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Dranurian Deiasmaar

The Dranurian Deiasmaar is a traditional alliance or pact of mutual aid that may be sworn between the various kingdoms of Dranuria in times of need, usually to confront some larger outside threat that overshadows any of the typical quarreling among them. As long as the Deiasmaar is in effect, the kings of Dranuria swear not to make war on each other, and to come together against whatever greater peril confronts them, cooperating and aiding each other in any way required without reservation. The term comes from the old Tuvai roots “deia-” or “deya-” (which can mean fruitful, beneficial, bountiful, or helpful; cf. Deinoa) and “samar” or “samhar” (meaning a contract or mutual agreement); it is perhaps best translated as “an agreement of mutual benefit” or “a pact of shared aid.”

Most recently, the Deiasmaar was convened in response to the invasions of Gol Garga. Previously, the Deiasmaar has been convened by Dranurian rulers for occasions such as major wars against the Kelimarian sultanate (e.g. over control of Ojaum, such as in the 1170s - 1180s CV after the death of Shekondar and irreconcilable disputes over the wyrm's huge hoard), to repel attempted conquests of their lands by the Phyridian Empire, and to attempt their own permanent conquest of Varadeska.

The Deiasmaar has also been convened opportunistically by particularly strong Dranurian rulers as a pretext to bring all the region’s kingdoms together under their control. At various points in history, this has resulted in Dranuria being unified in a de facto single large realm under what is effectively an over-king or high king. The duration of these arrangements has varied from months to decades, but they have all eventually fallen apart. The other Dranurian kings naturally resent being dominated by one of their peers under the pretext of the Deiasmaar, and will break out of such an unwelcome “alliance” at the earliest opportunity.
Khadoa

Khadoa is a large, predominantly hilly and mountainous region in far northwest Orithea. It and the low-lying lands of Enyrion to the south are usually referred to in tandem (“Enyrion and Khadoa”) by people elsewhere in Orithea, to mean the continent’s northwestern portion in general.

The landscape of Khadoa is defined by a series of rugged highland plateaus or massifs, with long chains of sheer-sided, flat-topped butte and mesa formations in many areas. Several major river valleys form swathes of lowland winding through this rugged terrain, fed by countless narrower gorges and vales carrying tributaries down between the craggy hillsides. Aside from the long stretches of coastal plains facing the Bezvarian Sea to the north and the Sea of Dreams to the west, the major low-lying parts of Khadoa are the Upper Amparûn and Beraitha. These coastal plains and low-lying river basins contain most of the region's usable farmland and support most of its population and major cities. The rugged highlands, though they cover much of Khadoa, are only sparsely populated. The area's climate is characterized by cool, mild summers and long, cold, snowy winters, especially in the highlands.

Major states in Khadoa include Vyraine, Braal, Nemmaru, and Uldaegu.
Adhemars

The Adhemars are an extremely high and formidable mountain chain running along the northern part of central Rhydain, stretching nearly a thousand miles from the Vorian Knot to the eastern end of the range near the River Helvander’s mouth. The Adhemars form the northern edge of the Helvander’s drainage basin and of the associated region known as the Taefemach.

Most of the Adhemars have been under the control of the great dwarven empire of Kuzul-Kadrin for over 2500 years. The easternmost ranges were conquered by the dwarves most recently, driving out the orcish tribes that had infested them since ancient times, but even that "recent" expansion concluded roughly a millennium before the present day.
Millstone Quarter (Torrune)

The Millstone Quarter is one of the major districts of Torrune, situated in the southwest part of the Low City. It is part of the Low City waterfront, lying along the north bank of the Helvander just above and across from where the Greywine flows into it. The quarter is so-named because most of the city's large mills are located here. The Helvander's current is swifter just above the confluence with the Greywine (it widens and thus slows considerably downstream of that point), making it the best site for the series of large water-wheels that power the mills. The major street running directly along the riverbank, where the big mills stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a long row, is partially paved with worn-out and broken millstones from their centuries of grinding.

