Atagua

Adapted and inspired from WotC's Journey's through the Radiant Citadel.

Much of Atagua consists of grasslands, wetlands, and narrow stretches of tropical forests bordering the Holroro River. Two extreme seasons each year of intense rain and dusty drought have shaped this land and blessed its people with resilience. They live, work, and tell stories in villages built on platforms or in sprawling hacienda estates surrounded by sugarcane fields or cacao orchards. Though their villages might be separated by many miles, Ataguans meet each other in their dreams due to the connections between this land and a mystical mountain in the Feywild.
For nearly two hundred years, the people of Atagua have thrived, peacefully trading among diverse outposts connected by the Grassroads - a system of walkways elevated to protect from floods, fires, and other threats and engineered by the ancient Flood People who first settled these lands. Yet danger remains. In some years, the rains that end the dry season are late, increasing the risk of wildfires. Bulettes and other predators shadow travelers on the Grassroads or stalk the thri-kreen folk who wander the Llanos. And among the Green Doctors, a guild of healers and scholars, old tales warn of strange whistling creatures that sometimes pass into Atagua from dark realms - and that might someday emerge in unstoppable numbers to consume this land.

Features

Those familiar with Atagua know the following details:
Hallmarks. This land is known for the chocolate and sugar produced there and for the elevated walkways that traverse its forests and tropical savannas. Folk there experience vivid dreams, often of an invisible, flat-topped mountain .
People of Atagua. Ataguans are predominantly humans with tan to dark-brown complexions, along with smaller numbers of dark-skinned forest gnomes and tieflings, the latter of whom typically bear three horns. Nomadic clans of thri-kreen with iridescent carapaces also wander the Llanos; they're rarely encountered in towns and cities.
Languages. Quirapu is the language of Atagua (free language for locals to Atagua), a melded derivative of the original languages of the Flood People who first settled these lands and the colonizers who came after them. All folk of Atagua also speak Common.

Noteworthy Sites

Atagua is a rugged country of tropical grassland plains and gallery forests - a great savanna known locally as the Llanos. Spread across the basin of the twisting Holroro River, the peoples of this land dwell in scattered outposts connected by walkways called the Grassroads.

The Grassroads

The Grassroads are a system of elevated, 15-foot-wide roads ranging from 5 to 20 feet in height and punctuated by lean-to shelters; the roads and shelters alike are constructed from wood, reeds, and stone. The folk of Atagua use these roads to ensure safe passage above the many hazards of the Llanos. Traders and farmers walk the roads day and night, protected by the elite fighter-scouts known as Cababa warriors, who patrol constantly for poachers and bandits. Thri-kreen can often be found scavenging the ground beneath the pathways for items dropped from above. They then trade these items for panela - cones of brown sugar cooked in mills across Atagua.

El Caparazón

Hundreds of farming villages dot the Llanos, bordered by sugarcane fields and orchards of cacao trees. El Caparazón ("The Shell") is the largest of these settlements and the capital of Atagua. It was named for a latticework partial dome built by the Flood People hundreds of years ago. The dome provides precious shade to the central square known as the Mercado Sucre and to a grand hacienda roofed with amber-hued tiles. Called the Sugar Alcázar, this hacienda is home to Alfonz Rubinaz-Zumdi, the powerful landowner known as the Sugar Man.
About 5 miles outside the city, Port Panela serves as Atagua's port. It boasts dozens of wooden docks as well as thatched huts on stilted platforms, and the harbor teems with sleek trade boats returning or departing with sugar, cacao, goods, and travelers.

The Outposts

Three remote settlements, collectively known as "the outposts," are home to the most notable factions of Atagua. One is a busy encampment that serves as a base for the Tribe of Builders, the engineers and workers who repair and extend the Grassroads. Every six years they rebuild this encampment, which they affectionately call the Devil's Hammock. The second outpost was once the El Chapán rum distillery; after it closed down long ago, it became a trading post for the thri-kreen of the Llanos. The third outpost is the Silver Tapir Monastery, which serves as the sanctuary and school of the Green Doctors.

