I.  Aereth

 

A.  The Lostlands                Once one of the cradles of civilization, the scattered realms that comprise the Lostlands are all but shadows of the mighty empires that brought them to life.  Although the Sphinx Emperors have been gone for eons, their legacy lives on – virtually all of the tribes and nations in this desolate region remain entwined with the past in some manner or another.  Travelers from the North have always found that journeying to the Lostlands is akin to stepping through a portal in time. – the majestic buildings in these exotic locations are all centuries old, the poetry and paintings are products of artists long deceased, and the laws and traditions , to be charitable, are barbaric and primitive.  The rest of the World has moved toward the Age of Man; the Lostlands, primal and savage, have not.

For this reason, many sages believe that the Lostlands are doomed to remain savage and bleak for still more centuries to come.  Unlike their neighbors to the North, the denizens of the Lostlands have been unable to let go of their past, and so cannot forget their own identity.  While several scholars believe that his is merely the result of eons of slavery – the former servants of the Sphinx Emperors still do not know how to act as masters – others believe the stagnancy of the region to have amore sinister cause.  Several theories champion the notion that the races currently living n the Lostlands are unwitting caretakers, controlled by powerful eldritch forces and unable to become independent.  These theories also claim that when certain prophecies come to pass, the Sphinx Emperors will return to their homelands, and reclaim their birthright and power.

The legendary ferocity of the Lostlands is also what makes the region a mystery to the rest of the world.  Few who dare to make the arduous journey down to these wild regions ever return to civilization…even fewer return unscarred by the experience.  Not without good reason is it said that the Lostlands are a breeding ground for madness.  However, ancient stories and riddles about he Khonsurian Empire and its treasures lead certain adventurous souls – the brave and the foolish – to this part of the world.  It is commonly said that every mortal desire can be lost or found, bought or sold in the Lostlands…it is all just a matter of paying the price.

Climate and Seasons – For the most part, the Lostlands are home to challenging and oftentimes hostile environments.  The temperatures and season in this part of the world are relatively constant, with uncomfortable warmth permeating this strange region throughout the seasons.  The only primary difference between the various regions of the Lostlands is precipitation – some areas are quite arid, while others are dank and humid, with their skies constantly darkened by ominous storm clouds.  Only in these humid regions is the passing of seasons apparent, as the summer and autumn seasons offer brief respite from the unending rains.

The nations of the Lostlands are dominated by the vast Ghetrian Desert.  As go the fortunes of the desert, so go the rest of the Lostlands.  Mild seasons in the desert generally mark good weather and bountiful crops in the region, while powerful sandstorms or blistering summers can create havoc.  Only the secretive Isles of Tharnaka manage to escape the touch of the desert, but even there, the lush jungles and persistently heavy rains make the lands virtually inhospitable to travelers.

In the northernmost regions of the Lostlands, the environment is not quite as treacherous as in the rest of the forbidding territory, yet it still has its perils.  The Vermilion Steppes, still gently touched on its southern border by the desert, can reach blistering temperatures during the summer months.  However, the area is also renowned for the powerful winds that slash across the crimson grasslands, dropping temperatures at night to near-freezing.  The fact that the elven tribes can even grow crops in this violent region, let alone do so successfully, is a tribute to the skill and persistence of these wild creatures.  This is the part of the Lostalnds that is perhaps best known to the rest of the world, as most of its more civilized merchants can be found in this particular region.

The center of the Lostlands is completely dominated by two massive areas; the Ghetrian Desert and the Devil’s Cauldron, which still burns brightly at the westernmost border of the desert.  All life depends on the twin rivers that wind their way through this hellish inferno, the Ctesiphal and the Ctabakul (or the Twins, as they are commonly called in the remnants of the Old Empire).  All of the inhabited towns and cities lie on the banks of these rivers, save for the dark city of Khaz al-Khali, which is rumored to thrive only by the grace – or the damnation – of the darkest gods.  Even theo ld imperial roads never stray too far from the banks of these mighty rivers, serving as a reminder that to wander too far into the desert is to risk death, madness…or worse.

