TOLG

Brekkon

City of beasts, worships the Earth Bones- basically any animal and thing that animal does well (i.e., worshipping the rabbit for its ability to jump), area is more ruinous than most as scholars say there was once a civilization there that went to ruin, and its ruins were sacked and plundered and eventually built over by the beastfolk and nobody outside of the area is sure how the city is run anymore

The only city-state with no actual borders, to the west Cim-Khetar at one point was expanding (this seems to have stopped), to the north Cradle does not expand into the Risen Sea, and the Break-Biis Bay separates Brekkon and Biis. South of Brekkon is the Sea of Tears which goes from Brekkon all the way out to Essilada.

Worships the Earth Bones, which is a term used loosely for any animal that can be said to do something distinctly great. Many tabaxi worship the cheetah for its incredible speed, while lizardfolk may worship Oovi or any serpent for their cunning. However, many humans and humanoids also worship these Earth Bones, migrating into the desert because an animal spirit spoke to them.

To the west, the mountains between Brekkon and Cim-Khetar give way to arid deserts which themselves run into the expansive, sandy dunes of the Risen Sea that takes up the majority of the land of Brekkon and separate it from Cradle. To the south and east closer to Biis the land becomes more of a savanna, and in that area is the city of Brekkon, the Hunting Ground.

Most of the Risen Sea and border of Cim-Khetar is filled with roving raider gangs, fighting and taking spoils back to whatever ruins they call home. This has led the greater Tolg to think of Brekkon as a lawless place where your options are to join a raider gang or die.

There is some merit to that as no formal government exists in the Hunting Ground, since taking control of equals in the eyes of nature would defy the Earth Bones. However, the various gangs of Brekkon do provide work and protection to those who desire it, but many who dwell there are also unaffiliated, usually referred to as Prey by the gangs. Unless deemed necessary, the gangs leave Prey alone to live and fend for themselves- with various caveats for various gangs.

The established city of Brekkon consists of ancient ruins dating back to the days of the leonin, bright white and blue smooth stone citadels with stained glass windows being the standard. Most of these have been ruined by time and raiding, but there are a few that still stand, some out of superstition and some out of awe. The city of Brekkon- once called Breakonowe- now has these ruins scattered as the citadels of the most powerful gangs, while small clay huts and stone dwellings have been erected on and around them over time.

Some scholars have proposed that the entirety of the inner-Brekkon ruins were once a single connected stronghold. Various Prey have market stalls throughout the city selling wares both created and stolen, some being backed by gangs- however there is no structure to them as they are always on the move. In fact, most of Brekkon is migratory around the area, with only those gangs who have scored an impressive ruin staying in one place. This further complicates the traveling process, as there are no taverns or inns to speak of. Most travelers have to pay a gang to protect them during the stay which sometimes entices other gangs to attack.

Most of Brekkon is made up of beastfolk and those driven to worship the Earth Bones, with anyone else being travelers, scholars, and occasionally even tourists. These others are seen as the easiest Prey to the gangs, and sometimes become prey to the Prey. The other major players in Brekkon are the orcs, who have their own raiding parties from strongholds they’ve built, and are far less splintered than the beastfolk. They have their own gods that they worship and are left alone by the beastfolk gangs out of fear- legends state that a coven of 1,000 orc witches are what created the Risen Sea area.

Non-orcs are not allowed in their strongholds and any trespassers are skinned and fastened to poles outside as warnings. The largest stronghold is known as Gralkabukalog and has had as many as one hundred skinned corpses strewn about their territory. It is believed that every stronghold is led by a witch coven, but not much else is known- orcs that leave strongholds are not allowed to speak of orc matters and the strongholds themselves do not entertain guests.

Relations to other major settlements:

The people of Cradle are racist warmongers- but they rarely pass through the Risen Sea so are typically ignored.

There are no strong feelings about the people of Il-Oovi, but their worship of the Sleeping Serpent alone is seen as a misjudgement.

Like Cradle, Cim-Khetar is seen as racist warmongers slowly but eagerly claiming territory from Brekkon. This was starting to be seen as a growing threat, which led to some of the major gangs joining forces. This expansion has stopped in the past months, but something far worse has come of it: a plague of cannibals- horribly deformed and almost unrecognizable- have been seen tearing about strongholds and raiding parties and converting them.

In the ancient days of the leonin, Biis was considered an ally. However, after the leonin disappeared, Biis’ connection to the area did too. Now Biis is just seen as a devil in its own right- a total rejection of the Earth Bones.

The Althum Navy regularly passes through the Sea of Tears and so far have not assailed any Prey vessels, only countering when they are attacked. This has led to a peace of sorts between them, as the beastfolk of Brekkon have also heard that they are welcome in that coastal kingdom.

Some Brekkon pirates have claimed there is a crystal kingdom to the far west ruled by pointy ears, and pillaging it is both incredibly dangerous and profitable.

There is no formal military of Brekkon, just the raiding gangs. Though one of the foremost gangs, Almos Shivir, claims to be on the quest to keep out invaders to the Risen Sea.

Values:

Freedom. Worship. Respect the natural cycle. Any and all who listen are deserving of the Earth Bones guidance.