Life in Atagua

Hard-Won Independence

Nearly five hundred years ago, an invading force rolled across the Llanos of Atagua, thereafter invading the neighboring region of San Citlán. But after three centuries of occupation, the mixed descendants of the Flood People who first settled Atagua and former invaders who made peace with them decisively expelled their would-be rulers after a thirteen-year war of independence. Atagua's people are the result of the multigenerational intermingling between the native Flood People, the descendants of invaders who rebelled against their leaders and settled here, and a steady stream of new immigrants and adventurers drawn to the freedom and challenges of life on the Llanos.
The aftermath of war was marked by a vibrant rebuilding period. Large settlements such as El Caparazón retained some of the cultural aspects of the long colonial occupation, while rural villages primarily drew on the legacy of the Flood People.
Even after two centuries of peace, tensions sometimes arise between clans and factions due to feuds and the revival of ancient grudges. These conflicts flare but are resolved through hard work, patient negotiations, and compromises by all sides. Overall, the people of Atagua embrace the idea that they form a complicated, diverse culture - and that together, they will shape a hopeful future.

Lives of the People

Sugar and chocolate are abundant in the cuisine of Atagua, especially in the favored beverages: drinking chocolate, strong coffee, and even stronger rum sweetened with panela - the cooked-down juice of sugarcane. Corn, black beans, and plantains are the cornerstones of every meal, and arepas - grilled buns made from ground corn - are eaten by the wealthy and the poor alike.
The folk of this land work hard by day, but they mark each noon as the start of the siesta, which offers a much-needed respite from the midday heat. People retire to the shade of haciendas or huts, to rest or quietly gather with their closest kin, for it is said that only the untrustworthy conduct their \ affairs under the blistering midday sun. And when work is done, evenings explode with social activity and music.
Cropped cotton trousers, long-sleeve tunics, long and loose sleeveless jackets known as gilets, full skirts, and straw hats are everyday dress for people of all genders in Atagua. Geometric tattoos or angular designs painted with butterfly-based pigments are commonplace on faces and hands. And the Cababa warriors and the workers of the Tribe of Builders bear accessories made from feathers and flowers, paired with snakeskin kilts.

Faith and Fortune

Religion in Atagua revolves around the Suwa, a shifting pantheon of hundreds of folk heroes. Small, colorful statues of Suwa heroes are found everywhere in Atagua and are honored with offerings of rum or sweets. Ataguans are tolerant of different beliefs and often adopt legendary figures from other cultures into the Suwa.

The Green Doctors

The collective of mystics known as the Green Doctors weaves together knowledge of magic and herbal medicine to heal the people and creatures of Atagua. The leader of their order is an elf named Melecio. Green Doctors are recognized by the green sash they wear around their waists, but any healer, mage, or storyteller can study medicine at the order's home, the Silver Tapir Monastery.

Names

Some Ataguan names honor the ancestral heroes of the Flood People, while others are derived by mixing those names with ones from the colonial past. In addition to given names, insightful nicknames from a person's childhood often linger into adulthood. The following are examples of such names:
Feminine. Cruz, Tibísay, Yamaira, Zulibeth
Masculine. Estwaldo, Jecson, Oru, Payaro
Gender-Neutral. Ara, Riaguey, Tamí, Zamiri
Nicknames. Arrow, Little Toucan, Orchid, Quipper
Surnames. Periro, Secuentes, Táreru, Zárates

Characters from Atagua

If players want to create characters from Atagua, ask them the following questions:
Have you traveled far in Atagua? Are you familiar with the Grassroads? Do you have contacts among thri-kreen traders?
Are your dreams remarkable? Have you had visions of serpentine dream spirits or strange flowers? Do you have nightmares of terrible insects? Do you not dream at all?
Have you interacted with the Green Doctors? Did they heal you, or a dear friend or family member? Have you learned about traditional magic from them?

Atagua Pronunciations

The Atagua Pronunciations table shows how to pronounce key names in this adventure.
Atagua Pronunciations
Name Pronunciation
Alfonz Rubinaz-Zumdi AL-fonz ru-BIN-ahz ZUM-dee
Atagua ah-TAH-gwah
Camino Rojo kah-MEE-no RO-ho
Chimagua chee-MAH-gwah
Cht-Chak chit-CHAK
El Caparazón ehl kah-pah-rah-ZONE
Llanos YAH-nose
Melecio may-LAY-see-o
Nene NAY-nay
Phik-Pik fik-PIK
Sarire sah-REE-ray
Tepui teh-PUH-wee
Yarana yah-RAH-nah