Kiyashe

Kiyashe
Capital	None
Ruler	Multiple
Government	Independent autocracies
Demonym	Kiyashen
Adjective	Kiyashen
Languages	Various; Aserdian, Aquan, Common especially
Religions	Various deities

Kiyashe (pronounced key-AH-she) is a region in southwestern Brightmarch. The cenotes of Kiyashe are home to aquatic peoples that would otherwise rarely be found so far inland. Complex political webs and feuds bind together the cities built into the watery caves.

Geography, flora, and fauna

The Kiyashe Peninsula is a karstic landscape. Caves, sinkholes, cenotes, springs, canyons, and other eroded features are common throughout the area. In some places on the surface, unusual rock formations abruptly jut out of the ground amongst the forests and grasslands of the region. This rough terrain has discouraged most surface dwellers from establishing communities in the region - the large number of predators, especially raptorial dinosaurs, that thrive in Kiyashe is certainly another factor.

Underground, the cenotes and caves of Kiyashe host rich biospheres of their own. Plants, animals, and magical creatures that have adapted to life without ever touching the surface thrive in the underground networks. Even the open cenotes, exposed to the surface above, have highly unique fauna. In some places, surface creatures that have fallen into one of the region's many sinkholes have found niches of their own. The deepest and widest of the sinkholes are sometimes even home to large subsurface forests.

There are no major rivers or bodies of water in Kiyashe, as the porous rock of the area allows almost all of the water to drain into the subsurface reservoirs.

The climate and weather of Kiyashe is similar to the rest of Brightmarch.

Demographics

The subterranean watery communities of Kiyashe are inhabited primarily by merfolk, joined by significant numbers of azarketi, sahuagin, and tritons, as well as a handful of locathah and aquatic elves. Non-aquatic peoples are uncommon in this part of Kiyashe, but not absolutely unknown, as some land-dwellers find reasons to relocate to the cenotes.

Though Kiyashe is best known for its aquatic denizens, the surface is inhabited just like the rest of Brightmarch, though the population is relatively small. Humans, half-elves, elves, and others live in the Kiyashe Peninsula. The surface inhabitants of Kiyashe are largely nomadic and there are almost no permanent settlements.

Culture

Religion

Religion in Kiyashe is varied and fragmentary. Individual communities tend to congregate around a deity who they value particularly highly, which might be completely different from the religion followed by their neighboring cenotes and caves. Clerics often get caught up in the rivalries of the subsurface world, as the churches and temples get drawn into ongoing feuds. Lawful deities and those who are concerned with aquatic life are generally emphasized in Kiyashe, though not exclusively.

Society

those that live on surface use trained animals (which?) to find safe places to set up where the ground won't collapse. happens rarely but sometimes

move to economy: sometimes find rare, sought after plants that have survived in the cenotes/sinkholes

poorly mapped as it is difficult to navigate, at least on the surface. underground, very well mapped through the knowledge tends to be tightly guarded

eels as mounts, electric eels as perimeter guards

Architecture and urbanization

outposts on top of cenotes?

limestone - below ground, makes it easy to build

cenotes as high status places to live, vs caves

some cenotes have rope elevators w/pulley systems to the surface but very few

glowworm

Languages

Aserdian and Aquan are both widely spoken in Kiyashe. Common sees some use as well, though mostly only as a diplomatic language, for aiding communication with surface visitors.

Food and cuisine

The aquatic peoples of Kiyashe largely subsist on food they grow or catch below ground. Some submerged caves are used to farm fish, eel, and crab, which together makes up the bulk of the Kiyashen diet. These are supplemented with foraged snails and water-dwelling plants, especially varieties of watercress and others that can thrive in the cenotes that recieve more sunlight.

On the surface, most land-dwelling inhabitants of Kiyashe hunt and forage for their food. Due to the scarcity of surface water, rain collectors made out of bone and tortoise shell are widely used to gather water for drinking and cooking.

Art

In the grandest of the palace-cenotes, reliefs bearing intricate designs cover the smoothed sides of the sinkholes. Usually these reliefs depict scenes that convey local history or the aspirations of the rulers that commissioned them - some older designs, those created thousands of years ago in now-unoccupied cenotes, include renditions that are clearly elven aeroliths and colossi.The artisans that carve these reliefs occupy a highly prestigious position in Kiyashen society, able to command a great deal of respect (and payment) for their works.

Fashion

Shell jewelry is a popular accessory in Kiyashe, made largely from snails and mollusks that live in the watery caves. Larger and more brightly colored jewelry is seen as a status symbol, and some can become very elaborate in design. Certain shells, particularly those of the unique iridescent spiral snail of the region, are reserved for use by the rulers of Kiyashe.

Travel

Borders in the subterranean world of Kiyashe are tightly contested, especially in the flooded caves that connect the cenotes to each other and to the sea. Travel between the communities can be a difficult process that requires seeking permission from each ruler who's territory is crossed. Even if such approval is already sought and received prior to one's journey, it is still not unusual to get hassled by guards zealously protecting their sections of the caves.

The aquatic peoples of Kiyashe have also charted surface routes between their cenotes, for use only in emergencies. Those that can survive outside the water still often need to return to it regularly, and are therefore poorly suited for overland travel.

Government

The aquatic communities of Kiyashe govern themselves quite differently compared to most of the rest of Brightmarch. Nearly all of the settlements in the cenotes and caves are autocracies, some hereditary monarchies and others functionally military juntas. Most of the cenotes are somewhat isolationist, not only from each other but also from the surface world. Due to their intense competitiveness the various rulers of Kiyashe only temporarily form alliances with each other, to be disregarded at the first hint that one might be able to gain an advantage over their former ally.

Kiyashen rulers are often keen to request tasks to be performed by the few outsiders that manage to gain their favor. In particular, these leaders prefer to use foreign visitors as emissaries, due to their perception as neutral to the region's many feuds.

Economy

Though the settlements of Kiyashe begrudgingly exchange goods with each other, they do not have large scale trade relations with outside communities. The cenotes are not particularly rich in natural resources, and those they do have they would prefer to hoard for their own benefit. Merchants that have come to seek arrangements with the leaders of the Kiyashe almost always leave empty handed.