Koiturland

**Koiturland** is a beautiful yet deadly rain forest bordering the north-western edge of the Sand Shield Mountains. Both the people and the wildlife of Koiturland are known for their hardiness. The wildlife found here is whole unique to the rain forest and can not be found anywhere ells.

## Geography

The lands of Koiturland start fairly smooth at the coast, but become more hilly as one travels closer to the Sand Shield Mountains in the east. In its very western corner lays the Horn of Chaya, which is a peninsula covered with rocky cliffs. The cliffs of the Horn of Chaya have a strange smoky texture to them, with lines of white and blackish stones flowing between the usual grey rocks which makes them beautiful to behold on a sunny day. The Horn of Chaya is however known for its notoriously bad weather which makes it extremely hard to sail around at the risk of running up to the cliffs. These constant storms have driven most traders out of the sea and into the Coarse Sea instead. In the south western corner is a small mountain pass leading directly to the Coarse Sea. This pass is owned by the merchant state of Chaman, which is known for the Pirate Khans who rule the city in all but name.

## Wildlife

One of the most striking aspects of the jungle is the lack of traditional broad-leafed plants. Instead most of the trees in this jungle are conifer trees with needle-like leaves which scholars believed used to life in the more arid landscape from before its transformation. Between these giant ferns grow which provide most of the cover against the sun. The only flowering plant which calls the jungles of Koiturland home is are Fig trees, which the locals consider sacred because of the food they large amounts of food they provide.

In these trees there hang a wild variation of vines, of which the most notable is the Nergal Vine, which is known to move on its own and strangle nearby creatures for food. Another infamous vine is the Strombolian Vine, which uses the bones of large creatures such as the extinct Astroraptor as its own exoskeleton. The vines will attach themselves to the bones as sinews and either harden or soften themselves to move the body around. They then use this body to attack other creatures and kill them as a bedding for their seeds. When the seeds grow the corpse functions as a fertiliser and once the plant becomes large enough it will be able to use the creatures bones for its own, restarting the cycle.

The rivers are home to the Skōlex, a large worm like creatures capable of rerouting the flow of the river at will. Many scholars believe that the Skōlex were once Death Worms which have been mutated and shrunk to life in the riverbeds instead of sandy dunes. The people of Koiturland influence the movement of the Skōlex by growing small aromatic plants around their homes and farms. These plants are repugnant to the worms who use smell to navigate and they avoid them whenever they can.

One of the largest creatures in the jungles of Koiturland is the Diamantinasaurus, a four legged reptile with an elongated neck. They grow up to be around 3 metres tall from shoulder to toe. They can be trained to work as beasts of burden or as beasts of war. Their strong heavy bodies make them ideal for felling trees and helping with construction, while their high shoulder height makes them an excellent fit to carry archery platforms into battle.

## History

In the olden days Koiturland used to be an arid grassland home to populations of both kenku and humans. When the Event Horizon hit the land was magically transformed into a tropical jungle however and many of its inhabitant and local wildlife was twisted into never before seen shapes. The kenku were turned into the mighty Garuda and gained the powers of flight, speech, and creative thinking (by kenku standards). The humans on the other hand were twisted into monstrous serpentine creatures called the Naga. Mighty sorcerous creatures capable of casting foul magic. Most of those not mutated by the rampant magics were strangled in their sleep by now living magical vines. By the next year only 8% of the population was left. These survivors learned how to deal with the new wildlife however and soon enough regained mastery over their own land as a people hardened by nature.

These people would become subject to the Dwarven Imperium in the year 224 as its most western borderland. Although they were subjects of the imperium most people were left to their own devices as the land was too hard for the dwarves to actually control. As the years went on the management and development of Koiturland became more and more of a drain on the imperial wallet and when the Imperium collapsed Koiturland would be the first imperial province to be abandoned. Contrary to most other regions the people of Koiturland had actually become quiet fond of the Dwarven Imperium and many of its people were proud to call themselves the successors of the Imperium, despite the Imperium still existing.

Many small kingdoms would form over the years to fight for control over the region until in the year 1424 the mighty hero Jagdeva arrived and conquered a large portion of Koiturland in one fell swoop. For this and many of his previous nearly unbelievable exploits the people of Koiturland would grand him the name "Jagdeva the Great". His people also like to claim that he is a descendant from the imperial dwarven line, despite being most definitely a tall lanky human.