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Geography Of the Five Great nations, Lightning Country is the furthest north and features a captivating landscape the dynamically changes from south to north. From the southern mixed forests and grasslands to the great mountains and the taiga biome of the north, the land of lightning is truly a spectacle of nature and the outdoors. With temperate summers and harsh winters most of the Lightning Country is live-able.
Fertile valleys and grasslands allow for a variety of hearty crops to be grown, and large forests provide wood for fuel, boats, homes, and a myriad of things. The majority of citizens in the Lightning Country tend to live in these valleys, allowing them access to farm land and the age old mountain-ranges which hold a variety of important ores and minerals within them- their goods a famous trade of the Lightning Country that allowed it's exponential growth into an economic superpower.
Surrounded by seas, the Lightning Country holds a dominance on the fishing market that is only beat out by the Water Country. Being a peninsula, there are quite a few rivers and tributaries connecting the main land with the seas, however there is a lack of fresh water lakes, the largest one residing outside of Kumogakure. Besides this, the only real fresh bodies of water are small ones in the valleys of mountain ranges.
Ecology Being the great Northern country, the Land of Lightning is often incorrectly thought to be a frozen tundra by the uneducated. The land of Lightning has several biomes however, dynanimically changing from south to north.
The Southern province of Natsukyou is home to temperate climate mixed forests. These forests consist of a variety of trees, the main ones being oak, cherry, and hickory. These trees produce the vast majority of hardwood in Lightning Country and the Natsukyou province is carefule to maintain a sustainable model of woodcutting.
Above Natsukyou is the temperate Kumogakure and Gyorou provinces. Kumogakure province is home to the largest lake in the land of lightning, fertile valleys, hills, and the fifth highest mountain peak in Lightning country. The western shore and hills are also home to a large amount of magnetite, otherwise known as "black sand", an oxidized iron ore used to create tamahagane steel, which is refined by smiths in the mountain-top city of Kumogakure and cold forged (forging via Magnetic Release) into katana of legendary craftsmanship. Across small mountain ranges and hills lies Gyorou in the east, with land more suitable to growing classic grains and a multitude of fishing ports stationed on the eastern coast. This ecology allows Gyorou to be produce a large percentage of all food consumed within the Lightning country.
Further north is the midlands, and home to the Yamashita province and the Etchu Province. Neither province is spectacular in it's fertility, the largest plant life hailing from small taiga forests along the mountains. The mountain ranges however are extremely ore-rich, making the midlands a hot spot for Iron, Coal, Silver, Gold, and other mineral resources. Winters in the midlands tend to be the harshest in the entire peninsula due to the troughs that are often created by pressure and temperature shifts on the north and southern sides of Lightning Country.
Finally reaching the northern most tip of Lightning Country, Shuunou and Saishuu province are home to the landscapes Kumogakure is generally know for, sprawling pine forests, snowy tundra-esque conditions, and the coolest average temperatures found on the continent throughout the year. Home to wolves, large populations of moose, elk, and wild boar, the people of the far north are ferocious hunters that are conditioned to live in the harshest of environments.
People and Culture The classical population of Lightning Country varies just like it's dynamic and diverse landscape. In the south, people tend to have tan skin due to outdoor lifestyles. (Farmers, Fishers, and Lumberjacks.) This also remains true for those of the temperate mountains, the high elevation exposing them to high levels of infrared radiation- essentially lots of sunlight! In the midlands fair skin tones are quite common, a large amount of life spent indoors, in caves, and below mountains mining. The north is home to biting winds and the extremely fair skinned. Use to ice fishing and hunting wild boar, the people of the northern provinces are extraordinary bowman and trackers- their skills easily transitioning to battle.
There are newer populations beyond that of the classics however, and refugees consisting of freed slaves from Rock Country migrated north a few decades ago, and were extremely influential in the founding of Kumogakure village. They are known for their particularly dark skin and are generally found within the boundaries of Kumogakure province.
Though the end of the old age and the ushering of the new age has lead to the mixing of some of these people, the tension between the provinces never truly subsided, and as such, many of the provinces tend to keep to their own cultures and traditions. This directly effects the lack of any standard holiday for Lightning Country beyond standard Winter and Summer festivals. A notable example of this is the Northern province, which does not observe any holidays due to geographical, ecological, and cultural differences.
Lightning Country HolidaysShow
Winter Festival- The winter festival is typically held during the first seven days of Winter. Leading up to the festival, families and villages throughout the Lightning Country work hard to stockpile resources. On the last night of fall, a festival to reward all the hard work is often held. These festivals often include artisan liquor, hearty winter foods, and a guest appearance by the Daimyo and the seven lords in each province over the seven days of the Festival.
