Amedio Jungle (AH-mee-dee-oh)

A vast tropical rainforest teeming with savage humans and fierce beasts that extends into the deepest reaches of the Flanaess.

The Amedio is a vast tropical rainforest extending southward more than 300 leagues. Tribes of savage humans (Suel and Olman) live here, among fierce animals, man-eating monsters, intelligent apes, and haunted ruins. The jungle also holds many carnivorous and poisonous plants, whose medicinal and magical properties are very powerful. The human races of the Amedio Jungle are the Olman and the Amedian. The Olman are immigrants from Hepmonaland and conform to the physical characteristics of those Olman. The term "Amedian" properly refers to any inhabitant of the Amedio Jungle, but most use the term to refer to the tanned and freckled descendants of the Suel, and the remainder of this work will use this definition. The Amedian are physically identical to Hepmonaland Suel.

The dense jungles of the Amedio

Fauna & Flora

The Amedio has a wide variety of mundane and strange animals, most of which are similar to those of Hepmonaland. This issue became greatly confused when the Olman brought Hepmonaland animals to this region and the imported fauna battled with local beasts for ecological niches; If a Hepmonaland creature does not live here, there is something very much like it in its place. The most glaring exceptions are the onco and the elephant, neither of which exist in the Amedio jungle, though images of them appear in Olman art; the former were hunted to extinction, except for a few in a private collection in Xamaclan, and the latter were too large to transport with ease. As with the fauna, the plants of the Amedio Jungle have many similarities to those of Hcpmonaland, especially as the migrating Olman brought many types with them from their homeland. The Amedio now has many plants that originated far to the cast, including the bato, miro and pok. The Amedio has also fostered a panorama of dangerous fungal and colonial vegetation, including green and olive slime, yellow mold, obliviax moss, violet fungi, gas spores and phycomids. It also has many varianrs of the giant sundew, mantrap and pitcher plant. The Amedio is otherwise similar to Hcpmonaland in the nature of its exuberant and hostile ecology.

