Ibaragi
Ibaragi is steeped in traditions that are oppressive and backward to us outsiders, but through sheer dermination has carved a civilization which they can pride themselves on
Geography
Ibaragi is a small continent, with a Western mountain range running from northwest to southeast, creating a high barrier. The Northern mountain range has many valleys within and is generally thicker and shorter in length. The East range is a softer highland or Plateau, with many valleys and easier mountains to climb and build on. The southern coast region, mostly between mountains, is a mix of jungle and drier lands. Ibaragi experiences a mixture of tropical and drier Savanna and highland environments, with the equator running through its middle.
Ibaragi is bordered by Soyotama in the northwest across the Azima Sea, to its north across the mountains is Kushatani, and to its east across the Orochi Sea is Nakahonia.
Climate
Ibaragi experiences fairly hot and humid summers, with the central region being hot and dry, with parts of the east where they border inland sea being cool and humid summers. Winter is rare even in Ibaragi mountainous regions, though parts of the western mountain range experience limited snowfall during the cooler months. The region is prone to extremes of flooding and droughts, with tropical storms being a significant concern in the western portion. The central region is a mixture of highlands in the west near the previously mentioned section, and low Savannah lands which are prone to extreme wet and dry seasons.
Natural Disasters
Much of Ibaragi is prone to flooding, with seasonal flooding caused by limited rainfall and a wet and dry season, similar to what parts of Africa experience. Flooding in the eastern part is more from the fact that its coastal regions are fairly flat, making them vulnerable to storm surges. Tropical storms are also a significant concern in the western portion of Ibaragi. Winter is rare, but parts of the western mountain range experience limited snowfall during the cooler months.
Major Geographical Features
Cultures
Sakain
The Saikan Empire is a relatively new culture formed by three non-human groups, the Oni, Tengu, and Jorogumo, who rule over humans. The Saikan people are diverse and include elements from both the Saikan Yokai Elites and native Ibaragi humans. They have historically been tribal, but now have a unified culture centered around the Empire's three god ruler Kami. However, frequent infighting between the Empire's three main Yokai groups has created a chaotic environment.
Outside the Empire's borders, older tribal identities often remain, although they have also adopted traditions from the Empire. Saikan humans within the Empire have largely urbanized with a focus on crafts, and military production controlled by the Empire is a major source of employment. The Empire bureaucracy is run by the Saikan tribes. Technologically, Saikan as a whole remains in the late medieval era, and has largely remained technologically backwards except for limited capacity controlled by the Elites directly.
One unique aspect of the Saikan culture is their acceptance of necromancy. The Saikan are one of the only peoples to consider it tolerable, with varying degrees of necromancy, from undead laborers to eternal servants to the Kami rulers for a few. While bleak, this practice is considered a great honor and a useful way to supplement the poor incomes of the peasant class, as the Empire pays well for such a thing. In exchange, the Saikan Empire grants a great deal of freedoms to their people as long as the living tax and the so-called death tax are paid. They even allow locals to maintain traditional Kami as long as they still respect the ruling Kami.
The Saikan are also one of the most accepting people when it comes to non-human species, and Saikan is considered a refuge for non-humans by some, even if it is considered backwards due to its necromancy and Yomi worship. However, the Saikan Empire remains extremely isolationist, not by choice, but because their previous attempts to invade Kushatani have made them a pariah state to the rest of the world. Although limited trade occurs, it is mostly with more open-minded merchants from Talin and Susa.
Saikan Human Tribes
The Saikan tribes are a group of partially assimilated Ibaragi humans who maintain their old ways of organizing based on a combination of shamans and war chiefs. Unlike the urbanized Saikan, the tribes are primarily hunter-gatherers and frequently trade traditional handcrafts or pelts to the more developed areas of Saikan. The tribes are also often conscripted into the Empire's internal and external conflicts as foot soldiers.
