Beorlan

Beorlan presents a great contrast with Aorlan, the neighboring continent to the north. While Aorlan provides enough rainfall to nurture tall forests, Beorlan, ever on the edge of a drought, has no large, forested areas. Instead, only small, isolated areas of trees exist amid a sprawling landscape of grassy plains and scrubby hills. Beorlan also lacks the vast mountain ranges of its northerly neighbor but still has three significant areas of mountains.

The boundary between Beorlan and Aorlan lies near 38 degrees north latitude. Most geographers and cartographers use the Gre’larr Escarpment and then extend that line to the east and west. To the south, Beorlan separates from Centakus at the Strait of Aklon.

Climate and Ecosystems: Beorlan lies in temperature zones that range from warm temperate to tropical in nature. The temperatures in the northernmost area of Beorlan change with the seasons, with hot summers and cool winters that rarely see any snow. Farther south, the subtropical climate produces long hot summers and warm winters. Finally, in the southernmost region of Beorlan, the tropical climate keeps temperatures hot year-round.

Annual rainfall slowly decreases the farther south you travel. Most of the land area in Beorlan supports only scrubby or grassy vegetative cover. Across the northern two thirds of Beorlan, trees only grow in areas that have ground water close enough to the surface that tree roots can reach it. Finally, in the southern third of the continent, the land becomes arid making it difficult for most plants to live there.

Geographic Areas and Dominant Races: While humans once dominated this continent, today only three areas exist where they remain. In the far north of Beorlan, on the high plateau of Taa, a mysterious people known as the Herukh live in towns and cities carved out of bedrock. Another location, situated on the northeastern coast on a large peninsula, contains the land of Soreilia, a collection of five merchant cities that have banded together to provide for their mutual defense. On the next peninsula south of Soreilia lies the shadow lands of Kraal. This area, ever shrouded in darkness by perpetual clouds and mist, contains a chaotic kingdom of brutal and warlike black orcs that ever seek to sack and plunder the coastal cities of Soreilia. Finally, farther to the south on an isolated peninsula lies the feared land of Khu. The rulers of this land possess enslaved dragons and reside in a great cliffside city made of hard black rock.

Nearly half of Beorlan consists of gently sloping grassy plains. Known as Palanlad, these vast plains seemly stretch on forever and provide a home for large tribes of the Ranfaroth, a centaur-like people who live nomadically. Northeast of these plains, in the land known as Vhoon, rainfall increases, and the rolling land becomes covered in tall grasses and scrub mixed with stunted trees. On either side of Palanlad lies the grass covered hills of Ogrukk and Alvalariel. Three chains of mountains rise from the plains with the Aurum Mountains in the northwest and the Goraukoros and Kraguk Mountains straddling the great dry valley and lake of Urwaelin. Immediately south of Palanlad the sky darkens as the land of Vornlithdor stands nearly lifeless on what had once been fertile plains. Near the center, rumblings can be heard as the great volcano of Krakurod belches a seemingly non ending eruption of noxious gases and ash skyward. Just east of this area lies the great rock goblin kingdom of Gok Grusmak. To the south of Vornlithdor, on a great peninsula stands the volcanic badlands of Arandar, home to dozens of active volcanoes. Finally, at its southernmost extent, Beorlan hosts the Bhoras Desert, a nearly lifeless land that finds itself separated from Centakus by the earthquake prone Strait of Aklon.

History and The Great Cataclysm: Beorlan found itself devastated by the events leading up to and during the Great Cataclysm. Once home to the rich and powerful Kishari Empire, war caused tremendous devastation to the entire eastern half of the land when the Movorian Empire attacked with armies and enslaved dragons. At the triggering of the Great Cataclysm, the final tragedy befell the empire when large amounts of coastal areas sank beneath the sea while devastating earthquakes leveled cities and created towering tsunamis that pummeled coastlines. Then the great chaos storms began and swept across the land, either killing or corrupted the final survivors of southern and central Beorlan. Only in the northernmost areas, including Taa, Khu, and Soreilia were the storms rare, sparing these lands the devastating effects to their population.

Magical and Mystical Sites: The hills of Jarak Tarma hold high amounts of raw elemental energy. The hills of Harun’tal, with their unusual conical shape, hold special significance to the Ranfaroth while other races regard the area as haunted.

Dangers and Threats: The volcanoes of the Arandar Peninsula, known for sudden violent eruptions of magma, pose an unpredictable hazard to any who travel this land. While dangerous creatures lurk all over Beorlan, multiple dragons that inhabit the Goraukoros Mountains present perhaps the greatest risk. The area of Gok Grusmak also poses great danger to travelers. While individual goblins present little to worry about, the kingdom seems to have an inexhaustible supply of warriors that swarm out of hidden warrens when called by the watch trumpets.

Unexplored Regions: The Aurum Mountains of northwestern Beorlan have rarely been explored with little being known about this area.