Tikarra

Tikarra is a tropical rainforest country located in the mid-west of Rideen. Here, huge dense Godwood trees jut hundreds of feet into the air, forming a dense canopy. Down below, the Churning Floor - a sea of carnivorous vines - devours those unfortunate enough to fall from the treetops. Entire cities and civilizations exist suspended from the canopy, out of the Churning Floor's reach. It's a dangerous country, but the native home of the lilithan people.

Geography
The entire country of Tikarra is at a much lower elevation than the surrounding areas, creating a sort of bowl which contains the Churning Floor. The outskirts of the jungle are safe to traverse on foot, but those who travel further in will reach the edge of the Floor. From that point on, the only safe passage is through the trees.

There are a few places within the jungle where the water table rises far enough above the Floor to create lakes. Lake Greenblood is the largest open body of water in the jungle.

Ecology
The Churning Floor is an essential part of Tikarra's ecology. It is a massive superorganism - a network of carnivorous vines that spreads all across the jungle and devours any organisms that fall from the canopy. While the vines are a few dozen feet deep in most places, usually only the top few feet are active, and only about half the vines are alive. The rest are crushed into compost beneath the live vines, where they feed the roots of the massive Godwood trees, providing nutrients to the canopy. In this way, despite their danger, the vines are an essential part of the jungle's natural cycle of life.

The Godwood trees aren't one species, but thousands of diverse trees, each of which grow to hundreds of feet in height. Their trunks are often wide enough to hollow out and live inside, and many people in Tikarra do just that, building entire homes out of living wood. It takes the expertise of Tikarra's ruling Druid class to build within the trees without harming them.

Society
Much of Tikarran society exists in the jungle canopy. Entire cities are formed out of jumbled collections of treehouses and platforms, connected by a complex network of bridges, stairs, ziplines, cable cars, elevators, cranes, and more. Some buildings are even built into the trees themselves, as druids use magic to shape the interior of the trees to accommodate people without harming them.

While the cities have safety nets spread across them to catch any who fall out of the canopy, further out into the wilderness, travel is prohibitively dangerous. Without specialized wilderness training, the only way to get around is on the backs of spider striders - enormous peaceful spider-like creatures that can carry a dozen people at once.

Demographics
The majority of Tikarran society is lilithan. As Tikarra natives, their long limbs, gliding membranes, and fast reflexes make them naturally well suited to darting between the branches of the canopy. Recently, more immigrants from the east have come to Tikarra - humans, ikryn, yewen, and koromein. Most lilithan are happy to welcome new people to their jungle, although non-lilithan and disabled lilithan are often restricted to living within the cities, which can be navigated without flight.

Class
Though most of Tikarran society is anarchist in nature, one significant social class is the Druidry. Druids are those who have demonstrated a commitment to maintaining the stability of Tikarran civilization and the natural environment. The requirements to become a druid are varied, but in most places, Druids must learn some degree of Druidic Shaping - using magic to alter the form of plant matter. This can include controlling vines, reshaping live wood into structures, promoting the growth of plants, and more. In addition, druids must complete a Natural Treatise - an extensive research paper on an organism or natural phenomenon within the Tikarran environment. When their Treatise is approved, they are given a new name, based off of their study (Druid Vespidae, for instance, was awarded her title for her extensive study of the eusocial wasps of the Vespidae family. Druid Ivy studied the rare Hedera Audacia ivy that grows in symbiosis with the Churning Floor). Druids are welcome to keep their old names, but usually choose to adopt their Druid names.

Druids are respected members of Tikarran society. While it's not strictly required to become a one in order to serve on a city council, most councils are almost entirely composed of them.

