Puthawanan Current Status
Current Status
Puthawanan is currently occupied by Colony forces, which generally means that its population is forced into supporting this occupation through mining and processing Iron, feeding the Colony armies, and being exposed to the religion of The Holy Trinity. As long as peace is maintained, the Puthawanan's are able to keep a semblance of government through the Datu Dimalig in the southern city of Sumilong. Repression follows resistance, but otherwise people are generally able to survive at the expense of the slow consumption of the Island's natural resources and relationship to the spirits which inhabit it.
Background
Puthawanan was the first island discovered by the Colony explorers led by Maclellan as they sailed in from the North. Peaking high above the mists on the horizon, it was not the shoreline that was first sighted but the jutting peaks of Arimaonga's ridge. As they made landfall, the explorers cleared trees and vegetation to make way for camp. Unbeknownst to them they had been detected and were being watched. Over the course of days, Mangangayaw Scouts observed and reported back to the Datu Lakadkambing of the arrival of the destructive visitors. The Datu was known for his prowess as a warrior headhunter, and a warrior's response was given--sending word to Datu Dimalig in the southern city of Sumilong, the warriors of Puthawanan assembled to surround the unaware Colony camp. As dawn set across the eastern sea, the Puthawanan forces announced their presence, and Datu Lakadkambing walked out to meet the explorer Maclellan. Unproductive words were exchanged--a dagger thrown into the ground--Steel Sword clashing with Headhunter's axe. Maclellan was an explorer, not a warrior. In time he found his neck in the gap beneath Lakadkambing's shield as the axe scraped along its length, separating his head. The snap of a musket--a steel ball tearing through stomach flesh, and the Datu was down as well. The incident became known as "The First Blades of Arimaonga". Maclellan's head was mounted on a spike where the camp stood, a gift of solace to the spirits of the damaged grove along with offerings of food.
The escaping Explorers would not be the last of the Colony. In a show of force, the Colony returned with a small army. Covered with heavy metal armor and carrying enormous greatswords, the first waves were ill suited for combat on the beaches and in the Jungles. But Puthawanan resistance was missing one crucial component--the Datu Lakadkambing was being held in a suspended state as the island's Babaylan's worked to repair the critical damage suffered from the assassins shot. The situation reached a head when the Colony was able to cut the North from the South of Puthawanan at the base of Arimaonga's Ridge, with ships patrolling the coast of either side of the Colony line. Recognizing that further resistance would lead to mass death of Puthawanan's, Datu Dimalig made the controversial choice to capitulate control of the South to the Colony in exchange for allowing the surrender of their warriors without reprisal. This allowed the Colony to quickly assume control of the key locations of the rest of the island. While cut off from the rest of the island, the mountain city of Himpapawiran actually remains the last holdout of resistance on Puthawanan, although they cannot realistically maintain control over the Island's economy, shores, or people.
Faction Control
Puthawanan is currently controlled by the Colony
The mountain city of Himpapawiran is controlled by Puthawanan Warriors but is encircled by Colony
Diplomacy
Puthawanan sends weapons and food to Nasiranka, which now is the main island for the Colony due to the presence of Gold Reserves and proximity to other priority settlement targets.
Puthawanan receives some Gold and other luxuries from Nasiranka but the majority of this is further shipped on to the Colony homeland.
Key Figures
Datu Lakadkambing - The Datu of Himpapariwan is a tiefling who wears a great red pudong and is covered in tattoos, despite his fluffy coat not allowing you to see, along with a monsala that wraps around him. He always carries around with him his mountain head-hunting axe. His name is Datu Lakadkambing, and before becoming a Datu, he was the bravest and most powerful headhunter in all of Himpapawiran. He became Datu after he won against a rival chiefdom from the northeast side of Puthawanan, using his knowledge of metallurgy to fight them off and cement his rule as the chief of the Kedatuan of Himpapawiran. (SI 84). Following his triumph against the Colony at the beach below Arimaonga, Lakadkambing sustained injury from a musket shot which has left him in a coma. While the Babaylan Batang Agsunta attempts to cure his wound, his soldiers face an extended siege by colony forces who have the mountain city of Himpapawiran blockaded.
Batang Agsunta - The elf babaylan Batang Agsunta is one of the youngest babaylan in the entire archipelago, only 14 years of age when she finished her babaylan training. Covered in tattoos and eternally blind due to her eyes being stolen during her spirit quest, she wears a cloth blindfold with an eye drawn upon it. Her spirit companion is the current god of the mountain, Supuan, who helps her when speaking to the spirits. She does not live in a single house. At four points of the day: at first light, at afternoon, at sundown and then at midnight, she travels to the four spirit houses placed on the bottom, top, east, and west sides of Himpapawiran to pay obeisance to the spirits. (84) Considered a prodigy, even her healing prowess is unequipped for the injury sustained by the mysterious firearm, which appeared to use a festering poison on the metal round.
Datu Dimalig - Datu Dimalig is an older, human man, broad-shouldered and such an imposing figure that some say that he’s cut from the same stone as Sumilong itself. He grew up in Sumilong and he is said to be a descendant of the woman who laid the first stone for the settlement’s foundation. While many in his family continued the tradition of stoneworking, Dimalig instead took to life as a warrior. Prior to becoming Datu, he protected travelling parties and helped them navigate Puthawanan. This work has left Dimalig with many scars and countless stories to share. More importantly, this has given him the experience necessary to make difficult decisions and protect his community. Though Dimalig is not especially concerned with his reputation, he is well-liked for his practical and humble attitude. (88) Dimalig had to make a hard decision to concede the fight to the Colony to avoid undue casualties at the hands of the invaders. He now plays unwilling host to the Colony's political representatives and military governor, which administrates from Sumilong.
Captain Sebastian Corcora - Military Governor of Puthawanan established by the Colony following Datu Dimalig's surrender. Administration of the Island occurs in Sumilong, however the majority of resource harvesting occurs in the foothills on the west of the Arimaonga Ridge, with shipping to other parts of the Islands mostly centered at Agusan. As a result, the Governor makes frequent trips along the western coast of the island to oversee operations in what is being nicknamed the "Red Dust Road"
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