In the region of Aulwayze that lies south from the heart of the realm exists an advanced empire called Nurayah. This empire is deeply connected and integrated with the forest that surrounds and permeates through the cities and between the structures built by the humans that live here.
Various animals and spirits sometimes wander through the cities but mostly remain in the depths of the trees. Nurayah is constructed based upon the resources, biological and ethereal intelligence, and energies that are found in abundance throughout Aulwayze.
Nurayans seek to exist freely and communally with everyone having access to these resources, and as they ultimately desire to keep the forest in a healthy and balanced state they do not take from Aulwayze more than what they need. Because of this, energy is renewable and unrestricted, allowing for rapid innovations and progress to occur in short spans of time.
The people of Nurayah are descended from past and current renegade Black women from the kingdom of Leatherback Isle that sought to escape the systemic disenfranchisement and violence that they faced in their society. No matter how hard they worked to contribute to the kingdom and make themselves acceptable to those in positions of power, their efforts and very lives were persistently devalued and discarded.
Sensing their distress, the realm of Aulwayze Forest created doors for them to enter into wherever there was natural life blooming. To this day, these particular beings are the only humans that are able to retain their original form once they pass through the doors due to Aulwayze recognizing them as the original form of their species.
These women learned to communicate with the trees, waters, animals, and spirits of Aulwayze and gradually constructed the empire that currently stands today with mindfulness and consideration of the living natural world around them.
Nurayans are a vast community of powerful and spiritually evolved women that maintain a deep connection with the biosphere of Aulwayze Forest. They gain mystic and practical knowledge from their interactions with the spirit beings and organisms and use it to improve their lives and expand the empire, but not so much as to cause any harm to the wellbeing of the forest realm that they live in. Due to their close connection with the consciousness of Aulwayze, they are able to influence the opening of doors and who is able to pass through them, however Aulwayze still determines the form that they take. They often use these doors to find women from Leatherback Isle that are willing to live in Nurayah and become a being of Aulwayze.