Ovaicaea

Ovaicaea is the only explored continent of the known world. It is the apparent home of numerous civilizations and races, though some may have originated on other continents now lost to history. It has been inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years by creatures both mundane and magical, and possesses a history that runs deeper than the written word. The majority of the information in this encyclopedia pertains to this continent and the events that have played out across it.
== Geography ==
The continent is generally wide, broad, and rounded in shape, with a significant divot in the southern end forming a large sea with several gulfs and bays, framed by two long peninsulas.
Ovaicaea is a land of varied terrain, with vast and arid deserts and frozen tundra as well as sweeping grasslands, fierce mountain peaks, vast woodlands, brackish coasts, and lush river valleys, as well as other climates and ecosystems.
Besides its surrounding and diverse coastlines, the dominant geographical feature of Ovaicaea is the Great Southern Sea, which braces four distinct civilizations and forms the economic and culture core of these areas.
Next in significance is the interconnected chain of the Skyshroud, Morningland, Aendril, and Ucral mountain ranges. This set of mountain ranges forge other dominant land features: the sand dune deserts of the Transucral and Aendrilad Deserts, which together form the Great Waste; the icy tundra of the Frostfells and the eastern grasslands of the Great Steppe; and several mighty rivers whose sources are mountain springs, such as the Golden River, the Aendrilad River, and the Athua River.
Last among its defining features are the complex of plateaus, forests, and river valleys in the western half of the continent, mainly the Eldun and Karkuz Plateaus, and the valleys of the Dorei and Eldun Rivers that cut between them. This region has produced the most complex and diverse array of civilized nations, and houses of the mysterious and sacred Feywild from which originate the creatures of fairy and elvenkind.
Ovaicaea includes the following geographical and political regions:
==== Western Ovaicaea ====
The western part of the continent is the most extensively populated, dominated by alternating grassland plateaus and river valleys that have played host to numerous civilizations. From north to south, the main features are the Karkuz Plateau, the Dorei River valley, the Eldun Plateau, and the immense Eldun River valley. It is bounded to the west by the Western Ocean, to the east by the West Mountains and the Athua River, and to the south by the Tethar Mountains and the Mocryae Lowlands.
Western Ovaicaea is the heartland of the New Empire, and was the main territorial extent of the Old Empire, and today contains several major political entities: the dwarven and human kingdoms, the Eldunari League, the gnomish Kingdom of Balendor, and numerous free cities are part of the Empire; the Karkuz Plateau forms the homeland of the western orcs as the Odkarkuz Khanate.
==== Southwestern Ovaicaea ====
The southwestern region is densely populated, but relatively small compared to the larger western regions. It is bounded to the north by the Tethar Mountains and the Eldun River, to the east by Lake Kaiser, and to the south by the Great Southern Sea. It comprises several coastal areas, peninsulas, and island chains. Politically, it is dominated by the empire of Gestrin, which rules much of the region and projects power and influence over the nations of Tethar and Mocryae, which are nominally part of the New Empire.
== Calendar ==
Three main calendar systems exist across Ovaicaea. The sytems of Aendrilad and of the Morningstar Empire are not well known in the west. The Rivoline calendar system is widely accepted in western, northern, central, and southwestern parts of the continent. This roughly corresponds to the areas that once fell under the political and cultural influence of the Sun Elven establishment of the Old Empire. Even in places that the Old Empire did not control directly, such as Tethar, Gestrin, and Mocryae, the economic and cultural influence was still extensive. The calendar developed over centuries in the elven city-state of Rivoli in the west, after extensive development in astronomy and magic, and was adopted by the Old Empire at its outset in a resolution by the Imperial Senate owing to the influence of Rivoli on elven culture.
The Rivoline calendar is based on a 365-day cycle, with months of fixed 30-day length and a 5-day Holy Week celebrating the end of the year following the Winter Solstice. Every fourth year, excepting centenaries not divisible by 400, an additional Leap Day is intercalated at the end of Holy Week. This maintains the fixed length of the 12 months. The months are divided into three cycles of ten days, called a Decad, Week, or Ten-Day.
The names of the months vary somewhat from region to region, though a set of names have been standardized across the New Empire under the Western Common language, originally translated from the Old Soltran names.
Month names in different languages
 	Common 	Old Soltran	Gastrinian 	Tethari 	Mocryish
1 	Yearborn 	Genitus 	Gennimenos 	Wulid 	Qad'ama
2 	Frostmelt 	Liquescimus	Leiomeneion 	Insihar 	Shu'khon
3 	Flowertide 	Floriatis 	Anthesterion 	Zuhur 	Fjuri
4 	Raintide 	Pluviatis 	Vrocheros 	Matir 	Xita
5 	Rosetide 	Rosalis 	Rhosophyllion	Warud 	Ward
6 	Summertide 	Aestatis 	Kalokairion 	Al-Sayf 	Qaya'a
7 	Highsun 	Maxisol 	Heliaeon 	Mishmis 	Shem'shaa
8 	Fruitfall 	Fructatis 	Karpophorion 	Fakiha 	Poriyut
9 	Winetide 	Vindemia 	Oinophorion 	Khamr 	Khamra
10	Harvest 	Messis 	Therismos 	Al-Hisad 	Akhtsada
11	Frostfall 	Glacialis 	Pagotaptoson 	Al-Saqie 	Gliydaa
12	Deepwinter 	Bruma 	Khionion 	Alshita 	Ast'yat
X 	Holytide/Holy Week	Sanctus 	Agiaemeres 	Mukadausbe	Khasyaa