The Far West

The Far West
The Far West is a region in the Western Sea that has been claimed by the UuRan. However, much of it still remains out of their control, still in the territory of the native KuoRan, or in the control of the underground. The military population is quite high due to it being a new province, prone to rebellion, foreign attack, and piracy.

History
The Far West was first discovered by Captain Jo Sen Feng after a period of believing that the Far West was the land of the dead. Since the UuRan had run out of territory to conquer some time ago, they made to conquer it. Though the UuRan's military was extremely powerful, their first invasion of the Far West was unsuccessful. Blocked by the Snake Mountains and repelled by the natives' magic, the UuRan couldn't conquer a single piece of land. However, the UuRan were not to be deterred, and they came back with an even larger force. This time, they managed to take the northern half of the Snake Mountains and hold it, but could not capture the southern half. Five years passed, and the UuRan took the southern half as well with a six month siege with heavy casualties. The UuRan fleet sailed on, conquering KuoRan islands and ships when they could. Eventually they found three large flat islands that were virtually undefended by the KuoRan. On the island, the UuRan discovered a type of small worm that created a soft, shiny material-silk. After much trial and error, the UuRan found out how to spin clothing out of it, and being the UuRan, immediately started selling it to whoever wanted to buy it-which of course was every rich merchant or noble in the Western Sea and beyond. Soon after nearly all of the modern UuRan territory was conquered, outlaws and brigands started flocking to the far west because of lax law enforcement and unexplored area. Soon several free states were established, at Five Towers and Haven, and thus began the era of the modern far west.

Political Balance
The Far West has multiple factions, each vying for power and territory.

UuRan
The UuRan are the biggest faction, with a powerful military and spy network. However, their military is currently completely occupied by the KuoRan in the far north, so their little influence is in the spies and assassins they have at key points in the far west. The UuRan do what they can do to try to turn the citizens of the free states against each other and try to cause general havoc everywhere so that they can conquer everywhere easier. The UuRan currently have control of the waters surrounding the Snake Mountains, the Silk Islands, and any fort of theirs.

Factions
The Admirals are strong in the Far West in militarily active areas, particularly in the warfleets camped south of the Northern KuoRan strongholds. The Merchants are moderately strong on the trade routes to and from the Silk Isles, and in the Silk Isles themselves, of course, though there are few actual UuRan on the Silk Isles. The Scriptorium has influence all around the region in their spy networks, but no large clumps of influence.

The Free States
The Free States are two city-states that exist outside of UuRan control. The Free States are comprised mostly of brigands, native refugees, and the few who were there before the Free States started charging for land. Although separate, the two Free States are on very good terms with each other and their rulers have pledged a blood oath to aid each other. The Free States' territory is Haven, Five Towers, and the waters surrounding.

The Northern KuoRan
The KuoRan natives are few now, but they still control the lands to the North. The KuoRan are powerful sorcerers and hold nearly impregnable strongholds that they have been preparing since the first UuRan ships were sighted. The KuoRan in the north hold the KaGan spikes and a small neighboring mountain range that they continue to hold, despite efforts by the UuRan attempting to invade. The KuoRan have much influence outside of the north in their subjugated people and free citizens in the Free States, who are many, and their fortress Unbreakable in the middle of the far west.

Bringers-of-Day
The Bringers-of-Day are a KuoRan resistance group. Although their military strength is weak at best, they still have proved to be extremely resourceful as they have ferried supplies and messages back and forth between Unbreakable, the northern KuoRan, and the Free States KuoRan. The Bringers of Day are growing in number, and rebellion is inevitable. However, for now their strength is not enough to take back any land.

Five Towers
Five Towers is a free state on the bottom west side of the far west. Five Towers is ruled by a quintumvirate of the most powerful pirates and merchants abiding there. Five Towers is widely regarded as a place to hide from the law for it's remoteness and lawlessness. Five Towers is famous for it's cuisine, especially it's noodles. The Five Towers harbor reserves the right to enlist any able ship to it's defense if necessary under pain of confiscation.

Five Towers shows no interest in taking more land forcefully, though they do express interest in buying land in the far west. The Five Towers navy is five ships strong, with occasionally more or less depending on how many ships are in the port. Five Towers has no spy network to speak of.

The Five Towers government is quite rich off of docking fees and tributes, though it's denizens are mostly fairly poor or middle class, with a small percentage being very wealthy. Five towers does not have any exports or notable industries besides food.

Haven
Haven is a free state in the far west that Haven was built as to hide people from the law, and allows people to dock there for a small fee. Haven is built in an extremely defensible location, with a bay that takes a very long time to navigate while posts above can shoot down at their leisure. The city itself is in the mountains creating the bay, and are designed to be impregnable. Haven has been attacked several times by the UuRan, but none have been successful.

Haven shows no interest in expanding. They have no navy, but their defenses are extremely impressive and their garrison is quite large. Haven has no spy network to speak of.

The Haven government is fat and rich off of docking fees and tributes for the protection that they provide, and there are very few permanent residents besides military, though there are many people that dock in and out. The few permanent residents are also rich, as they mostly sell services to sailors that stop by.

Much of Haven's food is imported from Five Towers, so they have a lot of noodles that they charge exorbitant prices for. Haven also has a large gambling and alcohol industry.

Silk Isles
The Silk Isles are three large islands controlled by the UuRan. These provide all of the silk that the UuRan export and sell. The Silk Isles are heavily defended by UuRan ships and nearly the whole surface of each Silk Isle is covered in mulberry trees and silk extractors.

The silk farms on the Isles are worked by convicts and indentured natives, and although the native escape frequently and the convicts enjoy murdering guards, the UuRan still make an insane profit.

The Silk Isles is extremely well guarded, and has a very large garrison and fleet.

