Nafena

Nafena shares the Southern lands with Maradia to the West. While geographically one continent, the two lands are culturally distinct enough that both places count themselves as their own continent. 
Nafena is a land of mountain valleys and ocean ports. Kings and empires rule here like in most other places, but the terrain has shaped a unique culture where churches and families often rule behind the scenes, ignoring the clean state borders entirely. In the distant past, Nafena was a land of slavery and ethnic warfare- now it is a land of merchants, adventurers, and warring churches. Populations migrate frequently here, by land and sea- and identity is marked less by geography and more by intentional cultural-religious marking. Many people convert or change identities pragmatically, changing "sides" as they migrate or trade. The Lunar Pantheon weaves in and out of this complicated political webbing, though even gods find themselves lost in the ever-shifting social scene of Nafena.
While there are many "sides" here, two religious factions dominate the landscape: the Final Choir of Vetevism, a religion dominated by Choricals and dedicated to the creation of a global mono-race and mono-culture, and the Singing Church of Orisha, a religion dedicated to the control of knowledge and the creation of a "universal order of truth". Both religions can be technically classified as "Doomsday Cults" by the small-minded, as they do seek to end the world, but both see that end more as a distant utopian goal. Both are imperialist and evangelical though, which is of far greater concern to those lands bordering Nafena.
Nafena is the home of Bardism, and has the greatest number of Bards and diversity in Bardic styles. Bards are part of religion and governance here- a sign of civilization, power, and legitimacy. It is also the home of Paladins, which originated on the mythic sunken land of Vytara. Paladins have since become fairly evenly distributed worldwide, but Nafena still has an unusually high number of paladins of Theia and Hiku.

Geography

Much of Nafena is divided by the great crescent Itrutan mountains, which reach up to 28,500' above sea level and are around 340 miles across. These mountains are primarily Prism territory, and are rich in mineral wealth and volcanic activity. The Southern coastline is the most well-developed, with 4,500 miles of cities and kingdoms nestled into mountain valleys and fjords. The South is often known as the Golden Coast, both for its golden grasslands and its historic wealth. The more recently urbanized Northern coast, known as the Siren coast, is 2,500 miles long and far more densely forested.
To the South of these diveded coastlines is the Vikogu, the flatlands- a great peninsula with much smaller mountains and far more room for forests and plains. 1700 miles long and 340 miles wide for most of it, the Vikogu is the booming new world of Nafena. For centuries, it resisted settlement and outside conquest, but with the nomads on the retreat it has witnessed a massive boom in population and wealth. It is still being colonized by Nafenan groups, which push ever further South into the humid continental forests.

Maps

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  Nafena and Maradia

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  Nafena and Maradia Political

Alternative Name(s)

The Land of Waves

Type

Continent

Included Locations

• Atovenem
• Halcyon's Pyramids
• Metahn
• Sunken Vytara

Included Organizations

• Kingdom of Sokuwa
• Kingdom of Vysha
• Sacred Kingdom of Nomion
• The Final Choir of Vetevism
• The Singing Church of Orisha
• The Way of Brambleshanks

Inhabiting Species

• Dragomander
• Merfolk
• Sudraco