History

The Olman and Amedian are not the first intelligent races to rule the Amedio Jungle. Fragmentary records from the Olman city of Tamoachan and other sites indicate that the earliest civilization of this region belonged to a race of reptiles almost identical to modern-day troglodytes. These beings lived more than three thousand years ago and were evil and quarrelsome. Worshipping various demon princes, they claimed trophies such as skulls and skins from their enemies -- normally rival tribes that worshipped different demon princes -- and developed advanced means of mummification; preserved bodies of animals and the ancient troglodytes appear in certain sites; and writings imply that their sorcerer-kings had themselves mummified in hopes of continuing beyond death. The empire of the troglodytes fell around -1700 CY. There is evidence that an amphibious race larger than modern bullywugs lived in the jungle at this time, although any interaction they may have had with the troglodytes is unknown. Giant unintelligent reptiles also wandered the land, the descendents of which include the bonesnapper and several varieties of giant lizard. The power vacuum left by the fallen troglodyte empire allowed a race of intelligent gorillas to gain ascendency around -1600 CY. Calling themselves d'kana, they built a peaceful civilization of large tribal nations based on order and trust. The d'kana evidently developed spellcasting, since remains found in rare crypts or mausolea are often accompanied by unmistakable spell components. There is no evidence of a war during the time of the d'kana, so it is possible that their wizards and priests received troublesome omens and withdrew their people before the violent Olman came to the land in approximately -1200 CY. Most modern Amedian and Olman tribes tell tales of "dakon-apes" in the forested foothills of the Hellfurnaces, probably near-civilized descendents of that once-great empire. Explorers in that region have found modern tools, weapons and jewelry similar to items found in ancient d'kana interments, but locals claim that the "black-hands" do not like to be approached. Two other intelligent mammalian races emerged during the time of the d'kana. The evil kech actually predate the d'kana, and some mummified remains date back to the time of the troglodytes, but they did not thrive until the reptiles were gone. The benign beastmen also multiplied rapidly while the d'kana were in power, aided by their camouflage ability. It is interesting to note that the kech and the beastmen ignore each other and do not interact in any way; the reason or motivation for this remains a mystery. The Olman that arrived from Hepmonaland did so around -1000 CY, long after the d'kana vanished. Finding this new land largely uninhabited by intelligent foes, the Olman burned off large swaths of jungle to make their progress through the Amedio easier, stopping when they found sites of which their gods approved. They built great cities, burning away the nearby jungle to make room for farmland. Seven cities were built, each surrounded by villages and farming communities. The land around each city was considered a kingdom, with the city its capital, but all city-states owed allegiance to the high capital city in the central Amedio. While these city-states initially considered themselves colonies of the Hepmonaland Olman empire, all seven had declared independence before -800 CY, when they discovered that the old empire was dead. From that point forward, the Amedio Olman considered themselves the true Olman civilization. The new Olman empire extended from the southernmost jungles of the Amedio through the Olman Islands and onto the northernmost part of Hepmonaland, as well as a few scattered settlements on the Tilvanot peninsula of the Flanaess. The city-states prospered for over 500 years, but eventually they turned on each other in a series of destructive internal wars over control of certain mines, choice of emperor and religious differences. Over the course of the next century five of the seven cities were destroyed, their people sacrificed by rival cities' priests and their lands reclaimed by the jungle. Only the northernmost city (Tamoachan) and the southernmost (Xamaclan) survived these wars. Several writings predicted a many-eyed god bringing a fiery death, although the records are so fragmentary that it is unknown if this referred to an event like the Rain of Colorless Fire or something like an invasion of beholders. Even isolated Tamoachan suffered in these tumultuous times. Priests differed in their predictions of the city's fate, but bad weather caused poor crops for at least two seasons. Although there are no written records of the events around -425 CY, modern explorers have filled in the details with powerful divination spells, which revealed that the arguing priests eventually escalated their conflict to magical warfare. While their battle lasted only a day, terrible spells and summoned monsters ravaged the city, causing the citizens to flee for their lives and not return. The jungle crept over the abandoned walls of Tamoachan and completely hid it within a decade. The Olman discovered the remnants of the troglodyte culture and declared that their civilization had fallen because the gods had judged them lacking. It is ironic that their own civilzation collapsed due to rivalries between agents of their own gods. It is possible that one of the demon princes worshipped by the reptiles (perhaps Demogorgon) was angered by the rise of the human empire and destroyed their works in the Amedio. Although most of their cities were destroyed, the Olman might still have regained their former glory and built new cities if it hadn't been for the arrival of the Suel. Fleeing the destruction of their own lands by the Rain of Colorless Fire, many Suel traveled southward along the eastern Hellfurnaces and entered the Amedio, where they immediately came into conflict with the resident Olman. These two races have been fighting each other almost continuously in the thousand years since the Twin Cataclysms. Neither side is willing to negotiate, nor do they take prisoners, both sides sacrificing their fallen and captured foes to their gods. By -350 CY, one Suel house had reached the northern shore of what is now called Matreyus Lake, where they discovered the ruined Olman city of Elatalhuihle. These Suel were stereotypical examples of their race, cruel and evil. The city fell for unknown reasons around -170 CY; even now the place suffers one or more terrible curses. Little changed in the next 700 years. The Olman and Suel battled each other and among themselves for food, territory and slaves, and for the glory of fighting. In this churning mass of permanent civil war, the arrival of the Sea Princes in about 530 CY was barely noticed. The Princes explored the Olman Islands and cut their way into the Amedio, enslaving the natives they didn't kill. The Amedio slaves were sent back to the Hold of the Sea Princes as cheap labor, or kept in their native lands to dig mines, clear vegetation and pick fruits for export. Thousands of natives died from mistreatment, malnutrition and unfamiliar diseases they contracted from the Holders. Some tribal leaders recognized the threat and managed a few retaliatory attacks against their would-be captors, but most of the natives saw the northern slave-takers as a way to eliminate their ancient enemies, and began slaving raids of their own, selling conquered opponents to the Sea Princes for iron weapons, cheap jewelry, alcohol and minor magic items. The pattern continued until 584 CY, when the Scarlet Brotherhood arrived. When the Sea Princes surrendered to the Scarlet Brotherhood during the Greyhawk Wars, the Brotherhood acquired all the lands claimed by the Sea Princes. One of their first actions was to clap chains on most of the Holders residing in the Amedio and add them to the cargo fo the slave barges; few of these Holders survived long at the hands of their former slaves. The Brotherhood then recruited among the Suel-blooded natives; offering them weapons and positions in the military, the Brotherhood would grant the slaves freedom if they would fight for the Scarlet Sign. Thousands of Amedians accepted the offer, eager for the chance to fight other outworlders. Olman were not given this opportunity, as they were considered inferior by the Brotherhood. Under the Brotherhood's banner, the captured Amedio Olman and the Olman of the Olman Islands were doomed to even worse treatment than they had suffered at the hands of the Sea Princes: Under the guidance of Father Marshenref (now Father of Thralls), Olman were crossbred with a local lemur-like creature, creating the slave race of rullhow. The Brotherhood restructured the outworlder presence in the Amedio, halting advances into the jungle and pulling back from some fortifications that were less defensible. The Brotherhood controlled the entire northern peninsual (called "the Hook" by the Sea Princes) and all northern coastal areas within 60 miles of the shore. Using the Sea Princes' fleet stationed at Narisban, and aided by wizards and charmed sea monsters, the Brotherhood completely blockaded traffic between the Densac Gulf and the Azure Sea. The Holders' uprising in 589 CY caused the Brotherhood to lose most of their land in the Hold of the Sea Princes. While this has weakened their control over the western Azure Sea, the Brotherhood still patrols Jeklea Bay and seeds it with sea monsters. It has, however, caused them to rethink their strategy in the Amedio; they have slowed their slaving activities and instead focus on exploiting the other resources of the Amedio, such as woods, fruits, spices and metals. The Brotherhood has extended its reach to its limits, and is wary about trying to hold on to too much at too great a distance.

