Battalius

The continent of Battalius is the huge southernmost continent. It is where the majority of mining is done and where a large amount of the worlds fresh water supplied across Kaiator comes from. It was previously the largest power in the world but has lost much of its influence in recent times. The population is much smaller than the past due to large migration in recent years. These migrations were spurred by the slow sinking of the continent that has been observed over large amounts of time. Battalius is unique across the continents that due to its size and diverse population, its culture varies greatly even between close cities. After the migrations the continent may not hold the power it once did, but it is far from abandoned.

## Geography

Battalius is by far the large of the continents, spanning approximately 150km long and 45km wide at the widest part. Besides this it sits at the lowest altitude. Much of this space is covered by wide grass plains and mountain ranges. Besides these it still features the two biggest lakes in the world as well as some forested regions. There are a few notably large islands around Battalius, one actually housing a full city. The massive eastern mountain range covers a huge amount of the Battalius and contain countless dwarven mining colonies. Because of the massive size of the land, the population density is extremely low, with cities spread out very far apart. Many people are frantically searching for the reason that Battalius is sinking, due to it having the most natural resources of any continent.

## Population

At one time Battalius held the highest population of Kaiator at around 1.2 million, but in recent times has fallen low to around 900 thousand. The population is very diverse compared to the other continents with the largest groups being dwarves and humans each standing at around 25%. It can also be noted that around 90% of the dwarves in the world live on Battalius. Just over half of the population lives in the two largest cities, the capitol city Dirgis, and the eastern mining empire Thuun. Dirgis' population is widely diverse but Thuun is primarily dwarven. You do not need to be a dwarf to enter or even live in Thuun, but you do to enlist in the military or enter the sacred mines. The rest of the population is scattered across many smaller cities and farming communities. On some of the smaller southern islands there are known to be small nomadic tribes. Other moderately large cities include Farim, Scimir, Ceralton, and Northreach. Besides these there are still various small towns.

## Architecture

The architecture of Battalius is low to the ground and often drab. The vast majority of buildings are hewn of stone and stand as 1 story tall, 2 story buildings are uncommon and any higher are almost non existent. Despite this almost all buildings have a basement any many even a second lower basement. Some cities have underground tunnels directly underneath the above ground roads, these serve as a second road network connecting basements the same way normal houses and storefronts would. This style becomes more prominent as you move eastward towards Thuun, where large swathes of the city are carved into the mountain itself. The above ground part of Thuun is surrounded by a huge ornate wall bristling with massive siege engines. The dwarves of the city are not aggressive nor unhospitable to visitors, but are always in fear of invading armies invading for their extensive mines.

## Transportation

Due to its sheer size, transportation can be problematic on Battalius. Because of the building style even relatively small cities tend to sprawl out and cover large areas. Within cities it is common for people to have horses or horse drawn carts. Because of its ties to Shatterath, Dirgis has some light rail systems to nearby cities, but others are connected via traditional rail line or just cobbled roads. The only airship port that accommodates the large airships from other continents is in Dirgis. Smaller airships circulating between various shelf cities can be a much faster way to travel.

## Military

There are two major military powers on Battalius, belonging to Dirgis and Thuun. The Royal Dirgis Army stands as the active army of Dirgis. It primarily consists of vanguard members of Shatterath and locals conscripted from the police force. They are not as well supplied as they used to be, but still have access to a large armory of fine weapons and armor. Besides traditional weapons they occasionally wield blackpowder firearms. The powerful force standing for Thuun is the Golden Guard. This acts as both the standing army and police of Thuun, and consists only of Thuun born dwarves. They are very heavily armed and adorn skillfully crafted ornate armor. Within their city they operate enormous siege engines purposed for defense of the city. Besides the two main forces most smaller cities have a militia of varying skill and equipment quality. These can be composed of anyone from civilians with farming tools to fully equipped ex-soldiers.

## Culture

The culture of Battalius is the most diverse of any continent due to its highly mixed population. Dirgis tends to follow closer to the culture of Shatterath but is still far more relaxed in most ways. Farther west into the farming communities tends to have a more relaxed and simple atmosphere, while going farther east towards Thuun tends towards a quieter reserved atmosphere. The use of ars magic is very uncommon outside of Dirgis with the exception of the light rails. The use of technology is fairly common right across the land.