Aaranak (Aah-ra-nak)
Aaranak is a large continent to the west of Kataris, home to a number of poweful nations both historically - such as the Draconic Imperium and the Empire of Yua - and in the present, such as the Alliance of Yuatlan and Kingdom of Kerridas. Its inhabitants are many and varied; numerous humans can be found across the continent, along with several clans of Dragonborn, the serpentine Yuan-Ti (the first of whom are said to have been humans who underwent alchemical transformation into their present forms as an act of devotion to their gods), the frog-like Cueyatl, the feline Mrrian (of whom the Tabaxi and Pikwen are the most well-known ethnic groups), the avian Aarakocra, and many more besides.
The name "Aaranak" is thought to be Auran in origin, meaning "place below the sky-dance".
Geography
The continent of Aaranak is thought to measure approximately 1500 miles from north to south, its northern extremities being a hundred or so miles further north than the northernmost parts of Savura, and its southern edge being some six hundred miles more southerly than the continent of Kataris. The maps of Vittorio Sendris-Ysern show the continent to measure approximately 500 miles from east to west.
Whilst the coastal portions of Aaranak are for the most part heavily settled, much of the interior remains sparsely populated. A great chain of mountains known as the Tletzintepem, or Mountains of Fire, runs along the centre of the continent, with a number of smaller ranges linked to it; these mountains effectively divide the continent in two, with no well-trodden land routes crossing them. The Mountains of Fire are well-known for their volcanism, with multiple calderas present on the eastern aspect - notably at Calydach, Huatacua, Ag'raxotua, and Itztletl.
Political Geography
Yua and its Successors
The northeastern part of Aaranak was historically ruled by the Empire of Yua, sometimes known as the Serpent Dynasties. The First Empire, founded some five hundred years pre-AK by the warrior-king Tzunuatl, was a powerful militaristic hegemony ruled by a semi-hereditary caste of Yuan-Ti known as the Vrael (often referred to disparagingly as "abominations" by outsiders unfamiliar with their culture), who were considered to be formed in the image of their serpentine gods. It eventually fell into civil war and collapsed in 409AK, leaving a number of cities in an ever-shifting network of temporary alliances and rivalries. The Second Empire arose in 679AK, brought together under the leadership of a faction of priests known as the Anathemata, who had prior to that time eschewed temporal power but were nonetheless considered deeply influential within Yua culture. At its height, the theocratic Second Empire controlled almost half of the eastern coast of the continent, as well as vast swathes of the interior; it persisted for over six centuries despite increasing internal tensions, until it was finally toppled by a populist revolt led by Mazayima in 1291AK, leaving numerous successor states across the region. The northernmost of these successor states is that which was founded by Mazayima in 1302AK, the Alliance of Yuatlan. Centred around the capital of Yualin and the allied city-states of Atulyanta, Cotaculin, Ma Zatla and Yat Malisan, the Alliance is a democratic and secular state which has officially abolished the hierarchical system which considered the Vrael superior to all other Yuan-Ti, who were in turn considered superior to all other peoples, and which has rejected the religions of the Anathemata and those which preceded them in favour of embracing a rationalistic philsophy known as the Three Virtues. In the four decades since the founding of Yuatlan, the Alliance has successfully rebuilt itself from the devastation of the civil war, and has become an influential local power which is gradually expanding its trade links and sphere of influence abroad. West of Yuatlan can be found Teccayetulac, sometimes known as "Western Yua", an alliance of six coastal cities which claim rulership over a large swathe of the heavily-forested interior - though such claims are, in practice, almost meaningless. Formerly considered a province of the First Empire of Yua, Teccayetulac rose up in rebellion against the Empire during the late 4th century AK and subsequently formed an independent state under the rule of six theocrats who refer to themselves as the Six Fetters of the Serpent. These six rulers, said to be immortal, are worshipped as demigods and are believed by their followers to be a living shield against a terrible evil known as the Serpent that Swallows the Sun. The priesthood of the Six Fetters are understood to be skilled necromancers, and much of the workforce of the nation consists of animated corpses. South of Yuatlan is the fortress-city of Tenuatlan and its vassal, the port of Canocatl. Sacred to the Anathemata, Tenuatlan was referred to as the City of Dusk, and was said to be the place in which deceased Anathemata would reincarnate in accordance with the cyclical calendar that underpinned their philosophy. Ruled by the Gatekeeper of the Setting Sun, the only Anathema known for certain to have survived the civil war, Tenuatlan considered itself the last bastion of "true" Yua culture in the wake of Mayazima's rebellion; however in 1327AK the Gatekeeper stepped down from their post in order to wander the world in secrecy in accordance with their divinely-ordained mission. Their whereabouts are unknown, and some have claimed that they have left Aaranak altogether; whether another Anathema has arisen to take their place is likewise unclear, and since the Gatekeeper's abdication the heart of the fortress-city has been sealed off from outsiders and little news has emerged. South of Tenuatlan is the "Third Empire" of Yua, under the overall dominion of Acatatikal, the Dynast of Tecca Sul. Nominally loyal