, which is increasingly dominated by the sedentary kingdom of Surumev. This has led to their integration into the wage economy: they go out, fish, farm, mine, and pearl dive for coin, then bring that coin back when they return to their home villages. The rise of commercialism has certainly caused these seasonal movements to travel longer distances for lucrative opportunities, even if some men keep to the hills near their hometown to hunt pigs and catch creekfish. And of course some men choose to remain in town, though these men are expected to devote some time to military patrols and training in exchange for their shelter.
These gender lines have a distinctly species-tinged element: humans are much more intensely gendered than dryads or prisms here and have less agency in choosing their own social roles. Humans are seen as inherently "specialists", a notion that benefits those who have a valued specialty like metallurgy, while the Dryad majority are seen as "generalists". These species notions have no basis in reality, but neither does the gender stuff. Dryads often do go seasonally to join men's groups; the gendering isn't just for humans, it is just less assigned-role-at-birth for everyone else. And those who don't go abroad to work are pressured to stay with their Household - a social unit locally called a Vet.

The Vet

Vets/households are an important social unit in Bonnon, as well as in the surrounding culture groups (who call it different things, but understand it as the same basic idea). These are extended families, ranging from ten to thirty people on average, though esteemed and powerful Vets (usually associated with royalty or powerful merchants) can reach a hundred people. Vets are hierarchical, divided by age and accomplishment, and are led by a Vetli (houseleader). Vets are not purely familial; while they form around family nucleii and use the language of family, they include adoptees/servants/clients and associates. The Vetli house leader is seen as the ultimate owner of all the Vet's possessions and the lawful authority over all subordinates, but the Vetli doesn't rule without support: a Vetli can be rejected by the mid-to-high status adults of the family through a kind of intervention, which usually involves a replacement. In this way, the Vet can be seen as a tiny family republic by some measures.
Vets are not individually ancient, with some exceptions: every time a Vetli dies or the main Vet house building burns down, the members have the opportunity to either venture away or stay to reform. Many Vets, after getting too large, splinter upon their Vetli's death. Other times, conflict within the family leads to the intentional dissolving of the Vet. Men's associations, meanwhile, are not familial but are semi-voluntary associations. Much is made of the difference between the Vet and the Association, even if the institutions are basically mirrored. And while the Vet may claim permanence, the frequent reformations and splinterings actually make for a very mobile life: change in a Vet can mean a change in village if the people so desire.

Bonwe Religion

It likely goes without saying that the Bonwe religious traditions are not homogenous, organized, or even self-identified as a religion. These traditions, called the Panampram ("old customs/knowledge"), vary between localities and even between families but have a fairly consistent set of core ideas and shared rituals.
Central to Panampram is reverence towards water as a conduit of spiritual power. Water binds the soul to the body and can connect this world to others: divination, healing, ancestral communion, and prayer to higher powers all involves water. Outsiders often mistake the potency of water for worship of water itself, which has an element of truth for some but is generally an exaggeration of Panampram. Rather, bodies of water serve as portals for of contact and influence between the material and the spiritual. The more essential that body of water is in nourishing the local ecosystem, the more spiritual power it has over the land: the movement of water between earth, sky, plants, and animals is a key form of spiritual interconnection that enables the proper functioning of the world. 
Water-power and mobility are interconnected. Stagnant water becomes unclean unless there is moving water to create movement. Mobile groups create the purifying change and spiritual energy required for sedentary groups to avoid disease, moral pollution, and loss of spiritual vitality. To embody both change and retention, Panampram religious specialists are divided between mobile/male and rooted/female types. Male specialists tend to be older men of high rank within men's associations, who have trained for years under prior specialists. Many men have bits of sacred knowledge, but only the most proficient and experienced are considered 'priests'.  Male specialists, as purifiers, tend to be doctors and exorcists at their core. Female specialists, meanwhile, tend to handle issues of growth and preservation. Career priests are rare - most do other work as well, and it is not uncommon for people to try and learn bits of ritual knowledge or medicine to better themselves or their families. This doesn't mean the knowledge is open: advancement in age and rank is usually required for access to certain teachings, and outsiders can't just walk up and demand access. Career priests tend to be humans, as humans are seen as each having a single special skill they should devote their totality to (unlike other species, who are normal and can do everything alright). 
The two great lakes of Bonnon, Tasba and Nao, are the gates and houses of two immensely powerful gods of the same name. The lakes are the physical essence of the Gods, but Tasba and Nao are not limited to the water itself. Tasba is the little lake in its rocky basin, faster and sharper than Nao. Tasba is sly and astute and suspicious and demanding, but Nao is slow, wise, stubborn, trusting, and strong. Nao is broad and verdant and does not often change. The two Gods reach towards each other and their combined will shapes every facet of the land. Their duality shapes the moons, the night-day cycle, the local cultural binary gender system, and all other great binaries of the world. But they are not good and evil: their differences and agreements decide what is righteous and proper. 
Panampram is a syncretic belief system. A number of local groups consider themselves Navanan, Elemeer, or Pratasa. Certainly, the teachings of the Followers of Elemeer have made their way around just about everyone here and have influenced local ritual and worship even if most communities have ultimately not accepted the organization or primary teachings of that religion. Still, the ritual borrowing can be so intense that some outside observers have entirely mistaken local Panampram for Elemeer. This is particularly true in coastal rituals and customs: historically, local priests have