In the southernmost regions of the Lostlands, the Herrennia Mountains serve to shield most of the area from the punisging heat of the Ghetrian Desert.  However, this region is no less hostile, as thick, sinister jungles sprawl relentlessly over this territory.  Between the powerful rainy seasons and the gigantic black trees that tower over the land, the light of the sun rarely reaches the ground, keeping the region perpetually shrouded in shadow.  The few breaks in the rainy seasons are marked by the coming of the Pteral Swarms, which rain death upon the land instead of dark water.

Timekeeping and Celestial Bodies – the manner by which time is measured in the Lostlands was established eons ago by the first rulers of the Khonsurian Empire. This calendar, which is commonly called the Sphinx Calendar throughout the rest of the world, is based on the lunar cycle, and spans only 10 months, each of which is 35 days.  A leap month, called the Imperial Reckoning, is inserted into the calendar every third year (or, in times past, by imperial decree) to restore balance between the calendar and the traditional seasons.  The Imperial Reckoning lasts 15 days, and is marked in most of the nations of the Lostlands with three festival days – one to open the Reckoning (the Dawnday), one at the month’s midpoint (the Midday), and one to close the Reckoning (the Duskday).  A few areas in the Lostlands have adopted the more modern Criestine calendar, but most of its inhabitants still cling to the old customs and follow the traditional Sphinx Calendar.

Kingdoms, Tribal Lands, and City-States – Populations in the Lostlands are only rough estimates; little facts regarding the Lostlands are known by scholars of the North, and many of the “truths” about this savage region may in fact be decades, if not centuries, old.  The number of sages in the world that possess copious amounts of accurate knowledge regarding the Lostlands can be counted on the fingers of one man’s hand.

Compounding the difficulties of providing accurate information for the various “nations” of the Lostlands is the fact the few formal nations exist in this part of the world.  Most of the borders between the various territories of the Lostlands are under dispute; only those borders clearly defined by natural, impenetrable boundaries server to provide any sort of clarity.

Lostlanders generally live in the ruins of cities once built by the slaves of the Sphinx Empire.  Those who move too far past the walls of these once-mighty cities risk the wrath of the evil bandits or monstrous horrors wandering throughout the region.  Even the farmlands and herding areas of the Lostlands tend to be found protected behind the walls of the sprawling ancient cities.  Any creature daring to live far beyond the protection of a city wall, or of a tribe or clan, is either powerful indeed or courting death.

The majority of resources of these many tribes and kingdoms are all old – like carrion, the people of the Lostlands are still picking away at the remains of their Sphinx masters and the Old Khonsurian Empire.  The farmlands, while no longer required to ustain the populations enjoyed by the Empire at the height of its power centuries ago, provide smaller and smaller crops with each passing year.  No new mines have been discovered since the halcyon days of the Empire, and those that have not cine run dry or collapsed have been all but picked clean.  Although few in the Lostlands are aware of this grave situation, it is likely that only a few decades remain before the resources of the Lostlands run dry.  Then, without a shadow of a doubt, famine and civil war shall run across this wild country like a plague.  It is most likely that his inevitable plague shall infect the Northalnds and Southlands as well…

               

1.  The Ghetrian Desert     The vast stretches of the Ghetrian Desert (also called the “Great Desert” by locals of the region) encompass nearly all of the northern

regions of the Lostlands.  Once but a fraction of its current size, the desert has grown tremendously since the fall of the Sphinx Empire, creating a fiery wasteland in what was once a tropical paradise.  Some believe the growth of the desert is a parting curse from their departed Sphinx Emperors, and that the desert shall retreat and wither once the Sphinx return.

                In addition to the abandoned cities of the Khonsurian Empire and the nalvor, the Ghetrian Desert is also home to wandering tribes of human and halfling merchants.  These merchants traverse the majority of the Lostlands, and perhaps have a better perspective upon the entire Lostlands than any of the other creatures that live there.

                                               

a.  Akkad               City-State in the principality or Ur ruled by the Prince of Akkad,

 

B.  The Northlands              The nations of the Northlands are steeped in eldritch history and are often – quite literally – built upon the ruins of those that came before them.  The mightiest citadels stand on the ruins of dwarfholds, holy sanctums are built atop fallen rings of druidic stones, and loggers harvest timber from fae-haunted glades.  Every spring a farmer uncovers new ruins beneath his fields, often warded in dead languages unknown to modern sages.  The past is the North’s constant companion, dark-cowled and mysterious, revealing tales of high sorcery, heroism, and slumbering horrors at her leisure.

