Aelas is home to dozens of kingdoms, empires, tribes, federations, and republics. It is also home to nearly every kind of environment from sweltering jungles oozing with lava to vast mountains so frozen that their winds could kill in minutes. It is a continent stretching thousands of miles in each direction, so vast that the peoples of this land use the name Aelas not only to describe their landmass but the entire world.

Below are a list of each region, and the nations that these large geographic regions are home to.

Aelas Nations, Organized By Region

BLIGHTMIRE

The Blightmire is a heavily wooded swampy delta that is rich in natural resources like timber, clay, dye pigments, and herbs. It is also home to perils like malevolent fey, alligators, Scaleskin Orcs, roving undead creatures, dark incorporeal forces, quicksand, and vermin carrying a dreaded disease called Swamp Lung. It is mostly swampy wilderness, but a few bastions of civilization are marked through it. Most are Liothan, as the empire of Liothe lays claim to the entire region. Other holds are furtive, and prefer to keep off of most maps.

El'Dnak

Goblin Stronghold

El'Dnak is one of the 4 goblin strongholds of Aelas. It's better known by it's nickname, The Asylum of Monsters. It is a swamp city with no laws, leaders, guard, nor government of any kind. Its location is a secret, known only to the goblins who inhabit it, the monstrous creatures who come to it for shelter, and the adventurers who seek it out for its otherworldly goods and forbidden magics. Those who have seen it, describe it as a loosely organized but densely packed city of thousands, floating on mounds of black muck, rickety causeways, and into the canopies of giant mangrove trees. What few buildings stand for other civic or business purposes are fairly large, damp, and are typically the best constructed edifices in the city. What few travelers return from this place report seeing creatures of every aspect, shape, and size. Bloodthirsty vampires use El'Dnak as a haven for when they need to go into hiding. Gorgons have been known to walk its fetid alleys, lit by the ghastly glow of will-o-wisps. Giants who have long wished to hide from the violence of mortal humanoids cower in the city's muck, accruing ramshackle homes and tenements on their titanic bodies. Hundreds more species and creatures with enough sense to use speech have called El'Dnak their home, whether permanently or briefly, as the city's true freedom affords them solace the rest of the mortal world couldn't.

Not all monsters who come here are evil, but all monsters are welcome, as no one is turned away. Most will refrain from harming others within the city limits, treating their neighbors with neutrality. Once the peace is broken, their safe haven vanishes, and few in the position of a sentient undead or a wounded sphinx could afford that. Despite its use as a sanctuary, make no mistake, it is a dreadful place.

Scaleskin Orc Tribe

Orc Tribe

The Scaleskin are the smallest orc tribe in Aelas. A shy and secluded swamp folk, the Scaleskin make their home in the deepest and most mosquito-bitten fens of swamp. Unlike the other orc tribes there are no clans and bands to be divided down to below the tribe. There are no villages nor settlements. Most live individually or in small families. There is no ruling hierarchy, and most spend their entire life in the uncharted muck of the labyrinthine Blightmire. The Scaleskin, unlike the other tribes, are seldom known to raiding, preferring to trade with their neighbors before disappearing into their hidden home deep in the swamp. They get around the treacherous swamp by breeding, taming, and riding giant toads. When the Scaleskin come of age, they are sent on a quest to find and tame a wild giant toad. This giant species of toad typically have longer lifespans than they do, and are their companion and mount for life.

DARKWINTER HEIGHTS

Darkwinter Heights is the largest mountain range in Aelas, and dominates nearly the entire north of the continent. These mountains are frozen most of the year. Nearly all of the black jagged peaks are crusted with permafrost and snow. Glaciers snake through the twisting narrow valleys. These mountains are home to the Shatterblood Orc Tribe and the furtive race of Goliaths. Giants, drakes, and ice elementals stalk through the peaks and crags of this inhospitable land. It is also home to , an ancient and mysterious city, that only a handful of travelers each century are able to reach. The mountains protect the rest of Aelas from the hellish cold gales that scream southward from the Sea of Glass.

The Goliath Sraos

MISSING TEXT BUD, SORRY. CALL ME IF U HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TILL THIS GETS FILLED.

Fry'Srao

MISSING TEXT BUD, SORRY. CALL ME IF U HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TILL THIS GETS FILLED.

Gulo'Srao

MISSING TEXT BUD, SORRY. CALL ME IF U HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TILL THIS GETS FILLED.

Olbu'Srao

MISSING TEXT BUD, SORRY. CALL ME IF U HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TILL THIS GETS FILLED.

Luno'Srao

Little is known about anything north of Starhearth. Seers of Erevel have seen the city of Luno'Srao in hazy visions, and have only vague descriptions. It is seated on a tall peak of Darkwinter Heights. With all the city's fires lit, it is still cloaked in thick bands of swirling snow that ceases only a few times a year. This part of Aelas is nightmarishly cold and is constantly consumed by blizzards. From what the seers could receive, it is a city of intense religious fervor. It has been suggested by some seers that they worship Lunoreh, Goddess of Wisdom but this is unlikely as worship of the High Pantheon drops off rapidly in popularity outside the more habitable lands of Aelas. It is also unlikely because Lunoreh dwells in her realm of The Cities of Light, watching over us. These worshippers turn their gazes beyond their mountains, supplicating and prostrating to something in the extremely far north. In the tongue of the giants, it roughly translates to something like City of Luno. This similar etymology is another reason why some believe they are worshippers of Lunoreh.

Wurin'Srao

Little is known about anything north of Starhearth. Seers of Erevel have seen the city of Wurin'Srao in hazy visions, and have only vague descriptions. It is seated in the northwesternmost corner of the Nightfire Tundra. The city is a small yet ancient place, no more than ten-thousand call it home.

Paranoia and deep religious zealotry have been sensed swirling about the city's enormous blue stone walls. The name Wurin'Srao is also a hint of its origins. In the tongue of the giants, it roughly translates to something like City of Wurin. The city hugs the outer ledges of Darkwinter Heights, hanging precariously over a sheer drop, thousands of feet to the plains of Nightfire Tundra below.

Fryst

Isolated Kingdom

The name Fryst is intertwined with the idea of something being impossibly far in the imaginations of Aelas folk. Fryst is a city-state that has weathered every age in recorded history, and may be the oldest surviving country. It sits at the northernmost corners of the explored world, lapping against the frozen Sea of Glass where Aelas ends. The road to Fryst is nearly suicidal in its level of peril, and its distance would take months of travel even if going unabated and at a constant pace.

