Terrán

**Terrán** is an area of north Canciara. It is governed by the Kingdom of Terrán, one of the Great Kingdoms of Man. It is the closest human kingdom to The Links and easily the most accessible for trade to other continents. Its capital is Paliroy and its controlled lands has historically reached at times between the Sinking Desert to its east and the Craglands to its southwest.

## Geography

Terrán is largely planes and grasslands with many waterways running through it making it easy land for farming. The shape of the land is mostly defined by two peninsulas: the end of the strip of land called the Haft and the Ram Head. The land spanning from the western coast on the bay of spears and the Loire River is known as the Haft for its long shape. This land is said to be where horses originated as there are a multitude of wild horses roaming this land. The rulers of this land, house Farrier, reside in Canterhome to the north of the half along the Split River.  The next section of land, Midland, spans between the Loire River and the Pleune River and is the most productive farmland in Terrán.  Midland's capital, Britmark, to its north is the largest city in Terrán by population. The mountain range running through Terrán's center are known as the Pebbles, yet they reach high enough to be cold most of the year at their peaks. But from the end of these high mountains comes most of the kingdom's industry in the youngest city, Hearthheat. The swift currents of the Dragon's Claw River separates the land surrounding Paliroy from the rest of the kingdom which sits on the other side of the even wider Tumsa River.  Paliroy's sister city Bellville lies just east and has often acted as the ruling seat for conquered lands eastward towards the Sinking Desert.  Paliroy is further protected by the Ram Head peninsula who's horn reaches into the Hungry Bay which is fed by both the Dragon's Claw and the Tumsa. The Ebony Woods and Drextron which sit along the first branch of the Tumsa river are often shunned by travelers for their lack of useful products and the strange stories that come from these much different areas of the kingdom.

## History

As one of the great kingdoms of man, Terrán has been a long-disputed territory. The Haft for much of history has been contested only by bands of nomadic horsemongers. It was first conquered by Dal Farrier who established a defensible home at Canterhome and raised horses, selling them to traders of Acera and early settlers of The Links. From the money he made he was able to hire mercenaries to conquer the rest of the Haft down to the hook of the Loire River. The house of Farrier has held this land ever since and is an established name in world trade.

The history of Midland is mostly of farms overcoming constant external threats. On years where the monsoons where heavy, the waterway would flood and those living in hills reigned supreme. Years of little water dried up anywhere unable to draw water for their fields. Lands close to the Loire River fell victim to constant raiding by horse bands roaming from the Haft. Slowly, one farm found continued success and over time so did all the farms around it. As they grew more than they needed, they could trade to other lands and the farms grew even more. This spot became Britmark and its successful farmers reached out to grow control over the whole of Midland.

Hearthheat is a relatively young city as it was a radical experiment by an inventor and traveler known only as Folle. He was said to have drawn ideas from dwarven construction and planning he saw in his travels. His intent was to create a machine of a town, focusing on metalwork and mining. He first created a great forge dug in high up near a mountain peak. Around and eventually above this forge, a city formed around the industry of the forge. Folle was meticulous in his planning with every new construction and built vents to channel the heat coming off of the forge into the buildings of the town making it a much more hospitable place to live.

Paliroy did not start as a seat of a great house, nor was it much of a city for most of its history. Karl Mandrake was the ruler of the Ram Head seated at Varen. A very jealous man, he ordered the construction of a fort at the end of the peninsula to help protect his land and act as a garrison in times of war. As the construction went on, he continuously changed the plans, adding to them until after years the Helmont was finished. By now he had defended against many wars of conquest from an eastern king of the planeslands, and had turned his jealousy to greed and envy. He had built up Helmont not only as a defensive fort, but a machine of war from which to mount attacks on the rest of Terrán. He used this to establish dominion over the Hungry Bay and over time the rest of Terrán was conquered as well. Now in his later years and with a mind worn by war, he decided to change his capital to a small farming town on the Tumsa, renaming it to Paliroy. He had plans to build up this city and make it a great capital, but he died before his plans were ever completed. His son took up the crown, but had little experience or good ruling qualities and made a rather botched job of forming the rest of the city. He died soon after without an heir so the crown moved to house Humanman, who's lineage ruled since.