Chaauhqoh Llhugkauh

Flag of the Chaauhqoh Llhugkauh.

The **Chaauhqoh Llhugkauh**, also known as simply **Llhukgauh** or **Gkauhitania**, was a small country located in the south of Iaddithis along the coast of the Azure Sea and Gulf of Qamari. It was the only country where the Yahtiitsis Gkauh resided, and the Gkauh were the nation's only ethnic group. Founded as a constituent county of the Empire of Ladinia after the Gkauh's migration to Iaddithis, Llhugkauh gained independence through negotiations and remains an isolated and enigmatic society, away from most humans, though it was an observer member of the Garden Union. The country ceased to exist some time in the spring of 2022, being annexed into the Serene Republic of Ferea.

## Etymology

The name Chaauqoh Llhugkauh means "Land of the Gkauh" in the Tuulhut language, the only surviving language of the Gkauh. Many of the Gkauh will simply refer to the country as Llhugauh (*of [the] Gkauh*). Many hominid species may instead defer to the exonyms of Gkauhitania or Gkauitania as the Tuulhut language was particularly difficult for mammalian voices to reproduce. The term Gkauhitania is an exonym coming from the Lemori language, and is an artifact from the country's history as a constituent part of the Ladinian Empire. Other languages use approximations of the Tuulhut name, such as Rukau, Rugau, or Lugau.

## Geography

### Physical Geography

The Gkauish Peninsula, the mainland of Llhugkauh, is a small peninsula on the south of the Central Iaddithine Continent. The peninsula is specifically located at the conjunction of the Azure Sea and Gulf of Qamari, just south of the Ferean Archipelago. It is a hilly and rocky landscape, not conducive for large-scale farming; the Gkauh have taken to creating small farms and herding livestock on their lands.

Moss Canyon, a large chasm covered in foliage, exists along the eastern border of the country. It is the largest and most distinguishable natural feature in the small country.

### Climate

The Gkauish Peninsula experiences an oceanic temperate rainforest climate. The air is humid and rain is frequent; over a third of the days of the year experience precipitation or thick fog. The area is warm enough in winter to avoid snow most of the time, though frosts are not unheard of in winter mornings. Winter rains are instead more common. Summers are warm, reaching around 30 **°**C on average when fog is not present. Otherwise, the fog keeps the forests of Llhugkauh cool even on hot days.

### Ecology

Being within a temperate rainforest climate, the mild weather and coastal location of Llhugkauh have contributed to the country's biodiversity greatly. Almost the entirety of the country is covered in temperate rainforests dominated by Island Redwood (*Sequoia maritimus*) forest, with an understory of ferns, mosses, and rhododendron shrubs. The few open spaces free of most trees are rocky coastlines and cleared areas for livestock grazing.

The marine environment is rich as well; the abundant rocks along the coast provide habitat for many kinds of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, and the hard bottom allows many sponges, tunicates, anemones, mussels, and algaes to grow. These temperate reefs have granted Llhugkauh an abundance of marine resources, which Gkauh fishers harvest to provide a large portion of the nation's food.

Beneath the surface lie the Fereo-Sudetanian Lush Caverns, a series of lush caves and one of the largest of its kind in Iaddithis. These caverns are home to many species of mollusks and amphibians not found on the surface. Moss Canyon is the largest site where this habitat is exposed to the surface in llhugkauh.

## History

### Origins of the Yahtiitsis Gkauh

*Full Article: Yahtiitsis Gkauh*

The Yahtiitsis Gkauh have their origins in a land referred to as the *Llhun Chaauhqoh,* or "old country" in Tuulhut. This land is hypothesized to have been Iaddithis or a similar region in the distant past. An event called the *Kur Xa'akaakah* or "great burning" destroyed the old country, rendering it uninhabitable, and the refugees of the cataclysm were able to magically transport themselves to Iaddithis. This group, led by one Guuduuruh Chuhtuhtuhthuk, became the first of the Yahtiitsis Gkauh and all Gkauh today are descendants of this group.

### County of Gkauitania

The Gkauh founded Shhun Guhchuuru'un after foraging on the land of the peninsula. They were discovered by the Ladinian government, who encouraged the isolated Gkauh to learn Lemori and integrate into the state structure- the Gkauh leader agreed. Shhun became the *de jure* capital of the county of Gkauhitania, a region within the greater Sudetanian exclave of Ladinia.

Many of the Gkauh saw their subjugation to the Ladinians as an act of cowardice, and were fearful of letting their culture be influenced by mammals and lost. Thus while Guuduuruh Chuhtuhtuhthuk was promoted to the rank of Count over the now-established County of Gkauhitania, cultural clashes made the populace uneasy with human rule, even if it was light-handed. Many Gkauh debated what the best position was- to accept things as they were and be loyal to their new overlords, to hold out and break away in a bloody war, or to simply re-settle a new land.

Instability struck Ladinia shortly after the County's establishment. While the county briefly laid claim to a small northern exclave within the empire, the desire for more autonomy held strong, and a coup in the Ladinian government by Faltirvars sympathizers caused the southern provinces to secede. A short rebellion by local human peasants and urban workers briefly created the People's Republic of Sudetania, though the rebellion fizzled out peacefully as the Republic of Ferea established diplomatic control over the region.