To have met someone who has travelled to its borders, would be exceedingly rare. As such, even after millennia little is known about it save for a set of titanic gates that guard the only way into the city by land. The God-Gates are forged of solid iron, and tower higher than some mountains. They are nearly a quarter-mile thick, and encrusted with thousands of years of frost and sediment. It is said that not even the gods themselves could penetrate the Fryst gates. It is unknown who built them, nor how. The God-Gates are the largest structure ever built in the history of the world. They open to travelers only two days of the year.

For miles between the southern mountain wilderness of Darkwinter Heights and the impermeable God-Gates sits a sprawling wreck of primeval ruins. The ruins are cut in half by the road that leads from the mountain pass and up to the foot of the gates. From a glance at the ruins it used to be a magnificent city, comprised of enormous towers, citadels, palaces, and keeps, now brought low into little more than a field of rubble. The identity of this city is a secret known only to those who live within the gates, and the tale of its destruction is a mystery kept only by their sovereign. Signs and frozen bodies warn travelers never to step a single foot off this path, or they could be instantly killed by a devastating psychic affliction locals call The Echo. Just outside a narrow path snaking through the antediluvian ruins is certain death for all but the most armored minds in Aelas. The folk of Darkwinter Heights know it simply as The Echo, for they believe it to be merely a remnant of a hideous power that once dwelt there. It is invisible and cannot be detected, save for its impact on living beings. Those that wander in will experience a brief but severe pain, their head will spurt blood like a fountain, and they may seize up. Within seconds, the afflicted is dead, and in many cases their body cannot be recovered.

Shatterblood Orc Tribe

Orc Tribe

The Shatterblood Orc clans deeply hate and distrust each other. Few other peoples have been able to eke out an existence in the freezing mountains of Darkwinter Heights. No Human or outsider is allowed to join their tribes, although many Shatterblood Villages will allow outsiders to visit, but only for a short time before throwing them out into the cold. Shatterblood people are divided and defined by their deep religious zeal. Each of the four clans worships and is named for a different patron god. These gods are unique to the strange peoples of Darkwinter Heights. You won't find a single worshipper of the High Pantheon among their villages and strongholds. Food is extremely scarce in these harrowingly freezing lands, leading scholars to wonder how often the four clans resort to cannibalism and man-eating to stay alive. The four clans are: The Gulol Clan, The Deva Clan, The Faristos Clan, and the Great Father Clan.

DRAGONHEARTH MOUNTAINS

A mighty mountain range running from the Witherguards to the edge of Arthia’s woods. The mountains separate Bered from Liothe, and the inside of some are home to the Dwarven kingdom of Shamir. They are so named for the dragons which once dwelled in the range’s deep cave systems and excinct lava tubes.

Shamir

Dwarven Kingdom

Dwarven kingdom built into the Dragon-carved caverns and lava tubes of the volcanoes bulwarking Hammersong. The only travel needed to pass between the Liothan capitol of Hammersong and Shamir is one long bridge. A walk of less than a mile, and one finds oneself in the ancient city.

It is one of only two known Dwarven nations in Aelas, and like its sister city of Beza is built vertically into the heart of a mountain. The city is enormous, stretching from the peaks of the Dragonhearth's highest mountains to the deep mountain roots hundreds of feet below the earth. Once, red dragons dwelled in the mountain's natural labyrinth of volcanic chambers, and terrorized the dwarves who wandered too far from the mountain's peak, but were driven out of the caves or slain by ancient Shamirians.

Shamir's last was waged over a thousand years ago, and the kingdom would do anything to keep it that way. Shamir is known for being a nation that deeply values peace and diplomacy. When a war ends, west of the Witherguards, the two sides will traditionally draw up the teaty in the bowels of Shamir. Despite this aversion to war, many great warriors and quality weaponry come from this great city.

Dwarven-forged weapons are among the best in the world, and the city's smiths are known for their incredible skill, second only to Beza. Every year on the same day, an earthquake shakes the city with terrible tremors. they believe it to be a slumbering wyrm far beneath the city's deepest reaches, awakening for a brief moment. If the city survives, which it always does, the Dwarves throw an enormous festival to rival anywhere else in Aelas called Gvaristog. Travelers come from near and far to revel in the colossal party, before leaving with the worst hangovers a mortal can endure.

FAR GRASSES

The Far Grasses are a vast grassland of gently rolling hills that stretches, huge cities, thousands of acres of farmland, frigid lakes, and wild untamed savannah. Many nations call these great green plains their home like Liothe, Small Harbor, the Fargaze Orc Tribe, and dozens of roving centaur tribes.

Ivmira

Elven Kingdom

Squirreled away in the Thunderstep Woods, is the hidden city of the wood elves, Ivmira. No outsider has ever stepped foot within the city without permission from the city's authority, nor even a day's ride from it. Ivmira is hidden away by ancient druidic magic that they will only reveal to those sworn to keep its secrets. Those who try to enter the woods uninvited will hear horrifying thundering and feel terrible earthquakes when they get close enough. Before long they lose their way, and if they don't make it out of the woods, become hopelessly lost there forever. They are the only nations that not only repelled Liothe without sustaining any losses, but completely devastated their expeditionary forces, most of whom never returned from the woods. To this day, Liothe maintains a friendly relationship with them, more out of fear than anything else. Ivmirans seldom leave their forest-city, many claim it is an idyllic woodland paradise of people living in perfect harmony with the nature of the Thunderstep Woods. Ivmira's standards can be recognized as five hornets on a green field. Though few outsiders have ever entered the city, theY maintain international relations with the outside world through a long tradition of diplomats and couriers. The Songborn hero Uellia Sunsling and the current Archmage of Liothe, Morellian of Ivmira, hail from this hidden country.

Liothe

Human Empire/Kingdom

Liothe is a massive empire stretching two thousand miles across. It is the most powerful nation in the world, and one of the most populous. It is a nation of several mages, many warriors, and numerous scolars. Liothe is mainly Human and ruled by King Gadrin IV. The majority of it lies in the Far Grasses, but its breadth stretches out into the Witherguards, Dragonhearth Mountains, Seven Sands, the entirety of The Blightmire, and a small portion of the Beredan Highlands. They were once a nation of highly gifted necromancers. They used necromancy to bolster their army with zombies, to drain the life from their enemies, and to strike fear into the hearts of stalwart warriors. With these dark powers they were able to expand the borders of their nation significantly. Although, while necromancy was widely practiced, it was heavily monitored and controlled within their borders until the Lich War, when it became entirely forbidden. They are a nation of several cultures and creeds, and the capitol city of Hammersong is among the world's largest and most metropolitan. Many wizards still travel to Liothe to learn magic, even with necromancy banned, they are an arcane power.

