Cities:

These are the cities found within this area; each one is marked on the map, and divided by tiers. The larger the tier, the larger the city - tier one may be a small village or town, while tier four may be sprawling cities of grand proportions.

KASAI VILLAGE:

RACE: demon. LEADER: Shogun Praneli (NPC). TIER: one.
LANGUAGE(S): Demonic and Common. ALLEGIANCE: Famine.

APPEARANCE: A legendary, nomadic village often located around the southern and western portions of Noshinka, moving every handful of months to another location. Appearing as a series of long tents colored black and green, they settle in places of strategic importance, including mesas, up against the jagged Darkwind Mountains, etc. These tents are made from enchanted hide and scales from larger kills its inhabitants have made- the higher quality the tent, the more important the figure residing within it. The largest tent is held by the current reigning shogun, currently Praneli no Ifrit, displaying the symbol of the Line of Ifrit. That symbol, a rampant lion of gold on a green field, is found on every shinobi in some way, usually armbands or jewelry of many kinds.

CULTURE: A legendary village of shinobi mages, specializing in experimentation and the magic of the body. Otherwise, they are exceptional hunters, and often trade with other Famine villages the trophies from their kills. The village of Kasai is where the Lion Claws of the Hikari Order found their home, the summoners of the Famine army- as well as the sheizi ninja dreadflowers, who are still found there today. They are often sought by young Famine demons who wish to train with the old masters in the family of the Ifrit, and locating the village without consent is seen as a deadly challenge. Outsiders are uncommon, and the knowledge of the village's current location is often known only by its shogun and its Lord.

NARAKU:

RACE: demon. LEADER: Durza (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Demonic and Common. ALLEGIANCE: Famine.

APPEARANCE: The only city not associated with any Famine Clan, Naraku is a sprawling and rather large settlement currently located near the Bloodmoon Lake. Built as a traditional demonic village, with wooden buildings and sloped, decorative roofs, it is nevertheless made to be only semi-permanent. Specific enchantments, written in demonic runes, mark every piece, with the mages there being able to dismantle (or repair) the buildings very quickly and easily. Generally, the appearance of the houses may vary, though a castle at the center retains its appearance through every move.

The castle is squarely built, with an open courtyard at its center; the walls form the rooms, with sliding doors painted to depict various Famine demons of legend, and a statue of Zailen at each corner. The leader's quarters are half of the largest room, with a sliding wall in the center that can be pulled back and cleared for special meetings, banquets, and ceremonies, when such things cannot be held in the courtyard outside.

CULTURE: Though tied to no Clan and holding a position of relative unimportance within the Famine military, Naraku has a place of honor at Lord Slain's side, being one of the oldest established cities within the Kingdom. They swear fealty to their Lord, and have a host of ninja of their own, who have gained something of a reputation among the Famine people. Feared for their ferocity, a ninja from Naraku is often given very wide berth. Otherwise, it is a decent, if wary, place to live, favoring the defense of its people over all. Naraku is considered one of the safest places in the Kingdom, save for the Fortress itself.

ŌRA VILLAGE:

RACE: demon. LEADER: Shogun Jarln (NPC). TIER: two.
LANGUAGE(S): Demonic and Common. ALLEGIANCE: Famine.

APPEARANCE: The middle-sized city and home of the Family of Valefor, Ōra, is one of the most prestigious and powerful villages in the entire Kingdom. Primarily stationary, Ōra Village only moves once every several hundred years, and its buildings and outer wall are crafted from black stone pulled from the ground by powerful earth mages. Channeling stones- large, flat stone slabs with a circle cut from the center, holding a large crystal- are found in several places within the village, and are used by the mage-ninja to focus their energies an hone their abilities.

CULTURE: Known for its training of the sheizi ninja, able to practice both among the black-stoned buildings and the jagged crags of the Darkwind Mountains. Most of Ōra's occupants are ninja themselves of varying ages, and there exists here a school for teaching the art of the sheizi to all ages of demons. Sworn to their Lord, the village of Ōra is tasked with keeping the sheizi ninja ranks filled, fit, and ready should they need to answer the call of their Kingdom.

PROUDSCALE PEAK:

RACE: dragon (eastern). LEADER: Nikkarasu (NPC). TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Common. ALLEGIANCE: None.

APPEARANCE: Massively different from the majority of places in Kurai, Proudscale Peak is a settlement of eastern dragons located in the far north of Noshinka. For a number of leagues all around a sharp, jutting mountain is what is called the Forest of Dragons, an oddly green and lush place filled with Felnovian plants and animals. Bespelled against most intruders by sentient trees that block every path, and enchanted to have true water-rain, the mountain within is crested with a circular ring of stones that surrounds a pure, sweet-tasting lake of water that sustains the Peak's inhabitants. Inside, the mountain is filled with an intricately carved series of caverns and caves, decorated with claw-scratched runes telling the tales of dragons throughout the Realms. Home to a great collection of knowledge, a library buried at the lowest level, guarded by four Ancients considered to be the first of the True Easterns.

