Nabari Plateau (/nabäri plato/ (Cyrenic: /nabäri:a/)
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The Nabari plateau is a large expanse of flatland in between the Odric Mountains and the Volgier Mountains. The plateau itself is relatively highly elevated in comparison to the other plains regions around it, especially the region of Huria, and the western reaches of Terruk territory. The soil of the Nabari Plateau is fairly rich lacking only in frequent rainfall, meaning that it provides ample grazing land and, with effort, even productive farmland. It has long been a hotly contested territory between the various powers neighboring the region as a result.
The Nabari plateu is extremely sparsely populated with very few settlements outside of the Aerie of Nabiu which is itself one of the lowest population states in Galisea. The total population of the region is roughly slightly over five hundred thousand with about half living in Nabiu with the remainder living in the Aarum territories. The area's population is fairly, though not exceptionally diverse with a roughly equal split between Aarumites, and Nabari birdfolk, with sizable populations of owlin, aarakocra, and kenku, as well as half-orcs with smaller numbers of humans, and orcs, and small smatterings of gnomes, dwarves, and halflings who cling onto their own small settlements after the Aarumite migration.
Historically the Nabari Plateau was a major area of contention between the two major dwarven civilizations in the western region of Galisea the Volgier and Cyrenian societies, who fought intensely over the plateau before the Kingdom of Cyrenica seized the whole region after the Brother's War. Other smaller communities of humans and halflings clung to independence during this period as well, keeping largely to themselves, as well as the Nabiu who established themselves as a powerful Cyrenic client state as Feloran invasions displaced the aarakocra from their homelands. In recent years, the Aarumite people have seized much of the plateau for themselves, fleeing from the Terruk-Mal and establishing a new homeland.
Geography
The Nabari Plateau lies at a major crossroads between other regions, with its territory squeezed between the major Volgier and Odric mountains, and between the relative lowlands of Elleryca and the Terruk steppes. It is relatively flat throughout most of the region though as the nabari plateau gives way to the mountain ranges along its northern, southern, become increasingly uneven rising into the mountains. Along its eastern border is a steep escarpment that clearly marks the boundary of the region. Its western bounds are less well defined though still clearly higher than the more coastal territories to its west.
The Nabari Plateau has relatively rich, thick soil that would work well to grow plentiful crops. However, rainfall in the region is rather limited, making large scale agriculture difficult for disorganized societies. Instead, the wild and natural state is vast expanses of grassland. This grassland serves as ample grazing grounds for a variety of ruminant herbivorous creatures, and ideal stalking grounds for predators. There are no major natural waterways in the Nabari plateau but there are many small streams and brooks that crisscross the land.
Ecosystem
The overwhelming majority of Nabari territory consists of temperate semi-humid, and mostly flat grassland. The temperature is significantly cooler than that of the Odric mountains, as well as those of Elleryca, and even the Terruk steppes. Actual precipitation is quite rare, though underground aquifers, and snowmelt streams provide sufficient water to keep the region from decertifying. The grassland serves as the fundamental basis for the overall biological web of the region with most animal life in the plateau subsisting on the various grasses, or on herbivores that feed on it. Towards the edges of the territory, the nabari plateau becomes more diverse as the region's borderlands move into the foothills of mountains. Here conditions move to Odricine tundra, but most forested territories exist in the northern and southern frontiers of the plateau as well.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Nabari plateau possesses are relatively normal seasonal cycle with two distinctive seasons. The first of these is a dry season, which occupies about three quaters of a solar year, in which rain or other forms of precipitation are virtually nonexistent. Temperatures are lowest during the dry season as cold, dry air arrives from the northern mountains. This is paired with a brief wet season. During the wet season, warm, humid air coming in from the Great Western Ocean and bringing the bulk of annual precipitation into the region. Temperatures are highest during this part of the year.
Fauna & Flora
The region of Nabaria is a fairly barren land, with almost no tree species. Instead the basis of the ecosystem lies in the grasses, brushes, and wildflowers that blanket the plains. The most famous of these, is the Wisp Stem which is presumably native to the region, and wildly successful in spreading here and even into other regions throughout Southwest and even Northewestern Galisea. Aside from these there are few magically useful plants, though almost everything provides nutrition for the grazing animals, especially wild descendants of grains brought by sentient beings.
Animal life in the Nabari Plateau is overwhelmingly dominated by grazers, including several species of cattle, horses, deer, goats, and other ruminants. These herds survive through their numbers, moving in groups by the thousand across the free nature of the plateau. Elephants remain the largest animals in the Nabari Plateau, though they can be found only in ever-shrinking numbers. Wild boars are also found in large numbers in the territory. Carnivorous animals live in fairly significant numbers including steppe lions, and a several birds of prey, stalking the ample herds and peeling off stragglers, and those not yet experienced to heed the warnings of their species' sentries. In recent years however, the Aarumites migrating into the region have introduced a number of invasive species, among them the Demi-Boar, which has become wildly successful, displacing wild boars in several areas of the central plateau. The most successful however, is the dire wolf a few of which escaped captivity to become a terror in the grass sea, butchering grazers in vast numbers, and quickly rising to become the dominant land predator on the plateau.
Natural Resources
The Nabari Plateau is relatively lacking in resources, not being especially rich before dwaves had come to occupy the land and with most of the mineral wealth that was present having been extracted during the occupation of the plateau by the dwarves. There are however, some iron ore veins scattered throughout the land. Aside from this there are few resources that can be tapped directly. Most homes are built out of animal byproduct, typically those of the nomadic aarumites, or are constructed from sod and loam. Birdfolk have found and accessed a few good quality marble quarries which provide much for the construction of Nabiu, as well for export of resources to the larger, marble hungry Kingdom of Cyrenica.
History
The region of Nabaria is well known for the numerous conflicts between those who sought to control the region. The oldest known records speak of giants living in the area in the times before the arrival of dwarven communities to the Volgier mountains. In those days giants lived in small communities or on their own in the comparatively lusher Nabari Plateau that existed before the War of Frozen Scales. When that conflict came to pass, and as the lands became less habitable, giants retreated away to the north, leaving the lands again unoccupied.
As the giants left the land, it would eventually come to be taken over by migratory communities of humans and halflings who established themselves in small settlements. Real civilization would come however, when dwarven settlers from the lands of Volgeberg and Cyrenica arrived seeking out new farmlands. These two powers slowly spread throughout the plateau and increasingly came to but heads against one another. These small conflicts would steadily escalate to raids, and even open skirmishes, all of which culminated in the Brother's War. The Brother's War, lasting sixty years, devastated the settled communities in the region, and saw many of the smaller human and halfling societies turn to nomadic lifestyles, move away, or die off in the conflict. The War eventually came to an end with Cyrenica controlling the whole of the Nabari Plateau.
Weakened by the fighting with few willing to go out and resettle the land, Cyrenica struggled for centuries to rebuild the profitable agricultural sector that had existed before the war. As a result it wasn't until the arrival of birdfolk, fleeing from the expansion of Feloran civilization that Cyrenica, and the establishment of a birdfolk client state that the Nabari Plateau began to approach pre-war levels. The region would once again fall into chaos as the Aarumites, themselves refugees fleeing from the conquests of the Terruk-Mal, moved into the region. The Aarumites being a great warrior people, and highly nomadic laid waste to settled socities, pushing them into the mountains, and reducing the Aerie of Nabiu to a rump state. The Plateau has since become a largely wild land once again.
Alternative Name(s)
Nabaria, Aarum
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