A careful study of these ruins, and of the scrolls and tomes brought back by explorers, reveals that the kings of men are not the first to rule the Northlands.  Some legends speak of ancient races and gods familiar to scholars, while other whisper of foul cults and forbidden powers. 

Sages debate these epochs endlessly, but all can agree that the current age is rightly called the Reign of Man.  Whether by mortal ambition or some mystic turning of the cosmos, the power of the Gods has waned, permitting the rise of heroes, and granting men, elves, dwarves, and the wee-folk the freedom to fashion their own destinies.

This waning has also ushered in a new host of threats and dangers.  The marauding armies of the Scourgelands threaten the heart of the civilized world, barbarians raid with greater frequency each spring thaw, and shrieking comets tumble from the night sky: witches, seers, and astrologers alike presage a time of coming darkness.

It remains to be seen whether this is a prelude to an age of prosperity and peace, or an end to humanity’s reign.

Climate and Seasons – The Northlands encompass ecologies ranging from the temperate grasslands and vales of Crieste to the inhospitable wastes of the north.  Climates and seasons are dependent largely on latitude and precipitation, with certain marked exceptions due to geographic and magical anomalies.

The Criestine Empire and the other nations adjacent to the Lirean Sea enjoy mild summers, brief winters, and long springs and autumns.  Dense stands of deciduous hardwoods offer sturdy beams for shipbuilding, while fertile soils provide abundant crops and grasslands for cattle and sheep.

Moving north, the climate grows steadily cooler, reflected by a marked hardiness in the people and beasts.  The Warlands, renowned for their wealth of natural resources, expect deep winters with heavy snowfall and months of isolation.  The summer, unmitigated by the cooling Lirean Sea, can be equally sever, and times of hardship force farmers to augment their crops and herds with wild game.  The deciduous forests slowly give way to primeval coniferous stands and the mighty Ashwood groves.

East, across the vast ranges of the Ul Dominor Mountains, are the Mirdar-Luminar Sreppes.  The little moisture that reaches the steppes is brought by raging storms that sweep down from Hoarfrost Bay.  In years of drought, the steppes become vast tinderbox, and wildfires rage up and down the high prairie, tainting the air for hundreds of leagues in every direction and shading the sunsets the color of spilled blood.

North of both the Mirdar-Luminar Steppes and the Warlands are endless swaths of high tundra, gnarled oak and icy wastes.  Here the temperature retreats below freezing every night of the year, and savage beasts swarm the land.  While hunters, outlaws, and hermits choose to make their home in the forbidding wastes, they are the exceptions, not the rule.

Timekeeping and Celestial Bodies – The Emperor of Crieste, in his divine wisdom, determines all units of measurement, including the span of the days, months, and years. Following the end of the Interregnum, the empire adopted a sidereal calendar of 365 days, but many of the smaller nations hold to the older lunar calendar.

Empires, Kingdoms, Fiefs, and City-States – Noted populations are only rough estimates; the actual figures fluctuate wildly with the seasonal deparadations of war, plagues, and other acts of the Gods. 

At first glance, the Known Realms might appear to be a patchwork of nations covering every league of Aereth, but veteran explorers know better.  Each nation’s borders extend only as far as it’s lord’s ability to enforce his rule, leaving vast swaths of borderlands , given over to roaming bands of escaped slaves and serfs, violent outlaws, monstrous humanoids, and far worse.  Passage between nations without armed escort is attempted only by the bold or desperate.

The majority of Northlanders live in simple villages and hamlets, earning their livelihood by farming, herding, and hunting.  The average farmer passes his entire life without traveling more than twenty miles from his homestead.  Cities and towns are essential hubs of trade, defense and religion.  Any time a city is sacked by marauding hordes, the surrounding lands suffer.

Similarly, the cities rely on outlying farms to provide the enormous amounts of grain, vegetables, fruits and meats necessary to support their swollen populations.  A prince that punishes his people with high taxes and refuses to defend them in times of distress quickly discovers how difficult it is to maintain a cavalry without grain, or arm his knights without iron. 

