The Copper Island

## Geography

The geography of the Copper Island is split definitively down the middle by the volcanic mountains of Cupru Aprins. On either side are two different habitable regions, the northern lionfolk-run plains and the southern, hobgoblin-infested pine forests. There are two ways through the mountains, the road going through them and the Pass, which goes around them.

### The Northern Plains

The great, rolling plains of the northern Copper Island are known for their prosperity. They slowly ascend into the foothills of Cupru Aprins. Rainfall is not consistent enough here to form forests, so the only trees availible are the knotted plains trees, known locally as Copac trees. The Copac tree wood is not particularly effective for building, so society here runs mostly off of the stone and iron mines near the mountains.

The leaves of Copac trees are aromatic, and, when eaten, entirely replenish the nutrients of the consumer. They also heal the consumer of all their wounds and ailments, but they come with a dangerous price. The consumer of the leaves dies 24 hours after eating them.

### Cupru Aprins

The mountains known as Cupru Aprins are almost entirely volcanic. They are made of black rock that shines in the daytime. Their cores are known to have plentiful veins of iron, gold, and other precious metals. On the northern outskirts of the mountains there are hot springs by the town of Albalah.

There are ancient mine-shafts from before Turoon that have yet to be unopened. They are almost all sealed by pre-Turoon runes; there runes are strong enough that only a few have ever been broken. Those that have been opened have always unleashed some sort of old danger upon the people living near them. Once, a plague swept through the lionfolk plains, another time a great, slug-like creature charged through a city and slithered into the ocean.

### The Stricken Pines

In the south of the island there is a sparse forest of pines known as The Stricken Pines. The disease the name references is the massive legion of hobgoblins that populate the land. These hobgoblins take the forest's imperial name as a compliment, and as a form of legitimization.

In the forest itself the ground is knotted with roots. The trees are sparse but massive, and their root structures spread deep into the ground and far out into the land. It is said that their roots run all the way across the mountain range.

### The Pass

The Pass is the most strategically important part of the island. It is a small way around the mountains to the east. It is the only place where the two biomes of the island naturally collide. The geography of this place is fairly pleasant, combining the trees of the south and the grass of the north. That said, this passage has become a place of constant fighting between the two powers on the island.

## Locations

### Lionfolk held towns

The northern side of the island is inhabited primarily by lionfolk. These lionfolk make up the government and populace of the island, officially speaking.

#### Qu Sarar

The official capital of the Copper Island is known as Qu Sarar. It is a massive citadel made of black rock from the mountains. It is a rich and prosperous city that is constantly under construction. It is one of the few cities that was settled entirely after Turoon.

Life here is almost entirely indoors, and the people of the town live the lives of soldiers. The inner courtyard of the fortress town has a massive mural painted around the interior walls; this mural details the entire story of Turoon, expanding on his bravery in battle.

#### Albalah

Albalah translated out of beast speech means "land before the mountains," as such this city sits between the mountain and the river. As a result, there are popular hot springs located on the mountain-side outskirts of town. There are supposedly tunnels in the hot springs that reach all the way down to the lava chutes of the volcanoes.

#### The Agricultural Basin

Two towns in the Lionfolk controlled region act as purely agricultural towns. They make all the food for the entire northern half of the island, and they have no other purpose or production.

##### Sahabah

Sahabah is the slightly larger of the two towns. It is known for its incredibly efficient production of wheat and corn. The soil here is fertilized by the volcanoes to the south, but, as a result, the village is cleared every couple decades by an eruption. The villagers are used to the constant destruction of the mountains, and they know the signs to look for before an eruption.

##### Alwaskar

Alwaskar is known as the farmers' prison in common. It is the place lionfolk are sent when they have bad filial piety. Service here is hard, and, in order to keep pace with Sahabah, the locals must work hard, gruesome days. The farmers here do uphold that schedule, understanding that their lives are on the line if they do not. There is always a detachment of royal forces here to uphold order and keep the farmers in check.

#### The Twin Ports

The two northernmost towns of the Copper Island are known as "The Twin Ports" for their importance to the trade of the Empire.

##### Adhur

Adhur is the northernmost city in the Copper Island. It is the primary trading port for the trade between the Gold Island and the Copper Island. This town is rich off of the iron trade. The Gold Island imports tons of metal from the Copper Island for manufacturing of magical experiments, so the merchants of Adhur are known to be some of the wealthiest in the island.

##### Sara Qa

Sara Qa is the only safe connection between the Imperial Throne and the vassal islands. As such, it is an important diplomatic location, and is known to host many meetings between the vassal islands. It is considered a neutral ground throughout all the islands, and the lionfolk that control it only seek to maintain order here.

#### The Mining Towns

The towns of Alhakaaq and Aljoqiq are small, poor mining towns. Those sent here are considered to be making an honorable sacrifice for the good of the kingdom. They are part of the economic core of the Lionfolk section of the island, and their iron and precious metals are crucial for all of the Empire.

### The Pass

Jash and Sadeedra are the two most contested places on the island. They are constantly under threat from one side of the civil war or the other. Their positioning in the small corridor of accessibility between the two halves makes these towns ripe for war. As a result, they are populated by either hobgoblins or lionfolk depending on who most recently conquered the towns.

### Hobgoblin held towns

#### Faraq

Faraq is the volcanic centrifuge of the Copper Island. It is a town at the base of a volcano that extracts metals from the outflows of lava. Valuable metal is constantly being melted and pushed out to the surface from the volcano, meaning this town is the primary mining base for the hobgoblins.

#### Bahranfu

Bahranfu is the military center of the Hobgoblins. It is an important training base for them, with thousands of swords being manufactured here monthly.

#### Yejamam

Yejamam is the grand capital of the hobgoblins. It looks like one, massive military camp, with only giant leather tents to call home. Despite its strange appearance, it is home to thousands of hobgoblin warriors, all of whom are kept in line by law.

## Politics

### Two Nations, One Set of Values

Both the nations of the Copper Island and imbued with the same ancient power. As a result, they both fall into a similar system of values. At the heart of this system are two principles: Filial piety and deference.

#### Filial Piety

In the Copper Island, one is responsible to their family first and foremost. Loyalty is first to the family before oneself. Every upstanding citizen the Copper Island understands that family should act as one being, one entity stronger than the sum of it's parts. Therefore, most citizens of the Copper Island have family names, no matter how poor or small the family, they also tend to have coats of arms and family traditions at all levels of society.

#### Deference

Just as one is loyal to their family, one defers to those ranking above them. Both sides of the civil war have a strict hierarchy which is followed to the extreme. Even as one may be unhappy in their life, they believe that working hard and following orders will lead them to a happier future.

### Lionfolk Structure

The Lionfolk are led by a complex system of nobles, all of whom rule over some small portion of the peasants. The nobles are numerous and haughty; they engage in constant bickering and competition. However, they are not Machiavellian, disputes are more likely to be settled by competition than assassination. In fact, grand tournaments of combat and feats of strength are often held to establish dominance among the families.

At the head

Notes: Value filial piety, value the family above all else, noble families, noble structure(?), military structure, civil war

Military society vs noble society civil war

Lionfolk vs hobgoblins?

both represent one side of the copper dragon

locked into permanent civil war

bled over energy from the bronze island making green knights, possessed people becoming paladins of nature