The Acir Kingdom

The Acir kingdom is located in the southern-most region of the realm. Its capital is Tal-Acir.

## **Geography and Cities**

Acir is the southernmost and la

   rgest kingdom of the realm. It stretches from Crossing's Jaw in the West to Setha  in the North-East.

Several mountain spans and large forests can be found spread over the land. Centred in the kingdom is a lake so vast many consider it a separate sea; Lake Tamid .

### **Setha Province**

The Setha province shares its borders with the seas in the north, east and west. The southern border follows the River Jaw from Billow's Point all the way to its source in the Mistdall Mountains. From there, it continues south and follows the river Red Beck until it reaches Paros. The Seven Divine, an island group east of Paros, also belongs to the Setha Province.

Despite its rather isolated location, the capital Setha is one of the richest and grandest cities of the kingdom and even the realm. The Torreal Heights south of the city are rich with ore veins and thanks to the rivers Sanlan & Gillan resources can be transferred to the city rather quickly. It is also one of only three cities, the others being Sandos andShaba, to have access to the ports of Sahad, Thirut and Muzat, the capitals of the tribes living on the northern islands. The king's governor, Iona Halling, resides in Setha.

To the west, the city of Biport can be found. Its the northernmost city of the Acir kingdom and mainly fuctions as a transit point for ships going to and coming from Billow's Point, Thalion, Idaphin and beyond.
South of Biport is the city of Billow's Point. Thanks to its ideal location at the delta of the rivers Jaw and Dellita, almost all resources and trade from the Torreal Heights, Torreal Woods and Mistdall Mountains makes it way through the city. Consequently, the traders in Billow's Point are some of the richest in the realm and most have connections deep into other kingdoms as well. It is often said they hold more power than the governor or even the king in their own city.

On the other side of the Torreal Heights is Lostdale, an isolated city where law has little meaning. It is governed by local gangs and rarely trades with other cities, even withing the Acir kingdom. Due to its isolation and rather unimportant location, Lostdale is largely ignored by the governor.

At the southernmost stretches of the Torreal Heights is the city of Easthill. It is built high upon the slopes of the mountains and has a very harsh climate. Here, criminals who wish to shorten their sentence and earn something during their imprisonment can do labour in the mines. This however is not without peril, many have died due to all sorts of accidents. There's a common saying in Acir, *he's like a child in Easthill*, that is used to talk about people who cannot handle the environment they're in.

Following the river Weyling  south from Easthill is the city of Twain. Twain is in many ways a twin city to Billow's Point, although much smaller. Whereas Billow's Point mainly makes trade with the other kingdoms, Twain has more dealing within Acir itself.

In the southernmost part of the Setha Province lays the naval city of Paros, the site of the famous last battle betweenArthus Harwell and Gherald the Traitor. Due to the Seven Divine, the seven islands east of the city, Paros is quite hard to reach by sea and only the most experienced sailors take the risk. Despite that, Paros is famous for its shipwreights and naval base. Thanks to the islands, it is almost impossible to invade the city, allowing the building of new ships without risk. The captains of Paros are famous for their sailing prowess.

### **Mid Province**

Mid is the largest province of Acir. In the north, it shares borders with Setha Province and in the west its border goes in an almost straight line from Tal-Acir to Aldar, including both cities in the province. The Boots, the four islands south of Aldar, are also included in Mid Province. While Tal-Acir is the capital of the kingdom, it is not the capital of Mid. Mid's capital is Aldar where the governor Jason Tyrn, brother to the king, resides.

In the nothern regions of the province are the cities of Terren, Gayle, Cragfort, Mistdall and Flatrock. These five cities operate a tight trading network with each city having its own speciality. This network is commonly referred to as the Acidalia Network, referring to the star constellation Acidalia that has the same star positions as the cities do relative to each other.

West of Flatrock, down the river Elrior is the city of Tal-Acir, second only to Eresath in size and grandeur and capital of the Acir Kingdom. It is also rumoured to be the first city ever built, but there is no evidence for this claim.

Going south is the city of Midfort, built on the western foothills of the Mistdall Mountains. Midfort is a peaceful place that mainly functions as a transit for trading and travelling between Aldar and Tal-Acir.

