Chakobsa

Between the Badgassi and the Jeraxih Tribes is the nation of **Chakobsa**, named after the rainforest that occupies it. A land full of dense rainforests, it's considered an inhospitable wilderness by its neighbors, only inhabited by a savage, demon worshipping natives, the Yaguara.

In truth, however, deep beneath the jungle clearings, the **Yaguara** have managed to build big, thriving cities around pristine lakes, so far hidden from prying eyes. The Yaguara are a religious people, considering their rainforests to be sacred. They practice ritual cannibalism, where every outsider that dares set his eyes upon their temples and cities is captured, and eaten in a large feast in order to appease their gods.

Their gods, in turn, are one stranger than the other. A scepter wielding tapir and a large bat with the arms of a baboon are one of many. The Yaguara have great respect for nature and have tamed many creatures that roam it, such as small, red wyverns they call "Tuahotel".

## History

Much of Chakobsa’s earlier history has been forgotten. For millennia, the tales of vast wealth and unstoppable magical power have drawn outsiders to the cluster of large mountains that sits in the middle of Chakobsa’s fecund jungle. Few ever returned.

It only became evident to outsiders during the early-mid second millennium ABE that an advanced culture had developed among the Bahani Bahar Peaks. During this time, neighbouring cultures found themselves repeatedly attacked by waves of fanatical raiders wielding primitive weapons but dangerous magic. Some, like the bombus, fled the area entirely, others, like the Gilgemashi, fortified their borders, and others like the hop’en learned to fight back with brutal guerrilla warfare.

Ultimately, the Chakobsians (more commonly known as Yaguarans) were unable to expand beyond the thickest part of the jungle, and eventually stopped trying, but they continue to launch periodic raids against their neighbors, and continue to be hostile to all outsiders save a few select individuals.

## Government

The Yaguarans are led by a theocratic cult. Their gods and theology is poorly understood, but sacrificing sentient beings seems to be a big part of it. Each city is led by an arch priest or priestess who rules their region with absolute power, though for decisions affecting the nation as a whole, the arch priests get together.

However, the arch priests/priestesses themselves often take instruction directly from the “**emissaries of the gods**”, strange creatures that take many different forms, and lurk in the shadows of each ruler’s high temple unless summoned to battle or out on the hunt.

## Economy

Amidst the Bahani Bahar Peaks are deep valleys with pristine lakes that support far larger populations than they seemingly should, though Yaguarans cities are still small by many foreign standards. Clearings around lakes and cenotes in the foothills of the mountains support smaller populations, but the jungles themselves are inhabited only by small packs of nomadic hunter gatherers who double as guardians of the region's borders.

The settled areas survive on maize, fish, pigs, various fruit, honey, and wild game.

Technology is seemingly primitive, but the complex pulley systems used to quickly erect new massive temples of the cities, and the quality steel used in some weapons, point to a willingness to use modern techniques when needed.

Aside from the powerful font of magic said to lie beneath the mountains, the greatest draw to the region is its seemingly endless supplies of gold. Yaguarans place little value on the material, with even the lowliest of slaves sometimes wearing a ransom’s worth of gold if it suits their fancy, though they are just as likely to wear bits of bone or shiny stone. Some cities use gold paint extensively, perhaps as national colors, or perhaps simply to mock foreigners, or lure them in.

## Foreign Relations

Chakobsa is hostile to all of its neighbors and raids them fairly indiscriminately. Anyone captured trespassing in the jungle, or during raids, is generally painfully sacrificed and eaten.

However, high ranking Yaguarans do have a certain respect for those who appreciate the deeper mysteries of the universe. They have a particular interest in particular fields of astromancy and necromancy, and will sometimes adopt rogue mages from foreign cultures. On rare occasions, rogue (or “rogue”) priests/priestesses of Chakobsa will spend time in neighboring nations learning from other culture's magic traditions and planar, metaphysical, and astronomic knowledge.

## Geography

Chakobsa consists of a large swath of seemingly impenetrable jungle surrounding a region of relatively small but very steep, jagged mountains. In between these two climates are rugged foothills covered in sparser jungle and filled with cenotes.

The cities are mostly located in the mountain valleys or foothills, but a few are almost entirely underground in massive cenotes.

The region has always had a supernatural reputation even before the Yaguarans got established. Certain cenotes and deep crevasses would glow with unnatural light as certain moons reached certain positions. Even more alarmingly, on rare occasions, glowing ley lines of varying magnitudes would spontaneously appear throughout certain mountains. It has long been speculated that some sort of font of raw magic exists deep beneath the mountains, but no one who has gone searching for them has survived.

## Demographics

* **Humans** – The human inhabitants of Chakobsa are known as the Yaguarans. They are a racially mixed people whose ancestors likely include Southerner tribes, plains tribes from what is now the Gokmavi Horde, and even some South Khenomeric lineage from nearby Gilgemash.
* **Beast Folk** – Although the bombus were driven out ages ago, a few tribes of beastfolk still live in the most deadly patches of jungle. These include scorpion folk, pigfolk, man beasts, and a brightly colored cousin of the ecrkoecknoi frogmen known as the hop’en.
* **Goblins** – A few jungle goblins tribes still live in this area, they are noted for their oversized heads and shamanistic magic. Most tribes are vassals of the Yaguarans and follow the same gods.
* **Emissaries** – This is a catch-all name for the wide range of beings the Yaguarans consider to be the emissaries of their gods. Due to their rare nature, many are uncategorized, but some have been identified as demons or dark animal spirits, while others are perhaps “far outsiders”.
* **Ta’lunisar** and other rogue mages – A few moon elves have been adopted by the Chakobsa due to their knowledge of magic, as have some human mages from foreign lands.

## Religion

The Yaguarans have a wide range of gods known for their bizarre and/or threatening appearances. The nature of these gods is debated among foreign scholars. They are likely too numerous to be different demon lords, but could be perhaps be different aspects of the same demon lord, or particularly powerful and dark animal spirits, or a mix of the two.

Yaguarans seem to fall into one of three mindsets (or more often a mix of all three); we worship the gods for magic power, we worship the gods simply because they are powerful, or we worship the gods because we are afraid of the gods and other worshippers. There isn’t much room for things like compassion and fairness in Yaguaran culture, usually such things occur in spite of religious teaching rather than because of them.

The overarching motives of the Yaguaran religion are also unclear. Some think their use of human sacrifice is feeding energy to their gods. Others think they are radical environmentalists, hoping to return the world to a more primal state. And others think their gods simply like destruction for its own sake, or as a way to exercise their power. Perhaps a mix of all of the above, or different motives for different gods.

## Military

Chakobsa’s first line of defence is the jungle itself. Although not quite as brutal as the Eldritch Jungle, it certainly comes close. Giant insects and arachnids, predatory plants, big cats, quicksand, exotic wyvern, hostile tribals, and predatory emissaries, the jungles seem to have a little bit of everything, even the creatures of The Strange Meadows have a hard time establishing themselves here.

The Yaguarans themselves are seemingly primitive at first, wearing little, using spears, daggers, bows, and nets (some with blades of sharp rock rather than steel), and generally travelling on foot. But those who have to fight them quickly realize they have many tricks up their sleeve including a strong grasp of necromancy, pyromancy, plant based magic, animal magic, and demon magic. They are also experts at ambush, even outside their native terrain, while in the jungle they are nightmarish to fight.

Sometimes, particularly on their home turf, the Yaguarans will bring allies to fight alongside them. These include necromantic creations, vassal goblin tribes, and combat oriented “emissaries”, usually minor demons, or plants and animals that have been possessed by a dark animal spirit.