The nation is broken into seven provinces: Veridia (green rolling hills, agricultural hub), Lowmarsh (swampy blightmarsh province), Highshadow (frontier desert and mountain province), The Gray Valley (cursed land filled with undead due tot he Lich War, off limits), The Heartlands (metropolitan center of empire), Ashenbark (high mountains, witherguards, lots of timber, fur, and gold), and Mestranor (southernmost coastal province).

Fargaze Orc Tribe

Orc Tribe

The three clans of the Fargaze share a sorcerous gift of divination passed down from parent to child since the genesis of their people. It is called Bloodsight, and while not common to every Fargaze, is a talent that shows up in every village and nearly every family at least once. Most of the Fargaze worship Tar'Kwen, a river spirit who dwells in the eponymous Tar'Kwen river, the most holy place to their people. She is goddess not only of the waters there but of fate, and the bloodsight was her gift to the first shamans of their tribe. The bloodsight made these orcs incredibly powerful long ago, as they were able to augur the outcomes of possible battles and predict the movements of their enemies. They dominated the Far Grasses, but today are only a shadow of their former glory. Endless wars with the centaur tribes, the empire of Liothe, and the rigors of The Four Agonies have greatly diminished their numbers and power. Only a few thousand Fargaze orcs remain to this day, most of whom have taken shelter in the Crystal Hills, the ancient home of their Hill Clan, that now hosts refugees of the mystical River Clan and nautical Shell Clan. The Lion Clan, is almost extinct, with only a handful of survivors after a brutal overnight attack by a mysterious entity wiped almost all of them out. The Lion Clan tames and sometimes rides lion companions.

Small Harbor

Halfling City-State

A seafaring city-state on the Mestran coast consisting mostly of halflings. Despite the miniature sizes of most buildings and homes, the city is protected by large and sharp pallisade walls. The wood is scorched, cracked, and scratched by centuries of invaders who broke against its gates. In their bloody dealings with the centaur tribes and priests of The Shepherd In The Storm, horses and other steeds are forbidden within city walls. Riders who approach the city, will often find arrows trained on their mounts from high atop the pallisade walls. Small Harbor enjoys fair weather, excellent fishing, and plentiful sea trade. The city is known for its safety and cleanliness, as well as being the birthplace of the famed hero Sir Hickory Hornbeam. The paladin's likeness stands in fifteen feet of bronze in the city's bustling Iria Square.

GULF OF SIRENS

Albatross City

Human City-State

Once, this city-state was one of the Mestran Empire's many ports. After the empire's fall over 2 centuries ago, it's become an independent nation. Out of all the nations and free cities that broke form the shattering of the Mestran Empire, Albatross City has done the best. Albatross City is rich in silver, spices, fish, and stone. It has a contested claim on Tarnish Atoll and the Crocus Islands, where miners and spice farmers bring back wealth to the main city on the edge of the Far Grasses.

Thirty-foot granite walls protect the perimeter of the city from Fargaze Orc raids, centaur attacks, pirates, and the stray zombie that shambles in from the lands cursed by Sharev of Erevel in the Lich War. Out of all the Sirenian countries, Albatross City has the strongest navy. It is a human majority country with a large halfling and half-orc population nestled within its walls and camped out on its outer isles.

While Albatross City has become a significant power in its own right, it is still influenced by the Mestran culture it was born from. Stormlords still hold sway in Albatross City, culturally. Likewise, their leaders, while holding a monarchical and hereditary position aren't kings, but regents. Many humans of Mestran blood hold that the only one worthy of being called king is the true ruler of the seas, and the lord of the Mestran Empire.

Deepneedle

Triton Kingdom

Few of Aelas step foot within the Triton city, but plenty of sailors have passed their sea-gates and paid their toll to cross to and from the Gulf of Sirens. Travelers to Deepneedle have remarked it is a vertical city, plunging deep below the depths of the ocean into subterranean darkness. Those who leave Deepneedle report seeing strange possibly even monstrous folk who seldom set foot in Aelas lie denizens of the Underdark and travelers from the Sundown Lands. The Triton of Deepneedle were once the enemies of humanity, often warring with the now-fallen sea empire of Mestra. It is said the reefs around their city is a graveyard of Mestran warships. Their rivalry was so fierce that some have even postulated it was the sorcerers of the Triton who conjured the tempest that all but destroyed the empire all those centuries ago. There are whispers that the Queen of Deepneedle is said to possess a treasure of enormous import, worth more than even a bottle of Thousand-Year Wine, but is unable to use it. These rumors came about as there have been confirmed invitations to brilliant minds throughout Aelas to solve some sort of puzzle in the throne-room of Deepneedle.

Farendra

Elven Theocracy

Farendra is an elven nation sitting on the most distant western reaches of Aelas. Little is known about this nation or its people, even by seasoned sailors of the Gulf of Sirens. The Farendran are a furtive and hardy people, as skilled on the sea as any Halfling or Human sailor of the Gulf. while they are a seafaring people, their city is nestled deep into the western woods at the borders of the Sundown Lands. Farendran don't have as sterling a reputation as other elven cities. heir strong alliance with New Mestra and Zubelerekswatch influences their cruel opinions on the permissibility of the slave trade. While they do not force free people into bondage like the New Mestrans, they do purchase slaves from their ports, who are brought to the long docks that turn to wooden pathways leading into the deep woods. It is from these docks that slaves are walked to the gates of Farendra, if it possesses gates that is, and disappear into its emerald depths. Folk who meet Farendrans find them a strangely mercurial and spritely lot. Many Eladrin have claimed descent from this most remote of cities. It is rumored that the great warrior, Uthyr the Champion of Hammersong, was born in this city of ill repute.

Fogstead

Druidic City-State

Once, this city-state was one of the Mestran Empire's many ports. After the empire's fall over 2 centuries ago, it's become an independent nation. As the name implies, the port is constantly veiled in heavy swirling fog, although it seldom makes serious trouble for sailors. Fogstead has the most dramatic tides in the known world with daily differences of nearly a hundred feet. This leaves a large red mud plain stretching out to the receding sea during low tide, and the city is famous for its massive piers which stretch out farther than any other in the world to keep up with the wild tides. The city is equal parts human and Halfling population with a significant amount of Water Genasi.

