Editing Autia (section)

====K'eyi Meda====

People:

Nestled in the heartlands of Tismo, within the vast Plain of Red lie the ancestral home of the Medan people. They are a vast people, whose past is seeped in both battle and glory. The great heat of the land they dwell in has led to the appearance of the Medans to be quite a strange one to outsiders, possessing the deep brown skin also noted amongst the Malsolians (though the appearance of those people is widely believed to be the work of magic whilst the Medans seem to have received it naturally.) The tribesmen of Meda adorn this form of theirs with much accessories. A standard adornment cannot be found among them, as is inevitable with the many allied tribes who populate the Plain of Red or as foreign academics might call it, a savannah. Some noted accessories that have been recorded by and sometimes sold to merchants travelling along the Jeweled Road include colorful necklaces of varied material, body paints, headdresses made from the plucked feathers of birds, finely crafted iron earrings and, if the ledger of a Belkan merchant is believed even small metal plates. When questioned about the purpose of these ornamented plates which appeared too small to eat food on by his colleagues, he stated that the tribe he purchased it from shoved them in their mouths as a form of fashion!

Religion:

The aforementioned ornaments the Medans drape upon themselves with impunity are not without reason. As is generally believed by the tribesmen, these ornaments are symbols of great devotion to the "First Children", the term used to describe the many spirits who are believed by the Medans to dwell unseen inside nature itself. This form of pagan animism practiced by the Medan tribes is centered around a Priest-King. These shamans are integral to the life of a Medan tribe with all up to the very smallest of them possessing even one due to their ability to seek out and commune with the First Children.

The Priest-Kings from their communion learn many a truth of the world and with this knowledge bring great fortune to those that have earned their favor. These individuals are medicine men, storytellers, priests, mages and many other things and under their guidance a tribe can flourish as it has never before with small twists of fate in their favor being a common occurrence as a byproduct of the supernatural pacts made by their shaman. There are no central figures in this religion, merely the assurance of knowledge stored within the land they live in, some tribes worship a specific local spirit over others however for their own reasons.

Magic:

Priest-Kings are the mages of K'eyi Meda, that much is clear to all. In reality their roles when using their supernatural powers varies greatly depending on what beings they've communed with and learned the secrets of with some practicing a form of voodoo magic where the shaman performs a ritual with an idol given particular significance. These effects can range from good to bad and is very useful in incapacitating enemy commanders who quickly come down with illness upon entering their territory as a Priest-King performs all sorts of strange magics with a doll resembling them. Battle mages exist as well, though as it seems is commonplace among this organization of shamans there is a great deal of variation in their abilities. Some who have spent their days observing the movements of earthly creatures and various worldly phenomena call upon the aid of earthen spirits to cause great quakes below the feet of their enemy while others call down a thunderstorm at will wreaking much devastation. Lastly, mages of life take the form of travelling mystics or as I have called them earlier, medicine men. These healers bring with them mysterious creatures who they have chosen as their familiar who seem to help in some way in the strange Juju they utilize which can get a bleeding man right up on his feet.

Economy:

As found by merchants of the Jeweled Road, the primitive appearance of Medan society is highly deceptive when compared to the true wealth of those ashen people. Much like the mines of Westphallica which allows the nation to retain its enormous wealth, veins of gold and salt are found all across the Plain of Red and have historically been traded to passing merchants. Since ancient times and even now, these vast veins of precious materials have allowed the Medan collectives to essentially pay out the Jadeites to their east and force peace. This is what allowed their homeland to maintain sovereignty even during the height of the Empire of the Jade Pyramid. Of course, gold is not all that can be found across the plain. This is a feat that is past the capabilities of the current Medan people however, for in these days the once-unified people have long since failed to maintain a proper governmental structure. Nowadays there are simply too much individual tribes that hoard their wealth to themselves. This means that while their chieftains grow obscenely rich and powerful, challenging even the mightiest Unionary nobles and elven merchants in affluence, there is very little coin shed to help the nation itself. Only the greatest of Medan warriors receive a portion of this wealth with most of it being spent towards the elite's whims. Diamonds are another good that can be found if you're careful enough, though attaining them is quite a difficult task. This is because the sturdy jewels have caught the eye of the ferocious Grootslangs that haunt the savannah, and these twisted beasts do not let loose their favorite things very easily. As such, diamonds fill the caves of those serpentine pachyderms and only a truly talented thief or warrior bravest has any chance of wresting some from their lair. Regardless of those difficulties the jewels still find their way into the hands of men and as stated in my writings about the Jeweled Road serve as its namesake.