Bonwe Politics

Given the intense mobility of Bonwe society, with male associations regularly leaving local territory and intermingling across ethno-political lines, political power and territoriality doesn't work the same way here as it does in "sedentary" kingdoms. Territoriality is still important: you cannot just go hunt in some community's valley without permission. Men's associations often cross political lines specifically to enable that kind of negotiation, but it is fairly common for communities to reject these association's overtures. Sometimes, this can lead to low-stakes skirmishing - especially if the association feels it has a rightful claim that the community is wrongfully ignoring. Relationships are vital in this world to avoid being locked out of potential work locations. Politics is at the key of those relationships. Royals broker deals to make relationships more enduring and resilient and less dependent on individual lives; royals can also strain these relationships with their bickering. In this way, politics has one foot in the territorial world and one foot in the world of commerce and movement - very reflective of the Bonwe worldview. 

Historic Roots

Traditionally, Bonwe politics has centered around the "District": groups of around twelve villages and numerous orbiting camps that cluster around the most verdant patches of land while projecting power over the surrounding landscape. While villages may move and things change, the general shape of the region's districts have been reasonable consistent since 1300 ME. Most of the 35 political units in modern Bonnon are still basically one or two districts with old roots back to those ancient times. There are exceptions, but these are rare and notable.
That isn't to say that these are ancient kingdoms. Many of these polities are actually extremely new. Political turnover in Bonnon is frequent, with many political arrangements being altered after a few generations. This is rarely through violence (though it can be) but is considered a natural result of failures in leadership or succession: if it doesn't work, the villages come together to change it. This change is almost always reactionary, occuring after the death of a leader or a massive display of incompetence. The new government is also usually built to mirror the old one in some ways. Each local ruling class frames itself as ancient and most of them do retain some ancient parts to their function, structure, and ritual. The rhetoric of permanency is more of a rhetoric of tradition and adherence to traditional norms: it is not a literal claim to ancient institutionalism. As in all things Bonwe, elements of constant change are required to bring purity and health to a stable structure. 
Novelty is its own form of legitimization. Politics is understood as a realm of strange power, the sort of thing that attracts the dangerous attention of Lunar Spirits. Leaders ironically walk the line between priest and witch: it is known that royalty dabbles in the unnatural and it is not uncommon for a deposed royal to be associated with curses and warlockery and other queer magic. Novelty makes the uncomfortable nature of politics (violent, magical, insular) and makes it comfortable - safe, funny, eccentric. It turns power relationships into theatrical roles rather than potentially dangerous interpersonal ones. It is known the the God Tasba (the little lake) changes in their whims and wants, and that divine revelation about the new desires of the Gods are required to constantly adjust leadership in the right direction. This change is a purifying force that prevents the stagnation of power. At the same time, it is exciting and entertaining. The profound differences between local political traditions, each changing in their own novle way, also makes politics a much more comprehensible kind of team sport. Friendly outsiders often gawk at this and imagine the Bonwe as ingeniously cynical - that politics is a game for them, that the people have contained and made sport of the elite. This is not entirely true. The idea of divinely revealed and changing political norms is a serious one even if it also has light-hearted and entertaining elements. Not everyone takes politics seriously and many treat it like a fun sport, but when people start dying that attitude can suddenly sharpen. The idea of change as renewal is extremely sincere and contains both spiritual and overtly logical elements. Just because something is fun and novel, doesn't mean it can't also be serious and real.
While expressions of power change frequently and may vary wildly between communities, some politics really are ancient here. Dating back to the 1300s ME, when the legendary leader Umark Bando united the Bonwe peoples against the Army of Exiles that sought to claim the precious lake lands for themselves, the Bonwe have certain political mechanisms for unity. An Umark is a temporary alliance builder, someone who crosses political and district lines to organize for the common good. While the outsider-identifying polities may not necessarily feel beholden to a respected Umark, they are still welcome under the coalition as fellow residents of Nao and Tasba's lands. Umarks very specifically do not rule their allies and do not hold office after their goal is completed. The 'Middle Ground' South of the twin lakes is a stretch of land specifically set aside for coalition building. At the ancient palatial grounds of Umark Bando, would-be Umarks advertise their claims and debate with representatives of different communities. No Bonwe leader can seize the middle ground for their own holdings, and any who transgress there face a united front of punishment.

