Xouhan Du

Far the east, further than Kamabama, lies the original home of the Shou, Chengbang. On an island just off the coast sat the heavily fortified city of Xouhan Du that protected the mainland. This city became the capital after centuries of surviving siege after siege, from land bridges to naval assaults. The Shou defended this fortress city with fervor. The city itself could hold over 200,000 people. The island was fairly large and easily defended from behind the strong and tall walls. It sat upon cliffs so that on a whim, dozens of vessels could come from the harbor underneath the stone.
The Shou were the first human civilization the flourish, and so early. During the Second Era they fought and conquered much of their surrounding jungles and highlands and deserts. Jour never ventured their way, and many naturalists attribute their success to the Belor Ocean that separated them as a natural deterrent to Jour and his armies. They were not without their troubles, though, and fighting the local humans, who are now extinct, caused them great peril.
The greatest peril, though, came in the form of an ancient seadragon. The dragon curled itself into a ball dozens of feet thick with a head the size of a trading vessel. This dragon spoke a prophecy over the proud kings and queens who had ruled: A great calamity will fall upon you and you will fall. But you shall rise again.
The king and queens, of course, for a hundred years sought the answer to the prophecy or at least a way to halt it. All the wisemen and seers, however, claimed that the prophecy must come true. Warriors went on quests for half their lifetimes seeking treasure or reward to allow the seadragon to reconsider. Some wizards entered the other realms in search of answers, but no one had them.
One neight, kua-toa ascended the rocks silently. By the time the main garrison was roused, the kua-toa had cut their way through the city and arriving at the doorstep of the keep. Inside, however, other kua-toa invented a god of war to help them. True to the kua-toa way, they were able to manifest a deity to protect them. The city, apart from a few buildings and families who hid underground, was demolished.
Mainlanders came, but too late. The kua-toa ruined the place with their stench and fetid saliva. It ate everything. The city, apart from a few buildings, was deemed uninhabitable and abandoned. Ships had come bringing news of lands further west, so the Shou tried their luck there, coming back once every few years to check up on the mainland.
The city did rebuild. The few who stayed or lived cleaned up and restored the city to a livable condition. The stench persisted for a year before being finally replaced with the smell of ore smiths, bakers, and clean fountains. Decorative waterways cut through the city from the bubbling spring at the heart, a once-sacred place.
The inhabitants considered Xouhan Du their own, and claimed it for themselves. When the other Shou returned to find it inhabited, they believed some invaders had taken it. When a Shou poked his head above the walls the others realized how much had been done by their own kind. Praises sent up all around at the magnificent sight of their home city finally coming back to its own.
The next thousand years, Xouhan Du underwent major changes and improvements, crowning it the Jewel of the Distant East.

Type

Capital