Further down south is the capital of the Mid Province, Aldar. The city shares a lot of similarities with Paros. It is a strong naval base guarded by several islands, The Boots, but is much easier to reach by ship. That is, if ships take the waters east of The Boots. Sailing to the west equals a death sentence as the waters are filled with rocks from the Sickle Heights that are often even visible above the water surface. The Boots themselves are home to many fishing towns that mainly keep to themselves and are rarely visited.

Going up the river Ilsas from Aldar, one eventually arrives at Barn, a city by many considered to be the oldest city in the realm, even older than Tal-Acir. It is one of few cities that is still sometimes referred to by its original name: Tal'Ar-Barn, meaning City of the Stones. The meaning of these Stones has been long lost in history, but scholars agree it refers to the many ore veins found in the mountains surrounding the city.

To the east of Barn and Aldar lays the city of Beastpass. A legend tells about a hunter who lived at Beastpass alone. One day, he started tracking a wounded bear and followed it as it made its way through an unknown passage along the mountains. Eventually, the hunter reached the plains around Lake Tamid and was the first to find a way through the mountains south of the lake. This allowed for faster trade from north to south and a city called Beastpass was built where the hunter had lived. The passage itself was excavated thoroughly and made into a road wide enough for carts and the like.

From Beastpass, you can sail south on the river Engar all the way Hythe (and eventually Paros). Hythe's main trade is wood from the Lowland Woods and trade coming through from Beastpass to further transport it to Paros. The naval base at Paros gets almost all its wood from the Woodcutters Guild at Hythe.

The region south of Aldar, Beastpass, Hythe and Rachdale is called Lowland  and consists mainly of large, open plains where many farmer villages can be found.

The current governor of Mid is Jason Tyrn.

### **West-Acir**

West-Acir is, as its name suggest, the western most province of Acir. It envelops all the lands west of Tal-Acir, Aldar & The Boots and also included the city of Isev on Ilwood Island.

In the north lies the abandonded city of Ghosthallow, known in the history books as Tal'Ar-Ryho which translates to City of Souls. It is unknown what event caused the city to be abandonded thousands of years ago and few travel to the city to investigate. Those who do, do not talk of what they found.

Directly south of Ghosthallow is  the small city of Aston, a transit point between Tal-Acir, Ters and Uppond.

West of Aston is West Province's capital Ters, an ancient and powerful city that is host to the greatest library besides the one at Eresath. Besides that, Ters is also famous for being the birthplace of the Order. It was in Ters that Kyra Adung and Maïz the Wise met for the first time and made their plans for the founding of the Order. Many pubs claim to be the one where they met, but none have proof of this.

On the western-most point of Acir Crossing's Jaw can be found, a small naval base that trades a lot with Tavor overseas. It is also the only city in Acir to have any dealings with Osrark in the far northeast.

Following the coastline to the south-east is the city of Faymond. Built in the western groves of the Dimwood, it is a rather isolated city that thrives on fishing and lumber and is a common gathering point for members of the Order who study the ancient woods of the Dimwood forest.
Eastwards of Faymond is the lake Pond and the cities of Uppond and Dimpond. These cities thrive on their fishing industry and on the resources being transported from Dimwood and the Sickle Heights.

Far to the south, across the Dimwood and the Sickle Heights lays the city of Thack, reachable by the Thack's Road going straight through the Dimwood. Despite its isolated location, Thack is of great importance to both Acir and the realm for its mines are the only known location where the metal Taen can be found.

The current governor of West-Acir is Erick Greenwood, direct descendant of the first people to start working on Thack's Road.

## **Political.**

Acir is ruled by a single king who administers power through his assigned governors and majors. The current king is Idover Tyrn , son of Thorsten Tyrn , who has his seat in Tal-Acir.

Each province is ruled by a governor chosen by the king's council through an election process. Every five years, the council reviews the works of the governor and hold a vote to decide if they are capable of governing another five years. Often though, due to the responsibilities and stress that comes with the position, many governors will resign after five years. If the governor resigns or is voted out, the council holds elections in which every major of any city or town in the province can participate. During several trials and elections, a new governor is eventually chosen.

The governors hold the same power of the majors of their province as the king does over them. They appoint or elect new majors, review the work they do and take care of any concerns they may have.