Politics
Tikarra's government, insofar as it has one, is an anarchist collective of cities and towns. Each city generally makes its own laws and over itself and the neighboring towns, but there is no federal authority. However, even though they don't hold any legislative power, the Oakwall Council is respected as the spiritual and social leaders of Tikarra. The council consists of a handful of powerful delegates, (usually fewer than 10) as well as a few dozen others who act as liasons between the council and the various cities. The council mediates conflicts between the cities and usually keeps disagreements from escalating to bloodshed. Tikarra has not had an all-out war since the council was formed circa 230 ASE, although there have been skirmishes between cities. In recent years, the Oakwall Council has been losing influence across Tikarra, as city-states start to find their interests more aligned with the technological powerhouses across the mountains. There's growing anxiety that the eastern half of Tikarra might secede to form a new country.

Religion
Most people in Tikarra, especially the lilithan population, worship some variant of the goddess Karra. The lilithan creation myth states that Karra was a nature goddess who created the lilithan out of animals called Jalth. However, the process of granting sapience to the Jalth took such a toll on her that she exhausted herself and died. Now, lilithan honor her sacrifice in a number of ways. Some believe that her body was swallowed up by the Churning Floor. They drop offerings into the floor, and bury their dead by lowing them down to be consumed. A subset of these worshippers believe that Karra is still alive beneath the floor, only slumbering, and that when a lilithan is buried in the Floor, their soul returns to her. When enough lilithan have returned to Karra, she will awaken, and lead Tikarra to a new golden age. This religion, known as "Flowers Upon Her Grave," eagerly prays for Karra's return.

Not all are so optimistic, however. Some believe that Karra created the lilithan people not as a gesture of goodwill, but as an investment in the future. When lilithan society has grown prosperous and large enough, she will return from the dead, taking back her gift of sapience to grow more powerful than ever before, and reducing the lilithan people once more to mere animals. This religion, known as "Tremble and Await the Crimson Harvest," holds some sway among those who warn against Tikarran society expanding and growing.

Clothing
Much of traditional Tikarran clothing stems from the anatomical constraints of lilithan bodies. The gliding membranes on their bodies make clothing that wraps around the torso difficult. For everyday work, people usually wear little clothing. Nudity is not entirely uncommon, though most prefer to drape themselves in simple tunics or skirts that cover their bodies while still allowing lilithan to use their gliding membranes to navigate the trees. It's customary for lilithan to have parts of their membranes surgically removed, to allow clothes to be worn "through" the membrane, while leaving enough intact for easy gliding.

For relaxation, lightweight ponchos and robes that cover up the gliding membranes are common. This relaxed look symbolizes that the working day is done, and the wearer can stay close to home where they won't need to fly anywhere.

For formalwear, heavier robes and ponchos with branching structures or heavy adornments are the standard. These clothes inhibit agile movement through the trees. In general, the more inconvenient a set of clothes would be to glide or jump around in, the more formal they are considered to be.

Since heavy clothes can be inconvenient, lilithan use jewelry and piercings, both in their large ears and around their membranes, to express fashion. Beads and stones on strings are popular, as are feathers, and pieces of petrified wood. Metal piercings are expensive, as they usually have to be imported from the edges of the jungle, where the Churning Floor doesn't prohibit mining. Similar to clothing, wearing heavier jewelry, especially on gliding membranes, symbolizes a greater level of formality.

History
Thousands of years ago, Tikarra was a loose confederation of warring lilithan tribes. The early tribes kept few written records for much of their existence, so not much is known about that time. A few hundred years before the Sundering Event, an unknown event prompted an all-out war between the tribes, wiping many tribal societies out entirely. When the dust settled, the lilithan people formed the Code of Leaves, a Set of laws that led to the formation of the Oakwall Council in 230 ASE (Ante-Sundering Event). The council would preside over the tribes, resolving disputes and representing the interests of each tribe.

In time, the hundreds of individual tribes combined into a few dozen major cities across Tikarra, still united under the guidance of the Council. The lifestyle of Tikarra was simple but peaceful and prosperous.

Over the last few decades, imported technology and culture from the countries east of the Hana Barr Mountains have upset Tikarran life.