A Legion of Kings

While hereditary rule passed down through the royal household (as a Vetli) is standard, every polity has its own rules. 

Behold, the myriad masters of the Bonwe!

Now, let us know them by their works!

1. The Kingdom of Bachira is perhaps the most prominent and powerful of the rising Bonwe kingdoms. It keeps the sacred heartlands between the twin lakes, though it has historically been above petty squabbles. Now, with the rise of the great highway, Bachira has grown extremely wealthy as the premier trading depot and waystation for merchants crossing the Gauntlet of Green. A newish monarchy (formed 1921) has used that wealth too expand North, conquering more roadway as well as valuable agricultural land. The town of Bachira is on its way to becoming a city.
2. The Middle Ground is the sacred neutral space of the Umarks. The Palace of the Umarks is jointly operated and serves as a refuge for respected Bonwe without a home community. The Palace is both a diplomatic meeting space and an exclusive market and town for only well-established  Bonwe. 
3. The Kingdom of Wotheng is ruled by a hereditary judge-monarch, who holds little central power beyond punishments and mediations. Wotheng is known for their elaborate public punishments and other realms even send their most hated criminals here. Outsiders avoid stopping here, due to the local skull aesthetic and bad reputation. Ally of Bachira.
4. The Kingdom of Taskakek is a militaristic kingdom that has clashed repeatedly with Wotheng and Bachira. Taskakek was known for its mercenaries until a failed missionary effort and invasion by Surumev fifty years ago led to it radicalizing against foreigners (made worse by more recent foreign invasions). Foreign merchants are not welcome here unless they bring gifts and follow protocol. Taskakek's royal family has managed to get ahold of Bardic magic, which they train their children in: the most proficient royal bard qualifies for the crown.
5. The Orchidian Compound of Lady Shumesha is a foreign invader-state made of a secret group of paladins of Orchid of Blue associated with the Church of Navana. These groups invaded Taskakek about five years ago and managed to seize a stretch of land to begin farming cash crops for sale to Bachira. Reliant on debtors and unfree labor, with ambitions of resuming their war against Taskakek. The Compound has kept its full allegiance and scale of operations secret.
6. Mandarkek is an elected monarchy bound by a kingmaker council and constitution. Once, the Mandarkekwe were a truly great political force that other kings voluntarily swore allegiance to. The Mandarlords made poems of unity, pondering how to best unify all of Bonnon through promises and possibilities. Now, Mandarkek is crumbling. Orchidians snap at their heels, raiders strike at their villages, Bachira looks hungrily at their lands, the local warriors fight among themselves. The realm is known for their poetry and poetic insults, which are considered a fun game; foreigners consider them rude for this elite language of jabbing humor.
7. Akinai is a federation of villages ruled by a council based in the main trade hub (also called Ankinai). Ankinai politics rejects all magic, arguing that all political magic is witchcraft. Ankinai is known for hosting sports games that attract people for trade and revelry. Ankinai is Bachira's greatest current rival, though Ankinai's council is not preprared for a real conflict.
8. In Nafazen, the richest person when the monarch dies inherits the throne. Wealth is literally power and all of the local households compete ruthlessly for trade power. Dueling is generally seen as superior to open infighting here, but that may change: the Nafazen people are in limbo with two contested claimants stuck in gridlock over their wealth evaluation. Likely to be reformed radically soon.
9. Mipekek is an isolated and semi-nomadic realm ruled by hermit-druids. The druid-king is advised by a Samvaran ghost, who also serves as a druidic mentor. Mipekek is half-Pratasam. The villages are not rich but are very welcoming.
10. Pulvek is an oligarchy, which chooses a ceremonial champion monarch who carries a magical spear tied to crown authority. A very small martial cult holds great power, and local villages have begun to challenge their growing demands for production.