After the Lich War, the weakened city was sacked and conquered by a powerful pirate and druid who once served as the right hand of the Archdruid, Redwing of Azka. This pirate crowned himself as king of Fogstead, and rules the city along with a small council of druids. The outer city remains untouched, a typical Mestran port town. The inner city has been transformed, woven with vines and carpeted with moss and sea fig. While remaining a humble country, little of what goes on in the inner city is ever gleaned by the outside world.

Their shores are kept safe by a uniquely druidic order of knights called The Leviathan Knights. They are a small order of maritime warriors who ride sharks and wield bronze spears.

Manaria's Hand

Pirate Kingdom

Once, this city-state was the capitol of the Mestran Empire. After the empire's fall over 2 centuries ago, it's become an independent nation. The Hand is a salty pirate city, located on an island in the center of the Gulf of Sirens. It is one of the only bastions left in the world for necromancy. In the wake of the Lich War, necromancers fled Liothe, Bered, Shamir, and even Kahlain to settle in this bilgewater hellhole.

Once it was the mighty seat of the Mestran Empire. Today, it is a lawless yet bustling city-state whose leaders are assassinated and replaced more quickly than a bottle of milk expires. A common joke about the Hand is that its national motto is "long live the k-" as the king would be killed halfway through your pledge of loyalty.

Along with Sea Lily, it is one of the only places in Aelas with a dedicated Temple of Zatserah, God of Thieves

New Mestra

Human Kingdom

Once, this island nation was one of many sparsely inhabited isles in the Mestran Empire. After the empire's fall over 2 centuries ago, it's become an independent nation, one that claims to be the uninterupted continuation of the Mestran Empire, despite its small size. New Mestra is mostly wilderness, a heavily wooded island with stony shores and cold mists. The island is overwhelmingly human, but is also home to tiny populations of Water Genasi, Half-Elves, and Halflings. Bands of pirates and raiders encircle the island, pilfering any foreign ships that pass, and capturing sailors to force into slavery.

New Mestra is one of the only slave nations in Aelas (along with Farendra and Zubelerekswatch) and is generally reviled for it. Their leader is a self-appointed emperor who preaches about the heroic return of their mighty Mestran Empire, and its destiny to reconquer the seas of Aelas and their many peoples.

Despite its many flaws, New Mestra has kept alive more of the ancient ways of the Mestran people than any current nation. Because of this it is considered the greatest place to train as a Stormlord (priest of Manaria & weather mage).

Sea Lily

Human City-State

Once, this city-state was one of the Mestran Empire's many ports. After the empire's fall over 2 centuries ago, it's become an independent nation. It has a reputation for dingy marinas, deepamber addiction, prostitution, and pirate raids. It is one of the only cities in Aelas with a devoted temple to Zatsera, and proudly boasts more brothels than other city in Aelas. The port is primarily Human with a significant halfling minority.

Despite these fun facts, it is a miserable place.

In the wintertime it becomes the target of freezing blasts from the southern gulf's strange tides. The blight that trickles in from the nighted lands of Mothwing Bog kills crops and trees, making food and fuel scarce. It is an important trading port because of its strategic position in the Gulf of Sirens and proximity to the illegal trade routes of deepamber. This, and no other reason, is why it soldiers on as a nation or even a place to live at all.

Pirates, mercenaries, sailors, and smugglers frequent the brothels and wharfs of this dismal place.

Sea Lily's leader, while holding a monarchical and hereditary position is not a kings, but a regent. Many humans of Mestran blood hold that the only one worthy of being called king is the true ruler of the seas, and the lord of the Mestran Empire.

Zubelerekswatch

Human City-State

Once, this city-state was one of the Mestran Empire's many ports. After the empire's fall over 2 centuries ago, it's become an independent nation. Zubelerekswatch is A 500 year-old city-state that began its life as a Mestran coastal fort dedicated to combatting the colossal sea monster, Zubelerek. The monster terrorized The Gulf of Sirens for years before being slain by the Songborn warrior, Uellia Sunsling, and her band of warriors. 50 years later, a statue of the Ivmiran warrior stands proud, staring toward the harbor, her eponymous sling clutched at her side ready to swing.

Today, Zubelerekswatch trades in curiosities with the Sundown Lands and slaves with New Mestra. Its adoption of slavery has made it reviled by most of Aelas' other peoples. Travelers to the distant port have reported seeing hundreds of slaves marched west toward the Sundown Lands, with only their taskmasters returning from the woods. Zubelerekswatch is best avoided by travelers, not only for its bitter winds and inhumane practices, but for the outbreaks of Coral Fever that spreads in waves through the city with alarming regularity.

Zubelerekswatch's leader, while holding a monarchical and hereditary position is not a kings, but a regent. Many humans of Mestran blood hold that the only one worthy of being called king is the true ruler of the seas, and the lord of the Mestran Empire.

MOTHWING BOG

A city on two continents and shrouded in mystery. There are three ways into the city, the eastern Gates of Aelas (Sundown Lands side), The western Gates of Twilight (AelasSide), and the city’s port. The Gates of Aelas are always open, save during times of nearby war. The Gates of Twilight open almost exclusively to denizens of the Sundown Lands. These gates contain the only safe road into the fey sundown realms. The city’s purpose, some would say, is to guard the courts of the fey from the folk of Aelas. Large white walls, similar to Arthia’s but less grand, wrap around the city. Its citizens are majority Halflings and Gnomes, with minority populations of humans, elves, and other fey. The buildings are small, and its guards are impatient with outsiders. Realmguard is not any one nation’s port. Its stewardship is traded every decade between the courts of Glashia, Yorenoxia, and Leyenir. Rare is it when the city raises the Gates of Twilight for a traveler of Aelas. In the past, wonder-struck travelers from Aelas will idle by its gates and search for the legendary fairies and unicorns that are spoken of in fanciful tales about the city. There is an unconfirmed claim that the hero, Uthyr the Champion of Hammersong, is rumored to have crossed through Realmguard before his name became known to Liothe as a hero.