The Amedio Jungle's Influence on the Flanaess

The Amedio remains a place of mystery to most of the Flanaess because so little information has been brought back from it. It wasn't until 584 CY, when the Matreyus expedition brought back detailed notes and artifacts from the jungle, that the Amedio became something other than a distant hazard to be avoided. These notes allowed some to realize that certain unusual items traded by the Sea Princes were products of the Amedio. The jungle became even more real to the people of the Flanaess when the Scarlet Brotherhood began unloading slaves and warriors in Flanaess ports. As the Brotherhood controls most access to the Amedio, trafficking in its goods is kept to a low trickle; it will take the ousting of the Brotherhood from their jungle bases to allow Amedi resources any major influence on the rest of the world.

Languages of the Amedio Jungle

Amedi: This corrupted form of ancient Suel took a different path than the Rasol language of Hepmonaland. While speakers of ancient Suel can understand 40% of what is said in Amedi, a speaker of Amedi is completely incomprehensible to one who speaks Rasol, and vice versa. Amedi has a few written characters representing key concepts, but no true written form; those knowlegeable in ancient Suel can recognize similarities between the Amedi runes and written Suel. Beastman: The beastman language is very intricate, consisting of vocalizations, hand gestures, body posturing and alterations in the speaker's fur patterns and colors. This last component prevents non-beastmen from communication in anything but the simplest terms, even if they become fluent in the verbal and somatic portions of the language. Dakon: It is presumed that the dakon have their own language, although as they have not been heard to speak on the rare occasions they are encountered, nothing is known about it. Their physiology is similar enough to humans that they might be able to master human speech, and vice versa. Keck: The scattered tribes of kech share a common language and bits and pieces of Olman and Amedi. Few have taken the time to learn Kech, as the kech are universally violent and dangerous, and the language is rather primitive, with no written form. Olman: The Olman spoken in the Amedio Jungle still retains much of the vocabulary and structure it had a thousand years ago; a speaker of the original Olman would be able to understand 60% of the modern language. While usage, pronunciation and accents vary slightly between the Olman Islands and the many tribes of the Amedio, enough similarities remain to allow speakers of Olman from differing locales to communicate effectively. Its written form is pictographic and contains thousands of characters, and it takes years to grasp the meaning of all the symbols. Written Olman has been forgotten by almost all of the Amedi tribes that use the spoken tongue; only the people of Xamaclan retain the use of the written form.

