outland regions [Lore] Polyneighsia - Domain of a Thousand Islands

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Polyneighsia - Domain of a Thousand Islands

 

Polyneighsia is not a country in the traditional sense. It is a collection of hundreds of islands ranging from the well known tourist attractions of Wingapore to the caribou-controlled slave islands of Stottingsberg. There are collections of islands rich in minerals and spices, foodstuffs and fine materials unknown to exist anywhere else. Some of the larger ones are home to bustling cities that have ambitions of nationhood and still many others that are barely large enough for a village of thirty. Many islands or island chains have unique, stand-alone cultures and traditions, though generations of research have shown some common links between certain areas, and local beliefs and cultures exist side by side with the dominant Neighponese and Long Guo influences. The majority of Polyneighsia is either directly colonized by or controlled via trade by Neighpon, who provides for the defense of all Polyneighsia.

 

Polyneighsia is a definitive melting pot, with its location and breadth allowing it to touch Unyasi, Whitescar, Equestria, Neighpon, Long Guo, and Hesperia. You can find species from all around the world with healthy populations on the islands as a result of centuries of travel, colonization, and immigration. Still, there are many islands which are home to only one family, one species, one culture, and it is this wide variance in possibility that makes Polyneighsia very difficult to categorize. What is known is that the four dominant species are ponies to the south, deer to the north, sea ponies from their old great cities in the center, and longma in the east. Over time they have explored and intermingled, while Equestrians, zebras, griffons, and even peaceful caribou have come from the west. Some seek to to learn while still others want to leave their old life behind. Everyone wants something and it seems like to everyone, the Polyneighsia has something to provide.

 

Small islands that support small populations tend to be leery of outsiders, though not directly xenophobic. Since they can produce little that Neighpon wants, it can be years in between visits by the Navy, and such islands are left alone. Island chains that can produce, as well as larger islands that can provide, might be home to elements of the Neighponese Colonial Defense Force, and there is a more direct rule. Still, local cultures and customs are respected and every island is unique. Small island chains are often considered towns by those that live there; each island a neighborhood or family group. Larger chains and bigger islands are home to more sizeable CDF forces, and are often home to something of valuable mining interests, resource acquisition, trade, spices, silk, foodstuffs, and a great deal more. Neighpon has made sure to pick out the most strategically important areas and reinforce them.

 

Trying to paint a picture of the collective history of Polyneighsia is uniquely difficult, but there are some constants. The various species lived far apart and were mostly confined to large islands and close island chains. The deer were invaded by the caribou, but learned how to make ships from them. Few escaped and founded areas outside of the Stottinsberg slave islands, but it was the Sea Ponies who learned from the deer what happened and taught ponies and longma in the region how to make boats so they could escape the same fate. Within generations they had spread and forgotten what had happened as the great sea pony cities below fell to catastrophe and war due to events and reasons lost to time. Over the centuries, the species mixed, Neighpon arrived, and modern Polyneighsia was born.

 

There is little in common between islands. Some islands rely on fishing for sustenance, though the midsized and large islands have been over generations changed into working farms. Those that do eat fish have to agree with certain laws and deals the now nomadic sea pony tribes put forth, which can vary and can be anything from small sums to things much worse. Those on islands that can provide other means of sustenance tend to do so. Ponies of the islands to be of the more exotic variety, while deer tend to more reclusive than their other brethren. Modern history has shown Neighpon's willingness to allow some islands to leave their oversight, though it should be noted that few islands of any real value to Neighpon have been lost. Nonetheless, it should be intriguing to watch Polyneighsia as it develops in the near future.

~A Journal Between Lovers: My Travels and Travails

by Flowing Stars