Thrimora

Situated in the near-center of Elysia geographically, **Thrimora** is sometimes referred to by scholars as the 'middle' continent. It is a varied continent, both in terms of its land and its peoples.

## **Geography**

The lands of Thrimora vary widely from region to region. The two most notable features of its terrain are the Earth Spine Mountains that run up the center of the continent and separate its eastern and western halves, and the Great Forest, which encompasses nearly a third of the entire landmass and is composed of many smaller woodland regions. Beyond this, there are large areas of fertile lowland plains that stretch into moorlands before turning into highlands, vast swathes of swampy marshes, another colder forest to the north and a smaller, colder mountain range to the northeast, as well as snow covered wastes in the far north and scorching dunes in the far south. A band of cracked, bone-dry badlands separates the southernmost regions from the rest of the continent, and there are many islands of various sizes along its shores, as well as an archipelago in the southeast reaches of its waters.

### **Climate**

The climate varies greatly between most regions on the continent, with a few constants in the more temperate zones. The majority of the land receives a fair amount of rain and snowfall each year. With the exception of the northern and southern most regions, most of the continent enjoys the variety of all four seasons, which vary in length from region to region due to a number of circumstances beyond just geography. However, the seasons in the northern and southern most regions are typically limited to summer and winter, with one season simply being a less extreme version of the regular climate (a little less hot in the south during winter, a little less cold in the north during summer). There are some scholars who say that these areas actually do see spring and autumn as well, but if this is true, they are so short that they tend to be overlooked.

## **Geographical Regions**

There are a number of regions large and small across Thrimora. These regions include common features, and many are smaller areas that form the sum of a larger region or geographical feature.

### **Mainland Regions**

* Viridian Plains: At the center of Thrimora, this is the most fertile region on the continent.
* Sontican Moorlands: Northeast of the Viridian Plains, this region contains a mixture of hills, fields, welands and shrub-land terrain.
* Kolmar Hinterlands: North of the Viridian Plains and Sontican Moorlands, characterized by its large fir trees, high hills, and colder climes.
* Kislevan Tundra: The northernmost part of the mainland continent, this region is a harsh and near-barren wasteland of ice and snow.
* Forest of Arda: Southeast of the Viridian Plains and Sontican Lowlands, this swathe of wood makes up the largest part of the Great Forest.
* Bitter Wood: South of the Earth Spine Mountains and west of the Forest of Arda, this is the most dangerous and thus least traveled part of the Great Forest.
* Greatwood: West of the Earth Spine Mountains, this region is home to many dwarves, and is the second largest part of the Great Forest.
* Stirland: Stirland is the westernmost region on the mainland, across the Earth Spine Mountains, and is composed of a mixture of steamy marshes, woods, valleys and hills that stretches up north before reaching higher terrain and connecting to the Hinterlands.
* Auran Belt: The Auran Belt is a band of sun-baked, rocky crags and badlands that lies across the entire mid-south of Thrimora, and serves as a barrier between the temperate and dry zones of the continent.
* Lak'Amaa Desert: A dry sub-continent at the southern end of the mainland; contains a mixture of savanna, dry mountains, and near-endless sandy dunes.
* Dead Marches: Southwest of the Auran Belt, not much is known about this region aside from it being similar in climate to the Desert.

### **Offshore Areas**

* Darkreach Isles: Northwest of the main continent, this group of islands is shrouded in mystery.
* Edebar: An ancient landmass to the north of the Kolmar Hinterlands.
* Korlash Tikaani: A group of continental islands off the western coast of Thrimora known for its exotic plants and animals.
* Al Assaf: A large desert island that separates the Dead Marches from the Lak'Amaanian desert.
* Tiras Archipelago: A chain of small islands off the eastern coast of the desert; home to most of the eastern seas' pirates.
* Sol'Kanar: Located off the eastern coast of the Great Forest, these isles are rumored to be home to ancient elven ruins.
* Elesh Lura: Isles in the western Sea of Lura.
* Shiel Telaar: The ancient home of Baltazar Turan.

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