Awyer Swamp

History

Awyer Swamp and its Iurno inhabitants are one of the few things in the world with the (dubious) honor of not having changed much since their founding after kin'toni plague and the fall of the Zu'aan Empire. Isolated from the rest of the world by treacherous terrain, shallow water and dangerous fauna and flora, the people here have been living more or less in the same way since forever. The Iurno never felt as though they were a part of the empire and always staunchly resisted mainstream culture, religion and institutions which imperal authority was uninterested in acting as they saw the region as low priority and insignificant in population and resources.

During the plague few kin'toni appeared in the swamp and those that did were met with swift reprisal from the locals who organized mobs to patrol the outskirts of the swamp and hunt down kin'toni and potential refugess which, depsite the current situation, they didn't feel any sympathy towards. And so they menage to remain more or unchanged and endure the passage of time. Due to their shared faith in the Swamp Spirits, and their decentralized leadership, existing in small clans and settlements ruled by a founding family, the Iurno have few large scale internal conflicts that have left a permanent mark on the swamp and the people. Notably, clan Lashro was destroyed, killed to the last and thrown in the black waters of Lake Muglog after it was discovered their patriarch, Resph Lashro was secretly infected and was spreading the plague to his direct family. Swift judgement was passed on every single zu'aan that was a part of the clan.

While internal conflicts were rare, the Iurno were shocked when a tribe known as the Lipoth tried to invade the swamp. They weren't infected and they didn't speak the same tongue, and the invaders disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared as after raiding the border settlements of Gersen, Khagen and Nubten, taking as many prisioners as they could with them. Their fate remains unknown but around 600 Iurno tribesmen were dragged by the raiders out of the swamp, kicking and screaming. They are mourned to this day as it is believed one day they shall return, dead or alive. Sometimes natural occurances are mistaken by the local as supernatural phenomena as the build up of natural gases beneath the soil creates pockets of explosive gas that kill locals with a gigantic combustion that sets a small portion of the swamp on fire.

This is attributed to the Swamp Spirit Unlioc, who represents justice, smiting an evil soul. Or when a person disappears while travelling and their body shows up floating in the swamp, or in a mud pit, which is considered to be a bad omen. Otherwise Awyer Swamp is a notoriously tranquil place, in contrast to just how dangerous it can be to outsiders and the more foolish of the Iurno.

Geography

Awyer Swamp is huge. According to old Xerea Empire data its 66.000 km², being one of the largest in the world. The swamp is separated into what the locals call "islands" but in fact are more like peninsulas, the main ones are Aedaco Island, Dethau Island, Kapase Island and Soolfi Island where 40% of zu'aan population is located. The swamp layout is confusing, with muddy terrain and constant rainfall that greatly impeded development before the Shattering Age and now ensures that people remain almost completely isolated, with travel on foot being so difficult that physical communication between tribes that can't be reached by boat being done only once a year or more only in dire situations.

The main body of water which most of the population uses a way of moving around the swamp and for fishing is called the Adulac River, with the swamp also being doted by many other large lakes and ponds such as Byorac Lake where the Myteri and Cilien clans live on opposite sides but, for all intents and purpouses are a single people with much shared history. Or Lake Agmang where many foul creatures live and is largely avoided by the locals, who send their bravest to hunt for monsters beneath the murky waters, or Obmine Pond where the very last Ureaci lives and is feed by shamans as the creature is believed to be the last avatar of a forgotten swamp spirit.

There are no notable structures such as temples or shrines in the swamp. Only Iurno huts can survive sinking into the mud or the very common floods caused by the everpresent rain. The Iurno also would not be able to erect monuments or bridges when their primitive technology only allows them to build huts, canoos and simple stone tools, metalurgy is way beyond the tribe's grasp and any remaining metal tools such as axes, machetes and knifes are kept as family heirlooms, or have completely rusted and dulled and have been tossed into the swamp, like any other thing the Iurno consider to be trash. Once again the swamp itself poses a challenge that its inhabitants cannot overcome, so they choose to just find another way, though stone and wood is nowhere close to the quality of metal, of course but thats what life looks like for the Iurno.

Cogen lies at the very heart of Aywer and is considered to be the most dengerous, and also the holiest part of the swamp, with vegetation being the densest, the largest amount of dangerous predators, and absolutely no easy way in or out. Truth is that there is nothing really there and the place's infamy is due to its mystique as being the center of Awyer Swamp and, in their mind, the birthplace of all that they know: all the animals, plants and spirits, and to them, of the Zu'aan. Of course, nothing of that is true but it is understandable that they may have come to such conclusions considering how small your world becomes when you can't leave your home unless you absolutely have to, or when you can't see the world because you fear it.