Summer Festival- Celebrated during mid-summer under the beautiful light of July's full moon, the summer festival is an enchanting time for people to form new friendships, romances, and to rekindle those bonds that already existed. It is the oldest celebrated event in the Lightning Country, and dates back to a tale about the daughter of a Sky King, who fell in love with a farm boy below on earth. Returning the daughters feelings, she ran away against her fathers will on the most important night in the Sky Kingdom, and eloped with the farm boy. The farm boy neglected his duties in doing so, and the harvest did not happen that year. Angered, the Sky King separated the two loves and forbid the two, crushing the bridge that lead from the sky kingdom down to earth. Eventually moved by his daughters tears, he allowed her and the farm boy to meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month. It is said that a flock of that had gotten lost on their return north, thus returning late flew by, and at the sky kings order carried his daughter down to Earth. For these reasons, if a couple see's a grouping of geese during the Summer Festival, it is said their love will be eternal!
Night of the Island Turtle- It is rumored that in the waters to the West of Lightning Country is a giant turtle so monolithic and old that his shell appears to be an island- an entire biome having sprouted from his back. Legend has it the turtle granted wishes and guided lost sailors back to shore. For over a century, once a year at the end of the fishing season in September, parents take their children to the coast so that they can place paper-lantern boats with wishes in them. It is said that if the turtle finds these boats he will grant the wish requested if the sender is pure of heart.
Summer Festival- Celebrated during mid-summer under the beautiful light of July's full moon, the summer festival is an enchanting time for people to form new friendships, romances, and to rekindle those bonds that already existed. It is the oldest celebrated event in the Lightning Country, and dates back to a tale about the daughter of a Sky King, who fell in love with a farm boy below on earth. Returning the daughters feelings, she ran away against her fathers will on the most important night in the Sky Kingdom, and eloped with the farm boy. The farm boy neglected his duties in doing so, and the harvest did not happen that year. Angered, the Sky King separated the two loves and forbid the two, crushing the bridge that lead from the sky kingdom down to earth. Eventually moved by his daughters tears, he allowed her and the farm boy to meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month. It is said that a flock of that had gotten lost on their return north, thus returning late flew by, and at the sky kings order carried his daughter down to Earth. For these reasons, if a couple see's a grouping of geese during the Summer Festival, it is said their love will be eternal!
Night of the Island Turtle- It is rumored that in the waters to the West of Lightning Country is a giant turtle so monolithic and old that his shell appears to be an island- an entire biome having sprouted from his back. Legend has it the turtle granted wishes and guided lost sailors back to shore. For over a century, once a year at the end of the fishing season in September, parents take their children to the coast so that they can place paper-lantern boats with wishes in them. It is said that if the turtle finds these boats he will grant the wish requested if the sender is pure of heart.
The seven kingdoms, Murakami, Fujiwara, Kusakabe, Nakatomi, Hashiji, Hojo and Akechi, plunged into a war of supremacy against one another almost simultaneously. The need to become self sufficient was simply too great to ignore, as countries such as the nearby frost and hot-spring countries were becoming increasingly stable and powerful. In order to ensure their own country's survival, the seven kingdoms clashed in heated battle. The Kusakabe were defeated in the first three months by their neighbours, the Akechi, as their military was very small, most of their citizens were farmers or fishermen. Hashiji and Nakatomi had created a fragile alliance in order to suppress the Hojo, who were incredible stone and metal workers, so their weapons and castles were feared to be the greatest of the seven. Fujiwara, who was almost constantly in rivalry with Hashiji, forced the nation of Hashiji to split his forces, and if it were not for this fact, the Hojo would have fallen very early in the fight. However, due to the drawn out process of slowly dismantling the Hojo's daunting defences, the Hojo had time to make a game-changing discovery. The Hojo created the very first trebuchet to be used in combat in the known world. With this new weapon, they decimated the forces surrounding their castles from within the walls, and dismantled their opponent's keeps by throwing stones at them. The Hojo quickly dominated the war with their new siege weapon, and quickly overran the remaining kingdoms. The federation war was over within 18 months.
While this landslide victory seemed unendingly beneficial for Hojo kingdom, they realized that the war had killed so many of the men from all of the seven nations, that the Hojo kingdom alone could not administrate the entire area. So, in order to keep their land in order, they set themselves up as the kings, or Daimyo, of an entirely new country, known as the Lightning Country. They then returned the land into the administration of the other six countries, however, they were now a part of the Lightning Country, and as such, their kings were now lords, or Kyonin. Through this, the current system of the Lightning Country was born.
With the discovery of chakra after the appearance of the wellspring, creating human weapons known as shinobi became essential for any country wishing to rise above the rest. The Lightning country was one such country. Around this time, the province which had been the Akechi kingdom had run out of heirs. This is when the current status quo of the Raikage being a Kyonin for the Daimyo arose from. Due the the need to rename Akechi province, the Daimyo renamed all of the provinces in order to signify that with the coming of the age of chakra and shinobi, the old seven kingdoms were no more.
While the Daimyo may believe that the old feuds were laid to rest, the other noble families disagreed, and the six remaining noble provinces still squabble with each other almost constantly, creating a political rift in the nation. Due to this seemingly insurmountable rift, the Lightning Country seems to be in a state of political unrest, in which it may fail to act as a whole at times.