The people of Kumamori are a people who a locked in the distant past and are content for the most part to stay there, which is all for the best lest they wish to attempt a rematch with the more advanced nations of the world.— — Masamoto Makato, A Samurai's Voyages Around the World
Geography
The Kumamori region is located north of Izumo and Yamatai and is connected to Soyotama and Fukuyama through the extensive steppe lands. It is a peninsula that stretches into the northern waters, with a landscape dominated by flat plains and steppes in the interior, and taiga forests on the coast. The region is also broken up by several sizable lakes.
The name of the which is a combination of Yamatai words which mean bear forest, due to the e prevalence of bears and forests.
Climate
As Kumamori is so the closest to the north pole, and without significant mountains to keep warm air in, the region experiences harsh snowy winters, with primarily mild cool summers. A few locations in around the lakes and closer to Izumo will experience warmer summers. Due to their proximity to the north pole portions of Kumamori will experience entire months of darkness and light.
Natural Disasters
The Kumamori region experiences mostly mild weather during the summer, however, during the winter months major blizzards frequently are common, with lake-effect snow causing rapid snow on short notice. The most dangerous of all though is the occasional ice storms which make travel hazardous.
Major Geographical Features
The Tianlong Ocean is a vast and frigid body of water that lies to the north of Ashihara and Yosai where it extends to the north pole. The ocean is known for its extreme cold, with much of it frozen over during the long winter months. At the north pole, the ocean is permanently frozen, with thick ice sheets covering the surface year-round.
The name "Tianlong" comes from Izumo and refers to an Ice Dragon Kami that resides beneath the ocean's frozen ice caps. In ancient times, it was believed to control the ocean's freezing and thawing. Today, the Ice Dragon is reclusive and any attempt to disturb it could result in dire consequences.
The Tazov Steppes is vast and mostly empty lands, making travel across northern Ashihara treacherous for anyone except the nomadic peoples who reside in the area.
Lake Shara-Nur is the largest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, located at the center of Kumamori. It has a maximum depth of 8000 feet (2400 m) and is home to many unique species, as well as hidden dangers that reside in its depths. The lake is also connected to many deep underground caves and pools and is a major source of food and trade for those who live in Kumamori. It freezes over during the winter months, making travel by dog sled the only option. The lake was named by dwarven explorers who were the first non-natives to discover it.
Lake Shara-Nur flows out into a river that connects it to Lake Tura-Nur, the second-largest lake in the region. While less deep than its northern cousin, Lake Tura-Nur also freezes over during the winter. In local mythology, the lakes are personified as siblings that work in tandem to support the tribes.
The Yukata Wilds is a vast expanse of taiga forests with some of the world's largest trees. It is home to a diverse array of animals and yokai that stalk its floors.
The Arktika Mountains is the only major mountain range located within Kumamori, with an average height of several thousand feet (350 m). Between the Arktika Mountains and the Koshi Sea lies a small microenvironment that is more similar to Kosa in the south, with warm but not humid summers leading to a temperate region compared to the Taiga and Steppe north of the mountains. Those who live within this zone are proficient in sea travel and are a limited source of Kumamori's trade with the outside world, primarily focused on timber and furs from the Yukata Wilds.
The Koshi Sea is the large body of water that separates Kumamori from Yamatai. There is currently a naming dispute between the two, with the Kumamori locals referring to it as the Koshi Sea while Yamatai calls it the Yamatai Sea.
Cultures
The Suchan are nomadic people who roam the plains of Kumamori and once conquered parts of Izumo and attempted to Invade Yamatai. Their society is primarily based on martial skills such as horse archery and herding animals, with frequent infighting among themselves. However, their traditional raiding tactics are becoming obsolete due to modern warfare, leaving them to focus on expanding their herds of animals, particularly cattle and Reindeer, and to meet the increasing demand from industrialized Izumo and Yamatai populations with the Tarniks being the middle man.
Although the Suchan is known for their fair dealings in trade, they also value war and conquest as a means of settling disputes. In their culture, the battle is seen as a fair way to determine a winner, with the loser expected to give up something, such as goods, money, or people. This frequently results in the assimilation of the defeated group into the victor's society, and historically lead to conflicts with settled peoples.
The Chukochi are a resilient group of hunter-gatherers who inhabit the Taiga forests of the region. They have limited agriculture in the south and are primarily engaged in logging and the fur trade. Fishing and whaling are also carried out in certain areas. However, the Chukochi are under pressure from the industrialized powers of Izumo and Yamatai, as their traditional way of life is threatened. Despite being involved in the fur and logging trades, the Chukochi are cautious in their dealings with outsiders and maintain their own customs and traditions. Their prideful and unyielding nature makes them resistant to change, but they have adapted to some extent to the demands of modernization, while still holding onto their own cultural practices, such as tribal hall meetings.
The Tarniks are people who have settled around the main lakes of the region, where they rely heavily on the lakes for food and trade. They have a long history of utilizing the lakes to survive and trade goods with their neighbors, the Suchan and Chukochi. With the growth of global trade, the Tarniks found themselves in a key position to facilitate various trades, such as fur, lumber, cattle, and even ice.
In recent years, the Tarniks have established a limited amount of industrialization along the lakes with the help of foreign investments from the Izumo and Yamatai banks. The main manufacturing activities are centered around canning fish, processing logs into lumber, and some paper making. The Tarniks are innovative people who are eager to use foreign technology to benefit themselves, unlike their neighbors. However, the Tarniks are known for dumping foreign advisers once they consider them no longer needed. They believe that once they have enough knowledge about a subject, they no longer need more and usually consider themselves well-informed enough, and consider advice at that point insulting.
Religion
The Kumamori peoples despite all having fairly different environments and lifestyles, share a similar pantheon due to the inter spreading of ideas and relative isolation from the outside world until more recent centuries. The Kumamori Faith primarily revolves around a group of animal Yokai Kami who is said to be able to take human forms when needed, and have taught the tribes things that they'd need to survive. The main animal Kami are the Reindeer, the bear, the Lynx, the horse, the Elk, Wolverine, and the wolf, each representing a core cultural value. Reindeer known as Bei represents adaptability; Bear known as Talat represents courage; Lynx known as Nangin represents patience; Horse known as Choron represents freedom; Elk known as Talvi represents resilience; Wolverine known as Dobu represents fearlessness; Wolf known as Turisas represents Family and the Tribe. The Kumamori believe that each of these is represented by an Animal Kami which watches over them, and has historically sought to guide and help them survive in the harsh environment. Such Kami are often associated by outsiders with the Yokai known as Hengeyokai which are animals yokai who can shapeshift into human form, although as of yet this is something which is hard to prove by outsiders.
Comments