Diru

Diru is a terra firma continent known for its infamous cursed ashlands, or "ash deserts", which constitute a large portion of the land, rendering them unsuitable for conventional agriculture, among others. Life in Diru has adapted significantly to this environment, at the cost of a generally bleak outlook of life shared by most inhabitants--or so the stereotypes say. Like the Akebans who have faced the mighty forests, rainforests, and the deathly Dead Dunes, the Diruvan peoples refused to be stagnant. As a result, two of the most impressive and enduring empires of the world are located in Diru, where colourful ways of life, supplemented by resilience to adversity, contrast with the dreariness of the ash and of stereotypes.
Once a part of Sakoshina, the aboriginal inhabitants of what was simply called Southern Sakoshina rose in protest against the expansionist Shinrya Empire. Though disadvantaged at several aspects, they excelled in maximising the potential of their ashlands, where many Shinrya had trouble navigating and surviving--although the Empire eventually managed to conquer a large portion of the natives' lands, leaving only a few dissident regions, chief among them being the Jomun or Jomen people, the original Ashenites, and the inhabitants of the kingdom Ashenon. These three have long formed alliances with each other, which let them withstand the Shinrya better than most of their neighbours. The lands all three of the peoples occupied were together called Diru--eventually the bane of the Shinrya. Allies from the Three Suns nations helped greatly in their liberation, and when freedom was had, all the peoples of Southern Sakoshina agreed to unite all their lands under a common name that would now represent themselves as being distinct from the classification of being the "nether land" of Sakoshina. In honour of the Jomun, Ashenites, and Ashenonians who bravely risked their relatively safe and stable livelihoods for freedom of neighborly lands, the people agreed to call the new continent Diru.