Kentotra

**Kentotra** is an island nation that mysteriously appeared in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Its arrival drastically displaced much of the ocean and raised sea levels, confusing and frightening the world. Satellite imagery found a ruined civilization on this strange landmass, driving the archaeologist Shigeru Iwata to investigate the remains.

Before its appearance in 1998, Kentotra rested on a small planet of the same name. Primary sources claim the planet was covered mostly by water with the island as its one principal landmass, taking up about 30% of its surface. Due to its perfect conditions for housing life, it is speculated the planet Kentotra an alternate version of Earth from another dimension. This hypothesis has not been proven, but the island's uncanny arrival has many theoretical physicists and astronomers raising their eyebrows.

## History

Ancient myths maintain that Kentotra was created eons ago by two gods, or "Aran'khutu" named Olakoye and Kotamotu. The ocean formed at the "deaths" of Arjolas and Mytori, later to be ruled by their daughter Klakelaya. Klakelaya created all ocean life as well as humanity, while Olakoye and Kotamotu's daughter Mazakyel populated the land with plants. Land creatures other than humans were born from Mazakyel when Ro'Gathmu came onto land to father them. Modern biologists simply believe the planet and its organisms evolved similarly to Earth, though even scientists at the time of Kentotran civilization insisted divine intervention was at play.

At least 20,000 years before its discovery in 1998, the Kentotran civilization collapsed, and seemingly took almost all animal life with it. Research continues into the cause of this catastrophe.

## Religion

Kentotran life was deeply intertwined with its religion, as most of its holidays involved at least one Aran'khutu or Aran'akto at each of their cores. Kentotrans wrote as if their gods were intimately connected with their daily lives, as if they could be called into their respective temples at any moment to offer guidance to mortals. A massive emphasis was placed on making offerings to the gods; every citizen was expected to do so at least a few times in their lifetime. Should mortals fail to present offerings often enough, the gods' divine energy that allegedly created and maintained their world would run out, leaving many important aspects of natural life ungoverned and sending human society into a state of desperate chaos.

The most major conflicts in Kentotran society arose from differing interpretations of religious scripture, especially between priests working for opposing gods. The most contention seems to surround a later addition to the Aran'khutu, the war god Te'Kegarr. What spurred on this conflict and fueled such polarizing opinions on one god is unclear at this time.

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## Government

The Kentotran government was a democratic monarchy in which the people voted for a particular child of the reigning monarch to become their next ruler. That ruler, the Meti'khutu, worked closely with a council of regional representatives to create laws. All elections were decided by a simple majority, any ties being broken by the reigning Meti'khutu themselves. Each region had its own economic representative who took note of changes and reported them to an economic chairperson, a highly respected and coveted position.

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## Culture

(Main article: Kentotran culture)

One major value in Kentotran society was progress. Intellectual, creative, political: all human progress is great progress. Improvement was highly valued and constantly sought after. There were a few constants that they maintained, such as the offerings to their gods, but they always strove to move forward in everything they did.

Kentotran social norms may seem more progressive to members of our contemporary society: men and women put in equal work in their careers and the home, the poor and blue-collar workers were held in high esteem, and there was even evidence of same-sex relationships and gender variation, both in their mythology and real life. No one was left behind in the pursuit of progress. (expand)