| Gunung | |
|---|---|
| |
| Region Number | 1 |
| Realm | Kingdom of Calorum |
| Population | 1,613,000 |
| Resources | Adamantium, Iron and Steel, Crops, Obsidian |
| Imports | Wood |
| Religion | Lord of Fire |
Gunung is the former capital region of the Kingdom of the Burning Mountains, subsequently absorbed by the Hurosha Empire during the kingdom's dissolution and later transferred to the Kingdom of Calorum. It resembles a large expanse of mountains from a distance, a closer look however reveals that the majority of these mountains are in fact volcanoes. It is around these volcanoes that the ancestors of the present day Berapi first settled farming the extremely fertile soil on the volcano slopes and forming warring tribes where an eruption changed the political landscape more often then war.
Geography[]
Gunung is a large mountain region composed mostly of volcanoes rather than actual mountains. Farming happens on the slopes and in the valleys of these volcanoes and the cities of Gunung are located in the main lava chambers of the volcanoes that have had drainage canals installed. Roads wind through the valleys and mountain passes. The large fortresses in the mountain passes and frequent patrols means that these are mostly safe. The land itself is divided into four distinct regions each with its own features
Small Mountains – A misleading name, the mountains and volcanoes here are actually quite large. It is named like this because the central volcano of the region; Acachto (meaning first) dwarfs al the mountains around it. Acachto used to be the region's most active volcano but nowadays its main lava chamber is the site of Gunung’s capital Itzli.
Lava Belt – The southern region, composed of highly active volcanoes. The lava of these supplies most of Gunungs obsidian, making this region the centre of its construction and weapons industry.
White Plume Mountains –The northern region named after its mostly calm but constantly smoking volcanoes and the frequent snows. It contains the second largest volcano city of Gunung; Iztac. Most of Gunungs iron and steel comes from the lava of this city’s canals.
Golden Valley – A place of past glory, The very fertile Golden valley used to be the breadbasket and most populous region of Gunung until Acal “tamed” Acachto and started farming its slope. Nonetheless this region remains one of Gunung's agricultural centres.
Settlements[]
Most cities in Gunung are built inside the lava chambers of volcanoes. Itzli, the capital, is located in the main lava chamber of Acachto. Two much smaller cities, Nicala and Oontetl, are located nearby. Iztac is the largest city in Gunung besides the capital, and the source of mostof its iron and steel. It is located in the White Plume Mountains. The Lava Belt contains two cities, Cali and Tocha.
The only aboveground city in Gunung is Tonatiuh, in the Golden Valley.
People[]
The Berapi are descendants of humans who became extremely resistant to heat before living memory. If this was a natural process or a blessing of the Lord of Fire remains a topic of much debate to this day. Berapi can interbreed with all humans and demihumans.
Berapi skin has a reddish hue and their body temperature is several degrees higher then that of normal humans. Their most notable feature is their extreme resistance to heat however although outsiders sometimes comment that the prevalence of red and white hair among the Berapi is more noticeable.
History and Culture[]
For most of their history the Berapi were warring tribes that fought over the stable volcanoes and the Golden valley. This lasted until the reign of Acal, clan leader of the Iyolloco tribe, who came up with the idea to use the rare and extremely heat resistant adamantium found in Itztetl to create a system of drainage canals to tame the volcanoes. With this advantage Acal managed to unite al Berapi tribes in the region. Gunung, the Berapi word for "volcano", became the name of the kingdom and its ruling house.
Thanks to this history, they still have somewhat of a warrior culture, although this has lessened in recent years as the tribes have become more and more unified. The modern day culture Itzli culture is focused towards working for stability and trade rather then war, but considers the maintenance of its military part of this stability. Cooking is considered a communal activity in the city’s where it is done on large cooking platforms next to the central lava lake of each city.
Education is mostly taken left in the hands of the clergy, with all temples having halls of learning nearby where the children of Gunung are educated. Beyond this very basic education, all Gunung citizens are required to spend at least two years in the military. Those who show an aptitude for learning our priesthood are brought to the Temple of Fire’s Birth for further education. Most people either take up an apprenticeship (usually with their parents), marry, or remain soldiers after their mandatory military service is over.
The army, called yaoc, mostly patrols the mountain passes, occupies the border mountain pass fortresses as well as the fortresses build in the entrance tunnels to the lava cities. There are a lot of old fortresses in poor condition inland from the clan era that are now longer really used as anything more then outposts or stops along the roads. Service in the army is mandatory for two years, except in the case of pregnancy. The age of admission is either 16 or 18, but most Berapi serve a “full term” of 4 years (age 16-20). Unlike most militaries the Gunung army makes extensive use of obsidian for both armour and weapons
Religion[]
The Lord of Fire is the (unenforced) state religion of Gunung. There are a number of local doctrinal idiosyncracies:
- The Lord of Fire is also considered the lord of volcanoes and through this father of the earth
- Acachto is thought to be his place of birth and as such Itzli is home to the extremely opulent stepped-pyramid Temple of Fire’s Birth which contains an ancient statue of the lord of fire. The statue is carved from what was Gunung's largest tree. The top contains a brazier that is always lit using sulfur harvested from surrounding volcanoes. The Temple is rather larger than the royal palace.
- Acal, Tamer of Volcanoes, is considered a prophet of the fire lord (and was indeed the person who converted his people to the fire lord)