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Sulastas

Sulastas, Western Territories

“Civilization Built Upon the Broken”

Geography

The southwestern territory of Sulastas is nestled between uninhabitable Niunas and the ravenously tribal province of Murandesh.  On its Eastern edge, the Godspine begins to taper into a large pass leading into Ghaenthgrand; this pass, known as Roenhelm’s Gap, has been the site of many conflicts through the centuries by both the Sulastains and the Ghaenthens. The region is filled with vast jungles of with thick canopies made primarily of Kapok trees, which produce a plant fiber that is highly regarded for its ability to be weaved into tapestries and other materials that need to be light, yet durable.  The raging storms from the Tempest Ocean only really impact the coastal region, making travel through the interior of Sulastas less hostile than its neighboring territories. Yet make no mistake, Sulastas is a dangerous land even before the onset of the Torment, mainly due to threats of all kinds hiding within the thick canopies of the vast jungles that make up the majority of the territory.

History

Sulastas was the second to last of the Collatian Dynasty territories to fall during the Decusian Reckoning, and held some of the largest hold-fasts within the western territories.  The natives to the region, known as Sulastains, primarily built their settlements among the faults of the Godspine Mountains. Though most Sulastain lands are dense jungles, very few ancient people inhabited them, instead opting for settlement in the Godspine faults.  These uninhabited jungles did serve a purpose to early Sulastains however, acting as a major source for cotton, lumber, and exotic animal products ill found anywhere else in all of the Old Dynasty – and thus making the territory keenly valuable to the Collatians. Apart from that, Sulastain ancient society was primarily agrarian, with their peoples having developed a terrace farming technique to utilize the mountains and their exposure to the sun to cultivate plants such as corn, squash and wheat.

Traditional Sulastains themselves are a short and lithe people, and number among the shortest people in all of Vitaveus.  Their skin is of a deep brown complexion and their eyes boasts a wide range of greens and browns. They often dressed in fine loose garments, made from the fiberr of the kapok trees, and wore thick coats and hats to keep warm at the higher altitudes of their homeland.  Sulastain people also boast a wide array of body modifications, taking bones, rocks or precious stones, and placing them through their nostrils, ears or even their foreheads. Sulastain society was caste-based prior to the Reckoning, with a scholarly caste at the top of the food-chain, followed by the warrior caste, the trade caste, and lastly, the bound caste.

Sulastas at one point boasted the largest slave market in all of Vitaveus, and settlements and villages from territories such as Ghaenthgrand made up a large part of their ancient slave force.  Before the Reckoning and their eventual downfall, Sulastas really consisted of one export: slaves. It is for this reason that the Republic had taken a rather violent and prejudicial hand to Sulastas during the Reclamation, wholly in part to the Decusian belief of slavery being a cardinal sin. It is estimated that less than fifteen percent of Sulastain bloodlines survived the Decusian Reclamation

Torment

The Torment has fully consumed this province in it’s entirety.  Pockets of Tormented cysts have been reported throughout the jungles, which has put a stop to the fiber production from the region since early 1320. Roenhelm’s Gap has become a massive quarantine point as of 1340, when a anarchist plot to bring the disease further into the heart of the Midlands was thwarted; however, these diabolic agents in a last ditch effort brought damnation upon the pass, spreading their sickness and infecting the surrounding area.  Due to this, Sulastas is considered through and through Blacklands, and little effort has been made to reclaim it in the near thirty years since the emergence of the Torment.

Points of Interest

Itzamaatl

One of the largest cities in Sulastas, Itzamaatl was a hotbed for trade and cotton production in per-Reclamation times.  At one point, due to its central location along the Godpsine in Sulastas, Itzamaatl acted as the trade center for the entire territory’s slave markets, with travelers from all over what would later become known as the Western Territories traveling there to take part in the auctions.  Upon the arrival of the Decusians during the Reckoning, these slave markets were razed to the ground and turned into nothing more than piles of rubble. Nearly all of the former slave masters of Itzamaatl were systematically rounded up and ritualistically executed by Decusian forces following it’s capture by Templar forces. Due to this, Republic sentiment amongst the laypersons of Itzamaatl, which consisted mostly of the ancestors of freed slaves, had tradtionally been exceptionally strong for a Western Territorial holding. Unfortunately, this good-will and sentiment was not enough to keep the city safe, and since as early as 1322, Itzamaatl has been lost to the Torment, with tens of thousands of Afflicted that still roaming it’s streets to this day.

Chat’tumal

Once a large slave territory, Chat’tumal is now a ruin reclaimed by nature, and haunted by those who died there long, long ago.  During the final days of the Reckoning, a slave revolt took place within the territory, the enslaved seeing the Decusian invasion as an opportunity to strike out against their retreating and weakened masters, in an attempt to free themselves from their wretched bonds.  When the slaves revolted, they took to slaughtering everything in their sights that was not bound in irons, killing everyone in their path in so that none were left alive to raise a hand upon them again. Upon the arrival of Decusian forces to Chat’tumal, some of the most battle-hardened commanders of the Republic forces were even left in awe from the savagery they had witnessed upon entering the territory, and had immediately declared Chat’tumal to be uninhabitable for future Decusian purposes. Many to this day think Chat’tumal to be haunted, believing that the foul souls of the slavers still roam its’ ruins, looking to exert dominance over the living once more.

Roenhelm’s Gap

Named after a famous Ghaenthgran hero of ancient lore, Roenhelm’s Gap is the only passage through the Godspine into Sulastas from Ghaenthgrand.  At one point this pass held impressive fortifications that near-rivaled that of the Angelspire herself, however, today it stands a shadow of its former glory. It is the only element of Republic power within the entire region, and serves solely to protect entry into Ghaenthgrand from the ruined territory of Sulastas.

Inspirations and Influences

Peru, Tropical Rainforests. Traditional example names such as Xoc, Akna, Ah-mun and Nakon are common for those hailing from Sulastas.