Kuong Kingdom

The Kuong Kingdom, or simply the Kuong, was the southernmost nation in Malatra, lying amidst the dense jungles of southern Kara-Tur. It was home to the Kuong people.

Geography
The Kuong Kingdom was bordered in the northwest and north by the empire of T'u Lung (along the Fenghsintzu River) and the Warring States, and in the northeast by the Purang hill country and the kingdom of Laothan. It was bounded in the south and west by the Himasla Mountains.

While the underlying terrain was largely hills and steep ridges, rising to high hill country in the south, this was blanketed all over by thick jungles, with regions characterized only by density. Medium-density jungle grew in the west, on both sides of the Kunong River basin (fed by the southern hills) and along the border with T'u Lung. Meanwhile, high-density jungle—the greatest in all Malatra—lay south of the Dwai River in a wide coastal strip that continued all the way south past the Himasla Mountains.

Geographic Features

 * Mountains
 * Akashnu Mountains • Himasla Mountains


 * Rivers
 * Dwai River • Kuong River

Language
The inhabitants spoke the Kuong language. Coming from a different linguistic stock to the Laothan and Purang languages also spoken in Malatra, Kuong was distinctly unlike all other languages spoken in Kara-Tur. Because it was so unique, the Kuong people believed it to be specially blessed. However, most linguists observed that it was highly complex, followed no logic, and thought it weird. It was difficult to learn for even the most gifted minds.

People
The Kuong people were of similar race to the Purang people, having brown skin and wavy black hair, and lacking epicanthic folds. Though they had more in common culturally with them and with the Seng of Laothan than with the northern nations of Kara-Tur, their national character was very different. The Kuong were known to be hospitable and hardworking, but also remarkably accepting of fate and obedient to their leaders and not doubting their caste system and hierarchy.

Government
The Kuong Kingdom was an absolute monarchy and theocracy dominated by the Priest-King, who was both head of civil government and leader of the church venerating the Lords of Creation. The Priest-King's authority was unquestioned and their power was full and far-reaching. Moreover, the Priest-Kings were believed to be divine, and the Kuong viewed them with awe. They were aided by a few advisors and councilors of their choosing, as well as senior priests. In the mid–14 century DR, Priest-King Vishnan VII ruled the Kuong Kingdom.

Beneath the Priest-King was an aristocracy, comprising lesser nobles and the royal family, their ranking determined by their relationship to the Priest-King and thus to the divine. Naturally, members of the royal family were foremost. In any case, they had only what authority and power the Priest-King deigned to give them. Typically, they governed provinces and lesser districts, provided armies, and oversee civil projects like building temples and bridges. The Priest-King personally chose those who would reign as satraps over outer territories and serve as generals over those armies.

Beneath them was a hereditary bureaucracy that managed the everyday matters of the kingdom. The Priest-King had the right to dismiss an irresponsible or incompetent bureaucrat and appoint a replacement; Vishnan VII did this often.

Religion
The faith of the Lords of Creation was the state religion of the theocracy of the Kuong Kingdom. It was not uncommon for worshipers to follow more than one deity in the pantheon, but Kuong monks, shukenja, and sohei notably followed only a single deity. However, Kuong followers of the Lords of Creation did not typically engage in philosophical considerations and did not place much value in respecting nature spirits. In fact, they were considered some of the most authoritarian and arbitrary believers of any faith in the Malatra region.

Extravagant temples dedicated to one or multiple Lords of Creation were found all across the Kuong Kingdom. Worship of the Lords of Creation and hosting celebrations were almost their only purposes. Meanwhile, a complex network of monasteries both trained priests and served as administrative centers for the kingdom.

Ecclesiastical matters were managed ultimately by the High Priest; in the mid–14 century DR, this was High Priest Malvaya. Officially, the church hierarchy had little say in the governing of the Kuong Kingdom, yet the influence of faith was felt in Kuong festivals, civil projects, and the favoring of nobles with temple links for appointment to certain positions. Moreover, the church was required to approve almost all areas of life. This led to bribery, extortion, and selling favors becoming rife and the jinyan crime families, though they still supported the temples.

Economy
The Kuong were masters of stonecutting and stone-carving, a talent testified to by the massive yet intricately carved stonework in their magnificent temple cities.

The land was also rich in minerals, giving the Kuong a great source of wealth. They mined gems in the Akashnu Mountains and collected precious metals. However, they enjoyed jewelry made in southern Laothan.

Owing to the dense jungle, many villages practiced slash-and-burn agriculture and every ten to twenty years had to relocate to find and create fresh fertile farmland. They focused on growing tropical fruits and vegetables, rather than rice, which required building dams and waterways. These difficulties sparked the Kuong Kingdom's desire for the agriculturally well-developed lands of Laothan.

Culture
Kuong clothes were made of light silks and gauzy fabrics, and men and women both wore sarongs and brightly colored billowing trousers, as well as a variety of gold and silver jewelry.

Settlements in the Kuong Kingdom were centered around temples and government buildings. In the villages, most of the buildings were constructed of bamboo and palm leaves woven together. These were raised off the ground on stilts in order to keep the floor dry during the rainy and flood seasons and for protection from insects and wild animals. Meanwhile, in the towns and cities, the majority of buildings—namely the houses and palaces of the wealthy, important public buildings, defensive walls, fortresses, and most businesses—were built of stone, so that they might stand forever alongside the reign of the priest-kings. The stone was quarried locally where available but usually hauled great distances. Their exterior surfaces were always carved and occasionally even painted or inset with gems and precious stones, displaying historical events, Kuong legends, and the Lords of Creation. Temples and government buildings were the most intricate and extravagant, while defensive walls and fortresses were quite impressive.

Society
Despite Kuong respect for authority, the Kingdom had an extensive and well-established criminal underbelly. Ironically, this grew out of the priesthood: as the church must approve almost all areas of life, bribery, extortion, and special favors followed and became routine for many priests. Those engaged in the black market grew into a criminal network by the mid–14 century, independent but still with connections to the clergy and supporting the temples, at least when it was in their interest. They were known as "jinyan" (called yakuza elsewhere). The strongest jinyan family was the Jarvatya, in the capital of Ranguri.

Use of magic was strictly the preserve of the priesthood, as it was believed only those devoted to the Lords of Creation had the wisdom to use magic properly. The only wu jen allowed were also practicing priests, whether monks, shukenjas, or sohei. Otherwise, all magic-users acting outside the priesthood were seen as abominations and evil-doers, hated and feared by all, and they were hunted down and impaled in public. Needless to say, such wu jen were barely known of within the Kuong Kingdom, but it was thought they learned their art in secret from the wu jen priests and identified each other via secret passwords, symbols, and talismans.

Cities and Fortress

 * Apanu
 * Banda
 * Denokanburi
 * Durapatya
 * Garuji
 * Javuhansa
 * Manapurang
 * Marabaya
 * Patayang
 * Ranguri
 * Srelanat

Behind the scenes
Kuong Kingdom is modeled after the Khmer Empire. Many gods in Malatra very similar to the real gods of India and chief gods Indra and Yama is the only confirm this.