Ai'Ralam

Goblin Stronghold

Ai'Ralam is one of the 4 goblin strongholds of Aelas. It is the only walled city of the goblin strongholds, with tall and spiky palisade walls covered in rusty spikes, hooks, and poison thorns. Just beyond the walls is a fetid moat of diseased swamp water. The city sits on a small island in a lake in the westernmost edges of the Mothwing Bog. There are no roads that lead to the city, nor are there any markers indicating one there. It is the smallest and least populated of the three inhabited goblin strongholds. Like other strongholds it is a haven for the weird, the unnatural, and the mnostrous. Intelligent monsters of the bog have been known to spend time peacefully within the city's walls for trade, safety, or other reasons. Unlike other strongholds, the goblins of Ai'Ralam are far less open to travelers. Swamp denizens of goblinoid, fey, or monstrous aspect are welcome within the city, most other mortal travelers are not. Many of the city's inhabitants worship the Unhallowed deity, Yorentran, god of disease. Perhaps as a consequence, the city's inhabitants are not uncommonly the victims of lightning strikes and venomous snake bites.

Almost as a blessing, the swampy outskirts of the town are infested with diseased mosquitos and vermin. Many travelers who've tried to reach the gates of Ai'Ralam end up repelled by gruesome cases of Swamp Lung, Green Death, Sight Rot, Smallpox, or The Plague.

Bogwall (Fallen)

Human City-State

A small land grant was given to a noble of Liothe, who made the small border-town of Bogwall its own principality. During a time of hardship for Liothe, it declared independence, and was never challenged. Bogwall sits between the now-cursed Gray Valley and Mothwing Bog. There is an enormous Bog Wall at the city's eastern entrance, where the place got its name from. Its purpose was once to prevent floodwaters from flowing down the rocky pass into the Gray Valley. Now the small city-state is gone. It was destroyed by Sharev's undead hordes in a single day, and its inhabitants were likely all murdered.

Erevel (Fallen)

Human City-State

An ancient Human city-state, once called the city of quartz, it is now called the city of silence after falling to Sharev. The entire city lies below ground in a massive cavern lined with gargantuan quartz crystals, and spirals deep underground to stygian depths. Erevel is one of the few places in the world where divination magic was understood and taught beyond a remedial level . In the Mothwing Archives of Erevel’s library, there are scrolls by powerful seers to glimpse undiscovered lands, other planes of reality, the prehistoric past, and even the future. It was a great power before the Lich War, and it was the first nation to fall to its horrors. No one left the city after Sharev did, and no one who has ventured inside since, has ever returned. It’s a mystery what he did to that city. The only thing that’s known is that Erevel went dark, and the last one to ever walk out of its gates in 20 years was the man who made that happen.

Most Erevelians are considered dead. What few were outside the city, and managed to avoid Sharev's march through the bog, survive still as a scattered and miniscule population in diaspora. Many wish to return to their great city, break its curse, and restore the nation of Erevel to the world of the living.

Realmguard

Fey City-State

A city on two continents and shrouded in mystery. There are three ways into the city, the eastern Gates of Aelas (Sundown Lands side), The western Gates of Twilight (AelasSide), and the city’s port. The Gates of Aelas are always open, save during times of nearby war. The Gates of Twilight open almost exclusively to denizens of the Sundown Lands. These gates contain the only safe road into the fey sundown realms. The city’s purpose, some would say, is to guard the courts of the fey from the folk of Aelas. Large white walls, similar to Arthia’s but less grand, wrap around the city. Its citizens are majority Halflings and Gnomes, with minority populations of humans, elves, and other fey. The buildings are small, and its guards are impatient with outsiders. Realmguard is not any one nation’s port. Its stewardship is traded every decade between the courts of Glashia, Yorenoxia, and Leyenir. Rare is it when the city raises the Gates of Twilight for a traveler of Aelas. In the past, wonder-struck travelers from Aelas will idle by its gates and search for the legendary fairies and unicorns that are spoken of in fanciful tales about the city. There is an unconfirmed claim that the hero, Uthyr the Champion of Hammersong, hails from the streets of Realmguard.

NIGHTFIRE TUNDRA

Seated north of the vast green sea of of western woodlands lies a frozen plain of red moss, permafrost, freezing mists, and pockmarked by ancient meteor craters. Nightfire Tundra, named for the ever-present aurora borealis that burns in the night sky there, stretches nearly a thousand miles across between the forests to the south and Darkwinter Heights to the north. It's a land of meager resources, bitter cold, and untamed wilderness.

Only a few hardy tribes and peoples have succeeded in carving out a home in this harsh tundra.

Starhearth

Human Republic

A Human city-state to the far north that was once Bered’s northernmost province. Starhearth is so remote that few in Aelas could even find it on a map. Most will go their whole lives before meeting someone from this land. The country takes its name from what they claim is a large fragment of a star that keeps their capitol city warm in the winter.

Much of the lore of artificers was lost after the fall of Adravas, but it is kept alive in Starhearth. Though no outsider nor the majority of Starhearthers have seen the fabled star at the city's center, there is no doubt some great power is being harnessed there and made available to all who need warmth, light, and energy.
Starhearth is also known for its skilled woodsmen, brutal winters, and their ability to cook Slumberthorn Sap, a dangerous poison, into a delightful sauce.

SEVEN SANDS

Most of eastern Aelas is dominated by seven deserts that stretch on for over a thousand miles. Each of the seven deserts is unique in its history, cultures, geography, and wildlife. Despite the scarcity of rainfall, some of the desert lands don't lack for water thanks to rivers, oases, and springs. This allows some cities, nations, and tribes to thrive despite the intense heat. Others are less fortunate, having to eke out an existence in little more than sandy or rocky wilderness. The Seven Sands was home to many empires throughout history, which have since crumbled, their ruins half-swallowed by the desert they once dominated. Below are a brief summary of the deserts of the Seven Sands.

Adravas (Fallen)

Human Empire

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Beza

Dwarven Kingdom

The oldest surviving nation in the history of Aelas, Beza's Dwarves have a history stretching well before the Heroic Age. Their vast city-state has hollowed out all of the great Mount Beza into a dark labyrinthian metropolis of crystal, stone, and metal that begins at the snowy mountain’s peak and delves deep into the stygian bowels of the earth. There is no smith or craftsman in Aelas that could equal the Dwarves of this nation in skill and wisdom.

Kalsimer Federation

Tribal Federation of Six Nations

Kalsimer is a relatively new nation, being little older than a few decades old.

