"Where the Fire Meets the Sea"
The northeastern-most Neka settlement, Tyunigogo occupies a strip of coastline where the jungle thins enough to see the sky. It's the only village with direct access to the Shriyen Passage, the strait separating Urok from Rimihuica's Ishnit Jungles, and this geography has shaped its character entirely.
Tyunigogo is the gateway. All legitimate trade with the outside world passes through here. Foreign ships anchor in the small natural harbor, their crews confined to the "cooling zone"—a cleared area at the beach's edge where the jungle's heat gives way to sea breeze. Neka traders come down to meet them, transactions are conducted, and the foreigners leave. Those who try to proceed further without escort are turned back. Those who try repeatedly disappear.
The village itself sits a quarter-mile inland, invisible from the shore. Its structures are typical Neka construction: platforms built into the canopy, connected by rope bridges, with fire-pits at strategic locations that serve as both light sources and spiritual anchors. The coastal Neka of Tyunigogo are considered the most worldly of their people—they've learned fragments of foreign languages, understand outside currencies, and have developed a merchant's instinct for value.
But they haven't softened. Tyunigogo's elders remember why the cooling zone exists: a foreign expedition three centuries ago that tried to claim the harbor for a trading post. The expedition's fate became a teaching story. The Neka don't discuss details with outsiders, but the cooling zone's boundary stones are made from ship timbers.
Hooks:
- Foreign traders seeking rare goods must negotiate Tyunigogo's protocols
- Smugglers try to bypass the village through Swindle Sound—with mixed results
- Occasionally, something from across the Shriyen Passage washes up on shore