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History of The Land of Cannaria
Koyaanisqatsi
For more than five centuries this land, formerly The Kujitai Empire, was ruled by the Kujitai Order. The Kujitai were a society apart from those over whom they benevolently
ruled, a society of female warriors. The Kujitai way of life, for the common people of the land, was unknown and mysterious...but the common folks, themselves lived generally
happy lives of prosperity.
The one basic tenet of The Kujitai Empire was so long as it harms none, do as ye will. The Kujitai maintained, in their own society, a strict code
of honor that might seem strange and brutish to outsiders, but one which served them well. Through this code of honor, the Kujitai believed they could achieve Lomakatsi...
(Life In Balance.) The Kujitai saw the rest of society as not being able to make the hard decisions required to maintain peace and justice for everyone; unable to rein in personal
ambitions over the greater societal good.
The Kujtai, living apart from the society over which they ruled, failed to appreciate that this apartness was both strength...and weakness...
that what affected the larger society would also affect their own. They failed to see that Life In Balance could not be achieved with such a self-imposed imbalance as they maintained.
Thus, in attempting to achieve Lomakatsi, they in fact created Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out Of Balance.)
Suyanisqatsi
It was tradition among the Kujitai that trainees in the Kujitai Order, when achieving the rank of Daimyo...were sent out into the larger world beyond to find their own path, seeking
Lomakatsi (Life In Balance)...and enlightenment. In this time of Suyanisqatsi, a young Daimyo was permitted to train warriors, both male and female, though certain teachings of the
Kujitai were forbidden to men.
The Kujitai did not believe that men had the self-restraint to resist using these powers to advance their own ambitions...even if that caused harm to
others. It was only when a young Daimyo learned and understood this...were they allowed to return to Kujita, and take their place in the Kujitai Order as Shogun.
This, then, as the
Kujitai saw it...was the test of a Daimyo...for these restrictions would seem to be at odds with the code of honor under which a young Kujitai had been brought up to believe in and
follow. They failed to understand that Lomakatsi...TRUE Life In Balance...could never be achieved in the midst of such imbalance...even if most were not aware the imbalance existed.
Thus the centuries passed, and the society flourished, the larger society unaware that these teachings even existed or could be learned. They just knew that Kujitai has abilities
they did not know or understand.
About sixty years ago, a young Daimyo who had been sent out...believed that she could teach men the forbidden disciplines, and that she could teach them to control their natural urges to
use these disciplines to advance their own ambitions. She believed she could teach men to place the greater good of society before personal ambitions, and that they would use the
disciplines as the Kujitai did, for benevolent and defensive purposes only.
One of the men she trained, Kento Canna...proved to be the undoing of both societies, and the land was
plunged into Naqoyqatsi (Life As War) as the once-happy people of the greater society became filled with greed and ambition...and apathy towards their fellow citizens.
Naqoyqatsi
Kento Canna, in greed, jealousy, and ambition - led a rebellion against the Kujitai Order, and, with the aid of the Angels and Celestials of Zebulon, overthrew the government of the
Kujitai. The Angels and Celestials took sides against the Kujitai mainly because the Kujitai paid homage to the Quan-Yin, and not to their God.
The Kujitai Order was thrown into
disarray and collapsed, while Kento established the Canna government, and changed the name of the land to Cannaria.
All was not peaceful in Cannaria, different factions, previously
held in check in the old Empire, now vied for control of the land, and sides were taken...but an uneasy 'peace' was maintained for fifty years under the iron control of Kento and the
Canna Government.
Ten years ago, the Canna Government was dealt a major blow when Princess Ariella, heir apparent to the Canna Government, became fascinated with the way of the old
Kujitai Order, and sought to learn it from the bands of Kujitai that still roamed the Forests of the land. For this, she was stripped of all title and inheritance, and exiled.
Civil War exploded as the uneasy peace that had been maintained was shattered. Ariella was taken in by the remnants of the old Kujitai Order, who lived, still, on the Island of
Kujita...and they trained her in their ways. Ariella took the name Kaminari, and today, she trains both men and women in the ways of the Kujitai, seeking to re-establish the Kujitai
Order, but without the previous restrictions that proved to be such a weakness to the old Order.
The Present
In this time of Civil War and unrest, three major factions emerged. The Demons of Fyrene joined forces with the Ghouls and Reapers of Xanterra; the Vampires and Lycans of Nocturnem
likewise threw in their lot with Fyrene. They had ambitions of their own ascendancy, and while, officially, those lands were controlled by the Canna Government, The Demon Faction did
not recognize their authority.
The Amazons, Barbarians and Magi of Brazoria joined forces with others dissatisfied with the Canna Government, including the Samurai and Ninja of
Jipang. The Lupine and Vulpine people of Lupinheim threw in their lot with Jipang and Brazoria, as the Canna Government failed to recognize the Lupines and Vulpines as equally deserving
of a place in Canna society...in fact, the Canna Government saw them as vermin. Meanwhile, the Witches of Mageville, whom the Canna Government saw as evil, also threw in their lot with
Jipang. All of them aligned with the former Princess Ariella (now Kaminari), and the rising new Kujitai Order, and formed the Kujitai Faction.
Meanwhile, the Pirates, Vikings and Gypsies of Harlingen, who only cared about profit and commerce, maintained their independence from all factions, and helped whomever served those ends
best at the time. Likewise, the Elementals remained above the fray. The Trolls, Storm Giants, and Searinoa of Umphqua were far too wrapped up in their own squabbles with each other to
care much about the greater conflict going on in the rest of the land.
The remainder, which formed the Canna Faction - were mostly loyal to the Canna Government, and included the
Elves, Halflings, and their kin in the town of Glorfindal, as well as the Dwarven people of Illyria, and the Humans and Felynes of Willow Grove. The Angels and Celestials of Zebulon
predictably aligned themselves with Canna.
The Titans were a bit of a mixed bag...some of them had their own grievances with the Canna Government and with the Angels and Celestials
themselves. They, along with the Dark Elves and Dark Pixies of Illyria...and the Drow of Glorfindal often made good double agents for the other factions, as they delighted in
creating trouble.
The town of Aurora Borealis remains under the control of the Canna Government, as does the capital city, Degolburg...though Degolburg, a place where all races of the
land meet and mingle, is not a place where loyalties can be easily ascertained. An uneasy peace is maintained there only by the strong presence of the Canna Military.
Thus is the state of Modern Cannaria. The Canna Government, having lost its heir, yet maintaining control of a strong military...an aging leader in Kento Canna...and many dissatisfied
citizens. Powerful factions with ambitions of their own...including the Kujitai, who dream of their past ascendancy while building their future...the Demon Faction, with plans of their
own, Mercantilists who only see the profit potential of increased civil discord, others who simply delight in causing trouble for trouble's sake...and those who either just don't care
or are too wrapped up in their own internal squabbles to worry about the world outside their own swamp.
Do you have what it takes to bring peace, and true Lomakatsi to the land??
With whom do you ally? Brave adventurer, your quest begins!!
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