Baelgarde

Diasporic Human Kingdom

A once mighty empire that was obliterated by young Liothe centuries ago after Liothe responded to continued raiding. The surviving noble class fled to the Sageheart Plains where they founded the Kalsimer Federation, slowly bringing peace to the region. For centuries Baelgarde has licked its wounds, but they will have their revenge.... more to come

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Firewind Orc Tribe

Orc Tribe

The largest of all orc tribes, the six Firewind clans are scattered across the Seven Sands. They are a culture of survivalists, explorers, rangers, and nomads who can survive the harshest conditions of the world's most unforgiving deserts and thrive. Their mastery over the harsh deserts make them invaluable to the nations of the Seven Sands as guides, guards, couriers, cooks, and mercenaries. Because of their essentialness, the Firewind have been able to ingratiate themselves to just about any of the Seven Sand's diverse cultures. Most orc tribes have a difficult time with diplomacy toward neighboring peoples. The Firewind excel at it, and many even grow up in other non-orc tribes of the Seven Sands. When Firewind come of age, they are sent into the harshest part of their clan's desert lands, to survive alone for a month. Should they succeed, they are a fully fledged member of the tribe, and may return. The Firewind's religion iscentered around exploration. They believe the world to be a disc, bounded on all six sides (east, west, above, below, north, and south) by a cosmic and arcane substance called aether. It is believed that when aether is collected from all six corners of the world, and brought to their holy lamp in Mount Urizkaz, it will bring about an age of prosperity, glory, and long life for all the world. They have six living clans: Shimmer Waste Clan, Lostlands Clan, Laughing Coast Clan, Venomwilds Clan, Sageheart Clan, and the Wicked Isles Clan. The Nightfire Clans were exterminated by the White-Arrow Tribe, and the Silverspire Clan faded away into history and what was left of them assimilated into the Firewind Tribe.

Galenock Tribe

Theocratic Human Tribe

The Galenock are a semi-nomadic tribe who boast some of the greatest archers of mankind. A sorcerous gift for wind magic is a common hereditary trait in this tribe, many of whom use it to fire their arrows without even a bow or to carry their arrows over vast distances. Because of these gifts, many Galenock are seen on both sides of the same battlefield, hired out as mercenaries by those in need of warriors favored by the wind. The more traditional of their tribe wear only blue and white, the colors of the sky, and never let a razor touch the hair on their heads, letting it flow in the wind, but not all follow this tradition.

Most of the tribe are human, but a significant minority are Air Genasi. In addition to common, the Galenock speak the Galenock language (a dialect of primordial).

The Galenock as a people are deeply religious devotees of the High Pantheon, and almost all of them favor Manaria, God of Storms. He is depicted by them as an eight-winged azure serpent who dwells in the sky. Those who aren't nomads tend to be farmers or fishermen. Their tribal lands lie in the easternmost edge of Aelas in the Laughing Coast. Many bands of Galenock will travel up and down the coast of the Laughing Sea, before settling in to their holy city of Yoros for a few weeks or so for prayer and respite. The tribe was formerly led by a council of elderly Air Genasi high priests who ruled out of an enormous antediluvian pyramid in Yoros. The building is older than their tribe. These days, they are ruled by the prophetess Bavoreh Galenock who claims to be in direct connection with Manaria.

Most of those in the tribe's surname is Galenock. The Galenock people have membership in the Kalsimer federation.

Mamejah Tribe

Human Mageocratic Tribe

The Mamejah Tribe are an ancient people, and once belonged to the hundreds of cultures that lived within the bounds of the empire of Adravas. Since the fall of Adravas, the Mamejahite people have broadly seen themselves as the last true continuation of the Adravasi culture and bloodline. Most still speak Adravasi as a first language (a dialect of Draconic) and while it is only a shadow of its former eminence, the esoteric power of Adravasi divination is kept alive by the tribe's seers and wizards. The tribe is ruled by an Archseer, a divination wizard of unmatched prowess and power, who uses their gifts of foresight to lead the Mamejahite people. Magic is such an important part of Mamejah's culture that those who fail to learn any, even theory alone, are looked down on within their tribe. Unfortunately, this is just over half the tribe's population. Fortunately, this isn't enshrined in any law, but is a matter of unavoidable social pressure. Inn addition to a tradition of seers and divination, Mamejah is known for its dreaded use of pyromancy. Any apprentice pyromancer worth their salt will make the trip to the capital of Mamezh sometime in their life to study at the feet of powerful weavers of flame.

The tribe has long dwelt in the northern Sageheart Plains, and has routinely fought for control of them against their hated nemeses, the Surush tribe. In the last thirty years, they and Surush agreed to a truce, joining the Kalsimer Federation in an extremely fragile alliance.

Like their Adravasi ancestors the Mamejahite people revere philosophy, music, art, and vinoculture. Many in the tribe worship Lunoreh, Goddess of Wisdom, like their Adravasi forebears.

Razih Tribe

Human Tribe

The Razih tribe are a nomadic human tribe of the Seven Sands native to the Shimmer Waste and the Lionskin Hills. Potentially the oldest human civilization, the Razih people have a unique religion with an emphasis on necromancy and ancestor worship. The practice of necromancy is extremely common among their people for spiritual purposes, and many who are Liothan subjects, clash regularly with the empire’s soldiers, villagers, and Shadowhounds. The Razih people trace their ancestry back to the ancient hero Yaraz. The Razih speak their own language in addition to common, which is considered to be a close dialect of the Celestial tongue.

Surush

Diverse Caste-Like Kingdom

Most of the Surush tribe lives within the walls of the city Surush, a massive metropolis built into the side of the Witherguards at the edge of the dunes of the Venomwilds. Surush is a nation of paradoxes. It is infamous for its highly skilled assassins, spies, and poisoners. It is also one of the only places in Aelas that's outlawed the death penalty. It is a highly diverse land of several races, many of whom are seldom seen outside this city like the Kenku, Shifters, Yuan-Ti, and even Gorgons. All who live within its walls are considered one tribe despite their many cultural differences. Within its walls are afforded an enormous amount of freedoms in magical practice and religious worship. However Surushian society lives by a rigid caste system that cannot be broken without severe penalty.

Surush mostly worships the High Pantheon, but adds a new deity to the Hallowed Gods: Sugoshir, God of Victory. Sugoshir is a massive snake god worshipped by many Surushians, and is the patron god of the city. Most in the city speak common, but Surushian (a dialect of primordial) is the prevailing tongue.

It is home to an ancient society of assassins, spies, and rogues called The Chorus of Vipers. They are feared the world over for their efficiency and deadliness. They are enshrined as an ancient part of Surushian heritage, and do business in broad daylight. Most of their ranks come from the warrior-class of the tribe. Surushians believe that only those born into those born into the warrior-class were destined to be warriors, and only warriors may take a life. This is why there are no death sentences in Surush.