Despite their connections to the Empire, the Saikan tribes maintain a distinct identity and worship the Yomi Kami more then the three ruler Kami. They frequently clash with the various Yokai groups of the Empire and have been known to rebel against them. However, they still share many cultural customs with their Saikan cousins, making them more culturally similar to each other than to the rest of Ibaragi.
Sakain Oni
The Saikan Oni are a type of Yokai characterized by their large size, red skin, and horns. They are one of the three elite Yokai groups in the Saikan Empire and adhere to older Oni traditions that center around martial prowess and warfare. Physical competitions within the Oni tribes are common, and the strongest individual is recognized as the leader of the tribe. Although most leaders are men, women frequently serve in Saikan Oni leadership positions and are often more adept at Oni magic.
The Saikan Oni have no notion of a fair fight and consider nearly anything to be legitimate, including trickery and cheating. However, outside help is generally frowned upon. The Saikan Oni place great importance on martial prestige and consider it to be their most important value. As part of the Empire's elite, the Saikan Oni rule over a portion of the human tribes and serve as shocktroops for the Empire. They also place a great deal of importance on blacksmithing, mainly weapons and armor, and frequently trade or raid to meet their other needs.
When the Saikan Oni go to war, they frequently engage in the practice of head-taking to prove their deeds in battle. Notably, they do not keep the heads as trophies but instead bury them afterwards.The Saikan Oni are considered by other Oni to usually be savage and uncivilized due thier unstable system of leadership based on prowess. The Saikan Oni separated from the larger group after following the Kijin Kami Reiki, which sought to revive older traditions and revive the Oni position as undefeated fearsome warriors and help form the Saikan Empire.
Sakain Tengu
The Saikan Tengu are a type of humanoid raven-like Yokai, distinguished by their large feathered grey wings on their backs and long, distinctive noses. The Saikan Tengu joined the DaiTengu Kami Zenkibo during the early founding of the Saikan Empire, which set them apart from other Tengu. They maintain very few strict rules of discipline but do adhere to a strict informal hierarchy. The Saikan Tengu are proud individuals who live in mountain fortresses accessible only by flight, leading to a sense of superiority that makes it difficult for them to get along with other groups, especially the Oni with whom they have a long-standing rivalry. They often extract tribute from nearby villages and despise humans.
The Saikan Tengu value careful and meticulousness and have become the chief administrators of the Empire, a role they despise but which the other two elite Yokai races leave to them. They also serve as the Empire's primary scouts and skirmishers due to their ability to fly. Additionally, the Saikan Tengu have become the Empire's main learned class, taking on professions such as academics, engineers, and scientists.
Sakain Jorogumo
The Saikan Jorogumo are a race of large humanoid spider Yokai who reside in the caverns of the Meikai realm under Ashihara. They are considered one of the three elite Yokai races in Saikan and are led by their queen and goddess, Enkina. Known for their skilled craftsmanship, the Saikan Jorogumo use their spider silk to create some of the world's finest thread, which is in high demand both in Saikan and abroad as a cheaper alternative to Izumo silk worms.
The Saikan Jorogumo have a reputation for being extremely cunning and manipulative, because of this the Saikan Jorogumo serve as spies, diplomats, and negotiators for the Saikan Empire. They have, however, taken an unexpected approach by championing Yokai rights and often assist other Yokai who are unfortunate within the Empire and its neighboring territories.
The Saikan Jorogumo view trickery and manipulation within Jorogumo clans led by Matriarchs as highly shameful, believing that protecting the collective clan and Yokai as a whole is more important than fighting amongst themselves. They frequently clash with the Oni and Tengu over the Empire's treatment of other Yokai, a cause that the Oni and Tengu largely disregard.
Kloscu
The Kloscu are a people who live in the jungle around the Turgayi River. They are known for being resourceful and adapting to challenges from both their environment and outsiders. Their society is semi-feudalistic, with cities within the dense jungle. They have managed to tame the Turgayi River using irrigation and dams, allowing them to focus on agriculture. Overall the Kloscu are a people with a early medieval level of technology.
The Kloscu are sentimental and proud of their past achievements. They often speak of the ruins of past civilizations, such as temples and stone pyramids, that have been lost to the jungle. However, many of the details of these past accomplishments have been forgotten.