Religions of the Amedio Jungle

The Olman of the Amedio Jungle worship the same gods as their cousins in Hepmonaland. Regional differences account for minor name changes or differences in appearance. Two points to note are alternate names for two of the Olman powers. The god Tezcatlipoca is worshipped under a different aspect by some Amedio Olman; as god of the moon and lightning, he is known as Apocatequil. The bat-god Camazotz is worshipped here as Zotzilaha, who includes an aspect of vampirism and the underworld. The Amedian worship a few gods from the original Suel pantheon. Llerg is widely worshipped and is honored exclusively by man tribes; the Amedian pronounce this god's name "Hlerg." Beltar and Pyremius are popular choices of the cannibalistic tribes, as are certain demon brinces such as Juiblex and Demogorgon. Given the prevalence of strange plant life, it is possible that Zuggtmoy may also have worshippers in the Amedio.

Social Rank, Status, and Titles

Amedian: The Amedian have developed ideas about power that are very similar to the Olman: Without power, one is unworthy of respect. However, the Amedian have also retained the affinity their ancestors have for magic, and witch-doctors (wizards) are almost as common as priests. Tribal leaders still tend to be warriors or priests, although some witch-doctors have taken over tribes when they grew powerful enough. The tribal leader is addressed as sar, meaning "father," probably a corruption of the Suel word for father, sahar. The Amedian exhibit more equality between the sexes than the Olman, although most people with power tend to be male. They normally don't sacrifice their own tribesmen, reserving that fate for their enemies. Many tribes eat the sacrificial remains, seeking to absorb the strength of their enemies. Olman: The Olman tribes of the Amedio are brutal savages, thinking nothing of killing all the warriors of a tribe, finding the village of their defeated foes and sacrificing the noncombatants in a bloody ritual. They respect only power, and their terms of respect are all derived from the etli, the Olman word for "powerful." The tribes are led by either the greatest warrior, or, more commonly, a priest; all tribes in the Amedio are male-dominated. The leader and the warriors are the highest rank in the tribe, whereas the women and children are little more than slaves, and the true slaves are completely beneath contempt; a priest may use any non-warrior as a sacrifice if he sees the need for it. The Olman of Xamaclan are a different matter entirely. The people of this city see duty and thought as more important than power, and their social ranks reflect this. Soldiers receive much respect, as do teachers, priests, wizards and philosophers. The nobles are privileged by birth but respected only if they use that privilege to increase their learning and better the status of the people.

