Bara

Bara is an island in the Southwestern Region, and the largest in the Mekonggan Archipelago. It holds a dubious distinction as the site of the longest-running war in the Great Ring - a bitter conflict between the island's two main powers: the Kingdom of Tiwu in the west and the Bara Karajan in the east. Though the war had dwindled to infrequent skirmishes, it was reignited when the Tagápulo Empire allied with the Bara Karajan as part of its broader war against the Kingdom of Lahat. Lahat, in turn, moved swiftly to support Tiwu, and for the past five years the island has once again been plunged into total war.

With the resources of the two greater nations behind them, the ancient war of Bara - which has persisted in one form or another for thousands of years - has become more deadly and destructive than ever before. Old grievances between the Phaṇin and Tiwunese peoples have once again been inflamed, with each side invoking tales of atrocities, both ancient and recent, to stoke hatred of the other. The island's central regions have been virtually depopulated by the fighting, as settlements along both sides of the border have been massacred or abandoned. Even the representatives of Tagápulo and Lahat have expressed concern over the ferocity with which the Barans pursue the conflict, for though both empires are well acquainted with war, the people of Bara have embraced its most brutal aspects with a fervor that unsettles even veteran soldiers from other islands.

Despite the scale of the conflict, the war has produced no clear victor. Contrary to the predictions of Pangkalahatan Malaking, the supreme general of the Tagápulo Empire, Imperial forces have been unable to overrun the Tiwunese, whose counterattacks have proven far more effective than anticipated. Both of the greater powers have lost countless lives on Bara, yet unless Malaking orders a withdrawal, there appears to be no end in sight - and even if Lahat and the Empire were to pull out, nothing suggests that the people of Bara themselves would cease their drive toward mutual annihilation.

Notable Spirits

Had the Empire been more familiar with the gods of Bara, it might have reconsidered its decision to provoke war upon the island. The god of Bara is known as Asu to the Tiwunese and Ain to the Phaṇin - a deity devoted to conflict and strife. It is said to be at this god's urging that the people of Bara have fought for so long and with such ferocity. In ages past, they developed rules of warfare to limit casualties - an innovation that Asu-Ain tolerated, for it was the only way to prevent the complete destruction of his followers. Yet with the influx of foreign warriors to the island, Asu-Ain has cast aside such restraints as unnecessary - at least, for him.