Niunas

Geography

The vast swamps of Niunas stretch seemingly without end, from the western deltas of the loosely labeled province to the Eastern end pressed against the Godspine mountains.  There is little variation in the terrain as you enter Niunas and walk its expansive floodwaters and murky bogs. For most of the summer, Niunas is ravaged by hurricanes from the Tempest Ocean. During this terrifying season, the entirety of the region is flooded well past the point of being remotely habitable, uprooting most of the swamps vegetation and trees out into the rolling waves of the Tempest Ocean.  Nemus, one of the only infamously known provinces in the entire territory, is situated geographically in an area that is able to endure the seasonal storms, but at a cost to those on the outermost fringes of the province.

History

Niunas isn’t a land of any particular people, cultures or creeds, mostly due to it’s inability to be fully habitable. It does however boast a curious bit of trivial history, as it is named after the Old Collatian word for rage.  Due to the terrifying storms that plague most of the warm months that Niunas experiences, along with the lack of any formidable soil to build upon as the deltas quickly give away from the hurricanes, this territory has never truly been a place for a people to reside for any permanent stretch of time.  However, if someone is attempting to flee the efforts of Republic law, Church agents or everyday rivals and loan sharks, Niunas represents something of a hidden gem, as many of its habitable areas are in fact nigh impossible to reach without a bit of luck and a whole lot of nefarious know-how.

The province of Nemus, home to a city sharing the same name, rests against the Godspine Mountains and is a hotbed of criminal minds and scoundrels avoiding the oversight of the ever-watchful Church.  Its original inhabitants and founders are thought to have been Collatian dissidents who sought to escape the potential persecution of their native homeland and the Collatian Dynasty, and to do so, threw caution to the winds and attempted to hide within the treacherous Stormborne Swamps.  Due to this shared ancestry and ancient hatreds, traditional Nemus culture is a haphazard amalgamation that combines aspects of the Old Dynasty with common practices passed down from thieves and cutthroats who’ve historically dealt in some of the most illegal acts throughout Vitaveus. However, due to the literal erasure of any vestige of Old Dynasty culture from the face of Vitaveus by the hands of the Republic, it is seemingly impossible to separate customs and traditions derived from ancient Collatia from that of the practices and culture passed down by the criminal element that has permeated through its’ society. For this reason, Niunasians as a whole are considered the worst of the worst in terms of Decusian ilk, and are detested, distrusted, and considered tainted from birth.

The city of Nemus itself is pieced together by countless hundreds of docks branching out from a central focal point, colloquially known as “The Heart”, where the first outlaws established themselves against and alongside the mountain face.  The further one finds themselves from The Heart, the newer the inhabitant most likely is, and their knowledge of the inner workings of the city and its unspoken rules  more apparent. Newcomers to Nemus rarely last long, and those that do survive only because they listen and adapt to the terms of the cities people quickly. As a city of thieves, miscreants, and human trash, Niunas’ economy provides no real commodities or resources for trade, and thus, the people of the city often reach out into the East towards territories such as Ghaenthgrand for precious resources and at times, luxury goods.

Torment

The Torment exists in small pockets throughout Niunas, however whatever creatures that may be affected by the horrifying disease are usually prone to the elemental forces that continually besiege the territory and its’ peoples.  Due to the storms continuously sweeping in from the coast, much of the Torment blight is quite literally sucked out into the Tempest Ocean. Therefore, much of the territory, especially around Nemus, is largely unaffected by the disease. However, despite the relative safety one may find from the Torment, Niunas is absolutely rife and rampant with its own threats, of which that have only increased exponentially since the arrival of the scourge. Decusian presence has been completely and thoroughly pulled out from all but the fringe borders of Niunas, resulting in the traditionally lawless territory sinking further into decadency. Niunas is therefore a territory nearly completely devoid of the Republic’s influence, and thus, is considered one of the most dangerous places in all of Vitaveus.

Points of Interest

Stormborne Swamp

The thick ichor of this swamp’s bogs and marshlands cover the entirety of the territory for countless hundreds of miles.  For a decent part of the year, the swamp itself is a dangerous trek through predatory waters too dense from algae, vegetation and swirling mud.  However, in the last months of summer, the storms of the Tempest Ocean pick up to cataclysmic levels and flood the swamps of this region; any poor soul caught between Collatia and Nemus best pray to Decus, for their chances of surviving are negligible at best.

Nemus

Pushed deep and back into the Eastern edge of the Province, nestled up against the Godspine, lies the notorious city of Nemus.  It is home to the offspring of Collatian dissidents and outlaws who found the natural protection of the swamp from justice. In modern and recent times, much is unchanged, as those who choose to live in Nemus are nearly all criminals or ne’er do wells who fled their respective homeland territories for the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality of the famed criminal city.  It is said that those who don’t wish to go through Antongrad and the Kaduraan Pass for legal reasons opt for guides and routes from Nemus smugglers in dangerous expeditions through the Stormborne Swamp.  However, word to the warning, you may lose your coin or your life just as quickly on this route as any other out of the West, for these folk are a conniving, wicked lot.

Inspirations and Influences

Brazil, Rainforests, Everglades. Traditional example names such as Itzcali, Cadmel, Eadrich and Ctialee are common for those hailing from Niunas.