CULTURE: A city wreathed in the worship of the Ten, as well as a center of learning and protection for dragonkind. They actively shun all other species, barring dragon hybrids and a select few Famine demons. In times of need, they may aid the Famine Kingdom and have a long-standing alliance with the demons of Famine for their city's protection. Rather aloof and apart from the rest of the Realm, these dragons rarely take part in things that do not concern Proudscale or its surrounding forest.

SHOKKU NO KAGE:

RACE: demon. LEADER: Shogun TBA. TIER: three.
LANGUAGE(S): Demonic and Common. ALLEGIANCE: Famine.

APPEARANCE: Called the 'Shadow of Lightning' in the demon tongue, for the towers infused with metal at various parts of the city that collect lightning to be stored and used against enemies. The only permanent city in all of Famine, built of metal and black rock, with a series of tall, square towers with angled, sweeping roofs gilt with silver, topped by roaring, emerald statues of Zailen that crackle with energy from the lightning-towers. The central tower is the tallest, at four complete stories, the other laid out in a square with one three-storied tower at each point in the compass.

A low, single-story wall surrounds these, with all other buildings outside of it; another, three-story curtain wall surrounds these, guarded by the Ixion's finest mage-samurai. The entire city is laid out in a large rectangle, with its gates facing east, to catch the rising moon. The light of the newly-risen moon will fall along the road from the main gates and into a large temple to Zailen, square in shape but squat, with a large statue of the lion god made by a skilled craftsman that glows with power. Monks guard the temple, though all are allowed through the city to pray at its cathedral and worship their god.

CULTURE: Considered a central place of worship for the demons of Famine, Shokku no Kage has long been considered a place of religious importance. Demons- and outsiders- who are not Famine are turned away at the gates, though all from their Kingdom are allowed inside. The Clan of Ixion stresses the importance of giving Zailen his due, for he is their creator, and brings his wrath upon those who do not show the proper respect. Twice a month, the monks from the temple walk the entire city's circumference twice, burning incense for purity, that ends in a bonfire at the center of the castle's courtyard, where demons may burn old possessions and cleanse their souls of their sins.

Landmarks:

These are the landmarks and important places scattered through this area. They can be anything from forests and rivers to special caverns, monuments, ruins, and more.

Darkwind Mountains

Forming the back of the Bloodsoul Range and the home of the Clan of Ixion, the Darkwind Mountains are a place filled with the malicious spirits of former Ixion demons who guide travelers far astray. A labyrinth of jagged peaks and sharp rocks, filled with treacherous cliffs and crumbling paths. The souls of the dead lead their victims with promises of protection and escape, then kill them by leading them off a cliff or to either a pack of hellwolves, or lesser demons, who slaughter them and pick the bones dry. There are places where the bones run so thick that demons fearfully call them the White Rivers, haunted continually by the lost souls of the unfortunate who were unlucky enough to follow the flickering lights.

Forest of Dragons

A green and beautiful place spanning several square leagues, enchanted to house Felnovian plants and animals. Guarded by a barrier of sentient trees that keep outsiders at bay, it is carefully kept by the eastern dragons who live there, grown not five hundred years prior by friendly Famine mages who struck a deal with their draconic neighbors for their word in an alliance. It is filled with prey and bespelled to rain true water and keep the demon-weather at bay. Often, one may see eastern dragons flying through the sky above Proudscale, an artificial sun hovering here and there at times above the forest trees.

Shiro Hiyasin

Called the White Forest by many, located north and east of the great, nameless bloodlake. The trees are all large and tall, leafless, with bark a bright, glowing white. They hold their own light, shimmering both beneath the moon and the starless sky. Shinobi travel to train beneath these trees, and scars of their passage may be found on many a white trunk.

Sunaarashi Desert

An incredibly dangerous northern desert filled with bottomless, silvery quicksand. Travel across it has been outlawed by the Lord of Famine, for things that cross Sunaraashi inexplicably disappear, vanishing even when they fly. Several theories present themselves, however the most widely accepted is that there is something that drags travelers down into the quicksand, and devours them beneath its cover.

Tailbone Pass

A pass between two large, smoking volcanoes that spew smoke into the air, guarded by incubi and succubi of Famine descent. All along it lay a massive, serpent's tailbone, segments of it littering the pass; one travels through the tail ribs to get to the other side. It is ancient, and has been there for thousands of years- none know what it may have belonged to, though local legend claims it was an utterly gargantuan demon.

Tainted Waters

Known as the Place of Rotting Corpses, the Tainted Waters serves as an extended prison away from the castle and guarded by the sheizi ninja for miles around it. A stagnant swamp of corrosive, contaminated blood, where prisoners are left to fend for themselves against the terrible creatures that have adapted to call the place home. Should they survive their sentence, they are retrieved by the ninja and set loose, though most die within days either from being devoured, or being unable to drink the contaminated bloodwater that exists.