History:

When it comes to the origins of the distant savannah of K'eyi Meda, a strange parallel can be drawn between the founding of the land and of the formation of the Dalavchtai Khanate to its north. A sort of reverse parallel in a sense, for unlike the steppes where the tribes were unified into a greater nation, the Medans were once unified but have long since lost that unity. These tales are extensively spoken of in ancient stories spoken by the Priest-Kings and even with the great age of these tales and the differing means of storytelling used, a similar structure is retained. These tales begin at the same point, centuries ago when the Plain of Red was home of the beasts and few men were brave enough to enter, with those who did either being banished from their true home or had no other choice but to live there. The skies were harsh, the animal inhabitants savage and they fought neverendingly over the scraps of prey that could be found while the unfortunate men living here had to hide. This natural order of savagery would remain in place for a time, it would not last eternally for as it believed, an emperor without an empire strode into the savannah. He was said to have been the child of the sun itself for his energy and wisdom were infinite much like the sun watching above and even when faced with such a harsh land with such little people he did not flee. To them he was known merely as "Kokebi Gēta" or "Star Lord" for when he first appeared over a cliff it looked to the first Medans as if he had walked from the skies down to the earth below. Such divine origins are quite possible in fact, for this new visitor held fire itself in his hand without a torch. The Star Lord scared those beasts which were chasing the miserable pygmies off with this fire and in gratitude they began following him around.

It was these men and women who bore witness to his many wondrous feats, for their new leader, much like them was smaller than the predators who dominated the landscape. Though there was one thing that marked this figure apart and indeed, other men from these beasts. This trait their wit. And wit was something that the Star Lord possessed in droves. He trapped the Ninki Nanka in its own watering hole, swindled the earth, sky and rivers into giving him their gifts and feasted upon the rejuvenating flesh of the Abada. With each passing day his renown grew and more and more creatures that once terrorized the people of the savannah were found lacking. His name became legend and newcomers who had no land of their own flocked under the banner of this figure as he'd inadvertently ended up gaining a following large enough to create an entire nation out of. And so it was that K'eyi Meda was first established and it was a glorious time as the newfound Medans learned how to live in this land as their population grew vast in size under the watch of the Kokebi Gēta himself. Wealth flowed through the Plain of Red in those distant times for there was no shortage of gold to be found and the exiles and criminals who populated soon changed their ways to that of. In this jubilation, they forgot how delicate this state was which would soon be proven when in battle, the luck of the Star Lord ran out and he fell. Without his guidance, the seeds of chaos began seeping into the individual chieftains who were once appointed as generals as their base instincts began to resurface. The unity that held the nation together began to slowly dissipate for the next few centuries as time crept on with the Medans only surviving through their mastery of ambushing tactics, tamed beasts and wealth. But out of nowhere the straw that broke the camels back, in this case the fragile alliance of the different Medan cultures who had grown in this time arrived from far off seas.

The Soukan colonists, who would have been an insignificant threat at any other time now more than ever were had grown into a pressing issue for the Medans in their eastern lands. Their unknown tactics and weaponry seemed to matter very little at the beginning, for they were vastly outnumbered and the colonists quickly fled. Having seemingly repelled the visitors and taken some as slaves, the many chiefs and warleaders who each by this point were running an autonomous nation were content to leave the issue there and sent very little reinforcements to defend their eastern coast. As such, they were caught unaware by the second wave of now heavily armed Soukans and had to quickly amass whichever warriors were nearest and send them to fight. The ensuing war once again, was being won by the Medans through far superior numbers and the fanatical morale of their troops and the wizardry of the Priest-Kings harassing the would-be colonizers from a distance but the foreign general would not be content with that. He somehow learned of the schism in the current Medan hierarchy with each leader being left to their own devices and heavily capitalized on this, bribing the once-honorable Medans into battling each other for him in exchange for promised luxuries aplenty. This infighting tore the people apart and a great swathe of their territory was quietly lost. The defection of many generals and loss of their coast disgusted those who were still loyal to the nation, and those chieftains quickly broke all ties with their compatriots as they became fully independent. Since that time, little has changed for the better with K'eyi Meda only being a proper nation on the map. Occasional skirmishes are had against Dalavchtai and the now established Tarteans with little hope of regaining their lands as most chieftains are simply content to sit around and grow wealthier off trade.

And yet, not all hope may be lost. Perhaps a man will emerge with the ambition to regain what has been waved away as lost? The backing and manpower to make this happen? The individual skill to ensure their success? Many of the lesser citizens have not forgotten themselves in indulgence and retain their honorable nature, it is quite possible. Though now, with the nomads on the rise more than ever before, the solar elves hungering to expand their inland dominion and some of the Jadeites being willing to break past alliances with the Medans if it goes towards restoring their lost empire, only time can tell if the people of K'eyi Meda favored by the First Children may rise to face the ever-shifting world.

