Yanomamo

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Yanomamo is a large continent to the north-east of the Greater Continent, notorious for being particularly isolated. The nearest inhabited point, Zathra, is separated from the shores of Yanomamo by fifteen thousand miles of open ocean. The southern-most island and parts of the western shore are populated, by the interior is empty and believed to be populated by monstrous cannibals. Because of their considerable isolation, the inhabitants of Yanomamo have developed a unique cultural identity. While many distinct people-groups exist, the locals are usually grouped together as the Yano.

The continent is also home to the Mow, who dominate most of the interior and northern stretches.

History

Mage Wars

The region was first reached sometime during the Age of Darkness. Nothing is known about the first expedition, except that it was reached under sail by "hopping" a chain of islands. This route is still in common use, but requires some thirty thousand miles of travel. The region was colonized and flourishing by the era of High Tower, and was known for exporting exotic spices.

Supposedly, during the First Chaotic Period, a powerful empire called the Ulmiad flourished there. The empire supposedly had it's capitol in the heart of the isle of Sunrose, and traded off-world. Modern scholars believe that Ulmiad was either an exaggeration or an outright fabrication. The great ruin in the heart of Sunrose is considered not to be the seat of power for an empire at all; but rather the work of a civilization based elsewhere in the verse.

Around the last century before the Intermediate Period, Yanomamo was visited by nuclear-powered ships hailing from Daraka, who left behind some technology and were popular spice traders. A Drack colony even survived for several centuries after the fall of their own empire; however without the ability to reproduce technology on their own, the colonists eventually assimilated with the locals.

The first real records of Yanomamo begin during the Mage Wars#The Dynastic Period, when the newly-formed Marcon Alliance made several attempts to conquer the region. The now-indigenous population had little trouble repelling them; despite the Marcon's use of magic, the Yanos had far superior weapons at their disposal. A key element of their defensive tactic relied on the descendants of Drack collonists, who still used advanced mathmatics and had the knowledge of chemistry required to produce gunpowder and explosives. Yano primarily used a combination of mines and mortars, byt they were also able to counter attacks with their own Mage Towers by using forward observers and signal relays to launch beyond-visual-range attacks(an ability the Marcons never gained).

After some initial attempts, the Marcons gave up on efforts to conquer Yanomamo, given that it had little strategic value and massive logistical nightmares. Marconian skyship raids continued until the fall of the Marcon Alliance; by which time many Yano had taken to living underground or formed very scattered settlements. The impact of centuries of raids would remain part of the culture well into the Alliance era.

During the Second Chaotic Period, trade resumed, though mostly by skyship. Again because of the vast distances involved(the population centers by this time being mostly on the Agras Plain and in Modia, only extremely valuable commodities could be traded economically. Spices were still the mainstay; with the Yano producing some highly exotic and sought-after flavors. The Yano, in turn, mostly traded for gold(not found locally) and technology they could not produce locally(while the region has extensive iron deposits, refining high-grade steel was very costly as they lacked coal reserves). Interestingly enough, the Yano place very little value on precious gems, recognizing their scarcity but feeling that tooled gold is much more attractive.

Alliance Era

The start of the Golden Age brought with it a renewed period of isolation for the Yano people. The end of the era of Skyships made trade with them economically unfeasable. Several new colonies had formed at the end of the Mage Wars, and tens of thousands of colonists(many first-generation) suddenly found themselves cut off. A few escaped off-world, but most of Yanomamo's trading partners had been decimated by the war.

Many colonists simply assimilated into the now well-established indigenous cultures, leaving the whole area something of a genetic melting-pot. Others maintained their Agras-styled societies and endeavored to re-create whatever technologies and capabilities had previously required import. Concrete was a prominent example, but the needed materials were eventually found on an island not far away.

Yanomamo remained isolated throughout most of the Golden Age, being visited sporadically by sailing ships mostly hailing from the Djr Archipelago. Ironically, Zathra, the geographically nearest human settlement, had absolutely no contact with them, and for some time forgot the continent existed.

During the [[Ages