Yamagakure

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Yamagakure is a small, isolated village situated in the caldera of a long-dormant volcano, at the end of a peninsula in the Country of Cardinal. Yamagakure has endured for many centuries, selling the services of its shinobi to the outside world to sustain itself.

Beginnings

The village of Yamagakure was founded almost five hundred years ago by five very powerful sorcerors and their followers. Weary of the wars that consumed the world, they retreated to an isolated peninsula in what would become the country of Cardinal. There they used powerful magics to shape a dormant volcano into a valley suitable for human habitation.

The first Shinobi families

The followers that accompanied the Five to create Yamagakure were all powerful magic-users in their own right, each possessing unique skills and abilities that set them apart from their fellows. While many families followed the Five to found Yamagakure, only a handful possessed truly remarkable skills.

The Kai Clan
Regarded in modern Yamagakure as the most prestigious and influential family, the founders of the Kai clan possessed incredible divinatory magics and martial techniques that set them above and beyond the other families. Over generations of use, the clarivoyant spells employed by the Kai influenced their genetics, being literally embedded in their blood. Rare is a Kai child born without the trademark "white eyes" of the clan.

The Oshin Clan
The first Oshin was a brilliant entomologist. He and his kinsmen studied insects, arachnids and other various creepy-crawly things in great detail. Of particular interest to Oshin and his fellows was a parasite called "Kessen-chu." A small worm-like creature, the Kessen-chu fed on a host body, multiplying rapidly until the body had been entirely consumed. As a side-effect of that process, the host was strengthened by great degrees, so that the parasite would be able to complete its life-cycle and maximize the feeding potential of its host. Oshin eventually developed an arcane ritual whereby the Kessen-chu were magically altered to be symbiotes, instead of parasites. They fed on magical energy at first, reproducing only to maintain a certain proportion to the host's weight. Later, as the generations wore on, the Kessen-chu adapted themselves to feed on both spiritual and mental energy as well.

The Shijima Clan
The Shijima were probably the one clan that did not adhere to the same principles of self-improvement that the other clans of Yamagakure followed. Shijima himself was an ambitious man, extremely strong-willed but lacking in the genius present in the other families. Shijima turned to Infernalism after a time, having observed the demons and devils that had periodically been summoned in by other sorcerors in battle. Shijima and his fellows crafted a series of spells that, coupled with their uncanny focus and willpower, would bind a creature of the lower planes into complete and utter subservience to them. Shijima himself called and bound a powerful fire-devil to him, and even went so far as to take his thrall as a mate.

Under pressure from the other clans, Shijima and his followers were forced to banish their infernal servants - but not before the legacy had begun. Many half-demon and half-devil children had been born to the clan, and their blood would survive almost twenty generations before the clan was eventually purged.

Geography

The Caldera that Yamagakure sits in is 1.2 kilometers across at its widest point. Much of the fertile volcanic soil is covered in a thick coniferous forest, however some areas have been cleared to grow rice, fruit and vegetables. The village itself blends well with the forest it stands in; almost all buildings incorporate the natural positions of trees in their construction.

Points of Interest

The Hall of Shadow
This imposing four-storey stone edifice, which serves as the primary governmental buildings for the village, stands amid a large clearing near the center of the caldera. The Hall of Shadow is plainly cylindrical in shape, and unimaginitive in its construction. Its rooftop also doubles as an open-air amphitheater, and can hold just over a thousand people.

The Shinobi Academy
One of two houses of learning in the village (the other being a more conventional K-12-style school), the Academy is where all prospective shinobi are taught. The minimum entrance age is eight, though most children eligible to be shinobi enter at the age of ten. Education is focused primarily on developing a child's natural powers (or if they lack an obvious supernatural capacity, they are taught a specialized form of magic) and physical skills.

The Market
The only other area of town that isn't camouflaged within the forest is the Market District. Craftsman and artisans of all sorts come to ply their trade here, as well as the occasional outsider given special dispensation from the Jounin Assembly. Nearly anything can be bought in the Market, from groceries to exotic foods, raw crafting materials to finished pottery, woodwork, and metalwork; even shinobi weapons and poisons can be purchased, if one knows the correct places to look.