Surushians, regardless of race or class, have a power and a burden placed on them at the age of fourteen. They are taken by a serpentlord (druidic snake priest of Sugoshir) to the walls of Surush, and swear a pledge of loyalty to their homeland. When the oath is complete, they are blessed by the serpentlord to be a friend to all serpents. The venomous snakes that are legion in the Venomwilds will never willingly harm them, and will treat them with familiarity and even friendliness. However, should they break their oath and reveal secrets of Surush to an outsider, the curse activates and instantly envenoms them. In minutes, they are killed by the venom in an agonizing and incurable magic.

The city is ruled by a powerful bloodline of sorcerer-kings, the House of Rezerai, an Air Genasi family. Most of the Venomwilds is controlled by their tribe. Because of their meager resources, they have always warred with their arch-nemesis, the tribe of Mamejah for control of the fertile Sageheart Plains. However in the last few years, they have put their enmity aside, joining with them as members of the Kalsimer Federation in a fragile alliance.

The city is also known for its poisons, tonics, ointments, and perfumes. All the best perfumes and strongest poisons in the world come from within the walls of Surush.

Oraugas (Fallen)

Goblin Stronghold

Oraugas was one of the 4 goblin strongholds of Aelas.

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Sasir

Human Kingdom

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WESTERN WOODLANDS

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Arthia

Elven Mageocracy

Arthia is an ancient High Elven city-state nestled in the deep Witchenwald forest west of Bered. It is the city all others compare themselves to and fall short. For as long as Arthia has stood it has set the standard in Aelas for beauty, magic, chivalry, and society. Their Order of the Ashblade Knights is an ancient Arthian Ashwood Landai'Soro Dis'Jada There are no gates south nor east, tacitly signifying they don't welcome travelers who aren't from the holy city of Azka. The people of Arthia have become a cloistered society following the Lich War.

The city is ringed by three walls of dizzingly tall white stone. The outer one protects Arthia from invaders, the middle wall sections off the Outer City of commoners from the Solar City of nobles, and the innermost wall separates the Solar City from the secret Celestial City home only to heroes, the glorious, and the city's immortal ruler, the High Wisdom.

Azka

Elven Druidic Theocracy

Once the center of the druids, Azka is a holy city for nature worshippers, the followers of Suniria, and the Elven Heavensent faith. To followers of the Heavensent, it is the sacred wood in which the prophet Ishkeyah communed with the stars, and brought daylight and the gods into Aelas. To druids and worshippers of Suniria, it is the seat of the Archdruid Redwing, paramount of all druids of the world.  It is a distant trek from anywhere in the world to the wooded bounds of Azka. To get there, one must enter the Forest of Lanterns, a wood without trail nor any permanent structure save for Azka. Crime, poverty, and hunger are practically nonexistent in the holy city as much as anyone can observe. Disturbing stories circle of cruel experiments inflicted on unwilling victims below its grassy floor in the Foxfire Catacombs.  Azka is one of Aelas' eldest cities. It was built on the ruins of primordial settlements older than the Elven race. According to the druids, older even than blood.

Bered

Anti-Magic Human Kingdom

Most nations outlawed necromancy after the Lich War. Bered took it a step further and outlawed all magic that doesn't come from the High Pantheon, and did it under pain of death. Fear and panic has haunted Bered since the nation's dawning days. Bered's rugged highlands and sprawling forests have played host all forms of monsters and dangerous beasts, that have forced the Beredian people to become resilient, adaptive, and deeply paranoid. Most of Bered's history can be summed up with the phrase "we lost many, but eventually we drove them back". This is true of monstrosities and their neighbors, Liothe, Arthia, and the Whitearrow Orc Tribe who have either out-magicked or overpowered their simple soldiers and pikemen. To survive, Beredians have had to invent new forms of fighting, turning their bodies into weapons through monastic discipline and intense training. In addition, they are home to The Briarguard, an elite order of monster slayers and rangers who have patrolled the wilderness of Bered for centuries, hunting monsters as innocuous as twig blights and as deadly as red dragons.

Bered survived the Lich War, but barely. Over a third of their entire population was lost when Sharev's undead horde razed the city of Aldimir to the ground. To this day, the ruins are tainted with an insidious form of necromancy called night magic, and littered with unclaimed corpses, not all of whom have yet found rest. The trauma of the war has made an indelible scar in the national psyche, and their king Murgah II outlawed all "profane magics" to fight necromancy. Before the war, Bered was a center of enlightenment. One of the great hubs of alchemical wisdom and practice, druidic incantations and nature spells were regularly used by the Briarguard, and mages practiced most forms of magic with impunity.

Despite their many woes, Bered has remained one of the strongest nations in the world, with a huge army, and half of its land still untouched by the deleterious power of night magic.

Bered was once an empire, but over the centuries lost its provinces to various movements of independence. Its last imperial holding is the valley nation of Kahlain, which it has used as its breadbasket in the past, but now heavily relies on Kahlain's vast farms for their own sustenance since most of their farmland (in a region called The Forklands) became sallow due to it being one of the primary battlefields of the Lich War. This has angered Kahlain, and now they may face a new revolution from their final imperial province outside of the homeland.

Bered is at war with Liothe over an important mountain pass called Plague Pass, that connects the two nations who were at peace only a decade ago.

Halfmoon

Theocratic Sorcerer-King Tyranny

Once a province of Bered, the deeply forested land of Halfmoon was since conquered by the sorcerer-king Highlord Voshek, a man who came seemingly out of nowhere and brought the province to its knees within weeks. Cut off from its former empire, and under Voshek's nightmare influence, Halfmoon has become overrun with demons, monsters, and other creatures of the night. The land has been befouled with shadow and evil, from the Great Halfmoon Lake to the Widowfang Woods. Once upon a time, this mostly human province, was a very peaceful place: a simple and cold woodland sparsely populated with farmers and fishers. Now it has become a haven for insidious things. Horrors walk the streets of Moonset City, where the immortal Voshek has ruled, agelessly for over a century, tightening his grip on the terrified population and inviting the worst of the worst to join the ranks of his nighted kingdom in the north.

No one leaves the borders of Halfmoon willingly. The only people to come out of Voshek's kingdom leave as refugees or his own minions, sent to commit terrible acts in the name of their god-king. The faith of the High Pantheon has been all but snuffed out in Halfmoon. Voshek is king and god both, and those found commiting heresy will quickly wish for death than face the new justice found in Halfmoon.