11. Kobark is ruled by two monarchs: the metalworker and the weaver, who inherit their titles by rule by virtue of their crafts. Kobark has a temple here with career priests and an oracle. Foreign missionaries are not welcome.
12. The Huntersline is a formally unoccupied area where people can forage and hunt freely, formed by a local treaty some decades ago. The hilly terrain has many challenges for life, as the local hermits know. 
13. Vamek is an elected monarchy/republic, where the Queen is the farmer most able to muster food for the great feast held every ten years. Vamek rejects Bonwe identity and identifies as Sarenzawa: they have hereditary priests, more concentrated settlements, and reject the gender norms of mainstream culture. Vamek has been raiding Mandarkek (through the territory of other peoples) as the old kingdom has stagnated. Recently, a Navanan missionary has started to try and convert local villagers and threatens to try and usurp the Queen.
14. Muntharkek is ruled by a priest-Queen who is seen as the regional patron of doctors and teachers, who must frame all royal acts as either medical or educational. A Lunar Cult of Hiku Matsune once ruled here, but died out from neglect - their temple and art remains in royal hands. The current Queen yearns for more power.
15. Azwak is controlled by a Prism town in the hills, which is hyper-concentrated around a lucrative salt and iron mine. Azwak is an ally of the sedentary kingdom of Surumev, and may be absorbed into it. The hereditary monarch rules through artisan guilds, but treats non-prism villages and camps as basically disposable. Azwak has a group of sages who they lock in stone chambers deep underground.
16. Penemit is a small kingdom with a ceremonial non-hereditary monarch chosen through a series of trial by skill. Great emphasis is placed on individual skill and specialization. Foreigners are not hated here but the local culture has none of the regional hospitality - any non-Bonwe is assumed to be predatory, and frauding them is therefore acceptable.
17. Uwobeg is a hilly kingdom of narrow valleys that is very invested in trade. The local people are known as expert stonecarvers. The hereditary monarchs are associated with foreign things and legitimize themselves through intricate rituals of hospitality. The current King has converted to Navana and may have gone too far in this direction: annexation by the sedentary kingdom of Surumev seems imminent, and a rebellion is brewing.
18. Atuspa is led by a council of elders and is centered around an ancient school devoted to medicinal knowledge and crafts lore. The local scholar monks have eagerly begun researching foreign ideas and technologies, but have demanded more and more from the local villagers who grow resentful.
19. Ikemarek is ruled by a military council which has embraced a syncretic Bonwe-Serazanwa identity. They claim to be the true inheritors of Surumev and have items from older regimes there. Despite being small and poor, they claim that any day they will unite Bonwe to retake the whole of the coast from the Orchidian foreigners. Much focus is placed on universal martial training; rank is designated by fashion and dress is strictly regulated.
20. Ipepivek is falsely considered Zesheko by foreigners, as the royals dress as the Masked One for all formal capacities. The hereditary royals strictly regulate all magic and all trade. Forgiveness is a big part of the local mythology and exiles often flock here for a second chance.
21. Palashiami is the oddly foreign republic: they are descended from Mamanpa exiles and identify as Mamanpa, complete with the insistent use of Mamanpan language and legal codes. The republic is weird by all standards - even other Mamanpa find their traditions unusual, and they worship a patron God that no one else has heard of. They also revere cats as the souls of those who die before adulthood reincarnated. The Palashiami president is currently in severe debt to foreign merchants, which many find troubling.
22. Neskewe is ruled by a very limited elected monarch who only has power during wartime. This has meant that for the last century, royals have endlessly fought and conquered to expand their power. Neskewe has gone hard into cash crops, ruthlessly subjugating conquered peoples as royal serfs. Five years ago, Neskewe began losing wars and losing authority. The local villages plan civil war, but worry that the vast royal estates are too great. A coalition of neighbors plots to invade. 