### Independent Period

Secret talks with the post-coup government and Guuduuruh secured Llhugauh independence from the Ladinian mainland's viewpoint. Other talks also allowed Llhugkauh to become an autonomous republic of the PRS, but the revolt in Sudetania went out with Ferean annexation and the Gkauh were given two options: to integrate into Ferea like the rest of Sudetania, or to be left alone but independent. Guuduuruh chose the latter option, and the Treaty of Ferea secured Llhugkauh independence on the international stage.

After securing independence, many Gkauh rejoiced at the securing of their own destiny in the world, no longer behest by foreign powers. Though some Tengardian diplomats attempted to convince the new nation to become part of Tengardia, the young state denied this proposal. As per the Treaty of Ferea, Llhugkauh was made an observer state of the Garden Union- allowed to conduct diplomacy, but not given a vote in the alliance's leadership until further improvement of local infrastructure and the creation of a Gkauish army was possible.

### Decline

Despite the best attempts of the Gkauh to reclaim a piece of land for the old world, plague struck the small population of settlers. Many died, including the then-Matriach Guuduuruh; her successor was Tsiya Ru'uchiiru. Tsiya saw the Gkauh suffering, and failing to adapt to the cold climate. While not too terribly cold, many of the Gkauh were first-generation settlers who knew of much warmer climates, and the Gkauh do not wear much clothing traditionally. To save themselves, the land was signed away to the Republic of Ferea, and the Gkauh that remained alive moved north to the rainforests of the Ashaqi Junquan. A statue was built in honor of the Gkauh in the center of Shhun Guchuuru'un, to commemorate its former inhabitants.

## Government

### Government Structure

The government of Llhugkauh was a strange phenomenon to many outside observers. The country had, in practice, a single leader- Guuduuruh Chutuhtuhthuk and later Tsiya Ru'uchiiru, who was called the *Uukuhro* (literally "egg power" in Tuulhut), or Matriarch. However, Guuduuruh's power was by no means absolute or set in stone by any laws, only granted through her prowess alone: as a leader during the Kur Xa'akaakah and the migration, and for her diplomatic victories. Her position as a leader was generally assumed by the rest of the Gkauh to be the designated voice of the whole tribe, the individual through which the majority of the group's will is manifested in a kind of ad-hoc democracy. Tsiya's story is similar, acting as Guuduuruh's substitute when the former was busy.

The ongoings of the society were organized on a communally-decided hierarchy of needs, where Gkauh in free association contributed to the greater whole by providing resources for barter. This has led many foreigners to describe Llhugkauh as an anarchist or communist society, due to its relative lack of hierarchy and loose concepts of property. However, other observers including many Gkauh disagree with this designation.

### Ideology, Diplomacy, and Foreign Policy

While prescribed to be socialist-aligned by many outsiders, the only true manifestation of these claims were with its close ties to the short-lived People's Republic of Sudetania. Critics of this viewpoint instead claim that the arrangement was simply opportunistic, and similarities between the PRS's goals and the existing Gkauitanian political economy were merely coincidental. Post-independence Llhugkauh did not align itself with any international worker or peasant movements.

Llhugkauh maintained ties with the Garden Union for protection from outside threat. It was a minor observer state in the Union, as it lacked a military or large population. Its main interest was preserving its international independence, and from there its culture and society from outside influence, as many Gkauh to this day remain skeptical of human intentions. Historically, Gkauh nationalism was a major player in society, as many Gkauh sought independence from Ladinia, Sudetania, and Ferea, and the legacy of this movement remains strong today among the diaspora.

The closest international ally of the Chaauhqoh Llhugkauh was the Republic of Ferea; the Fereans were the first humans that the Gkauh met, the Fereans secured Gkauish independence, and their close proximity allows for contact between the two nations' citizens. A further act of goodwill was the restoration of a griefed and logged forest on Redwood Island, one of the Ferean islands to the north of the Gkauish Peninsula; Gkauh volunteers restored the forest to its former beauty despite it being located on foreign soil. It was ultimately Ferea that would claim the land in the end as the Gkauh migrated once more.

## Demographics

The nation's citizens were 100% Gkauh, and all of the Yahtiitsis Gkauh are citizens. The tribal state included all members of its society to be citizens, and all members of its society were Gkauh, hatched either in the Old Country or Iaddithis.

A small squatter settlement existed at Moss Canyon, owned by a mysterious figure known only as Poppin Q. This individual never contacted the Llhugkauh government or anyone else to the Gkauh's knowledge, though they have left behind torches and mined in Gkauhish land. They, and other transient humans passing through the area, represented the only human residents of the Chaauhqoh Llhugkauh.

## Culture

The culture of Llhugkauh is considered by the Gkauh to be Neo-Kuullhukuullhuian, as many of the Gkauh who founded the country were residents of the Old Country's city-state of Kuullhukuullhu, or of neighboring city-states in the region. This culture combined with the culture of its neighbors via the few others who joined the Yahtiitsis Gkauh, and changed with regard to the new environment to something unique.

The majority religion of the Chaauhqoh Llhugkauh was Nu'u Tuunghuk, and many Gkauh followed the faith to some extent. Even those that have declared themselves to be atheists, or those who decided not to worship the religion since the death of the gods in the Kur Xa'akaakah, were noted to still practice minor traditions related to the religion. Still others attempted to syncretize Nu'u Tuunghuk with Cobblestonianism, due to the proximity of Ferea and its influence. Syncretic worshippers were however looked down upon by society for conforming to human values instead of maintaining a culturally conservative hardline.

*For more on the culture of the Gkauh, see the Yahtiitsis Gkauh page.*