Waadja

Waadja has long been inhabited by the different nations of the Warruk peoples, sometimes unified, frequently divided. They share common religious, linguistic, and cultural elements, and a typical monarchic structure, but mostly maintain a cordial yet cautious distance between one another. The exception to this lies in the practices of the gawak, the physicians set to studying both the world and the human body and to attempting to heal what they can. Gawak (singular gawan) can travel freely between states, but are required to submit their findings for peer-review—both for reasons of maintaining positive practices, and because one gawan's failure, or worse yet fraud, potentially damages the entire institution.

Waadja's states are usually treated as entire areas to themselves, rather than as city-states and surrounding territory (although often they bear the name of the capital). The city, in effect, is a garrison of sorts, a market at times, and the home of the ruler—but the life of the nation remains in the farmlands, mines, and wetlands around it. Many people here follow some variety of Oodjukehng, though they may consider it only a matter of practicality; others follow Gunyuna, a faith derived from local beliefs which worships the Sun, the Darkness, and the Dead.

Nudjuurni

A southwestern nation, Nudjuurni has relatively bountiful forests, which have not been entirely cleared by the iron tools developed here nearly two thousand years ago. It is named after its capital city, Nudjuurni-of-the-Hill, and was once (and remains) the primary residence of the Duyura people in the south and the Ruunaga people in the north.

Bagabaarri

Bagabaarri is noted for its abundance of shrines, from which oracles (paarrik, singular paarril) once spoke, guiding the chieftains of various families. It is the ancestral homeland of the Barruga peoples; they still form a majority in this region, but others, including the Nyagarli, Tjuragar, Yayiduru, and Duyura, have made their way here over the centuries, and a great many of the Nurrungi were incorporated after their own kingdom fell. The capital is called Kurdaarlu.

Inyuluunga

Inyuluunga is to the northeastern edge of Warruk territory, centred around the large bay from which the country takes its name. It is the ancestral home of the Yayiduru, the first in the region to adopt agriculture. The capital is Unguura.

Kubunturtaa

Kubunturtaa is centred around a large lake fairly inland, and is the effective breadbasket (or, as the case may be, root-basket) of the region. The capital is Kubunturtaa-of-the-Walls; the inhabitants of this region, the Midulibba and Nyagarli, speak a slightly different dialect than their contemporaries to the south and west.

Lyaatumita

Lyaatumita, once called Tjuradja, is fairly inland to the north, and home to some of the best mines on the continent, shared with Kewedj in Nukambi. It was long inhabited by the Tjuragar; they were displaced across the Waadja Empire after a rebellion against the Duyura, and the population today is fairly mixed, though most come from Yayiduru and Barruga stock. The capital, Lyaatumita-of-the-Gardens, is notable for its vast array of plant life, maintained against the desert sun by diligence and some excellent aqueducts.

History

Although the Warruk as a people have lived in the region for thousands of years, their oral chants relating to specific events only date back as far as three thousand years, and their written records a mere two. Still, that is no small amount of time, and much has changed between the states during that period. For a time, the Duyura people of Nudjuurni claimed the whole of the region; Waadja could be said to have been ruled by doctors for nearly half a millennium, as they were the most stable organization in the land; Oodjukehng reached the region around 800 years ago; the wheel is a mere four centuries old, but has revolutionized travel.

All placeholder images from stock photos.

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