Kulanakai

Description

At the furthest inland point of Hunaia Bay, lies the one safe entrypoint directly into the Living Jungles of the Lu'qua Tropics, the city-state of Kulanakai. Unlike a conventional city-state, it doesn't govern a large area of land at all, they are not foolish enough to try and tame the Living Jungles. Rather, most its territory lies below the sea, much like its epynomous city.

The majority of the city's 10.000-strong population are sea elves and tritons who live in the submerged portion of the city, in buildings made of iron, rock, glass and coral. These buildings partially extend above the water, providing living quarters for the humans as well. The above-water Sky Quarter is connected via thin wooden or metal bridges.

Culture

The kulanakaians have traditionally maintained a fairly simply hunter-gatherer culture, largely due to their isolation from the rest of the world and the dangerous environment around them. Only recently have they come into contact with other civilizations and learned of certain possibilities and advancements in technology. Now they are looking towards their future and they are at a cross-roads, as to whether they want to try to maintain isolation and retreat further underseas, or ride this new wave which may possibly open up the dangerous jungles around them for expansion.

Fashion and Dye

The underseas people of Kulanakai are often lightly clad, the easier to swim around. Any ornamentation is frequently made from materials obtained from the sea, such as seashells or coral. What clothes they do wear are made from underwater plants, and if dyed, they favor colors of the sea such as greens or blues. One color of dye that is particularly popular, is a green dye obtained from the processed mucus of the Puku-Olapa, also known as Glowsnails. It is so commonly used that some even have slightly green-tinted skin as result of frequently wearing material dyed in this color.

The Arts

Paint struggles to hold underwater, so sculpture is their primary form of art, often making use of coral and similar materials. Stonework also includes relief carvings, which are so popular and common that they can be seen on almost every building in their underwater city.

When it comes to writing, they have two methods. The first is the same as most other races, but these writings are meant to never leave the Sky Quarters. For more general and underwater purposes, they use either: stone carving which is sadly rather time-consuming and difficult, or making impressions on hydraulic cement with a fish-bone stylus which takes less time but is a more specialized process, or for simple records and calculations they use a system of colored string with coded knot patterns. Each of these has their pros and cons, and is used for different purposes.

Politics

While it is small in size, and many people don't even know much or anything of it, they do trade with some of the larger player's on the world stage. They have maintained good relations with the Duchy of Anthalia, with whom they trade exotic fruits, wood and alcohols for building materials and technology.
Kulanakai is governed by a council of representatives called Kukamoi, elected from its different population groups. There are 5 representatives from the sea elves, 3 from the tritons and 2 from the humans. These are based on the sizes of the respective population groups, but it is also partially tradition, and this unequal representation is a cause for some friction among the population.

Military

Kulanakai does have a nominal militia, consisting of some humans who patrol the Sky Quarter, but the majority are Sea Elves who patrol the border of the Hunaia Bay. The outskirts of the bay are not that densely populated, but they do pick up trespassers and give signal upon sight of appearing ships.

The Bounty of the Sea

Alternative Names

The City Below

Training Level

Semi-trained

Veterancy Level

Trained

Demonym

Kulanakaian

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Location

Lu'qua Tropics