Yohssalu

The landmass congregation in the southeastern Rythalion is called Yohssalu. It is home to lush jungles and rainforests, temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands as well as craggy mountains and arid desserts. Before the Scarring occurred, it was the seat of a Yuan-ti empire; they had conquered the entire region and had enslaved all the other native races under their rule. The Yuan-ti Empire posed a threat to Yohssalu’s nearest neighbors and had even assaulted faraway Eolda through magical portals. However, when the Scarring occurred their empire was greatly affected and began crumbling down. This, along with well-timed corresponded insurrections brought the empire down to its heels and eventually broke it apart. The few Yuan-ti masters that survived went into hiding deep inside hidden sanctuaries in jungles, mountains and even underground. The seat of power of the empire, the great temple of the malevolent god Ssathren, had been greatly damaged in the rebellion and its ruined form remains today as a monument to the fall of the Yuan-ti and the freedom of the enslaved.

Nowadays, Yohssalu is home to the descendants of the people that toppled the Yuan-ti, although some of the surviving Yuan-ti have formed various small clans while in hiding all these years scattered across Yohssalu and they too call Yohsalu home all the while recalling past glories. They are not necessarily friendly towards one another however.  The free races that now claim Yohssalu’s vast prairies, desserts and plateaus have remodeled cities over the centuries and also built new ones. Their cities are not united under a sovereign; rather, they are states of their own much like the Free Realms; some have a ruling lord, some are ruled by the rich, some have a form of democracies.

Because of their difference in political views some have come at odds with others whereas some cities have been making alliances with each other. Right now, one could say that Yohssalu has been divided into two major political factions. One faction, the Royalists, are comprised by the royals families that rule fractions of Yohssalu’s lands and by people who believe Yohssalu’s queens, kings and nobles are the better way of ensuring the best for the land and its people. Someone who isn’t noble and does not know the burdens, hardships and sacrifices of rule should be in no position to rule and decide for others; that is what the Royalists believe. The other faction, called the Merchlings, support the Merchant Lords; rich merchants who rose to power through successful trade and commerce, basically taking over cities as de facto leaders since they use their coin to improve the cities in which they live and therefore bettering the condition of lives for the citizens. The Merchlings think that the rule of royal lines is stale and useless and that the royals should fade into obscurity for new ideals and practices to rise, and what better than the Merchant Lords who were common people that rose to power through wit and skill. There is a third unpopular opinion however that says that both are equally similar and that people would be better to not support either side. Understandably, political tensions do exist between the two factions and sometimes hostility appears. No physical confrontation has been made yet but there are some that fear the possibility.

All this political unrest is being taken advantage of by some criminal organizations that use it as a way of making more money. However, these people are not the only ones that take advantage of this situation. Other, more dangerous groups slither in the shadows, using the chaotic political scene for their benefit.

In Yohssalu, natives speak Yohssal. It is a language that was formed organically after the fall of the Yuan-ti Empire.