Alagaria - A Discussion

Alagaria is a large continent comprised of a multitude of different biomes, creatures, and civilizations. This work is a discussion of these topics.

Landmass

The continent is comprized of one large landmass with diverse deviation of biomes across it.

To the North is a large expanse of mountains, with a higher than average proportion of volcanoes within them. These mountains, known collectively only as the Anderiel Mountains is most likely a series of mountain ranges, not just one, but not much is known of this region owing to the fact that Dragons are numerous in the area, and fight vigorously for both territory and mates within the bounds of the mountains. What expeditions have ventured into this dangerous land have noted that the few valleys that support life are fiercely fought over by Dragons as feeding grounds, and as such, anything within these valleys seems to be considered by the Dragons as their property to eat as they wish. These mountains continue as far West as the Hanerian Sea, and as far East as expeditions have ranged, passing beyond the Tharamor Mountains and into lands unknown.

The Eastern Lands beyond the Tharamor Mountains are largely unexplored, and though there are civilizations that exist in these lands, this work will not focus on them. Instead, we will focus on the Tharamor Mountains themselves as the Eastern-most part of the continent, as, like the North, it the area beyond is expansive and largely unexplored. That being said, it is known that there are a number of communities and other bastions of civilization both within, and beyond, the Tharamor mountains. Two communities of Dwarves exist in communities deep within the mountains themselves, one Northern, and the other more central, though the exact location is impossible to discern due to the miles of traversable tunnels required to reach said communities, for indeed, until recently, these communities of Dwarves lived their entire lives within the dark confines of their stone homes. What are known, are the locations of two Orc fortresses within the mountains. While one exists almost directly East of the Destria Province capital, the other is much further South, almost to the Southern tip of the Tharamor mountains. Being quite aggressive in nature, these Orc fortresses protect vast pasture-lands that have long been sought after by the Kings of Alagaria, but which the Orcs have been successful in defending at every turn. Only in recent times has peaceful co-existence been possible.

To the South, the land has been explored in its entirety, though there is little of note to mention beyond the borders of the Empire itself. Some volcanoes with mountain ranges, and a few very territorial Dragons that guard the lands make it impossible to expand further than Humans have done so already, but if it were possible, the land would perhaps make for a suitable climate all the way to the Southern coast.

The Western border is determined by the coast, and the Hanerian Sea, and though the sea is largely explored, and largely free of islands, the currents that run South to North on our coast, and North to South on the coast of the Berok continent, make it difficult for landfall outside of the few ports that already exist. Along the central Western coast is the Dextorian mountain range that is said to have once linked to the two main mountain ranges of the Berok continent, but this information has proven impossible to verify. This range is largely impassable, there being no valleys leading to its interior, and it is thought to have no interior, though adventurers have long searched the range for such mythical lands.

The majority of the continent consists of vast plains and grasslands, and supports numerous grazing herds, chief among these, horses. Though varying wildly from the horses bred by the Orcs of the mountains, they are agile, and quick, though lack stamina, and are thus a constant draw for Dragons.

At this point, you might ask, "If Dragons exist in all directions (except the sea), how are there communities at all?" Well, my friend, this is largely the topic of this book.

People have survived mostly by fortifying themselves against Dragon attack. In the case of Dwarves, they hid within their mountains, unable to be reached by said Dragons. For Orcs, they fortified cliff faces and developed a weapon called a Ballista that fires huge arrows at the Dragons with the goal of breaking wings and felling them that way. Our way has been to build castles and keeps entirely of stone, and to defend them with Trebuchets and Catapults (depending on how close the Dragons are), with the intent of injuring the Dragons and making them weak to their own kind. Human lands, existing mostly on the grasslands, seem to be unappetizing to Dragons. They prefer to hunt within, or near mountains, and when they do venture into our lands, they always do so in small broods, predominantly led by one larger beast. In our investigations of the topic, it was found that Dragons are extremely quick to turn on each other, given enough reason, and so, even wounding a Dragon can be enough for its compatriots to turn on it; hence the success of our weaponry to keep most Dragon attacks at bay.

Little can be said of the Orcish way of defending their homes, for Dragons are more frequent within the mountains where Orcs live, though eye-witness testimony has seen that their Ballista are indeed successful, most likely owing to the speed of the projectiles, their force, and the accuracy of the weapons.