to the Anathemata of Yatlatec, who would bear the title of Gatekeeper of the Rising Sun, in practice the Third Empire is ruled by a military oligarchy consisting primarily of a handful of Vrael generals, of whom Acatatikal is considered to have seniority. On the northern border of the Third Empire can be found the ruins of Callipetlan, the sacred city of the Cueyatl, which was destroyed in 1301AK after a suprise attack by the forces of Tenuatlan and Itztletl, and the majority of its inhabitants killed. Between Tenuatlan and the Third Empire can be found the city-state of Itztletl, another former tributary state of the Second Empire. The settlement itself, often known by the older name of Kuhul Lokjan, is built upon an island at the centre of a volcanic caldera, and dates back to the time of the First Empire; it is said that there was once an older city that stood on that same location, but that it was destroyed when the caldera last erupted. The majority of the population of the city are firenewts, who laboured under the yoke of the Anathemata for centuries before joining Mazayima's rebellion; they subsequently split from the rebellion and sided with Tenuatlan against the rebels and their minority Cueyatl population, for reasons which are not entirely clear. Today, Itztletl is a highly militaristic theocracy focussed on the worship of a number of elemental deities, primarily Haxagazad, the Phoenix of Devastation. South of the Third Empire is Huacuatepetl, a newly formed state with a majority Cueyatl population, many of whom were displaced from Itztletl and Callipetlan. The Cueyatl had initially sided with Mazayima against the Anathemata, though most abandoned the rebellion after the destruction of Callipetlan, claiming that the rebels could have intervened to stop the slaughter of their people but chose not to. The sole major settlement in the region is Ag'raxotua, constructed atop a mass of artificial islands in a caldera lake. Huacuatepetl is ruled by the surviving members of the priesthood of the moon-goddess whom they refer to as Texzlan Xoto, and is said to enjoy a close alliance with the Snowkith of Q'maa-n'chaq. Further south is the Tlateotl Alliance, another fragmented successor state of the Second Empire. The Vrael Dynasts of the cities which would go on to form the Alliance were quick to join Mazayima's rebellion, though less out of any sympathy for Mazayima's egalitarian philosophy and more in an attempt to secure their own power, free from the inteference of the Anathemata. Though they were initially invited to join the Alliance of Yuatlan, it rapidly became clear that they did not share the same vision as the northern rebels, and they were among the first to agree a ceasefire with the nascent Third Empire. For several years thereafter the Third Empire considered the region to have returned to the fold as vassals of the Dynast of Tecca Sul, albeit vassals who remained stubborn and non-compliant, though this illusion was brutally shattered in 1306AK when a delegation of tax inspectors from Tecca Sul were murdered on the orders of the Dynast of Ixtacolatic, sparking a chain of events which led to the foundation of the Tlateotl Alliance. Today, Tlateotl is growing in power and wealth, and has made a number of attempts to push its influence further into the lands to the south. Those lands, south of Tlateotl and east of the desert of Q'rrffuah, are presently controlled by the Huatacua Coalition, centred on the Cueyatl city of the same name. The Coalition, sometimes terming itself the Sovereign States of the South Marshes, consists of a number of small factions which joined Mayazima's rebellion against the Second Empire, who were mostly concerned with achieving self-governance rather than any of the norhtern rebels' political and philosophical aims, and which only united into a cohesive political entity in response to the growing aggression of the Tlateotl Alliance.Kerridas and the South
South of the swamps of Huatacua can be found the more mountainous and forested land of Kerridas, its name derived from the Kerrid people who are its majority inhabitants. In the distant past, the petty-kingdoms of Kerridas were tributary states of the First Empire of Yua, who broke away from the Vrael rulers during the civil war that heralded the fall of that empire. These various states were unified into a federal monarchy by King Kalinxifa in 961AK; this form of government, which has persisted ever since, consists of a federation of lesser monarchs who are formally suzerain to a High King periodically elected from among their number. This system, along with a number of other cultural elements found among the Kerrid, has been noted as having an unusual degree of similarity with certain elements of traditional Madduri culture, though the two cultural homelands are seperated by thousands of miles and few convicing explanations have ever been offered for this phenomena. The southernmost parts of Aaranak are predominantly inhabited by the Pikwen, one of the peoples of the Mrrian, or catfolk. The Pikwen Confederation consists of a number of semi-nomadic bands and scattered settlements across the lowland forests and marshes, and several settlements in the higher mountains - of which Uyuntangar is the most well-known. The lands of the Pikwen extend across the southern coast - though the tundra of the far south is very sparsely inhabited indeed - and around to the west, and the port of Pekenwafe.Central Aaranak
