Crisis Cycles

Culture Name: Shangal Union

Banner Colour: Pink Petals and Dark Brown Wood

Government and Leader: Led by the Shangal Council, the Union is a Constitutional Pseudo-Republic, though the Council claims it is acting on behalf of the Trees themselves. The current Council President is Dostanah Chumgarded, Huntress of the Most Reverent and Exalted Wingborn Coven. She first emerged as a leader within the Council Rangers, successfully 'reclaiming' Torarlial and halfling tribal lands on behalf of the 'Mother Jungle' in retaliation for their exploitation and neglect. She wanted to demolish Sogosha but the walls were too strong so she fumed and reluctantly signed a peace treaty with the Wights. Her Coven represents most flying species in the Union and is dominated by the Von Bats, a rather uppity noble house founded by 'Uplifted' ComBats.

There are several other Council factions with a number of Representatives proportional to the number of sentient and non-sentient members. This is calculated by a complicated formula that nobody really likes but one that everyone agrees is better than fighting each other. Each is in charge of both sapient and non-sapient species belonging to their faction.

Most Reverent and Exalted Wingborn Coven  ((flying animals)) - Batkind (exComBats, mostly soldiers and engineers), Sibi (large stork-like bird dudes, in charge of the forest cities) and assorted Lesser Birdfolk
League of Groundlings ((ground-based omnivores & predators)) - Ligars (scary combo of apex predators), Marsupoids (thylacine beafts and dropbears) and Primatids (monkeys and primitive human-like primates)
The Undersoil Collective ((burrowing animals)) - Antmites, Rodoles (moley, mousey peeps)
Coalition of Browsers & Grazers ((ground-based and aboreal herbivores)) - Horbras, Hippofants
Coldblood Conclave ((reptiles)) - Crocogators & Snekards (Half snake, half lizard)
Outsiders ((not really a unified faction but a handful of token representatives)) - Halflings, Spitelings, Elves, Jungle Koon and whomever else ends up in the jungle

All of the factions are bound to follow the commands of 'Mother Jungle', which is either a person that became a tree or a really old tree that grew all the other trees depending on who you ask. Possibly both. Either way they don't talk very often (more than once a year is unusual) so the Council tends to fill in the gaps and has lawyers (mostly Birdfolk) that try to analyse every word for meaning.

Society: The Union is the end result of the emergence of sentience among several species native to the forests where the denizens of the Plateau refused to tread as well as hundreds of years of exiles and refugees hiding within its groves. Eventually, magics within and without transformed some of the so-called 'animal' species. They are highly self-sufficient and conservationist, worshipping the Forest in multiple forms (each species pretends its pantheon is unique to them but most are really just rebranded and renamed analogues). The Laws of the Shangal are written in the Shangal Book - a text written shortly after the various benefactors/victims of Half Star's meddling fled inside the Forest and tried to figure out how they were going to survive and help the other species around them.

Buildings in Shangal are built within, around, below and above the Trees, but without harming them directly; it is forbidden to chop down any of the Elder Trees and there are limitations on what species can be harvested or forested - enforced by Council Rangers. They actively replant trees in places where they have been removed and Torarlial's buildings are now covered in vegetation.

Species: Assorted Shangal species, plus Halflings, Spitelings, Elves and Koon. Maybe humans if they decide to hurry up and evolve.

Stances on the three changes:
LOVE: Strongly Accept. The species of Shanglal are rather amused and haughty about this trend. They were marrying each other and living together before it was cool!
BOTTOMLESS: Neutral. The moon is interesting, but fear of the Moon People above and the Ghouls below mean they are too afraid to explore this revelation.
SKY: Strongly Accept. The bats are really super keen to control the skies and have tried making arcane devices of their own to augment both their own flying and construct skyships of their own.

Major cultural influence: Apart from themselves, Halflings (including the lost Spitelings!), Sogoshanite Elves and Ranitezians are the largest minorities and have significantly influenced its culture and identity. A few Wet Koon also live underneath and have joined the Union. The first of them fled there during the battle with Half Star and disturbances since then led more to join them - becoming 'Jungle Koon'.