Shanaian Puliquan

The puliquan of Shanaia is the most lush and extensive garden in all of Virilia. Filled with a vibrant mixture of common and rare plant life from all over Virilia, as well as animal life, it’s a feast for the senses. The Shainaian Puliquan is split into sectors: the water sector, the dragon sector, the jungle sector, and the royal sector.
Throughout the puliquan there are man-made streams and fountains, small altars, sculptures, and even nature-played instruments that fill the puliquan with music; wind chimes, singing stones, and piano-like walkways name only a few.

The water sector:

There are man-made waterways throughout the puliquan, but they’re most prominent here. Rivers, streams, lakes, and waterfalls burble, roar, and sing as you wander the jade-paved walkways, growing damp from the mist of a nearby waterfall. A haunting melody floats on the air, as if played by an invisible piper.
Tiny black and silver dragons leap from beneath the lake’s serene waters and leave ripples in their wake. The creatures chortle to each other as they glisten and glitter in the sun. Dragonflies zip around you, iridescent wings barely visible in their speed, adding their buzzing to the cacophonous water-song.
Water lilies lie atop the rippling waters, but deep below you catch a glimpse of the glowing lirikan growing up from the lake bed. Its vibrant blues and purples swell brighter whenever a fish brushes against it. If not for the “no wading” sign, you’d touch it yourself to see it respond.

The dragon sector:

The dragon sector is perhaps the most visually vibrant (though it competes with the jungle sector for that honor). Miniature dragons of all colors and species dart from tree to tree on silk-soft wings, calling to each other in excited roars and purrs and screeches. Most give visitors only a passing glance, but a few tilt their heads at you in excited curiosity, jewel-toned eyes wide and glowing with the fervor of a wonder-filled child.
Further on you find the den of the drakes—flightless, muscular dragons that would be deadly at full-size—in a tree-guarded cave. They don’t bother to give visitors even a passing glance, and among themselves regard one another with cold distance. Mothers keep a watchful eye on their kits, fathers keep other drakes from coming too near their territory, but there is no play here as with the other dragons, nor even visible affection. Even the drakes’ appearance reflects their nature, with deep-toned scales, harsh ridges, and black or midnight blue eyes in stark contrast to the vivacity of the winged dragons.
Moving on, you come to the flower garden, where the youngest baby dragons sit with their mothers among a rainbow of blossoms. A few of the kits nibble on their surroundings, while others sit patiently at their mothers’ sides while the robe-clad keepers deliver carambola slices into their waiting claws.

The jungle sector:

Here the main attraction is plant life. Trees tower above you, ferns brush at your legs, and— Is that a vine you’ve caught yourself on, or a snake winding its way around your arm? Either way, you shake it off, and hope that if it’s a snake it doesn’t hold a grudge. A quick prayer to Gossalu ought to fend off bad luck.
The sound of cicadas buzzes in your ears, getting louder and louder as you roam deeper into the jungle. It’s punctuated by croaking, clucking, hissing, scuttling, and… was that a growl? You catch sight of a jaguar in a tree ahead of you and head onto a different branch of the path, despite your knowledge that the animal is trained and there’s a keeper standing by for any surprises.
Bright-billed toucans soar above your head; joined by hot pink, electric blue, and sunshine yellow bricolins; and a couple of miniature dragons who have wandered over from the dragon sector. Below them, keiliva swing from branch to branch and vine to vine, tuilei skitter up and down tree trunks, and mineli build their nests in the leaves.
Yellow, white, black, and brown vines snake up the tree trunks, guarded by bright pink flowers marked with “DO NOT TOUCH” signs. Their pointed petals and serrated leaves tell them apart from all the other bright pink, orange, yellow, and purple flowers that nearly cover the jungle floor. You don’t immediately notice what’s so dangerous about the flower, but then you spot the green mushrooms sprouting from its stem and the undersides of its petals. Nấmuke. Break the skin and reach the juice and it’ll seep through your skin, into your bloodstream, and kill you. Slowly and painfully. Maybe it's safest to leave the jungle sector for now...

The royal sector:

No one really knows what the royal sector contains, except the puliquan keepers and the royal family. It's said that it's even more spectacular than the rest of the puliquan combined, but the sector is fiercely guarded by both keepers and drakes.

Owning Organization

Virilia