The Moche

Bloody water, toxic rain, the acrid odor of liquified corpses, to say that the Moche is a harsh environment is a severe understatement. With acid bogs, blood thirsty wildlife and people of equally unscrupulous character, the Moche exists beyond the range most governing bodies care to enforce their rule; as such it has become a veritable criminal underbelly, filled with underhanded merchants who deal in blood and contraband. Need a place to hide? Have someone you’d like dead? Need an item of specific and illegal description? Right this way, no questions asked.

Strangely enough however, the people of the Moche seem to be uniquely adept with toxicology and alchemical processes, fabricating poisons and compounds of horrific effect. It goes without saying that this has garnered the attention of several groups who’d prefer their actions go… undisclosed; such to the point where many of these organizations have set up permanent establishments in the area, and actively recruit those of “eye-catching talents”.

Don’t drink the ale… you don’t know who’s poisoned it.

Geography

Located on the South-Eastern edge of the Dead Forest, the Moche’s environment is hazardous in every conceivable sense of the word. The higher proportion of acid Cierites has continually devolved the area into a caustic cesspit ever since the downfall, creating acid lakes and gas bogs capable of dispatching even the most tenacious of beasts. It is not uncommon to witness swathes of fetid, decaying corpses, such to the point where it's a local indicator of hazardous environments.

The fauna and flora are no better. Evolution seems to have taken her twisted fancy in the region in all her terrifying glory. Few animals and plants lack a venom of some potent design, and those that do are deadly in their own right. If it doesn’t poison, bite, sting, stab, paralyze, liquify, suffocate, rend, maul, or make you bleed from every orifice in your body, then it doesn’t live here. Trying to find a harmless animal in the Moche is like searching for a needle in a haystack, nigh impossible.

Architecture

After several failed attempts at making a material that doesn’t dissolve within the hour, the stubborn residents of the Moche resorted to using the only material that seems to resist the acidic bog, the trees from the area. All infrastructure that manages to remain standing relies on the local corrosion resistant timber in one way or another. Some have resorted to suspending their houses in the tall canopies, others stand their homes on stilts or float them on the water. This is not without issue however; the organic property of the material and moist environment facilitates the growth of moss, fungi and lichens that rot the material away over time. As such, the timber requires constant replacement and maintenance in order to stay operable, leaving several of the less fortunate structures unsafe to navigate.

Due to the ubiquity of the “water” and swamp, travel by boat is considered the most convenient mode of transportation. It is therefore unsurprising that most settlements within the area host docks to facilitate all kinds of vessels, legal and otherwise.

Technology / Wealth / RICE

One of the more stranger properties of the Moche is the presence of a naturally occurring chemical cocktail within the bog, constantly creating more fetid poison. Although there is no clear source or cause for the presence of the catalyst, some have speculated that it was the result of an unnatural, underground reaction between Shadow Hold decay and volcanic waste deposited by the Magmus Ridge lava flow. Regardless, it is likely the presence of this catalyst that has ultimately led to the environment’s widespread adoption of venom and poison. Naturally, the close proximity to such a diverse array of alchemical materials has prompted the formulation of a plethora of new chemical compounds, both illicit and deadly. Paralysis, necrosis, hallucination, asphyxiation, cardiac arrest, blindness; there are few afflictions the moche doesn't have a poison for, some of the more enterprising locals have even been able to concoct venoms that can cause psychotic episodes and suppress pain. As such, it goes without saying that the moche is leagues ahead of other nations in the field of chemical synthesis.

People and Culture

The people of the Moche are a varied kind, and hail from all corners of Cier. The harsh environment attracts only the most hardened outsiders; even then, most have a hard time adjusting to the hazards Moche. The general demeanor of the people is blunt and to the point, with an almost universal air of apathy; don’t cause trouble, mind your own business. There is little judgement or care for origin, belief, or physical appearance in these here marshes; everyone here is simply trying to get by and live for themselves. There is one exception however, one rule never to transgress; Don’t… break… the peace. In a kind of twisted irony, causing a ruckus outside the bounds of the local tavern is met with harsh resistance. Murder in the steets is considered an unspoken taboo in these parts, it’s not uncommon for the corpses of trouble-makers to be found lying face down in the bog the next day. Not to say that murder isn’t prohibited, kill to your hearts content; but if your don’t want to end up dead the next day, discretion is key.

Government/Religion

As a colony of Highgate and during the Kaihon Empire, the Moche loosely followed the rules if it’s “owners.” However, this all changed when the Kaihon Empire dissolved and Highgate had their civil war; as the Moche became its own region with no crown or king. While some tried to rise to power in the absence of rulers, many realized and understood that the best way to maintain peace was a mutual justice of focusing on what mattered more; survival. Should anyone decide to break this peace, there was a good chance that they wouldn’t see the end of the week. The rules can be paired down to an easily understood list, parroted as a mantra to any newcomer and are as follows: don’t kill the merchants, don’t break the peace, and you have every right to take vengeance against anyone who breaks these rules.

History

The Moche was originally a hideout for Cierians who deserted from the Seraph-Somnian War during ancient Cier. When the war ended, the Mochians came out of hiding to develop a society from the boggy swamp around them. Their first taste of authority would come from the Kaihon Empire about 1400 years ago, who simply assimilated the Moche into their Empire. This wouldn’t last long as the Shadowhold’s affliction on the land would practically cut the Moche off from Kaihon. As the world crumbled during the Downfall, the Moche’s extremely toxic environment played into their favor, as the ecology proved too toxic for even interplanar monsters from the Dead Forest and Shadow Hold to penetrate through.

The Moche’s poisonous ecology became magnified by the effects of RICE during the Great Downfall, only making the Moche’s living conditions worse for those not already attuned to it, and forcing Kaihon to lose control of the majority of their eastern territories, such as the Moche. Later in history, Highgate established a trade route with the Moche as a means to expand trade opportunities in Eastern Cier. This was short-lived as Highgate later discovered the criminal underbelly that the Moche is now known for.

Fearing of harming their own public image within the Alliance, Highgate held off on further trade with the Moche before having to fully cut ties with them during the Highgate Civil War. With the lack of official trade, the Moche devolves into a black market economy attracting more criminals and more illegal trades.

Things remained the same in the backwaters of the Moche up until recent history, where the Moche was invaded by a Shadow creature known as the Wither Tree. This giant monster marched towards the Moche from the Dead Forest and fell once inside the region, corrupting nearly ¼ of the entire region, and turning it into a truly uninhabitable zone known as the Wither’s Reach.