Exceptions to this rule are plentiful, and benign despots are few and far between.  In the hostile realms of the North, civilization is best thought of as a curious anomaly in a long history of savagery and barbarism.

 

1.  The Empire of Crieste                   ruled by His Divine Eminence, the Rampaging Lion, Immortal Emperor of Crieste from Archbridge during Summer court and

Kassantia during Winter Court

                Population: 3,209,000 (humans 59%, half-elves 11%, Halflings 7%, dwarves 7%, elves 5%, half-orcs 5%, gnomes 4%, other 2%)

                Resources: Silver, foodstuffs, trade goods, livestock

Oldest of the western nations, and arguably the most powerful, the Empire of Crieste once dominated the North.  Its vast holdings, built atop the moss-covered ruins

of the Nimorian Empire, have themselves fallen into ruin; once again fierce monsters roam the wild, travel between towns and cities is seldom taken without escort, and sellswords and warcasters are in great demand.

                The reach of Crieste once extended from the Mirdar Forest, east to Hoarfrost Bay, and south past the golden sands of the Ghetrian Desert.  But with the disappearance of Emperor Oststad, the empire passed into Interregnum: three hundred years of internal feuding that culminated in the secession of the Southern Province.  Other kingdoms and principalities were quick to follow, eagerly making their bids for freedom.

                Hoping to stem the tide of seceding states, the lord-barons elected a seven-year-old boy to sit upon the Dragonskull Throne.  Now ten years of age, the child-emperor rules under his Vizier, Lady Mortianna.  The child will assume full powers upon his fifteenth birthday.  The Child-Emperor is also served by Captain Sentri, Master of the Sable March and General of the Seven Armies.

                Crieste is celebrated for the honor and nobility of its knights, and no knighthood captures the spirit of gallantry better than the Order of the Sable March.  Stories of the knights defending mountain passes against the presses of giants, single-handedly defeating hordes of demons, and sacrificing their lives for the common man are almost too improbable to be true, but this doesn’t stop the younger squires from striving to emulate the tales.  Many squires die in the pursuit of impossible ideals, but those who survive go on to become legendary warriors without peer.

                The Knights of the Sable March can be recognized by their coat of arms: a black background pierced by three silver stars.  The background signifies the darkness that hreatens humanity and Crieste; the stars signify the three tenets of the order; honor, duty, and courage.  The Knights of the Sable March are quartered in the fortress known as the Citadel, in the city of Archbridge, but can be seen regularly patrolling the farthest reaches of the empire and its neighbors.

                Even more secretive than their armored brothers are the wizards and sorcerers belonging to the shadowy cabal known as the Ordo Arcana.  Rumor holds that the spellcasters meet on every full moon, wearing elaborate masks to conceal their identities.  The aims of the Ordo Arcana, and the reasons for their intense secrecy, remain unknown.  The cabal makes its headquarters in the magic-laden city of Kassantia, in a tower known as the Howling Fane.

                Despite the chaos of the Interregnum and he greed of its lord-barons, the Criestine Empire retains much of its former greatness.  Until the secession of the Southern Province, all trade passing through the Lirean Sea had to stop at a Crieste port, filling the empire’s coffers to bursting.  Crieste maintains strong ties with the Steel Overlord and benefits greatly from trade with its dwarf allies.  Relations with the Fae Lords are much cooler; during the Interregnum. Northern kingdoms aggressively expanded their domains, sparking conflicts between human foresters and Elven scouts.  Abroad, the empire’s colonies continue to offer their annual tribute, and none dare challenge the Imperial Navy.

                At present, both the Empire of Crieste and the Southern Province lay claim to the Dragonskull Throne of Kassanti, and the scions of both nations aver to be the true Son of Heaven.

                                                a.  Dhavosin          Large town, pop. 4,014; 3,000 gp limit; 602,100 gp ready cash    

                Known to merchant lords as the Crossroads of the Empire, Dhavosin hosts a steady stream of caravans and traveling traders.