Little is known of the Elves that live on the continent. They largely keep to themselves, hidden away in small enclaves, and though they claim similar numbers to us, the possibility of such numbers staying hidden all these decades is next to impossible. They claim that they rarely have to deal with Dragons, that their Magic protects them, or some such nonsense, though without locations or other social information, it is impossible to get reliable data.

There exist two other types of biped; Gnomes, and Halflings, but though individuals of both claim to come from hidden cities, both their hidden locations, and having only sporadic reports of these races means this book can add little about them to the discourse, though it is noted that there exist decent percentages of each race within the borders of the Empire.

Civilization

There are a number of cultures present on the Alagarian continent, but the foremost of these is the Alagarian Empire, which now composes most of the disparate cultures that before were warring Kingdoms.

The Empire came about as a means of peace and a way to ensure stability in the region, but for some, their backing of the Empire was the motivation of greed. Many of the Kingdoms were at war, and in a decisive stroke, a man named Joshua Morgannan, King of Destria, made a military move to take control of the central lands that had been hotly contested for millennia.

Joshua had the backing of two of the other Human Kingdoms, as well as the silent backing one of the Elven Kingdoms. This allowed him to march his armies into the central lands and set up the beginnings of what would become known as the City of Light.

Alagarian Empire

The capital of the Alagarian Empire is the City of Light. Located in central Alagaria, it is land-locked, and being surrounded by its Subject Kingdoms, is potentially a very vulnerable position, requiring the support of the Subject Kings and Queens to maintain its dominance.

The current Emperor is Joshua, King and Lord of Destria Province.

Hengaria Province

Ruled by King Irvin Grey, Hengaria is a relatively peaceful Kingdom that hasn't been plagued by war for many generations.

The King's eldest son Lucien is currently in exile, his location unknown.

The Kingdom remains neutral in Luciaria / Rutagaria war despite repeated attempts by both sides to force him to join them.

Destria Province

Ruled by King (Emperor) Joshua Morgannan from the City of Light, the country itself is under the stewardship of a man named Shalamin.

Among the years of strife that the continent has endured, it is known that Joshua's Great, Great Grandmother, Caitlin, was ousted from the throne by her younger brother Jordan. She traveled in exile for some years before making friends with a man named Henry. Unknown to her, Henry was a prince, and had an army (predominantly made up of Elves) at his command, and with the blessing of his Queen (name unrecorded), he marched on Destria, and recovered her throne from the usurper. Once Caitlin was crowned, she married Henry, but civil unrest plagued her rule, and that of her daughter, due to the manner of her capturing the throne (marching an outside army in to capture the capital). The general populous are still known to resent Elves for their part in the talking of the city, even all these years later.

Luciaria Province

Ruled by King Lynden, this province hosts the Southern-most port city of the Empire, and trades well to the South and West over the Hanerian Sea.

Currently pursuing a war with Rutagaria Province for long forgotten grievances.

Rutagaria Province

Ruled by King Radak, this province hosts an expansive port city. It is renowned for its fighting men, military might, and its training and equipping of its armies. Free men come from around the Empire to train with the Rutagarian army, and when their service is up, often fill roles in the Empire as mercenaries or coliseum fighters.

Though its Southern border has long been in dispute, the Kingdom has always been able to maintain a steady presence along the Ruta (or Luxor) River, despite attempts by the Luciarian army to push further North.

Current pursuing a war with Luciaria Province for long forgotten grievances.

Scangaria Province

Manaria Province

Malizan Province

Ruled by Lord (King) Rinaman

General Amron leads the army of Malizan

Coradimir Kingdom

The Coradimir Kingdom is a Kingdom of Elves, ruled at present by a Queen named Jasmine. She is unmarried at present, and currently resides in the City of Light where she has been elected by the Kings of the Empire to find a suitable match for the current Emperor, Joshua.

House Manalar

The head of House Manalar is a Dwarf named Merik. Known within the Empire for his efforts within the justice system, and his skill within the Arenas themselves. He is known to be fighting to free his people of a crushing debt that has placed his whole community within the financial grip of the King of Malizan.