Plants

• Rubagg trees represent 100% of all the tress in the Aywer Swamp region. Imperial scientists would sometimes study these trees as they believed Rubagg is a sort of parasitic or symbiotic life form that sought to completely meld with their host, becoming one super organism, and its believed that they found a perfect match with the Orogat and Turedr trees of the swamp, becoming spectacularly strong and tough, so much so that most wood is extracted from them in chunks that regrow to look like the tree was never cut at all.

• Yokall are plants with long stalks that grow all the way from the bottom of Adulac River to bloom into beautiful, white flowers with diamond shaped pettals with a red button. They are present all over Aywer Swamp and also can be seen in Lake Muglog, Lake Byorac, Lake Agmang, Lake Mingiv and Obmine Pond. The flower is actually poisonous but non lethal, only strong enough to knock out any who would dare try to cut it.

• Anferps are massive, carnivorous plants that take over entire ponds as they consume massive amounts of water and grow to be as tall as young Rubagg trees. They attract animals and Zu'aan alike with the sweet fragrance of its pollen. The closer they get the stronger the effect is as their pollen is mildly hallucinogenic and lulls creatures into a false sense of tranquility as they walk closer to the hidden jaws of the Anferp, where they are crushed and digested for many weeks.

• Pamino stalks are a hidden treasure of the swamp. They are known to grow only in a few hidden groves and their sap is known to be delightfully sweet, being used to make desserts in traditional Iurno cusine since before the Shattering Age. Warriors, hunters and scavangers go far and wide and sometimes even fight over a single stalk of this plant as, though their culture eschews commerce. Bringing one of these home is a sign of great foraging skills and woodcraft.

• Oosivi are strange, massive fruit that grow from Rubagg trees. They are infamous for growing so much that they break the branches of the trees in which they grow, usually hitting and unfortunate passerby. Many a fearsome beast and legendary warrior has met a shameful end with their heads crushed by one of these. Because of that people refuse to eat the fruit believing that it somehow feeds on the blood and flesh of the fallen, and the misery of the living. Because they fall when they reach peak ripeness, they also have a pungent smell, and combined with the scent of rotting flesh and blood, they produce quite the fragrance.

• Lekapr leaves are surprisingly easy to find but difficult to use. They are considered by most to be utterly useless. Shamans and medicine men know that these can be used, if boiled just the right way, to make a terrible poison that makes a Zu'aan's insides rot as if they were dead.

Animals

• Ureaci are a mysterious species of aquatic, scalebound predators that once thrived in Aywer Swamp and were considered a major threat to the inhabitants of the swamp but, as a result of a mysterious disease that spread among their population, they have largely been extinct and the spirit associated with them, forgotten. The last Ureaci known to the Iurno lives at Obmine Pond, where it has grown fat and lazy, being tended by shamans of the nearby Sawake clan.

• Mirracs fly high over the canopy of the swamp trees, landing only to lay eggs and moving on soon after. These colorful, beaked, flying creatures spend so little time anywhere that isn't on the air that they completely abandon their young to be raised by their older sibilings and are believed to die flying. They are associated with freedom and also tied to irresponsability. Their spirit is often popular with the young and carefree.

• Wilasa are a stalple of Iurno cusine. They are extremely plentiful on Adulac River and their meat is soft and sweet, great to eat even raw as they are surprisingly clean and healthy creatures living in the disease ridden waters of the Adulac. They only exist here and are so important and beloved by the locals that they created Paxemb, a spirit that represents good luck, health and plenty that is represented by a beautiful, fat and leaping Wilasa. They are often caught near shallow water as they hide and lay eggs beneath rocks and in sunken wood logs.

• Aukabo are curious creatures. While seemingly small and harmless, these multi-legged, chitinous beings explode into action and lunge for the throat and back as soon as one exposes any of the two to the Aukabo. These creatures are considered a bad omen, as they represent hidden, deadly perils that Zu'aan might not have considered before doing or saying something.

• Ocregu are tiny prey animals that have big, beady eyes, a grey, furry coat, and really long tails that sometimes get confused with wandering Giblens. Males have the longest tails of them all, reaching 10cm long. They are timid, weak and pose no real threat to any other creatures besides eachother as both males and females are known to fight for dominance when they encounter eachother in the wild. They are often kept as pets by Iurno children who find the creatures to be cute enough not to eat. They mate for life and only once a year, producing 1-6 cubs.

• Giblens are small, scaly beasts that slither around and hide in huge underground burrows where they lay eggs and reproduce at an alarming rate. Giblens are terrified of Zu'aan and normally eat creatures smaller than themselves like Ocregu by slithering inside their homes and ambushing them as they come back from a day of scavanging, attacking and swallowing their prey whole in one fell swoop. Because they are so hated by the local Iurno, there are no swamp spirits associated with them and, when found, their nests are destroyed and their eggs eaten.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Iurno Tribal Zu'aan