Huǒyàn

## Flaming Mountain - Huǒyàn Shān (Huǒyàn)

### 火焰山

The largest and most profound trading hub of the Ten Kingdoms, Huǒyàn Shān worships the dragon Shén(Deity - 神) Long Wei and venerates the element of fire. Its sphere of influence is the largest, and its environment is one of a wide variety. It is bordered with mountains and impenetrable desert, and the only reach to the outside world is by ocean, therefore making it one of the most profound maritime trading societies in all of Nydam.

It has a combination of scenic mountains, farms, and wetlands, which also make it an agricultural superpower by way of rice production. This combined with its trading prowess makes it a political superpower as well.

### **Environment**

Huǒyàn is cut off from the rest of Nydam of the Wú Shuǐ Zhī Dì (Waterless Place) on its western and northern side, a desert that finds itself in the middle of three nations, cutting them all off. Though a series of roads has been developed between them, helping with trade. This has been referred to by multiple names, though the most common is the Connecting Road. This road is difficult to traverse for most, as the desert it resides in is horribly arid and, as the name suggests, waterless.

On its eastern front lies the coast and ocean, where the closest adjacent nation is Crête de Vague. Through this vast ocean, the merchants of Huǒyàn participate in a wealth of maritime trading to other coastal nations throughout Nydam. Huǒyàn has a wealth of desirable exports, so there are many port cities along the coast where merchants trade.

On its South lies the impenetrable mountains that seperate it from Vajrapaat. Tall and cold, few dream of traversing these cold wastelands. Though some more reclusive Huǒyànese monks build their monasteries among the cliffs.

As for Huǒyàn itself, the environment is temperate, dramatic hills and mountains prove as valuable locations for religious pilgrims, though the majority of the land in this area is taken up by farmland and small villages. As for the cities, the majority of the population resides in large and bustling port cities.

### Religion

The primary doctrine of the worshippers of the Shén. It is widely distributed, and from it has sprouted multiple schools of thoughts with their own interpretations. However, the followers of this faith are characterized by lacking clear sectional divisions. This means that while there are a wealth of different sects and each have their own interpretations, they have no clear divide between them. While most of these schools have their own distinct teachings, many people don’t consider them part of any specific one. All of these schools fall under the umbrella of being characterized by having a broad acceptance of different ways of worship, discussion, disagreement, and approaches to the cultivation of spiritual merit(业力 - karma).

The Book of the Dragon discusses the story of Long Wei, in addition to her life after her ascension. Many also refer to this book as Huǒyàn De Dànshēng (The Birth of Flame - 火焰的诞生), and it is believed that this story inspired the name of Huǒyàn as a whole, as it came about as Wei came to power.

Worship of the dragon goddess is made up of a wide variety. Temples are the most common location for worship, some being tucked out of the way, and others being the primary worship centers for big cities. All have distinct architectural elements, be that imagery of regal dragons, phoenixes(a common legend throughout Huǒyàn), bells, guardian figurines on the roofs, shrines, prayer halls, and sometimes miniature reliquaries to house holy artifacts or other objects of significance(stupas).

Apart from these worship centers are monasteries, tucked away among the sloping hills and tall mountains and isolated from the cities and ports of Huǒyàn. Monks here dedicate their lives to the worship and study of the dragon goddess and have their own set of methods and traditions. They believe that their job is to pray for the common man. They can be of any gender, and many take to a vegetarian diet.

### **Altar of Smolders**

The Yīn Rán Jìtán(Altar of Smolders - 阴燃祭坛) is the descendent of the dragon goddess. Their prowess comes from eons of work, and they are raised to be mentally and physically prepared to retain the power they must train with. They receive the same power that Lóng Wěi received so long ago, and must learn to hone their skills (and emotions) in order to return the power of fire to the earth.

to be continued im tired lmao