The Kingdom of Echia

Echians are both blessed and cursed by their landscape. Indeed, the land is fertile, with its surplus of precipitation comes lush plains, forests and moors. With that, however, also comes the downsides of constant rainfall. Echian farmers often resort to working in the rain and mud. Catastrophic storms are not uncommon and winters can bring harsh blizzards. Still, Echians have accustomed themselves to this lifestyle well. Though they are not nomadic any longer, they still know how to keep warm. They keep their timber stocked in a dry place to light their hearths in the winter. An Echian's home is quint by the standards of most other nations, but the wise Echians do it deliberately, knowing a smaller area is much easier to keep warm during the snow storms. And even though many Echian homes have thatched roofs, they are reinforced by sturdy beams as to not give in to the weight of a heavy snow fall.   Many Echians who have been given land wisely set out about building homesteads, and as a result much of the landscape has been dotted with ranches and farms, and surprisingly quick considering these developments have all only been made in the past 2 decades. The result is – although Echia may not be a rich nation – they tend to eat well as food is abundant and cheap.   Echia has two small mountains, The Dragonspine and The Shield Mountain. Between them is a forested valley simply called The Vale. Along the western coastline is a marshy area called Darkmoor, in the center is a dense forest called The Darkwood. South of The Dragonspine is Winterrun, a half-marsh, half lush greenland that serves as the main highway between The Hartwolds and The Highlands.

The whole isle is afflicted with a wide variety of rodents. Mice, voles, dormice, moles, shrews, hedgehogs and squirrels are a common sight throughout the isle. The night's sky is often also littered with bats. Oddly, the area seems to have no indigenous rats. Beavers are also common along the great many rivers. This large host of rodents often makes cats a beloved pet.   Rabbits and Hares are also abundant among the plains, and are common game of Echian hunters.   Many Echians breed and/or domesticate dogs and employ them in hunting game and protecting homesteads from predators and intruders. Other canines indigenous to the area include foxes and wolves.   Smaller breeds of wild cats exist on Echia, but has no great cats.   Other animals include boars, goats, badgers, sheep, cows, weasels, polecats and deer.   Only one breed of horse is indigenous to the isle, and it is sometimes a symbol of pride. A large beast affectionately called an Echian Longstrider.   Also unique the isle is the Echian Painted Brown Bear. A large bear with strange patterns on its coated, giving it appearance of strange glyphs having been “painted” upon it.   The coasts are host to a great number of fish and coastal fisherman occasionally tell stores of dolphin and whale sightings. Seals and walrus migrate from Orcan Hold to the coasts of Echia in the winter.

The lion's share of Echia's natural resources consists of lumber and foodstuffs, thanks to their very fertile landscape. However, the Shield Dwarves residing in The Dragonspine are quite adept at pulling precious stones and minerals as well as coal from the earth in the mines beneath their subterranean city, Myst Helm, meanwhile, many Echians look toward the untouched Shield Mountain, wondering if similar treasures would be found beneath it. The Darkwood was practically named for the abundance of Dark Wood trees that grow there, but the area is largely untouched as well, thanks to the horrific creatures who tend to dwell there. Being an island nation both surrounded by seas and dotted with lakes and rivers, fishing is another common trade and a bountiful resource.