Land of Earth

[sunshinehistory]

Land of Earth

The Land of Earth is a mostly desolate, rocky area. Mountain ranges encircles the villages of the Land of Earth, making communication and travel between other lands difficult. Buildings in the Land of Earth are built often into cliff-sides to offset the difficult, uneven terrain. The wind blowing from the North passes across these mountains and sends rocks showering across neighboring countries. This phenomenon is called 'rock rain'. Rock Rice Cake is a specialty of this land, and the crispy texture of the cakes are said to be irresistible. The Land of Earth has a history of going back on its promises and treaties when it suits them, turning on their allies to gain the upper hand as soon as an agreement's conditions have been met to seize opportunities of apparent weakness from other lands to attack. The Land of Earth has the greatest military might, though again this is not in their shinobi forces, of the nations. It has one of the weakest economies of the five nations as well due to their sheer inaccessibility. The Land of Earth possesses two Jinchuuriki, the Four and Five tails.

Hidden Village - Iwagakure

Village Information | Village Map & Points of Interest

The village Hidden by Rocks gained its title for the jagged and almost impossible-to-traverse mountain range surrounding the village, completely hiding it to outsiders. Due to the impassable mountains surrounding the village, it is situated in its own natural stronghold, and difficult to siege: a fact many of its citizens take great pride in. The village itself is composed primarily of rock buildings fashioned by its earth jutsu users. The structures are usually tall and tower-like in their form, mimicking the jagged rocks they were formed from (and often are built into). The buildings themselves are interconnected on multiple levels with rope bridges, which are used to travel across upper floors without the need for climbing and descending stairs unnecessarily. The Tsuchikage complex is the tallest building in the village by far, and marked with the symbol for 'Earth', and therefore is easy to locate.

The current Tsuchikage family is known for flying across the tops of the tall buildings with their unique jutsu rather than using the bridges. The shinobi in Iwagakure are generally fanatically loyal to their Tsuchikage and will follow any order given by him even if it means their death. The people of Iwagakure strongly believe in the Will of Stone, the concept that an unrelenting and unchangeable will is the core essential to a strong shinobi.

Stone Monument

Within Iwagakure there is a small building considered the symbol of the village. Inside the building is a small fountain filled with small, round pebbles. In the center of the fountain is a raised dias holding a small and perfectly polished stone. Despite its size and simplicity it is considered to be as important and significant to the village as the faces on the mountain of Konoha.

(A very select few--primarily those considered for leadership of the village--are aware that there is absolutely nothing special about the stone: the purpose is to prove that the only thing important to making a strong shinobi is their will, and that any shinobi can be the cornerstone of the village.)

Chikara

Chikara is Iwa's primary port city, and thus its strongest trade center. Despite the cold temperatures the city experiences pretty much year round, its location on the coast of Earth allows it to be the easiest village to visit for foreigners.

Kodokuna

Some of the harshest mountain ranges in Iwa call Kodokuna home. Previously, Kodokuna was one of the civilian capitals of Earth. After several harsh winters, people began to move to more hospitable places. When the population thinned, an unpleasant group of lizard summons moved into the area instead and took up residence in the old buildings of the town. The difficult winters and the difficult residents of the mountain range make it undesirable to reclaim.

Kinzoku Mountains

This mountain range is one of the gentler ones in the country, and typically a favored path for travel. There is no civilization in the mountains, save for the odd hermit, and no trade posts. It's advisable to stock up before entering the Kinzoku Mountain range if traveling through Earth by that path.

Kurayami Forest

This forest, while far flatter than most of the rest of the country, is not any safer than anywhere else in the land of Earth. Inhabited by extremely large and aggressive animals, there are few who are willing to attempt to cross the area. Worse than the dangerous animals within it are those who choose to live there. Residents of Kurayami, usually thought to be driven mad by the harsh and confusing conditions of the forest, are often aggressive even to other Earth natives. Whether civilian or shinobi, they're considered to be dangerous and hostile to any who choose to travel through the forest. Despite that, many valuable plants and herbs can be found only within the Kurayami Forest, and the poison sacs of some of the deadlier animals in the forest are used to make potent and rare antidotes.

Chie-shi

Chie-shi is a civilian city that sometimes doubles as a military fort in times when war with Ice or Iron seems likely. As such, it's a smaller city than the others in Earth, and much more difficult to travel to for those who aren't native to the country.

Irori

Irori is the Civilian Capitol and is where the Daimyo of Earth is located. It is equally as hard to get to due to the mountainous nature of the country.