Anoria

The continent of Anoria is divided into two main regions, the North and the South, by the natural boundary of the Grey Mountains. The only easily accessible passage through these mountains is guarded by the independent city-state of Liem. This makes Liem vital to trade between the two regions.   The human occupied lands of the North are divided into the Seven Kingdoms: Amarath, Corwyn, Nol, Carthia, Epethys, Veluna, and Dram. The vast expanse of mostly plains, hills, and river lands that these Northern human kingdoms encompass is bordered to the west by the Greenwood Forest, by the Ironreach Mountains and Northern Wastes to the north, the Sea of Ice and Anorian Sea to the east, and the Grey Mountains to the south. The seven human kingdoms maintain a tenuous peace through the Council of Kings, by which all trade and major border disputes are mitigated (although minor border conflicts are still common among more militant nations like Epethys and Nol). The Council of Kings also negotiates directly with Tarrus the One-Eyed, ruler of the city-state of Liem, who controls trade access to the South through the Rojal Pass. Liem itself is a massive walled city that appears to have been carved out of the very rock of the Grey Mountains. Some rumors say that the original settlement even predates the humans who currently occupy it, and may in fact have been dwarven in origin, though most agree the majority of the construction of Liem’s current fortifications was overseen over 200 years ago by the seemingly ageless Lord Tarrus.   Besides Liem, the most famous city in the North is probably Pandona, sometimes called the Jewel of Veluna. It serves not just as Veluna’s capitol, but also as a major centre of trade in the North. The Overlord of Veluna rules from Pandona, but his position is always tenuous, as other Pandonan noble houses and guilds hunger for his title and constantly vie for power, making it a city as dangerous as it is beautiful.   Unlike the North, the human settlements of the South are much less organized. Mostly a collection of independent city-states, the largest organized government is a military theocracy under the rule of the Church of Baal. Baal worship has become the predominant religion of the South (though it is said that Accuris worship is beginning to take hold in many areas as well). Thus, Baali and Belshazaar, the two major centres of Baal worship, are also two of the largest and most prosperous cities in the region. Though well-situated between the Faenar and Ikon rivers, the Sighing Plains has become a dusty wasteland in recent years (many say it is cursed), and much of the land south of the Grey Mountains is barren, with parched fields that bear little at harvest time. Thus it is widely known that there is much resentment among Southerners towards the rich lands of the North. This economic downturn is also one reason why radical religions such as the Church of Baal have gained such a foothold. There are whispers that the Baalites have begun amassing the discontented Southerners into a loose confederacy. However, Northerners remain confident that the heavily fortified city of Liem and the magic of Tarrus the One-Eyed will continue to discourage would-be invaders and make incursions from the South unlikely.   Other human occupied lands of Anoria include the Northern Wastes, the mysterious land of Pell which lies north of the Ironreach Mountains, the western kingdom of Ahsaratt beyond the Karakett Desert, and Diedre Isle. Across the Anorian Sea there are rumored to be even more undiscovered lands in the so-called “Eastern Kingdoms.”   Rumors have circulated over the years of other, stranger lands beyond the scope of the North and the South. There are tales of a network of tunnels and caverns below the surface of Anoria that extend across the continent. A strange race of elves and other odd creatures are said to inhabit this sunless world. Those few who have ventured there and returned to tell the tale refer to it as the Endless Night.