The main boulevards from the Portage Gate down to the riverfront docks and Qorro's Bridge run through the Millstone Quarter, meaning it sees a great deal of cart and wagon traffic at all hours. These boulevards are almost perpetually jammed and the noisy, chaotic congestion often spills over into narrower streets in the surrounding neighborhoods. The dozens of wagon-loads of grain that must be delivered to the mills each day, and the equally numerous loads of flour going out to the markets and bakers all over the city, only add to the problem.

The Millstone Quarter is the only place in Torrune where some of the old city walls still stand. These were mostly torn down in the 1010s - 1020s CV and their stones reused in constructing the current walls, which are higher and enclose a larger area. In the Millstone Quarter, however, the last intact section of the old walls extends for about two hundred yards from the riverfront. It includes the XXXXXXX Gate, also called the Old Portage Gate, a large fortified gatehouse through which the road down from Sillport used to enter the Low City. Now the main boulevard from the current Portage Gate to the riverfront passes through it; the actual gates and portcullises are long gone, and the huge arched gate-passage forms a sort of a tunnel through which the road runs. As large as this gate-passage is, it does still force a narrowing of the thoroughfare, creating a choke point that further contributes to congestion on the area's roads. The gatehouse itself is now used as a fortified guard-post and jail by the Archon's militia.

Where this remnant of the old walls reaches the riverbank, there stands the massive square Tower of XXXXXX projecting out into the water. It is part of the old walls but is actually still a functional element of the city's defenses since the current walls (which run along the shore to the northwest) connect to it via a semicircular bastion. Thus it still anchors the western end of the Low City's fortified perimeter. The tower itself, and the adjoining bastion, are used by the Archon's guards to observe boat traffic on the river and as a base for anti-smuggler patrols.

Across the Helvander from the Millstone Quarter, and connected to it by the Nyrrian Bridge, lies the northern part of Fenside.
Aothon's Pool (Torrune)

Aothon's Pool is a public water cistern in the Serrapine Quarter of Torrune's High City, next to the Pearl Market and the Great Hall of the Magnates, and just inside the Water-Porter's Gate (which takes its name from the water carriers who gather near the pool each morning). It is supplied from a spring on the south slope of the Hart's Hill, which once fed the creek that used to flow at the bottom of the Tirasval but is now channeled to the pool via a covered stone waterway lined with clay tiles. As is typical in the city's water system, overflow from the pool runs off via a subterranean drain-channel and is directed into the nearby sewer tunnels to flush waste down to the river.

See also: Water System of Torrune.
Kathakaion

Kathakaion is a large city in the northeastern reaches of the Kirdan Empire. Its current name is derived from that of Kathakai the Way-Changer, the sixth Tash-Teshivan and a great reformer of the empire. It was previously known by its Uremite name, Kmiora, but was renamed after Kathakai in 1004 CV, in conjunction with his ordering the construction of the city’s current citadel and the massive enlargement of its cisterns, granaries, and other such public works.

Etymology: The city’s name is formed by combining Kathakai’s name with the old Tuvai place name suffix -ion or -aon, denoting “that which lies upon” or “that which is held up” (cf. Enyrion, tessaraon). In this case it means “That which Kathakai lifts up” (or more figuratively, that which he improves or glorifies).
Kar Gemesh

The Kar Gemesh, sometimes Kargemesh, is one of the arid endorheic basins (kars) of the Kesh Karkhan. It is situated more or less in the center of the continental interior and its west rim is often considered the dividing line between Shiankar and Shandara (by this measure, the Kar Gemesh itself mostly lies in western Shandara). This western rim is defined by the front ranges of the Kirga Massif. The basin’s opposite rim, in the east, is formed by the Tholus Mountains. To the south, the Sabertooth Mountains separate it from the edge of the Suagir steppes, and its northern extent is defined by the convergence of the Yhevnas with the Kirga Massif.
House of Othul

