Ryujin Continent

The Shiryu dominate the land east of the Coravei Mountain Range, the country of Ryujin. 40% of Vernath’s fresh water supply resides in this smaller section of land in the form of Great Lakes and the snow capped mountains. The water wielding Shiryu live in smaller cities and villages that have a very dated, rustic feel. Much of the architectural and cultural influences of this land seem oriental in nature, and suit the people’s culture well. The capitol is a bustling metropolis, highlighted by the Shiryu Castle, where the Lord and their aides have resided since the clan’s inception.

The capitol, Junjin, is a cultural center, having the most technology of any city in the land, as well as having the highest concentration of scholars in the healing arts. Music is a large part of their culture in the form of acoustic instruments, mostly wood winds and chimes, played in water filled stadiums as amplification. Sparking lakes and rivers are all over the continent, so there is never a threat of water shortage. The weather is starkly cooler than on the Isshin half of the continent due to the frozen mountains to the north but it is still a tolerable temperature for most Aurorans. The Shiryu people themselves are dragons who had disguised themselves in a human form thousands of years ago after being hunted down to near extinction by humans (this makes characters like Dixie and Tressa half and part dragon, respectively). Due to this, the Shiryu are considered to be the most powerful clan on the planet; IF they aren’t being isolationists. Typically, however, they have a hands off policy when dealing with other nations and stay to themselves if there is no immediate threat to their safety. The country of Ryujin is one of the few places left on Aurorus that live dragons can be spotted freely in the sky.

Atop the bitterly frozen mountain range to the northeast are the snow dwelling Hisame. They’re mainly settled in villages built along the mountaintops. Blizzards blow through often and tend to be dangerous for outsiders. The Hisame are considered the oldest pure clan, having secluded themselves within the mountains at the beginning of the Great Splintering, with humanity spreading over the face of Aurorus. They were highly secluded from the start and the extremely water logged land that the Shiryu later claimed held no interest to them.

There was enough vegetation on the lower altitudes of the mountains, and heavy game was their primary food source. They pioneered domestication and herding, necessity being their primary advancing force. They are alpaca farmers, bear and moose hunters, farmers of primarily root and starchy vegetation, and rarely, the elusive Yanu fruit will bloom from the amber blooms of the Yanu tree that can survive even the harshest heights of the mountain dwelling that the Hisame protect as home.

The Hisame weren’t always so cold hearted, but rather became such. In the beginning, they were alone on their continent, and as such, had little need to invest in social relationships with the other developing clans. In a world at war, fading into social obscurity was the best defense mechanism, and by this point, it has become ingrained in their structure. The world is a dangerous place, and as they had developed just fine without the help of the other clans, they see no need to let them in now. They are survivalists at their finest and will adapt to whatever is thrown to them, be it an abnormally hot summer, melting the snowcaps, or an extended winter, delaying the harvests.The capitol, Unameg, is barely the size of most cities in other clans, the Hisame living in smaller towns and villages along the mountain ranges, but the capitol holds significance. The Hisame culture is built around sharing, and every village, at least once a year, though often times more, will send some from their village to trade goods with the capitol and hold festivals, most notably in the winter when there is a prosperity feast. There are cities dubbed the 'cities of life' that the villages visit far more often to make trade for the essentials on at least a monthly basis so that all are provided for. If aide is to be dispensed to a disaster stricken region, it goes through the 'cities of life'.