Calith

Saddled up against the Southwestern flank of the far larger Kriath Arcaneocracy, it is principally the strength of the Great Houses that has kept the lands of Calith 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 Calith free from Kriath 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 Calith have paid a heavy price for it. Much of their land is a fetid ruin, destroyed by Kriath 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 Calith have clung desperately. It has been twelve years since the last serious Kriath 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 Duun'Rath, bringing foreign ships and trade to Calithi ports. Cities still remain, some untouched by the war, others scarred but still standing. Among them, the mightiest has always been Yosthaven.

### History

Calith was founded 297 years ago, when the Kriath Arcaneocracy was still little more than a series of warring city states. Three Mages, ancient and powerful in their Craft, broke off from their home city of Vaajo and journeyed to the dense forests of the Southeast. The reason for their travels has been lost to history, but every Calithi knows their names. Yassir, Isilideras, and Calith. Of the three, the Great Houses of Yassir and Isilideras remain to this day. Of Uudras Calith, there is nothing more than his name, for whatever act of Craft led to the foundation of Yosthaven, he did not survive it.

Yet in his absence the Great Houses flourished, and with them the nation was born. Villages and farmsteads grew into towns and cities, and the abandoned Citadel at the heart of Yosthaven became the center of a thriving metropolis. When the **Unification** ran wild through what is now the Kriath Arcaneocracy, Calith was strong enough to resist being absorbed where so many other city states had fallen.

### Geography

Calith is primarily a densely wooded peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the Sea of Mir. The Curtain Woods to the North are ancient and old, practically untouched by the rest of the world. These dense forests are dark and eerie places, more the domain of Eldritch Spirits with names long forgotten than mortal souls. More than one Kriath expeditionary force has vanished into the Curtain Woods, never to return. The Vale to the South is full of rolling hills, sparse forests of birch and aspen, and many wide and meandering rivers. As with all things in Tar, good and ill comes from this. While large portions of the Vales are populated, just as many have been burned or corrupted by the soldiers and Craft of neighboring Kriath.

### Cities

* Yosthaven
* Mikkinenta
* Sinki
* Haati
* Siemaa
* Vaitave
* Torviiohua
* Kohitimaa
* Kuusijarvi