Ko Shusshochi
Crag and bark canopy the resting history.
A large continent that on the eastern side of the world that connects the south and north sides of the world, home to many mystical elements and one of the key peaks of the world. Under rule by the massive ko shusshochan empire, this wide swathe of river, forest, and crags is home to many animals and people, and is the original homeland of the tengu.
Geography
One of the most notable features of the vast continent of ko shusshochi is the massive splitting mountain range that cuts the continent in half known as the Hisashi Mountains. This immense wall of earth serves as both a natural defense should one half of the ko shusshochan empire be invaded and also one of it's greatest hurdles for trade and infrastructure. There are three primary routes through this mountain range, such as the dwarven pathways of Yardlehinden, the quieter and less protected mountain paths near mizunomiyako that lead to the rural north of ko shusshochi, and the most famous of the possible routes, Kyodai Pass. The mountain range is also home to some of the largest mountains in that part of the world, such as Mount Kyoshina, or the incredibly notorious Mount Saiko. The verticality of the mountain ranges of Hisashi is not to be trifled with as it becomes apparent to many travelers how likely it is to fall of the long slopes and ledges that even the safest route through have, it is due to the dangerous geography of the mountains that a popular saying is "A baby to fall from the top of hisashi can die of age before it reaches the bottom."
Near the hisashi mountain range but separate from it is the volcano, Mount Moyasu. One of the largest single volcanos on arsharin, moyasu has been home to many fiery monsters of legend in previous eras of the world, and is a pilgrimage to many who covet fire such as followers of neaer. This active volcano is the sole reason why a large swathe of vibrant and fertile land and coral seas near it have been completely untouched except by the most foolhardy or desperate of people, but also why it is a common hiding place for marauders needing a hideout by the ocean.
While ko shusshochi as a whole is filled to the brim with a wide variety of forest and jungle, the northeast half of ko shusshochi is also home to the massive swamp lands known as doku swamp, arrays of wide river ways, and small lakes and vast forested crags. The moist climate of this side of ko shusshochi also results in the danger of frequent flooding, making a large portion of the southern part of the east of hisashi mountains being unusable for irrigation and agriculture. These floodings are normally contained by the mountains that surround a majority of the south-east part of ko shushochi. The doku swamp lands are one of the main end point of many of these floods and is home to a massive array of overly saturated mudflats and dense overhead foliage, while the rest of the floods here go southward into the ocean, draining away. These floods leave most habitable areas on elevated sections of most of the forests. Luckily such elevation isn't impossible as the southwestern forests have large amounts of naturally formed spires in the flood regions due to the mountainous region.
To the north, lies the large temperate rainforests of numachi where that cover most of rural ko shusshochi. The lack of mountains here results in the eastern rain clouds lacking an ability to cause floodings compared to the southern forests of kozui and tomatsu. Numachi forest is bordered by Mount Seijin to the north, which acts as a protector against a large portion of the northern winds coming form gjornbern, Kitaaki forest to the west, an area heavily affected by mount saiko's presence, and then to the east is the hinterland Zetcho Peninsula and Isles of Anshin.
The zetcho peninsula and surrounding islands geographical resemble the northern gjornbern but reside south of the natural borders between the two regions. One of the few safe areas that act as a natural source of pine wood in the region for master carpenters and craftsman.
On the western side of the continent, a large portion of the landmass relies on the riverways that form from the riverways and other bodies of water that form from the eastern rain clouds colliding with the hisashi mountains. The southwest of ko shusshochi being home to some of the flatter forests and are some of the safest for travel through the region comparatively, however, it is also home to a few notable jungles in ko shusshochi, the most well known and largest one being kurainure. The large fertile and easy to grow soil here led to large amounts of unique plant life growing in the kurainure region normally only seen on the islands westward.
A large majority of the western forests are primarily separated by the large major river canals in the region but otherwise all bear a very similar climate other then the minamiaki forest, which bears a an otherwordly presence to it caused by the energies of mount saiko, leading to odd tree colors and rare herbs in this rural region. The trees of minamiaki are known to grow to genuinely absurd sides compared to those far from mount saiko and cause immense breaks in the natural layout of the region, despite numerous hills and crags of the area.
Beyond these regions, there is one more, known as kurai. The forests of kurai are long petrified badlands with trees of stone and fossil, with the southern region being home to many butte and rock spires that form massive labyrinths to those attempting to travel through them.
Maps
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Ko Shusshochi