Northwest of Uyuntangar, in the southern mountainous part of central Aaranak, is an area of glacial expanses known as the Ocean of Snow which was once home to the Draconic Imperium. At the centre lies the remains of the great citadel of Pyrabarjat, the ancient capital of the Imperium, now long since fallen into ruin. Known by the Pikwen as Fua-Raken, meaning "Great Pillar", the ancient city has sat abandoned in the frozen mountains for millenia since the forgotten catastrophe which brought about the end of the Draconic Imperium; those who have braved the glaciers report coming across the sun-bleached bones of dragons and signs of a great battle, and many adventurers have perished in attempting to discover its secrets. To the west of the Ocean of Snow, just south of the Lost Coast, can be found the Nikodiszvan League, a federation of city-states mostly populated by the Dragonborn. Unlike the Mandragori, the Nikitis Szelek (the name by which the dragonborn of these parts call themselves, approximately meaning "victorious wind") reject all connection and loyalty to the True Dragons, to the point of outright hostility. In one of the eastern valleys can be found the region known as B'rr'kka'rru, the name meaning approximately "city-glacier" in the dialect of the Spirekith aarakocra, who dwell in the mountains around the eastern rim of the valley. According to some legends, this valley was inhabited by the first humans, long before the rise of the dragons, though any evidence of ancient settlements would be buried beneath sheets of ice a mile or more thick. North of the Ocean of Snow can be found two further regions named by the Spirekith: the desert of Q'rrffuah, and the mountainous territory of Q'maa-n'chaq. Q'rrffuah is considered an accursed place by the aarakocra, fit only for scavengers and exiles, and haunted by countless ghosts; according to some accounts, time does not flow in a regular fashion in some parts of the desert, and tales are told of travellers who spent a week in its interior only to find that decades had passed when they left. Q'maa-n'chaq, conversely, is one of the most densely populated aarakocran territories - though this is still relatively sparse by human standards - with countless settlements on mountain peaks and cliffs that are almost completely inaccessible save by air. North of Q'maa-n'chaq can be found the desert plateau of Ixtala, in which dwell a number of nomadic tribes of Dragonborn known as the Salt Clans. The Salt Clans are said to predate the existence of the Draconic Imperium, though they are notoriously insular and little is known of their history and culture; they are said to worship the Oath-Dragons, and consider an area in the centre of the desert, the so-called Heart of Anhydra, to be their most sacred site.Northern Aaranak
A large portion coastal area of Aaranak is known as Mixtecomatl, meaning approxiamtely "the dark place" in the dialect of the Yua. The name given to the area by its inhabitants, the almost obsessively secretive Nichin (itself an exonym), is unknown. No nations have official diplomatic or trade relations with Mixtecomatl, and almost nothing is known of its geography or its people; those who stray into its territory are typically given a polite but firm telepathic warning to leave immediately, and those who do not heed such warnings are subject to immediate and overwhelming magical attack. The Nichin themselves are believed to be an offshoot of the Tabaxi, though even that is somewhat uncertain. The westernmost portion of the north coast is called Xotoaxihitl, a confederation of numerous small settlements bound together by ancient treaties and alliances which date back to the time of the First Empire of Yua, against whom they waged a long war for their independence. They are an essentially agrarian nation, comprised of many races and peoples, who broadly favour egalitarianism and communal decision-making. Whilst they are understood to consider themselves effectively self-sufficient, and seemingly have relatively little interest in the wider world, it is sometimes suggested that they are among the few to have dealings with the Nichin of Mixtecomatl. To the west of Yuatlan, and southeast of Mixtecomatl, is the rocky plateau of Xochzalteco, and the state that bears its name. Sparesly populated for most of its history, Xochzalteco was said to once be home to the city of Kasma'atul, which is believed by some to be the "Dread City" which Rram sh'Az va'Ux, the Ninth Paragon, was commanded to destroy. In recent years the plateau became a refuge for followers of the Anathemata after the fall of the Empire, along with assorted bandits, deserters, and political exiles of all allegiences. Lawless and without any real leadership or centralised authority, most would barely consider it a country at all.Western Aaranak
Much of the western part of Aaranak is referred to as the Lost Coast - though the term includes vast swathes of the interior, much of which have never been properly mapped. It is said that in the distant past there were a number of great civilisations which existed in this area, all of which were toppled several thousand years ago by an entity known as the Monarch of the Twisted Crown - who may plausibly be one of the Deathlords that served the Lord of the Tower. The land is extremely inhospitable, saturated with an unusual form of necromantic magic which warps flesh and suffuses the entire area not with death but with a corrupt and foul abundance of life. Few dare to journey to the lost coast, and fewer still would dare to dwell there, but it is said that there are great treasures lying in the ruins of dozens of abandoned cities, choked by the ever-rotting jungle.Ecosystem
Aaranak contains a wide range of climates and biomes, from tropical wetlands in the north through to tundra in the south and mountainous deserts in the centre, and as such has an equally wide range of fauna and flora.
There are a number of creatures thought to be unique to Aaranak, such as the swamp-dwelling ahuizotl, four-armed apes known as girallons, the gigantic flying reptiles known as azarchodons, and a type of large stegasaur known as a chimaltecua which are sometimes used as beasts of burden.
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