Naralaan

Central and northern Naralaan are cold, rugged lands. Low, craggy hills and mountains, frozen plains, black sand beaches, and glaciers dominate the landscape, and icebergs drift near the northern coastlines. The southernmost regions are lands of rolling hills and wide, flat lowlands.

What little flora and fauna exist in the northern parts of Naralaan are mostly located near the coast. Vegetation tends to be seasonal and very dark red, adapted to the low-light environment. Fauna in these environs are also usually seasonal - tending to hibernate or, in a few cases, simply die off in the winter, with their eggs (usually buried deep underground and filled with a natural antifreeze) going into a dormant state and hatching in late spring. Significant animals in this region include the remarkably long-lived Naralaani frost serpents and several unique types of iridescent insectoid.

Southern Naralaani plant and animal life closely resembles that of northwest Saeaan in many respects, but there are also several animals present in Naralaan that naturally or artificially became extinct in the rest of the world.

Before most metals were mined from asteroid belts or imported from outside the star system, the Naralaani highlands were a major source of gold, silver, and several other rare metals. Despite approximately five centuries of mining, some areas remain so rich with such metals that they have become something of a tourist attraction.   The unique flora and fauna of Naralaan are also a valuable resource. Throughout history, Naralaani frost serpent skins were prized for their sheen and toughness as clothing or armour, and certain types of dried herb from the inner southern regions found their way into fine cuisine which graced many an aristocrat's table across Aethis. While in the modern day artificially-grown frost serpent skin products now exist, and the famous Naralaani herbs are cultivated under climate control on planets across the Imperium, some still prize the natural variation and unique characteristics they claim to perceive in the genuine articles harvested from the continent.

Southern Naralaan was originally inhabited by small, scattered tribal nations, collectively known as the "Nara" peoples. The Avrai'i Surufjani Empire, seated in what is now Di'im Avrai, began various colonial projects of varying success in PU 1409, starting with the fortress-town of Naj Mognuk which was ultimately torched by native Nmeges and Vama warriors in a joint assault mounted in late PU 1404. A later and more successful Surufjani colony called Seg Sulanaf (Ege Avrai: "New Sulanaf", referencing a major coastal city in Avrai itself) was founded in PU 1378. This was followed by several further establishments of colonies and territorial expansions until the founding of the last overseas colony of Egesh Yagte (Ege Avrai: "Twelve Tongues") in PU 1276, after which internal problems forced the Surufjani'iin to abandon most expansion projects.

The fate of these colonies is varied. Some, particularly near the centre of the continent at the northern reaches of Surufjani expansion, were mining or hide-trapping towns eventually abandoned as they depleted the resource they were founded for or continued native retaliation made continued operations impractical. Others withstood the Surufjani turmoil and reformation of the late PU 1200's, either remaining colonies and eventually becoming Avrai'i Republic territory with the fall of the Empire in PU 903 or breaking from Avrai'i rule as independent city-states. In particular, the first colony, Seg Sulanaf, grew to become an international city and is known to modern Aethis as the city of Oskaan, so renamed after being ceded by the Avrai'i state to the Southern Tribal Confederation of Naralaan in PU 194.

In PU 1398, The then-kingdom of Vestaiya also established a single, relatively peaceful colony called Svaai-Luun (Vestaiyi: "Little Luun", after the Vestaiyi town of Luun-omih-Nveih) on the central east coast of the continent for the purposes of trading with the local Nara for prized dried herbs, Myatzha beads, frost serpent skins, and other precious novelties. Svaai-Luun fell under siege by the Surufjanis and their allied Nara tribes on several occasions, but survived and persists to this day under that name.

When the Aethi Imperium was founded, Athad Irias'keior saw potential for instability in the complex arrangements between various Nara nations and the Avrai government. Consequently, by various means he and his diplomats pressured Avrai to release all of its claims to Naralaani soil and convinced the Nara tribes to finally unite, forming the modern Territory of Naralaan that now encompasses the entire continent except for the city of Svaai-Luun's metro area, which remains under a joint control agreement between the territories of Naralaan and Vestaiya.