Pulau

Pulau is an island nation. To outsiders, not much is known about the nation other than a few facts. One, the cities aren’t on the islands themselves, instead they’re on the bridges that connect each island together because the islands are too dangerous to live on. The cities go deep underwater and many water breathing races call this place their home. And two, it’s a fiercely defensive and semi-isolated nation. Only a select number of travelers are even allowed to dock here.

## History

Pulau was once at the center of trade in the world. Due to its location it was an ideal spot for ships to use as a rest stop on their journey or a location to sell and buy wares. However, during the previous Era, the nation was ravaged and nearly destroyed. Its forests and ports were raided countless times, and many citizens were kidnapped- never to be seen again. A few bridges were able to fight back, to varying degrees of success, but many of them did not have the numbers to offer resistance to the invaders.

They were finally left alone when the Long Winter began, which gave them time to try to recover and rebuild what they had lost. They became an isolated nation, focusing on having their people and land become prosperous again. Their military and naval defenses were greatly increased.

However, there was a period of unrest after the previous Queen suddenly passed. Her two sons had a civil war for the throne, as the first born wanted to remain isolated, but the younger brother wanted to reunite with the rest of the world. Eventually, the younger brother won and became the new King. The ports opened for trade to a limited number of groups 20 years ago.

## Royal Family

The Velorath family has ruled Pulau for several eras, but not much is truly known about how they came into power. There’s an old folktale of a triton girl and a human boy falling in love. They both left their respective homes and started their own village. While many historians have debated on the possibility of it being based on the events of the founding members of house Velorath, most of the common folk believe it to be true.

The royal family was once large, however, because of the previous era and the recent civil war, there are only a few members left. The current King, Nurus, and his wife, Elryn. Then there’s his cousin, Aluhyn, and her 3 small children. Because Aluhyn’s husband died fighting for Nurus, he took her in as his second wife and adopted her children.

## The Islands

The Islands are a host to a variety of unique and beautiful plant life. Due to being isolated from the rest of the world for so long, they’ve evolved to have a rather unique and beautiful defense system. During the day, most plants are harmless to creatures or anyone who decides to travel through. However, once the sun goes down the island is filled with danger. Many plants open up and become luminescent as a warning sign to ward off predators and can easily kill a person who doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Dryads and Elementals protect and help preserve the land in order to make sure the ecosystem remains in balance. They are mostly peaceful with the citizens of Pulau. The Dryads see them as part of the island's ecosystem, but will not tolerate over-farming or needless harm to the land. While there are stories of them killing trespassers, the stories of travelers being guided back to safety far outnumber the more deadly tales.

It’s for this reason that almost no cities or villages have been built on the island, and the people instead live on the bridges. Traversing during the night is strictly forbidden and only happens with small experienced groups.

## Culture

Pulau as a whole, cares a great deal about having harmony and respect for nature. For example, one is to never take more than they give back. The Dryads and Elementals of the islands in particular are held in high esteem by its citizens.

Everyone on the island knows how to swim and sail a boat, even if it’s a small row boat. After swimming, fishing is possibly the second most important skill to know. The best fishermen are able to sail the most dangerous waters, even in stormy weather, and still make it back with a large haul to show off with. Tritons and other water breathing races are able to make catches of rarer fish and sea creatures found further below.  Because of this, sea food is the most common food found on the islands, and fish are one of the largest exports in trading.

Even though King Nurus lifted the Isolation Policy to allow limited trade, and has allowed his people to come and go from Pulau as they please, there are still a small number of people unhappy with this change. This has caused it to become a rather heated topic if ever brought up.

## Fashion

Due to the tropical climate, people wear lightweight and thin fabrics. It’s fairly common to see people, regardless of their gender, to wear fairly revealing clothing. However, the upper classes tend to wear clothes that are a bit more reserved for special events or parties.

Jewelry is also used frequently in fashion. From simple bracelets, to intricate head pieces. However, it’s less common to see jewelry in the lower classes of Pulau as they can be quite expensive to obtain. This has led to jewelry being made into a status symbol of sorts. The more intricate the metal work and the rarer the jewels, the higher the status. Someone from a noble house, for example, would not be caught outside without multiple on display at once out of fear of talk behind their back.