Cereko

The Kingdom of Cereko, also known as simply Cereko, is a jungle-infested kingdom located within the Southern Kingdoms. It has historically had conflicts with Kurkrho since the Shenshari Dark Ages and is known for being the homeland of the Cerekoi tribes who live within small villages.

Founding
According to legend, the nation of Cereko was founded by a confederated collection of tribes united under protection of a single ruler and demigod: the King Father. It is believed that he was the son of a mortal woman and the war god Shakar. As the legend goes, the King Father forbid all Cerekoi from building cities, mastering agriculture, or submit to foreign gods, insisting that they must instead remain true to nature and their religion, which came to be known as the Cult of the Wild.

The Cekeroi Tamed
Before the coming of the God Emperor, the people of Cereko were peacefully isolated from the rest of the known world, hunting wild beasts and gathering wild fruits for food as well as following the ways of their ancestors. They love for the simple life proved greatly benefitial for the tribes, although small-scaled skirmishies were common place among them.

However, the Shenshari Empire invaded the primordial jungles of Cereko and began establishing small settlements within it. This drove the Cerekoi into launching guerilla strikes against patrolling legions of the Empire's soldiers and led to the burning of most of the settlements and the Shenshari colonists who lived there. In the end, the Empire hunted down and eliminated the guerillas. Seeing that the Cerekoi were skilled warriors and assassins and the Shenshari colonists too small in number, it decided to spare them from both enslavement and extermination and allowed them to continue the worship of their gods. However, the Empire did so on condition that they pay higher taxes than the Shenshari, who deemed themselves "superior" to the other races of mankind.

SInce its annexation, Cereko saw its people become paid mercenaries and assassins for numerous merchants, politicians, generals, and religious figures. It was not until the fall of the Shenshari Empire that the remaining Shenshari settlements were burnt down and the few colonists who survived eventually intermarried with the natives and adopted the their polyhteistic religion as their own.

Shenshari Dark Ages
It is unknown why the peoples of Kurkrho and Cereko came to hate each other, but according to most of the Cerekoi, it began when a Kurkrho warrior chopped down seven trees and made a small house for himself and his family after crossing the border along the Algress Mountains. This act was considered by the native population as a desecration of their beloved forest and by the fall of night, around eight hundred years prior to the Great Incident, a small band of Cerekoi warriors killed the man and his family and then burnt their house to the ground. Unknowingly, this act caused a forest first that burnt down a third of the trees near the border at the country's northeastern fringes. This caused more of the Cerekoi to blame the Kurkrho for the destructive fires, accusing them of "harming" the sacred jungle. The Kurkrho, in return, denounced the Cerekoi for the murder of members of their people and labeled them as "savages".

The events that triggered the tensions between the two nations soon lead to the War of the Fang, which lasted for eight hundred years, often taking the form of countless, small-scaled skirmishes and petty raids along the border.

Geography and Environment
Cereko is located between the Fimbrian Empire and Wesloarg to the north, Artherha to the east, Kurkrho to the northeast, Merlidale and Khrathos to the south, and Uragg to the southwest. It is filled with deep jungles and small lakes inhabited by dinosaurs, crocodiles, birds, fish, and mammals. The Algress Mountains serve as natural border between Cereko and Kurkrho, making it hard for huge armies to cross safely. In the heart of Cereko is the Wildfang River, which flows towards the Bala Sea at the country's northwestern coast, as it has limited access to it. It is likely that Tyrannosaurus Rex is the apex predator of the country's wildlife. The Uragg Mountains serve as a natural boundary between Uragg and Cereko.

Culture and Politics
The Cerekoi live in a primitive, stone age, Tarzan-esque lifestyle based on a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Due to strong elements of superstition and primal instinct, they prefer to live freely within their jungle home. Tribal wars between them are based on personal conflicts rather than wealth, resources, or territorial ambition, since they do not hold a taste for material wealth. Women are restricted into the roles of healers, caretakers, and breeders whereas men are expected to be warriors and assassins. People who commit rape, murder, and/or theft are brought to justice by the victim, regardless if it ends in execution, banishment, or, for the most part, communal service. Cannibalism, human sacrifice, and slavery are seen as abhorrent to the Cerekoi tribes. They live within villages, some consisting of wooden tree houses and others consisting of primitive, mud brick villages and wear loincloths and leotards made of animal skins.

The chieftains and shamans of the Cerekoi tribes democratically elect a king who represents the people as a whole and entrust him to honor and enforce the will of the gods. Shamans play a minor role within the political sphere of Cerekoi society. Kings who are found corrupt or contradicting the laws of Cerekoi society are banished.

Religion
The dominant religion of Cereko is the Cult of the Wild, an ancient, polytheistic religion that is said to have roots traced back to countless millenia before the Shenshari Empire. The religion is orchestrated and conducted by prophetic shamans and strictly forbids agriculture, science, and material wealth. It primarily focuses on the worship of three primordial gods: Shakar, god of war and justice, Sheelana, goddess of fertility and motherhood, and Onukaar, god of nature and creation. According to the cult's teachings, strength and fertility are highly regarded as gifts from the gods. Homosexuality is frowned upon, but not condemned. The cult has no concept of marriage and instead states that women are structly required to take the roles of caretakers, healers, and breeders for the good of each tribe. Men are expected to be trained as warriors and assassins for the tribes of Cereko and are trained in martial arts under the cult's code of law.