Nukambi

Duway sits in the centre of Nukambi, bearing the same name as the ancient kingdom that sprang up along the shores of the Tjiwehng Sea, to which it is a successor. It is, in fact, one of the oldest continuously-settled cultures in the world, and as of the present day is also one of the most developed, rivalling Yashdar, Jhupra, and Paravarn. Duway, which is a little smaller than Germany, has the most fertile land of any of the three nations, and has dedicated much of its efforts to increasing the size and use of the lakes and wetlands along and between the Milar and Dreelan rivers.

Duway is a democracy, at least of sorts, with three Triarchs (taataman, singular taataban) being elected by the population, one every year on a three-year cycle. The idea here is for each to keep an eye on the other two, and be able to settle disputes if and when necessary. As an experimentation with democracy it is by no means bad, although it does tend to leave outsiders with the (not entirely false) impression that the Koorra are a highly argumentative sort.

The capital city is Mirran, one of the oldest settlements on the continent, now surrounded by artificial lakes and heavily reconstructed from glass, newly-made and strong. Smaller cities likewise base their livelihood around artificial lakes and wetlands, each controlled by an ataba or governor acting on behalf of the triarchs.

(A side-note: Koorra is the term by which the inhabitants-of-old of Duway refer to themselves. For the wider Copper Coast, they prefer the term Kuhuka, suggesting kinship but not singularity.)

Kewedj (Kereyatj: Keraitj "copper-land") sits to the west of Duway, and is more given over to desert lands, which are balanced out by the sheer abundance of wealth in the form of copper, opals, and salt that can be produced. Although the population of Kewedj is relatively small, and the land itself only slightly smaller than North Korea, it is also relatively well-off, and like Duway it makes heavy use of irrigation to ensure this remains the case.

Kewedj is a monarchy ruled by a King (tammi, plural tayaw), who is chosen from the male family of the previous king by a council of senators (tiyabal, singular tiyapal), themselves selected from the local nobility.

Girradjaw (Ginyarri: Ginyao "eagle-land") is near the eastern coast, and shares a border with Duway to the west, Arumandjee to the north, and the related Dhanyatil to the east. Girradjaw, which is slightly larger than Ecuador, has much in the way of farmland, just like Duway, but it also has the advantage of the mountains nearby, from which the people trade for rubies and sapphires to sell in the valleys below.

Girradjaw is an oligarchy, ruled by a council of Liberators (tjawumal, singular tjawurral), who were the first to extricate themselves from the tribute expected of the Old Duwarun who ruled the land before. Each Liberator is selected by lot from their extended family, as a representative for the taatanya or Assembly, and assigned to different posts by the atarra or Premier whom they choose to lead them. The post is for life or until retirement; the retirement of one Liberator calls for the election of another—as well as the election of a new Premier.

About the same size as the Czech Republic, Tjubba ("the highland") lies in the highlands and deserts to the north of Girradjaw. Like the aforementioned republic, it does much trade in gems; unlike Girradjaw, it does not speak a descendant of Old Arrahng, but instead that of a related language from the same family.

Tjubba is ruled as a tribal confederation, with each of the seven families having their own representatives across the country and vying amongst themselves for power and glory. One can count on their unity mainly in their raids of the lowlands—and in their sale as mercenaries to different sides.

The Kuhuka peoples are predominantly terrestrial, but there have been some major successes over the years in the maritime sphere. Ships from Girradjaw and Duway have both made journeys along the nearest shipping routes, and Karrad Umrung of Girradjaw is the first known person from the continent to have circumnavigated the Great Southern Ocean back in the mid-5th Century AB.

The first Duway was born of a hundred and twenty bloodlines, each of which was united with another in a traditional marriage alliance of the opposite moiety. The ruling council—headed by all bloodlines together—maintained a form of decorum through expansion out into the world at large, although particular bloodlines—notably the Uttaka, the Kamirran, the Wutakar, and the Barang—dominated the council at different times in history. These bloodlines have differing forms in the modern nations; in Duway they are simply family names, in Kewedj one bloodline rules supreme while others are noble factions, in Girradjaw the bloodlines have finally put aside their feuds. Yet all trace their ancestry back to the totem animals used by the moieties of the ancient Koorra.