Population

General

The village of Yamagakure is home to approximately four thousand souls. The gender split is pretty even, at about 55% female and 45% male. The village has a low population of demihumans, making up about 5% of the total population. Aliens and outsiders are not permitted to take residence.

Shinobi

About one-third of the village population is shinobi. There are about 180-200 jounin in service at any given time, including those who sit on the Jounin Assembly (see below). New Jounin are appointed only to replace those who have retired or been slain in the line of duty.


Local Government

The Shadow Council

The Shadow Council is the ultimate authority in Yamagakure, and administers the affairs of the village's standing 'army' of shinobi. It consists of five ninja who each claim unparalleled mastery over one of the five prime elements (air, fire, water, earth and void). Four of the five Kages are still mortal, however strongly infused they are with their respective elements. The Kage of Void, though, is somewhat more (or less) than human. His element has granted him unimaginable longevity, but the weight of the centuries has taken a heavy toll on his mind.

The Jounin Assembly

Below the Shadow Council, there is the Jounin Assembly. Comprised of twenty Jounin voted for by the village populace, the Assembly acts as the primary governing body for the entire village, overseen by the Council of Kage (as these Jounin are still part of the Shinobi "Army"). The Jounin Assembly functions very similarly to a real-world Parliament. Its duties include maintaining recruitment levels, managing the Academy curriculum and administering law and order throughout the village.

Defenses

Yamagakure relies mainly on its obscurity for defense; very few people outside the village know of its existence. The village is cloaked by powerful illusory wards woven by the founders centuries ago, which prevent aerial surveillance. Entry is only possible through a winding, trap-riddled tunnel at the end of a box canyon.


The Outside World

Yamagakure markets its shinobi as elite mercenaries and assassins, through a long chain of middlemen. This gives the village a degree of buying power within Cardinal, and the funds raised through the sale of shinobi services are used to purchase necessities for the village as a whole. Contract prices are largely claimed by the Council of Kage and Jounin Assembly for this purpose, with a smaller percentage given to the shinobi that performed the task.

Some chuunin and jounin are tasked with maintaining a network of safehouses in Cardinal. Usually disguised as roadside inns and suburban motels, the proprietors of these establishments are all skilled in the arts of camouflage and concealment. A communication network of mystical "sendings" and mundane carrier birds keep these safehouses in contact with Yamagakure.

Becoming a Shinobi

Most children of the village attend a conventional school system for the first few years of their lives, learning the necessary skills for life. Around the age of eight or ten, children are allowed to apply to become Shinobi. Some truly gifted students, and any child with a natural superpower, skip the application process and are placed directly in an academy class. Applications typically involve carefully designed questionnaires, followed by an in-person interview with a senior shinobi.

Those who are accepted to the Academy can expect to spend the next eight to ten years learning the tenets of "nindo", the Shinobi Code of Ethics; how to control their particular kind of power, and a host of other skills necessary to lead a life fraught with peril and the threat of impending death. A complete education is maintained, provided by monitoring the education system in Cardinal.

At graduation, each student is given a two-part test. The first part is a standardized written exam covering basic aspects of shinobi life given to all students. The second is a highly personalized practical exam that puts students through a gruelling simulated mission, tailored to take advantage of the student's weaknesses and push his skills to the limit. The passing rate of these graduation exams is a little better than 50%.

Graduates can expect to spend the next one to three years as genin, apprentice shinobi. They are organized into three-person teams, under the tutelage of a jounin instructor. Every other year, a chuunin selection exam is held. Jounin instructors put forth a list of students they believe would be good candiates for the rank, and these students are put through another gruelling test. Those who pass are awarded the Chuunin rank. Those who fail retain their genin rank, but even participating in the test is good enough to be awarded additional responsibility.

The selection process for Jounin is a complete mystery to all but the Council of Kage and the jounin themselves.