The House of Othul is one of Torrune's largest, most prosperous, and most influential mercantile clans. Its patriarch, Arevallo, also holds the rank of Master of the Merchants' Guild, which arguably makes him the most powerful person in the city after the Archon, the High Priestess of Sidra, and perhaps the Archon's Portreeve.
Irlandare

Irlandare was the homeland of the elven race in ancient days, many millennia before mankind was born in Ulshanru. It was a great island in the midst of the Encircling Ocean, green and verdant, said to mirror the splendor of Aenuvion upon the face of the mortal world. There the first elves were placed by their mother-goddess Nysseia, and there they dwelt for a long age of bliss when the world was young.

Irlandare is long-lost now, although some sages suspect that the Elven Isles are a remnant of it. Learned scholars will also say that popular beliefs about Uldhanesh, fabled home of elven-kind far across the sea, stem from either ancient myths of Irlandare itself or more recent stories of these remnant isles.
Gulf of Yrsa

The Gulf of Yrsa is a large, roughly semicircular embayment on Thelbiron’s coast with the Scarlet Sea. Its shores are notched with three further bays or gulfs, each relatively deep and narrow, formed by the estuaries of the three major rivers that drain into the Gulf. From west to east, these are are Siygur's Bay (into which flows the River Vaska), the Bay of Sirens (into which flows the River Tarba), and the Bay of Bothvar (into which flows the Kanis River).

The Gulf of Yrsa, or more specifically the Bay of Sirens and the Tarba estuary, is generally considered to divide Tordynnar (to the east) from Haothana (to the west).
Bezvarian Sea

The Bezvarian Sea lies between the northwestern coast of Khadoa and the northernmost archipelago of the Western Isles (centered on the two large islands of Atallan and Bezvaria, the latter being the source of the sea’s name). To the south and west, it joins the Sea of Dreams; to the northeast, it merges with the Stormclaw Sea.
BFA 2: That's Just TEARable!

**Warning, this page may contain spoilers! Please watch/look at the episode before reading this page!**

BFA 2 is the 2nd episode of Battle For Admin, it was published

June 12, 2020

View it here

## That's Just TEARable

### Eliminated

Drill

The script and drawing is made by MCS. The challenge is to cry, the team who has the least volume of tears in their box is up for elimination.

## Trivia

* The challenge is related to MCS, since he is emotional
House of Restoration

The House of Restoration is a hospice, hospital, and sanatorium in Torrune's High City, located at the southern foot of the Temple Hill. It is overseen by the priesthood of the temple of Telaon which stands just over it on the hill's tessaraon, and its daily administration is in the hands of an associated order of healers and physicians. The House of Restoration is a charitable institution. Its healers accept no payment for their services and they are concerned mostly with treating the maladies of the city's poor and indigent.
Jhovan Market

The Jhovan Market, often called the Jhovanmark or Jhovamark, is a major bazaar in the Serrapine Quarter of Torrune's High City, occupying much of the bottom of the Tirasval and situated quite close to the Great Hall of the Magnates. It's southern end is bridged by the Greenstone Span aqueduct running from the Hart's Hill to Okhtar's Hill; just beyond its northern end lies the eponymous Market Gate, which leads to Bywater on the riverfront outside the walls.

Unlike the Silk-Seller's Market, where every type of rare luxury is to be found, the vendors of the Jhovan Market mostly sell more mundane products: Flour and grain, meat and fish, charcoal, fruits and vegetables, tools and kitchen implements, candles and lamp oil, cooking oil, vinegar, wine, salt, and so forth. However, since the market is located in the wealthiest part of the city, most of the goods sold here are destined for the households of the rich merchants in the surrounding areas, so they do tend to be of the best quality. Many of the people seen buying goods here are not common folk shopping for themselves, but slaves and servants sent down to the market to provision the cellars of their masters.
Jackal's Fangs

The Jackal's Fangs are a mountain range on the southern edge of the great Suagir steppe. They are situated to the northeast of the Vardic mountains and west of the Mera's basin; the headwaters of the Mera arise upon their slopes.

