Raga-Iwa

In the province of Raga-Iwa, death is not feared but celebrated. The people do not toil for the sake of their own life, but for the knowledge that when it's over, they will be taken in by one of the ounbo to dance and laugh in sacred unlife. Those who are particularly diligent in their offerings of rum and tobacco and just in behavior may even be taken by The Baron himself to celebrate eternally in His Parlour. Despite the fickleness of the ounbo and the possibility of damnation to existance as a zombi, those able to earn their favor are guaranteed paradise, for a time at least. As such, those willing to live among the undead continue to petition the ounbo and the Baron for their gifts of undeath, much to their pleasure.
Raga-Iwa's Herald has never changed, in charge since even before the province's founding. Deep within Raga-Iwa's lush jungles, a crater whorls with energies hostile to the living and galvanizing to the dead. At the center of this vortex rests a mansion, draped in drapo flags and surrounded by everburning candles. In the heart of the maze of hallways lined with fetishes and altars is a throne room, larger within than without, where still-animated corpses party and smoke and drink. On the throne sits the entity known only as the Baron. Whether a god of life and death older than even Wesri herself, a particularly powerful and sapient Consumed, or even an Aeon Himself, the Baron and his signature top hat are synonymous with Raga-Iwa itself, having existed since they were first contacted by use of the leylines. Despite His obvious power, He is seemingly content with rule over Raga-Iwa, even being willing to submit to Wesri's rule as long as He and His "children" were left unharmed. As such, He and His cult are warily tolerated by the Hands of the Steel Lady, unwilling as they are to provoke an entity.
The Baron divides his province into many smaller territories, each ruled by an ounbo spirit. These beings act as both governors and high priests and priestesses of The Baron's cult. These ounbo often reward particularly faithful mortals with status and power as oungan, the living clergy of the Baron, granted power over life and death and guaranteed a place in the Baron's Parlor after death. Lay-worshippers are given a lifetime's worth of celebration in the personal houses of the ounbo themselves on their death, before being returned to flesh to earn the Baron's favor once again. Those who spurn the Baron or act against His wishes, however, will be raised as barely-conscious zombi, doomed to toil for lifetime after lifetime in service of those in the Baron's favor.
While generally benevolent, the Baron's very presence seems to cause undead beasts, formed from fused corpses of mortals and animals alike, to rise from the murky swamp waters, hostile to the very presence of life. This, regular hostilities from neighboring provinces, and small scale wars between the fickle ounbo means that life within Raga-Iwa is often one filled with toil and violence, prone to ignoble ends. This, of course, is of little concern to the Baron, his ounbo, or even most mortals within Raga-Iwa; even if life is painful, it is only temporary. Death and what follows are the only things of true concern.

Culture

The people of Raga-Iwa are a relaxed folk, going about their ounbo-imposed duties with the same nonchalant ease as one who has resigned themselves to death. They work and fight and laugh, assured by the fact of their inevitable fate, desiring only to earn the Baron's favor before their time is up. This even applies to those who venture forth beyond the Baron's influence, maintaining the same casual attitude in even the most dire of situations. After even the bloodiest battles, it is customary to party and partake in rum and cigars even as the fallen dead rise up to join the festivities.
Much emphasis is placed on the manner, rather than the time, of one's death. People march to war in tailor-made "death robes", embroidered with a record of their life's most important moments. Deaths in battle and heroic sacrifices are honored while suicide is frowned upon. Showing fear in your moment of death is also shunned, while having one's body mutilated or dismembered is a great dishonor. The greatest mark of the Baron's favor, however, is a peaceful death; whether by age, illness, or a wasting curse, a graceful death is indicative of one having lived a full life, one that is now ready to end so that the spirit may celebrate.
Unlike the cults of other minor gods, the Hands and the Baron's worshippers (known as the Followers of the Voun) rarely directly conflict within Raga-Iwa. In fact, most Followers are also devoted worshippers of Wesri, seeing no real conflict between the two; war and conflict feed death. Acting in a valorous manner is more likely to lead to a good death and, thus, better chances of being welcomed to the Baron's Parlour. For their part, the Hands outside of Raga-Iwa are usually tentatively accepting to actively disdainful, leading to no lack of conflict from surrounding provinces (occasional attacks from feral undead may also play a part).

Type

Geopolitical, Province

Parent Organization

Wesrino