LeKo
LeKo was the first UuRan city to be built in the far west after the Snake Mountains conquest. Located in a bay in the northern Snake Mountains, LeKo serves as a port of trade for most far west trade routes and as a cultural link to the main part of the empire.

LeKo has a small garrison and is carelessly manned, but does have an unusually large civilian population because of the trade that goes through there.

LeKo is a trade port in a key choke point for ships to enter and exit the far west, and it's economy is thriving upon the weapons and shipbuilding industry, which both have extremely large demand. LeKo also exports iron and stone from the Snake Mountains.

Unbreakable
Unbreakable is a KuoRan fortress in the heart of UuRan territory. The name is, to all practical applications, correct. Unbreakable is the most well defended city in the Western Ocean because extensive fortifications and a location on a volcano. Due to the nature of KuoRan magic, fire from Unbreakable can easily demolish ships that get too close and sometimes boats that are farther away. There are no carved stairs or passageways up the mountain on the outside, but the only unhidden entrance is in a cave that's entrance was gated off by stone walls long ago. Any attempts to destroy the walls would require people to get in range of the volcano, which of course would be suicide. Unbreakable has withstood many sieges due to it's self sustainability, large stockpile of food, and an underground lake teeming with fish underneath the mountain. Most ships give Unbreakable a wide berth, although it is an excellent location to run ships and messages back and forth from the northern KuoRan territory.

Stones-Above-Water
Stones-Above-Water is a KuoRan city that defends the northern KuoRan territory from the UuRan. Stones-Above-Water is located upon a small mountain range. Stones-Above-Water is the lesser of the two protectors of the north, the KaGan spikes being vastly superior. Stones-Above-Water has withstood countless UuRan attacks, but is slowly being worn down by each assault. However, Stones-above-water is still key to sending messages to and from Unbreakable and the southern KuoRan.

Stones-Above-Water has little economic activity, as their sole focus is military, but they do have excellent pancakes. Unfortunately the tourism industry has been dwindling in Stones-Above-Water of late as UuRan attacks become more frequent, so the only ones who get to eat the pancakes are the army.

KaGan Spikes
The KaGan Spikes are the ancestral home of generations of warriors and the traditional training place of the finest infantry of the KuoRan, who spend their whole lives training to fight on the spikes. The KaGan Spikes are nigh impossible to enter by ship, as hidden fortifications will cut ships down in seconds, and the KuoRan board ships from above.

The KaGan economy is mostly in lumber, although there is some stone as well. KaGan lumber is imported all across the western sea in a secret deal with the Merchant Council.

The Triad
The Triad is a threesome of small forts at the edge of the northern KuoRan territory. The Triad is not easily accessible, though it is by far the weakest edge of the KuoRan territory. The Triad is the most recent city of the Northern KuoRan, hastily built in the hysteria of the beginning of the UuRan invasion. The Triad is not remarkable in any particular way, except that I'm lazy today, this is the last city, and it's late, so I'll be going to bed instead of writing this.

Mist-Over-Mountain
Mist-Over-Mountain is the fort at the forefront of the Triad. It is probably the most orthodox fort in the Triad, with all of the hallmarks of traditional KuoRan architecture, and a very standard design. Mist-Over-Mountain is named because every morning, mist comes over the mountains and obscures them from view, preventing invaders from seeing into the mist. In the day, the mist burns away, leaving Mist-Over-Mountain exposed, but allowing them time to prepare in times of invasion.

Iron-Snow
Iron-Snow was originally a ice-packing facility, but was converted into a fort after the first UuRan invasion. Iron-Snow's peculiar shape originates from the original facility's design, and Iron-Snow still holds ice to this very day. The mountain Iron-Snow was built on was mostly limestone, so many secret tunnels have been built over the years as escape routes or by prisoners trying to escape from Iron-Snow's infamous convict labor facility that forces convicts to pack ice in harsh conditions and a low budget.

Fire-On-Stone
Fire-On-Stone is the last and oldest fortress, named because of a dormant volcano that was designed to help defend the fortress from invasion using complex mechanisms and chutes. Fire-On-Stone is now significantly weaker now that the volcano sleeps, but still contains centuries of fortifications and remodeling. Fire-On-Stone was never built as a city or town, but it was always meant to protect the northern waters from invasion.

Fort Scuttle
Fort Scuttle is an UuRan outpost that is pretty much just a watchtower in case of invasion. Legend tells that the way Fort Scuttle was founded was by a severely damaged ship in a battle scuttling itself upon a rock. Some say that Fort Scuttle is haunted by the ghost of the captain, who died before the scuttled ship landed. Fort Scuttle's garrison is quite small and only exists to police the waters around it and warn the Snake Mountains of incoming attack.

Fort ZheTa
Fort ZheTa is a small military outpost that exists to house soldiers and navy that do not live in LeKo. Fort ZheTa is the first line of defense in case of attack on the Snake Mountains. It is defined by the bridge connecting two mountains together, which the barracks are. Though Fort ZheTa doesn't get many tourists, they still charge an exorbitant amount of money for souvenirs and make a small profit.

Westguard
The Westguard is the main defensive warfleet of the Far West, assigned with the task of stomping out rebellion, protecting merchant ships from pirates along trade routes, and if possible taking over a free state or two. The Westguard is seven ships strong, and is led by General PaNeSan il CenXi.

Glorious Armada
The Glorious Armada is a veteran offensive warfleet that is tasked with the assignment of taking over the Northern KuoRan. The Glorious Armada has taken part in the conquest of the modern Far West, AnoTas, and the Iron Mountains. The Glorious Armada is fifteen ships strong and is headed by General LioRin oq LueQa, a renowned tactician and the highest ranked officer in the UuRan Navy except for the Grand Admiral.