23. The Forbidden Hills are covered in ruins and are supposedly haunted. A group of aggressive Gluttonmaws have infested the area and made it their own. Anyone who enters is said to be cursed.
24. Vipethek is an elected monarchy that recently converted to Pratasam. The local culture has long been focused on omen, prophecy, and destiny: now that is being leveraged to justify a social revolution towards feudalism. 
25. Kolefek is a bureaucratic theocracy ruled by a group of Elemeer monks, who have lived here for over a century and are regionally well-respected. Currently a foreign mercenary has built a stronghold here and has begun extorting the monks.
26. Vevago is a prism-town with a practically nonexistent hold over the surrounding hills. The government is a small council bound by a very limiting constitution. The town is largely isolationist, but does have a foreign outpost that has basically become its own village along the roads.
27. Yolathik is an elected monarchy where the new monarch must undergo a series of mystical trials to ritually take the name and role of the legendary founding hero. The palace-tomb complex here is elaborate and has attracted a foreign mage who has taken residency here. The current monarch was imprisoned in their own palace by their staff when they almost started a foolish war and now no one knows where to go next.
28. Kananstek is ruled by the most accomplished metalworker in all the land, who is elected from among the smiths. The war-leader rules in practice, though, as the king can only issue a ruling after a military victory. The new monarch has converted to Pratasam to circumvent this rule and take control, but this is more in name than practice. The villages of Kananstek are known for their gambling.
29. Mulkax is a poor peripheral realm, often forgotten. The people inhabit marshland most consider diseased and dangerous. The elder council, sick of fighting with exiles and bandits thrown into their swamp, has instead begun hosting them in exchange for a cut of profits.
30. Etmakex is also marshy and buggy terrain (this time with more hills), hard to farm in. Most people are hunter-foragers, but there is a single palatial complex where all groups send their artisans to produce specialized goods for all. This is also the government: the artisan council handles trade and negotiations. A single dynasty is increasingly taking power here. The remoteness of Etkmakex has made it a popular place to sell and buy slaves illegally.
31. Benbupek is a hereditary monarchy advised by an awakened tree from far away. The hilly villages here are well-defended and known for their beers. A succession crisis is brewing.
32. Anunwa is strong prism monarchy with a substantial non-prism village population. The hills here are tall and have many cliffs and canyons, but the people keep many bridges and paths. The elites are, by tradition, secluded and isolated from the world for their own moral purity. People zipline here for sport, which other realms consider foolish.
33. Unavethek is ruled by a village council that is absolutely obsessed with magic: magical trinkets, shreds of magical knowledge, all things to realize their eventual destiny of magic for all people of the realm. While they lack a strong magic tradition, they have an unusually large number of artisans. Few warriors live here, as the council pays its neighbors for protection. The people here strongly believe that their home has a magical and important destiny.
34. Pakarkek is a small hereditary monarchy known for their boats, fishermen, and canoe-bound warriors. Raiders and mercenaries are valued here, while mages and Lunar Gods are viewed with suspicion. Foreign merchants consider this a bandit kingdom.
35. Pahathek is very committed to property ownership and ownership of land, which is unusual for this region. Land ownership is tied to full personhood, and only landowners can vote to elect village leaders and the elected monarch. Monarchs control a group of acolytes who live pampered lives but must curse enemies of the crown at their own cost. The wealth competition of local politics has led to many elites being indebted to foreign merchants.

Type

Region

Location under

Gauntlet of Green

Included Locations

• Bachira