Cuivacossa

**Cuivacossa** is not a true nation as it is sparsely populated. North of their forested mountains are sparse grassland savannas, where those few races who do not endure the mountains gather in small and nomadic communities. There is no central government, and unlike Nike there are no governing balances of power like the clans.

Cuivacossa's Earthen analogue is Mongolia and Siberia.

## Geography

Cuivacossa is largely cut off from Cadmia, Nike, and Palladion by the mountain ranges to the South and West, and the frozen sea to the North and East. Much of the North of Cuivacossa is barren tundra, but by the foot of the mountains and several hundred miles up are oak savannas suitable for grazing herds and limited foraging.

Parts of the mountain ranges are well-forested. Nomadic groups will often trade for lumber to build wagons with the Goliath communities who dwell within them.

## Government and Politics

Cuivacossa is far from an anarchy. Rather, it is a large and sparely populated region with a great variety of small communities and kingdoms, particularly in the South if the region. Most diplomacy is intranational, with nomadic tribes more concerned with the doings of each other or the small mountain kingdoms than with the likes of Nike or Cadmia.

The largest 'city' in Cuivacossa is Yasi, an ancient settlement that currently lies in ruins. The city was abandoned a long time ago after a fire destroyed much of the land surrounding it and including part of Yasi itself. Yasi is still sometimes used as shelter for travellers and nomads, but there are superstitions and stories surrounding the place that keep many neighbouring communities from settling for too long.

## Economy

Trade outside of Cuivacossa is limited; some ambitious merchants will reach the mountain communities and trade goods, particularly for rare gemstones and furs, but volume is limited and goods are slow to circulate beyond the mountains themselves.

There are plenty of animals to hunt and herd, and the mountains are rich with minerals. There is not much in the way of agriculture however, which has limited Cuivacossa's grassland communities. Goliaths use the mountain surfaces for farming, building terraces of potato and other root vegetables to supplement a hunter-gatherer diet. Dwarves near the Qazvin river will supplement their mushroom-heavy diet with limited fruit trees, fish, and rudimentary underground farms, carrying sunlight down complex shafts into the volcanic soil.

## Demographics

Goliaths and Dwarves have many small kingdoms and principalities throughout parts of the mountains. To the West are a few Dragonborn colonies from Nike, who live just outside of the spheres of influence of major Nikean clans. Nomadic groups of Goliaths, Humans, Elves, and Orcs travel the grass savanna to hunt.

There are no official languages in Cuivacossa. Each community has its own major language.

## Culture

### **The Spectre of Yasi**

If there is a single, unifying trait in all of Cuivacossa, it is the story of Yasi. Just after the Mists of Time, Yasi's outskirts were set ablaze, and the dry grassland raged for weeks on end. The people of Yasi fled, and from them formed the many nomadic tribes known today.

Stories tell of tribes who returned to Yasi, either to loot or to try and resettle. It is said a huge monster haunts Yasi, invisible but whose roar will shatter glass and whose footsteps crumble the very stone foundations of the city.

### **Religion**

Religion is highly variable in Cuivacossa, and much of it is not related to Mithras. Cuivacossa's nomadic tribes generally revere nature spirits rather than divine beings, leaving offerings or constructing a small idol at a sacred site in thanks to a spirit. The cultural practices of the nomads have influenced the Dwarven and Goliath territories to the South, and missionaries from Cadmia or Palladion have found little success in establishing a foothold in Cuivacossa. There is the occasional temple to Mithras in a Goliath city or Dwarven stronghold, generally where outside contact is frequent.

### **Magic**

Mysticism is more frequent than alchemy with respect to the arcane in Cuivacossa. Nomads especially do not have much exposure to any alchemic studies.

Some Dwarf communities do have some exposure to alchemy, and through independent development even have their own system and approach to the study of the arcane. They combine runic symbolism with some of the basic principles of alchemy to produce magic.