The Mountains of One Thousand Disciplines

Elevated high above the sea-ocean level, the Mountains of One Thousand Disciplines is a land of tradition deeply ingrained into every person with such hailitage. While always referred to in full by the denizens of this nation, its name is oft shortened to ‘Disc Mountains’ by foreigners and those that live there ‘Diskies’. Not only does this play off of the name itself but often how many mountain peaks are forcibly removed to create round flat expanses on which many villages and communities have built their homes.

Culture and Settlements
The people of the Disc Mountains are born into a community that is named and dedicated to a single discipline. Every person in that community is dedicated to learning this community’s craft and will spend their life in pursuit of becoming a master, able to create or perform as if a long seasoned artist. This comes in all forms from the crafting of a certain type of weapon, player of one instrument, grower of a select grain or a weaver of one a special silk. These communities are called Disciplines.

This land has more settlements than any other and in keeping with its name, has exactly one thousand communities, each of which is in perpetual performance of its discipline. While a Discipline cannot sustain itself on a single trade or occupation, members of each community will gather at one of many Interchange establishments where services and materials can be traded. As the culture of creation and the desire for perpetual improvement on one’s discipline is so ingrained in all across the land, every item and service are traded at equal equivalent value under a ‘time taken’ basis.

Geography
Pre-Fragmenterra, the Disc Mountains were bordered by the Paleo-Ocean and even greater mountains that were untraversable let alone to most, uninhabitable. Now that this time has passed and the land has been at near rest for over sixty years, the Disc Mountains exist as two separate land masses. The northern most mass, Kuroken, is home to the military based traditions where Disciplines train in different combat arts from martial fighting to archery as well as the crafting of weapons and armor. The opposing southern land mass is known as Ahli'jinan, home to the domestic and agricultural disciplines such as weaving, growing, performance and crafting arts. These two lands exist in a balanced synergy that respectively defend and sustain each other.

Kuroken is home to the Gin’Yosae range, a single elongated mountain that through equal parts natural formation and a select few respected Discipline’s efforts, has become a seaside battlement that protects the northern mass from the nation’s enemies across the sea. The mountains are hollowed out and have been stuffed with enough dragon cannons, ballistae and Neo-Sea turtle shields to tilt the landmass to the west if it were floating. This wondrous feat of masonry and defensive craftsmanship has kept the might of the Tengri Oni at bay for centuries, an antagonistic tension that long predates Fragmenterra.

Post Fragmenterra, the echoes of the element who laid siege to this part of the world have forever cast their gusty shadow. Wind currents strong enough to bend steel whip around mountains and will sweep up anything brave enough to venture a large tree’s height from the inclined landscape. Formcaste in its eagerness to embrace new technology and technique has gathered a selection of great aerospace engineering minds and sent them like an invasive tendril on expedition. Since then, the century honed traditional crafts of The Mountains of One Thousand Disciplines have been merged with Formcaste’s pursuit for advancement. As ways and cultures were exchanged, the desire to utilize these vast wind currents brought forth collaboration on a ‘Foldery’. As implied, a Foldery utilizes the traditional paper craft traditions that Disc Mountain children were akin to on a grand scale. Grand folding machines fueled by steam would crease paper with immense precision. Parchment crafts filled the sky carrying supplies and passengers taking all forms like sleighs, cranes and paper planes.

Government
While governed during the entirety of the War of Fragmenterra by the Ombud Emperor, this enigma to most people would decree and govern from the Temperial Palace, his orders carried out by each of the disciplines without question. This was not through a rule of fear but instead respect as although he was a faceless entity, his decisions had kept them protected, regulated and balanced for decades.

Revealing himself towards the end of the War of Fragmenterra, he took to the battlefield and ordered the withdrawal of all other Discipline forces. Single-handedly, the emperor defeated the gargantuan air elemental Afflatus and decided victory for the Mountains, the aftermath of the fight had the Emperor seemingly vanish from existence.

The highest ranking official of Kuroken General Hu has since assumed his place, ruling the land in grand offensive stance for fear of his land falling to another large scale attack. Many are rightfully discontent with this style of rule finding that the flow of protection and sustaining has stepped out of balance. As more weight is allocated to military might with many forced out of their discipline, the bottle necked supply from Ahli’jinan have been unable to keep up with demand. As the nation as a whole begins to run lower and lower on supplies, the regent Ruler-General's focus has been put on other land masses and civilizations to sustain the nation.