                                                b.  Sparport Watch              Small town, pop. 1,380; 800g p limit; 55,200 gp ready cash          

                A towering citadel straddling a rocky ridge, Sparport surveys the land and sea for miles in every direction.  The lord baron, Izod the Shark, has been tasked with taming the pirates of the Wreckers.  And yet – to the Emperor’s disappointment and Izod’s bitter chagrin – for every piratecrew he hags, another two ships seem to spring from the sea itself.  Izod has redoubled his efforts, swearing to hang the crew of any ship, pirate or otherwise, that he finds sailing the Wreckers.

                                                c.  Thelport           Small town, pop. 2,000; 800 gp limit; 80,000 gp ready cash           Highest-level NPC’s: Adept 2, Arisotcrat 1, Barbarian 1, Bard 1, Cleric 1, Commoner 10, Druid 4, Expert 8, Fighter 7, Monk 2, Paladin 9 (Sherrif Tayanna Serrengriff), Ranger 1, Rogue 2, Sorcerer 2, Warrior 8, Wizard 1; 20 guards; militia of 100.

            Like most of those coastal towns in Crieste, Thelport depends largely on trade and shipping. Because of its location, it is probably one of the best trading points with the Criestine colonies in the Southlands.

 

2.  The Southern Province ruled by Tray Sains, Overlord of the South, Master of Heaven and Earth, Dragon of the Lirean Sea, Etc., Etc. from Punjar

                Population: 2,462,900 (humans 73%, half-orcs 9%, half-elves 7%, dwarves 6%, other 5%)

                Resources: Slaves, spices, black market trade, copper, timber

One hundred thirty years ago the Province was simply the largest of the Criestine Empire’s many fiefs.  In a revolution led by a cunning and aggressive lord-baron, the Province seceded from the Empire, setting the example for all the kingdoms, provinces, and colonies that rushed to independence n the years to come.

Today the Southern Province stands as a mirror to the Criestine Empire.  While Crieste is mired in the bureaucratic quagmire of a millennium-old aristocracy, the Province is home to the young and ambitious guild houses; while Crieste seeks to govern every aspect of the economy, the Province lets the houses do the work, and taxes their profits; while Criests is a pondering behemoth of military might, the Province is a nimble player of economic and political intrigues.

Wealth is everything in the Southern Province.  Those that have it – and more importantly, can keep it – are envied and respected by all.

The present ruler is Trayr Sains, a cunning man who had the good fortune of being a bastard son of imperial blood.  The child of a discarded harem concubine, Sains fought his way out of the vicious slums of Punjar, working his way from petty thief to slayer to guild master.  Boss Sains was coronated Overking after the notorious Night of the Long Knives, when fully two-thirds of the Southern Province’s nobility were assassinated and replaced with royal-blooded representatives of the guild houses.  When the sun rose on the blood-soaked capital, the surviving nobles who were willing to openly declare the virtues of law and good were few and far between.  Sains’ claim to the Dragonskull Throne is laughable at best, but it provides the veil of legitimacy necessary for the Province’s political skullduggery.

The Southern Province challenges the Criestine Empire’s dominance of the sea lanes by trading in slaves, dark idols, and every other sort of contraband.  Very little is deemed illegal, and nearly every crime can be ameliorated with a bag of jangling coins,  With no navy to speak of, the Province issues letters of marquee authorizing privateers to fly Province colors and prey on Imperial ships.  This informal sea force is little better than a band of pirates, but there is little the Imperial Navy can do to halt the practice, barring a full-scale invasion of every Province port.

                                                a.  Azur                  Small city, pop. 6,100; 15,000 gp limit; 4,575,000 gp ready cash  

                The Southern Province’s answer to dwoemer-rich Kassantia, Azur is known as  the City of the Archmage.  Dismissed with amusement by many, the city streets swarm with scheming mages eager to assume the title of Magister of Azur.  What the city’s rulers lack in arcane power, they make up in ambition and ruthlessness.

                Azur is divided into three wards situated about the grim castle named the Host of Five Towers.  The city openly welcomes temples and shrines devoted to fell powers; priests make blood sacrifices over smoking pits during the day, and demons stalk the streets at night.

                With no law enforcement to speak of, each mage employs a personal retinue of bodyguards and enforcers.  Commoners are left to fend for themselves, dependent up[n the whims of the mages for safety.  For these reasons, mercenary humanoids are a common sight in Azur, ranging from half-orc assassins t ogre-magi bodyguards and hill giant thugs.