Weapons, Armor, Clothing, and Valuables

The things worn and carried by the Olman and Suel of the Amedio Jungle are very similar to those of Hepmonaland, except that the overall level of civilization in this jungle is much lower than Hepmonaland's, so the Amedio items are of lower quality. Most tribes use the blowgun, which was developed by one or both races about 1200 years ago; it is commonly used when a stealthy attack is needed. Some tribes learned limited ironworking from captured Holders and manufacture iron darts for their blowguns, giving them double the normal range; these darts are normally poisoned. The Olman of Xamaclan have a higher standard of living than their tribal relatives, with a distinctive clothing style — loose, short-sleeved tunics of white or cream with elaborate geometric patterns sewn along the edges. Men wear loose trousers and females wear long skirts. Important families sew or dye patterns on the fronts of their tunics, and jewelry is popular with both sexes and all classes, with most individuals having pierced earlobes and nose. The beastmen of the Amedio rarely wear clothing or jewelry, as it interferes with their ability to camouflage themselves. They use blow-guns, bolas, weighted nets (for the rare times they wish to capture foes), and stone knives, axes and spears. They do not decorate or adorn their weapons, seeing such things as a detraction from the item's usefulness. The dakon — and their presumed ancestors, the d'kana — do not wear clothing or armor, although they do carry jewelry, tools, and weapons, mainly clubs and knives. These things have been found engraved with a braided or knotwork pattern or with images of trees and animals; this may represent some aspect of dakon religious life, who may see all plants and animals as part of a whole — a reasonable assumption given the apparently ordered and lawful society of the d'kana. The kech wear no clothes or armor, relying on their natural armaments for attack and defense. They produce no useful or valuable items such as tools or adornments, although they occasionally collect the valuables from creatures they have slain and devoured, so to an untrained eye it might seem that they imitate the styles of the other sapients of the jungle. The Olman of the Amedio have retained their forefathers' traditional form of currency, the notched coin. When their cities fell, they lost the knowledge and ability to make more coins and began using uncut gems and small granules or nuggets of precious metals as media of exchange. However, the people of Xamaclan retained the knowledge of metallurgy and continue to make their own coins. The invading Suel brought their own money, but as they descended into savagery they too forgot how to shape such things. Now both Olman and Amedian tribes use rough valuables and ancient minted coins interchangeably. Coins are often attached to clothing or used as jewelry, especially earrings, because of their uniform shape. Olman and Amedian jewelry is similar to Hepmonaland Olman and Suel jewelry.

Weather of the Amedio Jungle

The Amedio is guarded by steep mountains on one side and a large inland sea on the other; its weather is more constant and gentler than that of Hepmonaland. which juts from the rest of the Flanaess as if daring storms to approach. The jungle receives a heavy rainfall almost every day during low and high summer. During the other months the rain decreases, falling once or twice a week. Its northern half rarely sees serious storms, although the southern portions are hit by large tropical storms at least every other year; these storms destroy large amounts of vegetation and the animals that live there, but the jungle recovers quickly and after a few years little evidence of these storms remains. The air is hot and humid, and ground fog is typical in the mornings. Fogs sweep in from the sea, often concealing aquatic monsters. The western regions of the jungle are constantly threatened by volcanic eruptions from the Hellfumaces. The ash and poisonous gases from these peaks normally blow west onto the Sea of Dust, but sometimes they drift over the jungle, killing everything in their path. The northern half of Matreyus Lake attracts these clouds, and ash and gases hover there for days at a time after an eruption.

Hidden temple deep in the Amedio

Type

Forest, Jungle (Tropical)

Region
The Amedio lies outside of any civilized nation's borders Exports
Herbs, spices Settlements
Blisterwall
Carver's Pit
Cauldron
Castle Rakin
Chekitewhan
Chetanicatla
Demonskar
Elatalhuihle
Evermire
Fiddler's Cave
Fort Blackwell
Fort Bodal
Fort Densac
Fort Easthook
Fort Fendawor
Fort Greenrock
Fort Haveklha
Fort North Azure
Fort South Azure
Fort Southhook
Fort Westhook
Hollowsky
Hookface's Lair
Hucanuea
Keep of Jarl Khurok
Kingfisher Hollow
Lucky Monkey
Magalarve
Mashwan
Mount Gegesti
Pillar of Rust and Fire
Port Elizabeth
Redgorge
Renkrue
Sasserine
Spire of Long Shadows
Tamoachan
Terabar
Xamaclan Bodies of Water
Storm Lake/Matreyus Lake
Vohoun Ocean Mountain Ranges
Hellfurnaces Marshes and Wetlands
Chetanicatla Mire Savannas and Plains
Polahecu Grassland Islands
Isles of Axuxal
Pirate Isles