Mabaki

**Mabaki** */muh-BAH-khee/*, called in the Akhtongue **Aratsah***/uh-RAHTS-uh/*, is the name of the fair land given to the redmen and the beasts of the earth in the Great Making. She rests in the Bosom of Maiah, the great and beautiful sea bounded in the north, south, east, and west by the Outlands.

## Concerning the greatlands

There are, within Maiah, five great landmasses that the sons of Red call home:

1. *Rashela*:the greatland of the northeast, home to the Strikesoul and Wolftongue.
2. *Ainla*: the lesser greatland off the eastern coast of Energya, home of the Dawneye.
3. *Labvela*: the greatland to the south, home to the Welkinheart.
4. *Betunela*: the greatland to the southeast, home to the Heatmaw and Wavegut.
5. *Regela*: the greatland to the north east, home to the Groundbollock.

Alongside these greatlands are many small islands scattered about here and there. Though some remain uninhabited to this day, most are claimed by one of the seven thedes in some way or another, except for the Viron Isles, which no thede dares claim as her own.

Rashela is a temperate and wooded land, filled with many a forest fed by plentiful river. Energya bears the standard form of plantlife, mostly green in color, whereas the fauna take on the common brown in fur. Many kinds of elk and deer wander about, as well as scavengers of all sorts, taking refuge in the woods. Few wolves pass through the lands, as most of the forests in Energya are peaceful. Their kind is relegated instead to the other side of the Wulfheim Peaks. To the southern lands, where the old Kingdom of Mani once stood, lay the Throatlands, dubbed as such due to the loud howling and cowling of the animals there. The Wolftongue of the early days found such clamor to be comforting, but most visitors greatly desire to depart not long after arriving. The forests there are not the common green, but a teal-towards-blue shade, and the animal fur is slightly tinged with a brighter brown than their northern cousins. The wolf is the primary beast to roam the Blue Woods, as well as the feral fellmen of the Rotherkin.

Ainla is a more remote and set-apart sort of land, reflected by her primary inhabitant, the godmen of the Dawneye thede. In Ainla, the summers are warm and lush, filling the land with ample goods, but in winter she turns harsh and barren. *"Never turn to a Dawneye maiden for warmth in the winter,"* is a common saying of the Strikesoul.

Labvela is a greatland owned in its entirety by the Welkinheart of Aeria, though the word *Labvela* itself is seldom used among the sailors who pass it by. Instead, the preferred term is "The Breath of Mabaki," for from the great falls below the floating greatland pours out a soothing, but forceful burst of wind that keeps the land aloft. From the continent itself falls waterfalls of all kinds that cast a rainbow on the sky and mist, fueled by a great geyser that erupts from within the deep pit of the Labvela Falls every few hours.

Betunela is a bifurcated land of power and change. One half, the West, is ruled by the longmen of the Heatmaw thede, whereas the eastern half is ruled by the redmen of the Wavegut. Down the length of their border runs the Mighty Ashberg, forged, as it is thought, by two mighty kings who fought with fire and ice in days long past. The ice of the Wavegut forms a great wall several yards high, reinforced on the Heatmaw side by permafrost ash. This barrier divides Betunela in two. No passage over the wall is permitted by either nation, and most Wavegut traders are denied access in Heatmaw ports. In the Heatmaw portion, in the belly of the firelands is the Great Moundspill, an ancient and powerful volcano that covers the whole land in a thick cloud of burning ash. In the Wavegut portion, in the seat of the waterlands stretches the Great Lakes of Tahrakwen, water so vast and clear its depths can be seen from the coast.

Lastly, Regela is a mountainous region of rock and ore, ruled by the desert and mountain-dwelling Groundbollock. Dust storms ravage the land daily, and food must be grown only on the three rivers that aren't used to power their forges. Most steel and arms is produced here, as the Groundbollock are a hard and hardworking people. Regela is the largest of the greatlands, the size of Rashela and Labvela combined. It's chief feature is the Table of Red, a large plateau at the southwestern edge that makes travel from Osha nearly impossible.