Nestled deep within Anarkand’s equatorial band to the middle-east, Datuva has always been regarded as a land apart. Unlike other nations, whose Red Hex grids regulate balance artificially, Datuva seems to generate its own equilibrium through the living bond between the Deh’Run and the surrounding flora and fauna.


This bond, older than recorded Anarkian history, created a unique civilisation. The Deh’Run’s survival and prosperity are entwined with the forests, rivers, and skies of Datuva. Their anatomical structure, capable of exchanging life-energy with plants and trees, gave rise to the “Green Covenant” — an unbroken pact between people and land.


From the earliest eras, this covenant shaped their identity. Cities of the Deh’Run were not built in dominance over nature but woven into it — colossal arboreal towers grown from living trees, bridges formed from intertwined roots, and chambers hollowed within mountain stone, always pulsing with verdant life.



The Age of the Living Death


One of the most sacred rituals of the Deh’Run dates back to the 3rd Era, when the first Feeding Chambers were constructed in the deepest jungles. These sanctums are not tombs but conduits — where the dead are offered back to the forest, dissolving into sustenance that nourishes the jungle’s vast root systems.


Over generations, this practice became a symbol of Datuva’s resilience. When other nations fell to famine or plague, Datuva endured, replenished by its cyclical flow of life and death. The outside world began to whisper that the forests themselves were immortal, and that the Deh’Run would never truly die.


By the 5th Era, travellers brought back tales of huge winged beings prowling the skies and valleys of Datuva, the Drah’La’Mun. Enormous, scaled guardians with eyes like emerald fire, they became central to Datuvan faith.


The Deh’Run believed the Drah’La’Mun were divine custodians, manifestations of the planet’s will to protect its most vital heartland. Their offerings of food, woven in sacred rites, secured the beasts’ favour. Many neighbouring lands attempted to capture or kill the Drah’La’Mun, but none succeeded; their ire carried storms across the skies.


To the Deh’Run, they were not beasts, but gods in flesh. Keepers of balance, defenders of the Green Covenant, and arbiters of justice.



Diplomacy and Survival


Through the tumult of Anarkand’s wars, the clashes between Marrakis, the Union of Kabal, and the Radamis Empire, Datuva stood largely untouched. This was not because it was unknown or far from battlegrounds, but because the Deh’Run fostered cautious diplomacy with the Temple of Anark, ensuring its sanctity was recognised under Anarkian law.


Datuva did not side with the 12e Alliance, nor with the Radamis Empire. To them, both wielded too much destructive ambition. Instead, the Deh’Run positioned themselves as neutral observers, envoys who could walk into any chamber of negotiation without hostility.


This neutrality, however, should not be mistaken for weakness. Any who dared intrude violently into the jungle quickly met the fury of both Deh’Run warriors and the Drah’La’Mun, their remains often fed back into the forests.



Decline and Renewal


Despite its resilience, Datuva was not without hardship. In the 8th Era, when parts of Anarkand suffered after the mysterious Hex attack, the edges of Datuva began to wither. Outsiders expected collapse, but instead, the Deh’Run adapted. Their bond with the flora intensified, their rituals doubled, and the Drah’La’Mun seemed to grow even more active, circling skies and roaring into storms.


Some historians believe that without Datuva’s stabilising influence, the Hex repairs of later eras might have failed altogether. Datuva, though officially recognised as a sovereign nation, rejects concepts of empire, conquest, and dominance. Its greatest weapon is its refusal to separate life from land, for in Datuva, the two are one.


Other nations thrive through conquest, armies, or economies. Datuva thrives because it cannot be unmade without destroying its people, its flora, and its gods. To harm one is to harm all. The world respects this, and fears it. For though the Deh’Run preach peace, every diplomat knows: if ever Datuva were pushed to war, they would not march alone. They would march with the forests, the rivers, and the skies themselves.