Matarsah

Matarsah
Capital	None
Ruler	None
Government	Local leaders
Demonym	Matarsan
Adjective	Matarsan
Languages	Timakal, Jotun, Sangiran, Common
Religions	Gozreh, Pharasma, Green Faith, Hei Feng

Matarsah (pronounced mah-TAR-sah) is a nation primarily inhabited by river and wood giants on the coast of the Gulf of Timakal. The giants are content to tolerate the presence of smaller folk, as long as their traditional lands are respected. Non-giants are uncommon in Matarsah outside of the cities of River's End and Old Saden.

Geography, flora, and fauna

A land of dense tropical forests interspersed with marshes along the rivers and grasslands in the interior, Matarsah is hot and rather humid for most of the year. Monsoons seasonally make landfall in the coastal regions.

Fed by a large number of tributaries, most beginning in the Shields, the Lifewaters is a major river in Matarsah. Slow and wide, it winds a long and languishing path across the region before eventually flowing out into the gulf. The Lifewaters is central to the life of the river giants of Matarsah, who live in small communities and on houseboats up and down the river. Towards the coast, the river estuary widens into a brackish marsh.

Lake Segara is the largest body of water in Matarsah, though it is joined by many smaller lakes and ponds. A large island within the lake contains a small lake of its own, around which a major wood giant community, Segara Kana, has grown.

History

Though the wood giants of Matarsah generally see little use for detailed recorded history, the annals of their river-going brethren are quite in-depth. Mostly told through the format of long family histories, these records recount millennia of life in the region around the Lifewaters. The distant ancestors of many of the wood giants of Matarsah originally lived in the forests to the north, now under the control of Tarkuus, but were pushed out and migrated south when the undead empire expanded its holdings.

When the Sangiran Empire began to expand into the lands around the Gulf of Timakal, representatives of the Eternal Suzerain met with giant leaders in Y8205^*. Not wishing to come into conflict with the giants, who saw they might be forced to move yet again, and seeing little practical reason to extend imperial control into the region, an imperial decree was issued guaranteeing the giants independence in Matarsah and limiting the population of smaller folk allowed to settle in the region. Even as the empire seized modern-day Bukuran and Vothan grew inland, the decree was respected.

After the collapse of imperial control around the Gulf of Timakal in Y9612^*, the decree no longer held any significance. Regardless, in the following centuries the lands of the giants have been broadly avoided, with the notable exception of the port city of River's End. Without the enforcement of imperial limits on the population, River's End has grown significantly, transforming the once small settlement into the largest city around the gulf north of Marakkate.

Recently explorers from Yadena have begun venturing into Matarsah in search of untapped skymines. The wood giants that live in the forests surrounding the cartel's territories are vigilant for these intruders, as they do not wish to see their woodlands taken over for the cartel's enterprises.

Demographics

Many inhabitants of Matarsah are river giants or wood giants. Some giants of other kinds have found their way to the region as well, but are rather more uncommon. Humans, half-elves, nagaji, and others live in Matarsah as well, though they almost entirely reside in and around River's End and Old Saden.

Culture

Religion

The giants of Matarsah are not, in general, very religious. The wood giants often adhere to the Green Faith, but they treat it as more of a philosophy than a religion. Among the non-giants of Matarsah, Gozreh, Pharasma, and Hei Feng are popular, as are other deities to lesser degrees.

Language

The majority of Matarsans are fluent in Timakal and Jotun. Sangiran and Common are widely spoken in the coastal settlements, especially in River's End, though less often in the interior. Even non-giants in Matarsah typically learn Jotun.

Architecture and urbanization

Matarsah is very sparsely inhabited, with almost all permanent settlements located along the Lifewaters.

River's End, Old Saden, and the handful of smaller coastal settlements are primarily built in Kea Rachan styles, brought to the region by those that arrived in the days of the Sangiran Empire.

Government

The giants of Matarsah mostly organize themselves along familial and tribal lines. Leaders in their communities tend to be experienced elders, who are looked up to for guidance and direction. In the river giant settlements along the Lifewaters, tribal leaders convene councils to govern their communities collectively.

River's End is governed as a merchant republic city-state, functionally completely independent. Old Saden, meanwhile, is ruled jointly by two mayors, one elected from the giant population and one from the ranks of the smaller folk.

Economy

River's End is the only major port in Matarsah. Ships visiting the city carry goods to and from foreign cities, mostly those within Kea Racha. While the giants of Matarsah trade for goods they require and cannot easily obtain themselves, their communities are generally quite self-supporting.