M'kai

**M'kai** is a large and varied province covering all the land south of Corra and east of Kingswood. It is a cultural mixing pot, made up of five distinct regions and populated by a healthy mix of mostly Dimians, Thaste, and Nyari. The province is most noted for its large barely habitable desert area in the centre, but it does feature other landscapes such as jungle to the south and rock plains to the east.

## History

### Indigenous Peoples

M'kai was initially inhabited by two hommian species, the Synd in the east and the Akbahri further into the desert. Both species are now considered extinct. The Synd were a barbaric people, often warring amongst themselves, and taking other races as slaves. They were wiped out by colonising Thaste in modern-day Armecia, and by revolting Dimian slaves in modern-day Anozira. The Akbahri were a branch-off from the proto-nyari hommian tribe, heading off into the deserts of M'kai before the Nyari trademark animalistic features had developed. The Akbahri built H'nan and other similar nearby civilisations, but were overtaken by a Nyari incursion into the desert and eventually met a similar fate to the Synds.

## Government and Politics

### States

The province of M'kai consists of the banding of 5 culturally distinct regions that are governed as states. Aside from being all bound by the same provincial law, they are governed with a large degree of autonomy, more than most member states in other provinces.

#### New Vaeland

*(Main article:New Vaeland )*

Initially an overseas colony of the Okethian nation of Vaeland, New Vaeland is located along the north-eastern shores of M'kai adjacent to its Corran border. It is a young country, settled only a few centuries before the Great War, and only being a federated independent nation barely a single century before. Though it has its own distinct cultural identity, the ties to both its origins in Vaeland and the geographically nearby Corran influences are both still obvious. On one hand, it is known for its laid-back, care-free and friendly population, its rather lax and liberal government and society, and characteristic Stonetongue-Thascian pidgin fraught with slang and abbreviations. Yet at the same time, it is also a technological powerhouse second only to Keldor in quality and sophistication of engineering, and the centre of economy and trade in Halus's south-east.

#### M'kai Swada

*(Main article: M'kai Swada)*

The Swada is the biggest single state in M'kai- in fact, in the union- by land area, but one of its smallest in population. This is because it largely consists of the huge expanse of arid desert that dominates the geography of the province. The civilisations present in M'kai are largely the left overs of Akbahri cities, taken over and inhabited by Nyari centuries ago. Though these societies are quite isolated due to the desert's dangerous wildlife, climate, and sheer expanse, rich natural resources and well-maintained trade highways means the civilisations that have managed to stay alive have become prosperous economies and rich cultures.

Armecia

*(Main article: Armecia)*

Consisting mostly of the rock plains of the Knife's Handle and surrounding lands, Armecia is a long-standing Thaste colony. It was settled by official decree of the Emperor in order to establish larger imperial strategic presence in the east of the continent, and has since developed into its own prosperous state and key port.

#### Anozira

*(Main article: Anozira)*

Situated on the eastern fringes of the desert, between Armecia and the Swada, Anozira consists of ancient Syndish civilisations that were overthrown by their Dimian slaves, who turned the cities into their own unique and successful society. Having being separated from their kin centuries to millennia ago, the Dimians of Anozira are an entirely different culture to their Corran cousins, and the desert climate has changed their appearance also.

#### Tashii

*(Main article: Tashii)*

Consisting of the lush land south of the great mountain range responsible for the Swada's desert, and the huge host of islands off its southern shores, Tashii is a natural paradise populated dominantly by Nyari migrants. It has a rich and interesting culture distinct from their Kingswood brethren, largely characterised by a strong maritime tradition necessary for navigating and populating the islands spread through its seas.

## Geography

M'kai's most distinctive feature is its huge desert, officially named the Great Sand Sea (Thascian: *thalos sabuli megno*), but commonly colloquially referred to as simply the Swada. This desert is formed due to the huge active mountain range to its south blocking the rain incoming from the sea. The land south of those mountains, thus, actually receives considerate rainfall and thus consists of jungle-like terrain. The peninsula in the south east of the province, referred to as the Knife's Handle, consists primary of barren rocky plains, the peninsula itself essentially being a single rising cliff structure.