Ixa'taka
The city of ladders, built into a reef of shattered Skylands and tall trees. The people of Ixa’taka have built up their city in the thick trees and the vines of the jungle. Broad floatwood platforms spread out to serve as common areas safe above the surface and the thick canopy guards them above. The only way to access Ixa’taka is by climbing the vines or by being lifted by one of their elevators.
The people of Ixa’taka are extremely skilled at traveling through the canopies of the jungle, leaping across the vines and crawling up the trees, swinging their way through the branches. They make extensive use of reefs and tall trees and there are very few low Skylands in their area that don’t have an outpost of Ixa’taka or their people on top of it.
Ixa’taka
The Land:
The land of Ixa’taka consists of jungles entangling a large web of Skylands that have drifted close to the surface. This strange culmination of surface and sky territory has brought two branches of elves closer than anywhere else on Estir, allowing them to reach a kinsmanship-like harmony.
The City:
The city is an amalgamation of natural architecture and beautiful opulent spires that resemble the connection between the two species of elves that inhabited this city and the surrounding area. The Selva Elves reside here, a combination of wood and high elves, in a harmony that formed centuries ago. There are no nobles here, only family. A joyous population of long-lived people that all work to keep their city running. The citizens do still however take up residential spaces in different areas, the descendants with more wood elven blood tending to stay closer to the ground while the high elf descendants take up living spaces in their spires.
The People:
Generations ago, the skylands of the high elves in this area descended into the jungle, confused and afraid, they struggled to defend themselves from the natural threats of the jungle. They excelled in aerial warfare, mostly defending territory from the Yuan-Ti of Ssargassa, and occasionally engaging the female warriors of Skifander. The beasts of the sky stopped being threats to them generations ago, however, they were not prepared to fight against the megafauna of the ground. It was then that a passing tribe of wood elves intervened and, with their knowledge of life on the ground, quickly dispatched the beasts, exploiting weaknesses not known to the high elves.
At that time, the Yuan-Ti decided to take advantage of the high elves weakened position. The Yuan-Ti were arrogant and their skyships were quickly destroyed. The wood elves had shown that they could easily handle life on the ground, and the high elves had shown themselves to be more than capable of defending against aerial threats. Seeing as the Skylands weren’t ascending anytime soon, they formed a harmonious relationship of the races that benefited from both of their strengths. They have renamed themselves to a distinctive subrace of elves called Selva Elves. The city has been a prosperous mecha of Selva Elves ever since, fostering a growing population of elves in the Horteka Rainforest.
A recent influx of Felidae has seen the Leopardus subrace of Felidae take up a large population size in this city. The Selva do not mind at all, taking the short-lived race in with open arms and creating a society of superior jungle dweller’s who use their knowledge to simply sustain a happy life for everyone within their territory.
The Government:
The city is ruled by a Rei and Reina, traditionally a male and female take up these positions. The Rei and Reina produce a single heir, a Principe or Princesa this heir must then eventually find a partner for themselves to continue the line of monarchs. The current reigning Rei and Reina are a partnership of a female Leopardus named Hayi, an excitable and hyperactive woman. The other partner is a female Selva by the name of Ceo, a reserved and contemplative introvert who takes her position seriously. This partnership has begun a line of questioning as to who will be the next heir, and whether or not an heir should be accepted from surrogacy or adoption. With their position, they have decided that their heir will be recognized no matter what and the Selvans have begrudgingly accepted this. The Leopardus however are overjoyed to see their kind at the helm of the city.
Criminals:
This city may be a harmonious mecha of elven civilization but not everyone is so willing to mix the races. At the formation of this city, two factions were created that revolted against the peace. A faction of wood elves and a faction of sky elves, the Espinento Arbusto and Entono Anemo respectively. They take up positions outside of the cities territory but their racial war frequently spills over into Ixa’taka.
Predictably, the Void Community lies on the fringe of this conflict, instigating conflict at every turn. They stir up chaos while supporting both sides in the hope that the conflict will eventually destroy the territory, leaving an advantageous piece of land for the expansion of their allies.
Trade:
The Ixa’takans export animal goods, just enough to sustain their city. They don’t mix in with the economy of the continent often, mostly trading with nearby tribes of high elves or wood elves that accept trade with them.