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==History==
The history of Bana is defined by two rivers: the Loko River, running southward from the Danvreas Range just along the edges of the Raonite Spur, and the Miku River, taking a circuitous path down from the mountains along a more northerly route., Bothboth of which feed into the Strait of Vaklori. Habitation by both humans and elvesorcs in this region dates back hundreds of thousands of years, while proto-Banian cultures appear in the archaeological record as early as 2500 BCE. NorthWhile ofearly theories presumed that the mountains,Loko theseand speciesMiku couldriver flourishvalleys whilewere peopled in the relativelysame protectedmigrations from the felinesinterior of the continent that dominatedproduced [[Ni-Rao]], genetic evidence indicates that people in Bana are more closely related to the interiorpeople of [[the continentDanvreas]]. By the turn of the 2nd11th millenniumcentury CE, three primary tribes (usually referred to as "nations") of peoples in the region had come to use the term "bana" as an identifier: the Mikubana along the Miku River in the north; the Lokobana along the Loko River in the south; and the Okunbana along the coast of the Strait of Vaklori between the two rivers. The term "bana" is translated as "children," with each tribe naming themselves as the children of the body of water they lived on: the Miku, the Loko, and the Okun - the sea.
The speciesthree tendednations toof settlethe inBana singlepeoples -specieswere communitiesinitially inentirely differentseparate areascultures, withunited elvesonly remainingin that they all happened to live in the highlandsrelative andpower humansvacuum migratingbetween furtherNi-Rao west toand the coastDanvreas. However, significant trade interaction between the twonations led to their adoption of the same language as early as 500 CE. Relations were almost always peaceful, with evidence of some scarce brief flare-ups of violence. At the turn of the 10th century CE, various small city-states along the coast are united by a military campaign into the Kingdom of Okunbana, based in a city bearing just the name "Bana." Over the next few hundred years, Okunbana established extensive relationships with the Mikubana and the Lokobana. At the same time, the Lokobana gradually assimilated into the Mikubana, and they had come to consider themselves one tribe, the Mikubana, by 1200 CE.
Also beginning in the 13th century, the Empire of [[Ni-Rao]] was reaching the peak of its power. Having long economically dominated the region of Northwest [[Gondwana]], they had begun to forcibly settle north of the Danvreas Range for the first time. The first formal alliance between Okunbana and Mikubana was a military one in defending themselves from the Raonites. In 1358, realizing that attempting to coordinate their collective defense from two different power centers was ineffective against the Raonites, Okunbana and Mikubana reached a unique agreement regarding sharing power. The two tribes would merge into one union, named Bana, and both the King of Okunbana and the King of Mikubana would continue to be liege lords over their people and largely have control over their own domestic affairs. However, one of the two Kings would also hold the title "High King of Bana," sometimes also translated as "Emperor of Bana," to whom the other King would be required to pledge fealty. And then, upon the death of the High King, the position of High King would go to the other King, and the former High King's heir would be the lower-ranked King.
[[File:Okunbana flag.png|thumb|left|200px|The flag of the State of Okunbana.]]
[[File:Okunbana wiki.png|thumb|right|200px|The State of Okunbana within the Federation of Bana.]]
Okunbana is the most populous state in the Federation and is also home to its two largest cities: Lanu, the former capital of the Union of Bana, and the eponymous Bana, the largest and oldest city in the country. The Okun, a human ethnic group, settled along and near the coast of the Strait of Vaklori and established a kingdom around the year 1000 CE. Historically, Okunbana has been divided into seven regions that correspond roughly to seven historic city-states that were subjects of the first Okun polity, which was called the Kingdom of Okunbana and based in the city of Bana. Okunbana was historically the wealthiest of the Banian kingdoms, which remains true into the present day, although it has long depended on Mikubana for natural resources, the fundamental basis on which the Federation of Bana was built.
Due in large part to its proximity to the ocean, Okunbana is much flatter and lower in elevation compared to the other states. It is the agricultural breadbasket of the Federation, producing a majority of its food, and while most of its old growth forests have been long since cut down, it does maintain some rainforest areas and in any case still sees the rainfall of any other tropical rainforest region.
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