Bato (ˈbato)

"Once, the fist of Bato was the greatest mountain in the world, standing tall above the most powerful of nations. When the portents come to pass, this will be true again, and more besides." - traditional Anma teachings.

Bato is a medium sized member of the Harafora Islands, part of the Mangimoi Archipelago. But according to the inhabitants, the entire archipelago was originally a single landmass (also called Bato) under the control of the ancient Anma kingdom, Anmara. Long before humans ever came to the Great Ring, the Nakaal of Muria made war upon the Anma. The soul-eating High Nakaal sacrificed ten thousand slaves to fuel the spell which destroyed Anmara, driving their mountains into the sea and shattering the largest island in the ring into more than a thousand pieces. But the Anma mage-kings were able to return a final curse upon their enemies, that they themselves would be destroyed, while the Anma would one day rise up again and restore their kingdom. According to the people of Bato, the genocides perpetrated by the Clarati against the Nakaal were the fulfillment of that curse, and they only await the right time and proper omens to rise up and claim their rightful place as the rulers of the Great Ring.

Notable Spirits

When the Nakaal smashed the ancient kingdom of the Anma, they also destroyed the gods those people worshipped, binding them with their True Names and burying the memories of them until they faded into nothing. But they did not succeed in destroying all the great figures of the past. The greatest and last of the Anma Mage-Kings was Kalajawi, and it was they who laid the final curse upon the Nakaal while his palace sank into the sea, crushed under the fallen mountains. The Anma never forgot this final king, and whispered tales of them in the dark times while they were under the rule of Muria. When the Clarati scoured the Nakaal from the world and obliterated Muria, the Anma began to worship Kalajawi openly. The king's Eidolon responded to the worship, and underwent Apotheosis to become one of the Numina, and the god of Bato. Kalajawi is a god of magic and prophecy, and has shown the Anma those signs and portents they must be alert to, if they wish to rule the world beyond tomorrow.

Geography

Bato is a flat, roughly circular island. At the center is a rocky hill that the locals call "Timbuu", which means "The Fist". This hill has a narrow, flat top and is said to be all that remains of the mountain that overlooked the ancient capital of the Anma. At its widest point, Bato is about thirty miles across.

Type

Island

Location under

Harafora Islands

Related Ethnicities

• Anma

Geographic Details

Location: Southern Region
Latitude: 4.7 degrees South
Longitude: 10.99 degrees West 
Average Elevation: 23 ft
Highest Point: 121 ft
Lowest Point: -13 ft
Area: 665.25 sq mi

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