Patallon

The country of Patallon is a cool and dry place filled with rocky bluffs and alcoves. To the west you can find the beginnings of the Writhing Swamp, with small pools of mud and oily terrain scattered about. The little native grasses that exist here are yellow, brown, and patchy.

One of the most notable parts of Patallon is the fact it’s so close to the Bexstone Mountain Range. It exists in a small peninsula-like area where the mountain range itself wraps around the country, acting like a border. Some of the more southern settlements even creep up on the mountains ever so slightly. It’s not uncommon for people to have to hike from city to city.

Water is pretty scarce, with the only water source being a small river that trails along the country’s eastern side. Because of this, the natives of Patallon have taken advantage of the abundance of Demons in the mountain range to keep themselves alive. The entire country is centered around Demon products, which they trade with allied nations in exchange for other materials. Slurry, hides, bones, even Magic are all harvested from these Demons.

Patallon is one of the only countries in the entirety of Mirror Domain that sees snow in any capacity. It’s climate is cool and dry from the elevation, but on the rare chance it does rain that rain will likely turn into snow or hail. These storms only happen once every few years, but when they do they wreak havoc on the surrounding area. Nothing in Patallon is built to withstand hailstorms.

Other than Demons, Patallon has a few native animal species. The most common animal found there are wild birds or large rodents. Jackalopes have been rumored to roam the surrounding area, although this has yet to be proven. Most people believe they’re regular rabbits or some sort of Demon. More dangerous animals like Peryton and Cockatrice have also been spotted within Patallon’s borders, which only adds to the dangers of the mountains.

One of the most notable animals that roam these lands are chickens. Chicken farming is one of Patallon’s other trades. They sell both meat and eggs from the birds. The downside is the fact that these chickens have gotten loose and invaded the native landscape. Hoards of them can be seen wandering the streets, and most farmers don’t even bother corralling them. They simply provide nests to the birds and collect whatever eggs they happen to lay there. Chickens are considered an invasive species, but at this point it’s become so profitable no one cares what happens to the native plants and animals.

Patallon’s main population is made up of Vulpine Kodin. Almost 95% of the entire population is made up of them. People of Patallon view outsiders as dangerous and untrustworthy, so natives don’t take kindly to other species. The other 5% is made up of Satyr which come from the allied country Aelvale. They aren’t welcome with open arms, but the locals begrudgingly put up with them.

Blue Magic is heavily revered in Patallon. Because of their proximity to the Bexstone Mountain Range the most prominent type of Magic in the area is red, but about 450 years ago an unnamed Blue Magic mage began making headway in the field of Magic. Before then Patallon largely ignored Magic, knowing the only Mana they’d be able to absorb would be Dark or Red. After this mage came into existence, more and more people began to study and practice Blue Magic. Nowadays, Patallon cultivates its own, and they’ve used this Magic to vastly improve their weapons and defenses against Demons.

Demon hunting guilds in Patallon are known to be some of the most ruthless and efficient in all of Mirror Domain. Their use of Blue Magic paired with a few hundred years of surviving so close to the mountain range at all has shaped the Kodin of Patallon into natural Demon killers. Almost everyone in Patallon is able to identify a Demon, and most of them can accurately figure out a Demon’s class as well. Demons hate having Mortals so close to their home range, so naturally only the strongest would be able to survive there.

As mentioned previously, the people of Patallon don’t care much for outsiders. Not only does this mean they don’t like non Kodin species, but many places don’t even like Vulpine variants from other major cities. When visiting a city or town in Patallon it’s not uncommon for most of the Vulpine there to look similar. The city of Westgate, for example, is home to snowy white Kodin, similar to arctic foxes. Move a city over, and the majority of the population will look different. It’s easy to tell what region a native is from by fur pattern and body colouration alone. When it comes to identifying the Kodin of Patallon, the closer to the mountain range they are, the lighter their fur colour is.

Patallon is one of many countries that have yet to recognize Sinvian as a pure species. Headway has been made over the years, and Sinvian are no longer hunted freely here, but it’s still an extremely dangerous place for them to be. If one of them happens to be killed here, the majority of the country's law enforcement will look the other way. Patallon’s centuries and centuries of killing and consuming avians has normalized the consumption of Sinvian. That, paired with their distaste for outsiders, has caused the vast majority of Sinvian to avoid the country at all costs. It just isn’t worth the risk.