The Nations of Tar

## Sundevalda

* Go to: Sundevalda

Saddled up against the Southwestern flank of the far larger Kryat Arcaneocracy, it is principally the strength of the Great Houses that has kept the lands of Sundevalda from falling to spellplague, political intrigue, military conquest, or demonic invasion. The Arcaneocracy's own internal squabbles and political rivalries have been of great assistance, for even with the combined might of all the Great Houses unified, it is unlikely that they would keep Sundevalda free from Kryat dominion for long if they faced the undivided attention of the greater nation. Such freedom is hard earned, and both the countryside and the people of Sundevalda have paid a heavy price for it. Much of their land is a fetid ruin, destroyed by Kryat plaguecraft, or simply drained of life and vitality by the Oathbound of the Great Houses drawing in power. Many of their cities are charred husks, burned by spellfire and eroded by cursecraft, with almost none walking the streets but the dead.

Yet the Great Houses have endured, and about them the people of Sundevalda have clung desperately. It has been twelve years since the last serious Kryat incursion, as the Arcaneocracy has been forced to contend with their neighbors to the West. Alliances have grown with the Merchant-Necromancer fleets of the Kurim, bringing foreign ships and trade to Sundevaldan ports. Cities still remain, some untouched by the war, others scarred but still standing. Among them, the mightiest has always been Yosthaven.

## The Kryat Arcaneocracy

* Go to: Kryat Arcaneocracy

One of the great superpowers of Tar, the Kryat Arcaneocracy is a vast and wealthy nation comprised of a dozens and dozens of bustling cities. Yet despite the name, it is not those of the Craft who truly rule the Arcaneocracy. For while their power is mighty indeed, its practitioners are little more than slaves, bound for generations in hopeless addiction to the source of their arcane might. The true rulers of the Arcaneocracy are the To'Chall, conquerors who hail from far to the North. When they came, they brought a deeper mystery, the source of all that the Arcaneocracy is built upon.

The Kryat are a warlike people, and having colonized their Southern neighbors, have turned their attentions to the rest of the world. Yet even the most powerful empires have limits, and it seems the Arcaneocracy may have met their own. Internal feuding and constant political maneuvering have led to fractious campaigns, and even with their seemingly unfathomable power behind them, their expansion has been halted at the borders of Sundevalda and the Tal Empire.

## Kurim

* *Go to Kurim*

Soulcoins are the lifeblood of Tar, that potent mix of currency and Craft, yet nowhere is that more true than among the Necromongers of Kurim. The stained red sails of Kurimi oarships are a common sight in every port, from neighboring Kryat to distant Warghamia, no place is too far for the Necromongers to haul their wears.  For the undead husks bound with Craft to the oars need neither wind, nor rest, nor pay, nor food to pull their merchant captains across the sea to the farthest horizon. The Necromongers have perfected the Craft of their Necromancy to an incredible degree, for while a Tal Cog might indeed outrun a Kurimi Oarship on any given day, with a Craftbound Elemental pushing it forward against wind and rain, the incredible cost in Soulstuff of such an endeavor would cost renders it out of the question for any but the most dire circumstances. If speed and stamina is what is required, better by far to hire a Kurimi vessel for the job. Their virtual monopoly on high speed sea trade all but secured, the Necromongers have grown fat off of the trade of the wealth of other nations.