Umakwa

Umakwa ("Holy City" or "High City" in Yaszumatti) is a sky island chain and the current capital city of the Crownlands of Yaszuma. It's the largest chain of sky islands in Eldham and is the most defining landmark in the Crownlands of Yaszuma and the region of Katsura as a whole.

Before First Unification (~900 B.F.U. - 1 F.U.)
The defining sky island chain of Umakwa was constructed by the incoming Umarín settlers that arrived to Eldham after fleeing the Kingdom of Almador in Rathnir. The Umarín built floating island chains as temples and sanctuaries but none of them would be of any large size until the creation of Umakwa.

The island cluster was designed to be the highest and largest of all the Umarín's natural structures. The city built atop of it would serve as the de-facto center of Umarín civilization and would attain a sacred status within Umarín society.

The city was founded on the edge of the control of the Qwe'tsn Empire, just out of reach. The Qwe'tsn had long wished to control their eastern borderlands and began a campaign to extend their borders to encompass the rest of the modern Katsura region. Umakwa was at the frontline of this attempt at conquest, allying with the nearby Kaszatti Kingdom of Kaszara, defeating the Qwe'tsn at the Battle of Crimson River.

Umakwa and Kaszara have ever since held a strong bond between each other. The two states began regularly trading resources and knowledge between each other. Umakwa would eventually negotiate with the Kaszatti to form the Kingdom of Atu'asura, with Umakwa as the nation's new capital.

After First Unification (1 F.U. - Present Day)
The city would gain its first influx of non-Umarín immigrants following the creation of Atu'asura, Kaszatti immigrants who wished to finally begin a life in lush and non-arid land. The Kaszatti would settle under the main islands initially, creating the undercity of Shasokwa, but as time passed, more and more Kaszatti found themselves living on the islands themselves.

Umakwa kept its important status through the ages, eventually growing into one of the most important cities in Katsura. Today it remains the capital of the Crownlands of Yaszuma and the state's largest city.

Geography
Umakwa as a general location is divided into two distinct halves: Umakwa Proper and Shasokwa. Umakwa is the main cluster of sky islands situated above the mouth of the Tokumoria River, in the southwestern portion of Yaszuma. Shasokwa is a large area below Umakwa Proper.

Umakwa Proper
The sky islands of Umakwa are distinctively much bulkier and larger than the rest of Eldham's sky islands that sport much more serpentine and slim shapes. The islands themselves are mostly flat but have been designed with jagged and overgrown stone edges that extend several meters into the air at their peaks, the true reasoning behind these structures are unknown but several theories exist linking their creation to security or safety reasonings.

Bamboo is overall the most common plant on the city, huge bamboo fields once spread across the islands, now reduced to only roadside planters and in royal gardens. Spruce trees are the most common type of tree across the islands, accompanied with various other forms of greenery and even with the eventual pond which holds many different kinds of plants and even animals.

Even a completely new breed of horse had managed to rapidly evolve after being brought up onto the islands thousands of years ago, growing to adapt to the lower atmospheric density.

Shasokwa
The undercity of Umakwa or Shasokwa is nearly entirely flatlands surrounded by various kinds of forests. This flat land allows for massive farms that spread across most of the city's home province to this day, growing wheat, potatoes, carrots, etc.

Biodiversity in Shasokwa is considerably higher than in Umakwa, Shasokwa holds many more kinds of trees, bushes, plants and other kinds of life.