Racthas

Perched upon the Empire’s frigid northern frontier, Racthas stands as both a land of isolation and endurance , a province of unyielding stone, bitter winds, and proud draconic heritage. It is a realm where survival itself is a mark of strength, where the ancient blood of dragons endures within the Varkaan (called Rachtari by outsiders), and where the Empire’s reach is felt more as rumor than rule. Though counted among the Cythrian Empire’s provinces, Racthas remains a world apart , untamed, resilient, and touched by myth.     Geography and Climate   Racthas is defined by its unforgiving geography. The land stretches northward into a frozen expanse of tundra and glacial valleys, where daylight is pale and fleeting for much of the year. Jagged mountain ranges cut through the heart of the province, their peaks wrapped in perpetual snow and whispered to be sacred among the Varkaan. To the south, the terrain softens into rocky highlands, where hardy pines and thin-barked birches struggle against relentless wind.   Blizzards are frequent, and travel beyond marked trails is perilous. In the far north, the land becomes almost uninhabitable , a wasteland of ice plains and crevassed cliffs said to be haunted by the spirits of ancient dragons. Here, even the Empire’s maps fade into blank parchment.     Settlements and Population   Civilization in Racthas is sparse and scattered. Villages cling to sheltered valleys, often centered around geothermal springs or cave systems that offer protection from the cold. The people live communally , homes clustered tightly for warmth, resources shared among kin and neighbor alike.   At the heart of the province lies Varken, the provincial capital. By imperial measure it is small, with roughly fifteen thousand permanent residents, yet within Racthas it is vast , a fortress-city of dark stone, commanding the region’s only significant trade routes. At its core rises the Citadel of Scales, a traditional keep that serves as both administrative seat and bastion against the northern wilds.   Outside of Varken, settlements are few and far between. Some have no contact with the Empire at all, existing as self-reliant enclaves that still follow the “old ways” , venerating the Prime Dragons and keeping to ancient draconic rites. Others, especially those along southern routes, maintain strong ties to imperial law and creed.     Economy and Trade   The economy of Racthas is modest but essential. Its harsh land offers little for farming, yet the mountains yield veins of iron, obsidian, and rare minerals that fuel imperial industry. Traders from the south brave the cold for draconic reagents , blood, scale fragments, and bone relics sold by the Varkaan, prized for alchemical and magical use.   Varken’s markets, though small, bustle with barter and exchange, where humans, Varkaan, and even hardy dwarves of the frontier trade pelts, ore, and preserved meats. What Racthas lacks in abundance, it compensates with resilience. Its exports are rare, its people tireless.     The Ruby Sanatorium   On the southern border of Racthas, where the mountains begin to descend toward the Imperial heartland, lies a structure whispered about across the north , the Ruby Sanatorium. This crimson-lit fortress serves as a grim reminder of imperial authority and the strict regulation of magic. Though few in Racthas speak of it openly, its distant glow against the mountain night is said to unsettle even the most stoic traveler.     Government and Allegiance   Though governed in name by an Imperial-appointed governor, true authority in Racthas often lies with the local Varkaan leaders. Historically, the province was once divided among dozens of independent clans until, more than two centuries ago, the ruler of Varken united them through strength and oath. When the Cythrian Empire’s influence expanded northward, Racthas submitted peacefully , not through conquest, but through mutual recognition of strength.   Even so, the Empire’s hold here remains tenuous beyond the southern passes. Edicts from the capital take months to reach the outlying villages, and enforcement depends largely on local will. For the Empire, Racthas is both a shield and a challenge , a province loyal in word, but proudly self-reliant in practice.     Dangers and Isolation   Racthas is a land that tests all who dwell within it. The cold alone claims as many lives as any blade, but greater dangers stalk its mountains and wastes. Frost giants, remnants of an elder age, are said to roam the far north, warring with each other over forgotten strongholds. Frost trolls, thick-furred and near-mindless, haunt frozen caves and abandoned mines. Even the common beasts of the land , wolves, bears, and mountain cats , grow larger and fiercer in this inhospitable clime.   Yet for all its dangers, the people of Racthas rarely seek aid from the Empire. Hardship is expected, even honored. To survive the winter is to earn one’s place in the long story of the province.     Culture and Faith   Racthas’ culture reflects both its isolation and its draconic ancestry. The Varkaan, whose scales gleam with the hues of elemental lineage, embody the province’s spirit , proud, enduring, and fiercely communal. In their villages, the strong aid the weak, for survival is a collective effort. Strength is respected not for conquest but for protection, and leadership is often earned through service rather than inheritance.   Faith divides the province. In the south, where Imperial presence is strongest, the sanctioned pantheon is worshipped openly. In the north, the Old Faith persists , the reverence of the Prime Dragons, regarded as divine progenitors rather than beasts of legend. Temples carved into mountain walls still echo with draconic hymns, their worshippers few but fervent.   Despite this division, most Rachtari , or Varkaan, as they name themselves , see no contradiction in honoring both gods and dragons. To them, faith, like fire, is a living thing, meant to be carried rather than caged.     Naming and Identity   To outsiders, the dragonkin of Racthas are known as Rachtari, a name derived from the province itself. Among their own kind, however, they call themselves Varkaan, a word that in their ancient tongue means “True-blooded.” The dual naming reflects the divide between imperial perception and self-identity , the former a title of classification, the latter one of pride and lineage.   This subtle linguistic divide embodies the tension at the heart of Racthas: a land bound to the Empire by law, yet bound to its own legacy by blood.     Legacy of the North   Few places in the Empire inspire both awe and unease as Racthas does. To many southerners, it is a frozen wasteland, valuable only for its ores and its warriors. To the Varkaan, it is sacred ground , the cradle of their ancestry and the test of their endurance.   Racthas endures as the Empire’s northern bastion: cold, proud, and eternal. Its people bow to no storm and to no weakness, for in Racthas, even the wind carries the memory of dragons.