Military:

In confusing the internal chaos of the Medans for weakness, many of their foes make a critical mistake. Individually each wealthy tribe is a powerhouse of their own, with their leaders in times of war being willing to push past old techniques and use their wealth to commission great pieces of modern weaponry to be built. While this may vary from region to region, their foot troops are almost always zealous in their will and are armed with finely crafted metal weapon such as great spears and shotels. Beautiful cowhide shields are also a common sight for a sidearms, with some instead using javelins enchanted by the juju of a shaman to seek out the one they envision in their mind, blowpipes spitting heavily poisoned darts or bows with much the same poison. Some forward-thinking chieftains see the uses in newer weapons such as firearms but even then their use is relegated to ground engagements by specialized warriors. This is because of the preferred Medan method of guerilla warfare, a means of battle of which they are undisputed masters of. At their current state, guns simply are too hard to maintain while waiting for long periods to mount and ambush and make too much noise.

Some rarer weapons that have been spotted amongst the tribal warriors of include strange greatswords dubbed "Afrakena" which are of a massive size challenging even the swords of Falconhead landsknechts in raw power. There have been mentions of strange sabres being used which seem to have the glint of sunlight that typically is reserved for light reflecting off metal preserved inside of them, granting them a heat that adds to their lethality as it can cut right through stone with enough momentum. These sabres have been mostly noted in the grasp of their cavalry, who are quite exotic even when compared to that of the most mount loving nations. No horses are to be seen among them proving that even in such a distant land the fear of those creatures remains. As for what there are, some forms of cavalry mounts include strange fragile looking deer that can move at a lightning-quick pace, massive war rhinos capable of plowing right a tank in a charge, ostriches, raptors with enough cunning to jump right over their for and stab them from behind and most fearsome of all, their war elephants who seem to be of an entirely different appearance and disposition from the Miqdaadite counterparts, outstripping even the war elephants of that land with a height of 20 metres. This not even to count their flying creatures who seem to be relatives to the dragon species known as a coatl. These great serpentine beasts have strange crests that let them glide on the wind, with the largest of them growing vast enough to blot out the sky at some points. These massive snakes, alongside the colorful pteranodons known as Kongamatos are generally used as the counter to the griffons (and now the larger ones the counter to their looted airships) of the Dalavchtai and are the primary reason they could not strong-arm their way into the Plain of Red with a horde of griffon riders.

Regardless of how many forms of Medan cavalry there are, it is obvious that a great deal of their trained beasts are either too slow or difficult to keep control of to serve as mounts. In these cases, those creatures are both used are beasts of burden and war. Such creatures can range from hunting packs of hyenas to leopards to the aforementioned Ninka Nankas, swamp dwelling creatures of such magnitude they could easily gulp up a hippo in a few bites should they so please. These is a great variety in Medan warbeasts with the largest tribes laying claim to all the deadly creatures that live in the surrounding area which means their numbers would be in the hundreds. Of these warbeasts, there exists one of particular note that is feared above all else. This is the most dreadful monster known as the Grootslang. It takes a bizarre appearance, with the figure of a giant snake but the body and color of an elephant, though its strange appearance does not hamper it in the slightest when tearing through its foes. These creatures trace their origins back to a time beyond remembrance, a time where the savannah was filled with the wingbeats of dragons. The Grootslangs were infuriated to see creatures of such noble nature roam the Plain of Red, for they are a malevolent species and were driven into a bloodlust of such magnitude that even the dragons who lived there were beaten and felt fear as they fled from the savannah into the lands that are now Tartes. Their great treasure hoards filled with all manner of invaluable jewels were stolen and used as homes by the Grootslang where they leave on certain occasions none but they know to terrify unlucky passerby and gorge themselves on flesh.

While capturing one of these creatures alive is generally considered beyond the capability of a mortal force, sometimes with sufficient preparation by the Medans, a part of a Grootslang's treasure hoard may be looted. In these situations, should fortune favor them they may bring an egg (clearly a byproduct of the Grootslang's serpentine side rather than elephantine) or two back as well. With the guidance of a shaman to prevent the young Grootslangs from killing their handlers, these young monsters may become beasts of gargantuan size with cruel poisoned fangs that could bring a true elephant to its knees in pain. These fearsome creatures are often gifted to a chieftain once sufficiently trained and are dressed in bright colors with additional weapons such as tusk swords being added on to increase lethality. Lastly, and by far the most curious part of a Medan force are the strange animated idols made of iron that serve as the servants of Priest-Kings. While their appearance may seem childish to outsiders, none can deny the fine craftmanship that goes into each idol with the largest among them often serving as bodyguards to the Medan shamans. There exists a particular variant of them that is capable of wreaking great destruction. These take the appearance of small dolls but are in fact ticking time bombs, for they are inlaid with hidden compartments of gunpowder and enchantments meant to trigger and enhance the explosion. These exploding idols take on the personality of an excitable, sadistic child as they jump right into a crowd of enemy warriors and activate.