The Kloscu have a mixed and skeptical attitude towards foreigners. They have been devastated by raids from the Saikan in the past, leading to a limited interaction with outsiders based on trade with those who have earned their trust. The Kloscu import foreign guns but reject foreign ideas.In exchange the Kloscu export items such as ivory, herbs, and their most profitable product, coffee, which is highly valued in Kushatani.
The Kloscu have a unique religion that differs from the rest of Ibaragi. They fear Yomi deities like Yerbeg and Uke and have abandoned their worship. Instead, they worship their ancestors, particularly local legends of heroes and kings, whom they believe protect their souls from being claimed by the Yomi Kami. The Kloscu bury their dead in large stone pyramids or burial tombs, which are protected by their shamans from Ayakashi and Saikan necromancy raids.
Othma
The culture of the Othma people is strongly influenced by their history of oppression and perseverance. Their values reflect this, as they prioritize endurance, determination, and striving for a better future. Despite being mostly an agricultural society, the Othma have adapted to their land's advantages and have become well-known for their coastal resources of gold, salt, and precious gems, making them a valuable trade partner for the world's great powers.
Religion plays a significant role in Othma culture, as they worship the Yomi Kami Yerberg, also known as Nesaku, in order to appease his wrath and prevent calamities. Ancestor worship is also practiced, which has syncretized with the Yomi Kami worship, but the Othma are not particularly fond of the Saikan Kami rulers.
Akze
The Akze people are a seafaring group residing in the southeast of Ibaragi. They are well-known for their long-standing tradition of piracy and privateering, dating back over two thousand years to the time of the third Izumo Empire, when trade first began in the Orochi Sea. The Akze society is primarily organized around these raids, with many fences for stolen goods that are typically sold to the Saikan Empire.
Like the rest of Ibaragi, the Akze have fallen under the influence of the Saikan Empire, but they have largely embraced it openly. Historically, the Saikan Empire has provided protection to the Akze pirate kingdoms in exchange for tribute. However, in recent years, as other great powers have grown in influence, many Akze cities have been bombarded by these powers' navies in retribution for their raids. Nevertheless, the Akze have managed to play the great powers off against each other, hiring out their services to the highest bidder.
Religion is not a significant aspect of Akze society, and they are not particularly dogmatic in their beliefs. On the surface, they worship the Yomi Kami, who encourage their raiding and pirating, as well as the Saikan ruler Kami. However, the Akze also extend a great deal of appeasement to other Kami related to the sea, such as the Takama Kami Sussano, the god of storms and sea, and the Mirai Kami Daikokuten, the god of courage and commerce.
Religion
Yomi Kami
Religion has played a significant role in the history of Ibaragi, with the people centering their beliefs around the Yomi Kami. These deities are believed to reside in the realm of Yomi, which is often associated with the afterlife and considered to be a place of darkness and evil by those outside of Ibaragi. The people of Ibaragi have a mixed relationship with the Yomi Kami. On the one hand, they fear the retribution that could come from not worshiping them, while on the other hand, they believe that by worshiping the Yomi Kami, they can gain an advantage over their enemies.
-Nesaku, also known as Yerbeg, is one of the major Yomi Kami in Ibaragi. He is associated with vengeance and death, and his worship is believed to bring about retrubution
-Uke, or Amanozako as she is known outside of Ibaragi, is the other major Yomi Kami. She is considered to be the goddess of disease, monsters, and the undead. Uke was once the goddess Anhua, the patron of the elves, but she plotted against the Takama Kami to promote the elves over humans which resulted in her death and transformation into Amanozako.
Saikan Kami
The other major group of Kami worshiped in Ibaragi are the Saikan ruler Kami, whom have only recently been considered gods since around several hundred years ago when they founded the Saikan Empire. Overtime the respect and fear they command, and thier connection with the Yomi Kami, has seen the people within Ibaragi to revere and worship them as gods.
Type
Continent
Location under
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