Bukran (pronounced BUUK-rahn) is a hobgoblin-ruled nation north of the Gulf of Timakal. Located on the frontier of the Sangiran Empire before its collapse, the hobgoblin tribes the empire formerly fought against are now one of the few beacons of stability in the region, as rigid and harsh as their society can be.
Geography, flora, and fauna
Straddling both the mountains of the Shields and the tropical forests below, the climate and ecology of Bukran varies greatly. The terrain of northern reaches is rough and craggy with a great deal of seasonality, including even snow in the highest of elevations. Below them to the south is a land of tropical forests, grasslands, and swamps, which are hot and humid for the majority of the year. Monsoons seasonally make landfall in this region.
Though quite a few rivers flow south from the mountains, the largest and most significant of these is the Siltstream, named for its constantly murky appearance.
History
Hobgoblin migrations
The lands south of the Shields have long been home to sizable hobgoblin populations, yet the southernmost reaches near Bukran were historically on the margins of their territory. As Tarkuus expanded inland over thousands of years, more and more hobgoblins found themselves first forced into the mountains and later pushed south and east away from the undead empire. Many congregated in what is now Bukran.
Arrival of the Sangiran Empire
As the Sangiran Empire expanded north out of Kea Racha, it looked to the lands around the Gulf of Timakal. While most imperial settlement was concentrated in the south, in modern-day Vothan, the empire also established outposts around the northern coast of the gulf as well. By Y7600* a handful of frontier fortresses and ports dotted the coast on either side of the mouth of the Siltstream.
The arrival of imperial forces and citizens was not unnoticed by the hobgoblins of the mountains, whose trepidation of the new arrivals soon fave way to opportunism. Organized raids by hobgoblin forces soon began against the coasts. These would last, off and on, for centuries, forcing the Sangiran Empire to devote significant parts of its military strength to defend these far-flung outposts. Peace treaties rarely lasted, as once the stipulated tributes paid by the empire stopped the hobgoblins would simply resume their raids once again.
Collapse of imperial control
When Sangiran began to collapse in the early ninety seventh century, Bukran was the first territory of which the empire to fall. Disorganized and lacking in clear orders, many Sangiran commanders simply pulled their troops back to the mainland, where other priorities meant they never returned north. The hobgoblin tribes quickly overran the few imperial defenders who remained.
Rise of the Silk Order
See also: Silk Order
By Y9700*, a new force had risen in Bukran, this time led by the hobgoblins themselves. Born out of a tribe that had discarded their own name, the Silk Order brought with them a new ideology fusing their animistic religious practices with a commandment to subjugate what they viewed as outsiders in their lands. They quickly united most of the tribes of the mountains, incorporation old tribal leaders into their ranks as they went, before sweeping south into the lowlands and conquering the coastal settlements.
Demographics
The population of Bukran is roughly evenly split between hobgoblins, who primarily live in the north, and the descendants of Sangiran colonists in the south. These settlers are largely human, though half-elves and others are included in their number as well.
Culture
Religion
Society
Languages
Timakal, Goblin, Sangiran, and Common are all spoken in Bukran.
Architecture and urbanization
Government
The rigidly-hierarchical Silk Order rules Bukran under a strict code of laws. As both military and political leaders, they hold sway over all aspects of life in the region and tolerate little dissent. The old tribes of the hobgoblins still exist, yet all now fall under the control of the Silk Order, their chieftains reduced to commanders within the Order's ranks. Though multiple rebellious tribes have been dissolved and the survivors scattered across the various regiments of the Order, by and large the Order's generals prefer not to take this approach, as they continue to rely heavily on tribal and kinship ties to govern in the more remote reaches of their lands.
Ranks within the Order carry with them a great deal of prestige and personal power. Any who prove themselves through combat can join the Order, and promotion through its ranks is likewise through virtue of strength. As a result it is very common for prospective soldiers within the Order and the power-hungry alike to constantly seek sources of conflict and strife to demonstrate their prowess.
With the aid of their garrisons, hobgoblin commanders rule the coastal cities and villages.
Economy
The hobgoblins of the mountains rely heavily on tribute from the lowlands and coasts, which they extract through ever-present threats of force, using their garrisons to extract payment that is then carried north in well-defended caravans. The largely non-hobgoblin population of Bukran, meanwhile, make their living through farming, fishing, and cottage industries - resources from all are taken by their northern overlords. Trade connections to Kea Racha and other former imperial settlements around the Timakal still exist, but are far less active than when Sangiran still held sway in the area.