It is a haven for monstrous things. It is one of the only places left in the world with no limits on any arcane practice. Necromancy is not only permitted but encouraged. Enshrined even, as more and more necromancers fleeing persecution flock to Halfmoon in exchange for asylum. All misunderstood mages have a home and a bed awaiting them in Halfmoon, should they wish to turn their back on the wider world in exchange for a darker one.

Qi'Tokran

Goblin Stronghold

Qi'Tokran is one of the 4 goblin strongholds of Aelas. It sits on the westernmost edges of Aelas. There are no roads leading in to Qi'Tokran, so the only ways to enter the city are either to cut several days through the perilous fey-touched wilds of the Witchenwald or charter a ship from the cursed city of Yonderport. Neither of these are wise for a long and healthy life full of good choices to look back on, so why go to Qi'Tokran? What makes it special? That my friends, unfortunately is hard drugs. The Tokrani goblins excel at chemistry and alchemy, and have found ways of using the soporific waters of the Sundown Sea and a series of secret herbs to create Deepamber, the scourge of the west. It is a stony, transparent, orange crystal that when ingested gives the imbiber an orange tint to their sclera and to their vision. Most take this drug for the opiate euphoria it gives. There are however, important arcane uses for this most illegal of substances, and as such powerful wizards and mages will pay top dollar to aquire some, even if they themselves do not partake. The trade of Deepamber has made Qi'Tokran extremely wealthy, and it is the wealthiest of all goblin strongholds.

VALE OF KAHLAIN

Kahlain

Annexed Human Principality

Technically, Kahlain is not an independent nation. It is the last imperial holding of the Beredian empire. Kahlain is a large green country of rolling hills, giant-populated mountains, and lush woods. The Kahlainish people were once independent centuries ago and have an ancient culture spanning thousands of years. They are an agrarian Human people who have a deep cultural love for telling stories, music, sports, and celebrations. Kahlainish tradition runs deep, and everything about their day-to-day life from the mundane to the perilous is underscored by their ancient mythology of heroes and fey, many of whose descendants dwell yet in the vale to this day. The hero Yur Kahlain, an ancient barbarian warrior who most Kahlainish claim direct descent from, is ubiquitous within Kahlainish culture. Kahlain is also the breadbasket of the Beredian empire, and grows more food for Beredians than Bered does.

During the Lich War, Bered drafted millions of Kahlainish soldiers to fight legions of Sharev's undead. Hundreds of thousands of Kahlainish died fighting for Bered. Many within the vale starved, as Bered funneled much of the harvest into their own lands to feed their people during the invasion and destruction of their own farmlands. After the war, Bered outlawed all forms of magic under penalty of death xcept for the practice of certain kinds of holy magic. Bardic magic and ancient magical practices had long been part of Kahlain, and the outlawing of it was the last straw. A long-lived independence movement in Kahlain has brewed into a violent conflict nearing the scale of a full-blown revolution. Kahlainish patriots gather from pubs to woodlands, whispering about independence and plotting their next move toward gaining sovereignty over their own lands once again.

WITHERGUARDS

White-Arrow Orc Tribe

Orc Tribe

White-Arrow orcs are the most feared and universally hated of all orc tribes. Both clans (Snow Clan and Cinder Clan) live in the Witherguard Mountains, regularly making raids on their neighbors of Bered and Kalsimer. Oftentimes these orcs will take captives, and bring them back to their mountain homes, where they will flay their skins for leather, sinew for bowstrings, and harvest their bones to craft weapons. Their name, White-Arrow comes from the bones of their enemies they carve into bows and arrows. It has garnered them a terrifying reputation, and afforded them very few allies in Aelas. White-Arrow orcs are typically laden head-to-toe with tattoos, preserving their ancestors' names so that their bloodline is always honored from generation to generation. Like the of the Shimmer Waste desert, the White-Arrow have a unique tradition of necromancy. Balak Ur, or Ghost-Drinking is a martial art and spiritual practice. They will steal the souls of their dying enemies, store it in a gourd, and imbibe them to give them a berserker strength, strange necromantic powers, and inhuman rage. When the White-Arrow come of age, they are sent on a quest to find a warrior or creature of considerable power, slay them, and craft their first weapons from their bones. Once upon a time, there was a Wolf Clan, who tamed wolves for battle, but they were killed off, possibly by a war with enraged hill giants.

OUTER CONTINENTS

Hethirial

A continent that cartographers put on the maps because of the visions of seers and old legends that describe it. For all we know in the realms of Aelas, it may not exist at all.

If it does, in fact exist, Hethirial is a vast land that is said to dwarf Aelas in size. It sits far to the north, across the frozen Sea of Glass. It's sky has never known the day, the moon, nor even a single star. It is spoken of in myths of ancient peoples as a terrible place, that was reckoned with by ungodly forces in the dawn of time. If they are right, it is where the world will end.

The Godless Lands

East of the Seven Sands lies a desert that even the Valley of ghosts pales to in terms of sheer hellishness. The Godless Lands are host to unacceptable living conditions. The winters begin where most summers peak, and it only gets worse from there. Huge monstrous creatures like Twintail Scorpions, legions of jackalweres, sand-hydras, and tawny dragons call this vast wasteland their home. Some nations are able to eke out an existence here on the Arassian and the Godless Laughing Coasts. The frightening Stentor Cult, and their zealous scions every so often make it to Aelas' shores, but never stay very long.

The greatest danger, however, is the land itself. The stones, the waters (what few there are), the winds, and even the heat itself is alive; and typically ill tempered. Wild and destructive elementals roam the dunes and scorched wastes of the Godless Lands, warring with each other and any traveler unlucky enough to get in their way.

The Sundown Lands

To the west, where the maps end, lies The Sundown Lands. They are an enchanted woodland that stretches on for gods-know-how-long, populated by fey of all kinds. It is supposedly a place where the beauty is otherwordly, rivaling the paradises that await the faithful after death. It is also a place of tricky beings, duplicitous fey, and constant danger. It is a place where magic is as wild and numerous as flowers. In these lands, magic lives and breathes in every part of the continent. Few mortals of Aelas have been able to return after crossing the waters of the Sundown Sea.

Velda

Velda is a continent that lies a week's journey south across the sea. It is a sweltering land of active lava fields, dense monster-infested jungles, entire cities of demon worshippers, and living flames. Veldans and the Kestunese trade regularly, but despite this, nearly every culture in Velda bears a deep and burning hatred for every other nation in Aelas. The reason why is anyone's guess.