Their ominous name stems not just from the steep and jagged aspect of their peaks, but from the fact that, in ancient days, Suagir raiders swooping down on Pelenaia would either come through the passes of the range itself, or skirt around its flank to descend via the vantagelands to the north. The settled peoples living east of the mountains have always associated the feared steppe nomads with wolves and jackals, and the name has persisted despite the fact that no such raids have reached Pelenaia's lowlands since the early days of the Phyridian Empire. Controlling the Jackal's Fangs and fortifying their passes was one of the important military achievements of the empire's early expansionary phase. They have formed the backbone of one of its garrisoned border provinces ever since.

The native people of the Jackal's Fangs, called XXXXX, resemble Suagirs in their features but have little in common with the steppe-riders' ways; they have dwelt in small walled towns and mountain villages since time immemorial, farming the valley-sides and raising flocks of goats and sheep. By now these people have been under Phyridian rule (and intermarrying with Phyridians who come up from the lowlands) for so many centuries that they have adopted the Tuvai language, but old histories tell that they once spoke a Suaga-like dialect. Between this and their physical appearance, it seems likely that they descend from Suagir forebears who left the high steppe and settled amidst the jagged peaks for some unknown reason long ago. The Suagirs themselves have nothing but contempt for the XXXXXXs, as they do for all settled peoples who huddle behind village walls and push ploughs through the dirt for their sustenance.
Epheos

Epheos, the Fruitful, the XXXXXXXXXXX, is one of the Aiyu-Atma and is the primordial mother-goddess of all green and growing things. Her offspring include savage Borghu, the Qali Matra, Kurandama and Yavamira (the Qali Danu), and the Ephesu-Vaati, the diverse lesser gods of the forests, streams, springs, and meadows. Nysseia the mother-goddess of the elves is her sister, as was Khreus, mother of the oceans.

She is revered by the elves, to varying degrees, alongside their own gods. The wood-elves and especially the wild-elves consider her a major deity and honor her (and XXXXXX brother-sister forest deities) as highly as the Aeiuradris, or sometimes even moreso. She is also a prominent figure in most druidic cults, and her worship is widespread among the Thelbirs, who call her Dhuru or Veovis (among many other names) and praise her for the return of springtime after each long winter. The worship of Epheos is relatively rare in most “civilized” human lands, but it may be found here and there, typically as a folk cult practiced with simple means by peasants or woodsmen alongside the more formal and predominant cults of the Thaedonu-Vaati or the Rhantaseppa. For instance, in Orithea and Rhydain, one might encounter villagefolk and farmers who adhere to all the laws and rituals of Utara-Vaati, make offerings at the tessaraon, etc. but also pray to Epheos alongside Deinoa and Nevaea for good harvests and fruitful fields.
Gundarra

Gundarra is a mid-sized human kingdom in central Rhydain. It is centered around the upper valley of the Helvander River, surrounded on three sides by the great dwarven empire of Kuzul-Kadrin and bordered to the east by the lands of the Helvandrian League. Its capital and the seat of the royal court is the city of Tvardom. Much of Gundarra is hilly or mountainous; the upper Helvander valley is narrow, and the terrain quickly rises into rugged highlands and then snow-capped peaks as one moves away from the river. Gundarra’s northern border is defined by the dizzying south slope of the main range of the Adhemars, and its southern border by the lower but still-formidable peaks of the Helgremars.

Its geographical position means that it is traversed by the same lucrative trade routes that run down through the Helvandrian League and out to the Sarpic Seas, ferrying dwarven riches to the wider world; Gundarra profits from this trade just as the League states do, making it a wealthy kingdom. Since most of the length of the Helvander within Gundarran borders is not easily navigable, trade tends to move by trains of wagons and pack mules instead (as much as possible on roads that parallel the river’s course to avoid the steep hills and highland passes). Only at the kingdom’s far eastern end does the river become suitable for boat traffic, and here at the major river-port of Culdor, goods brought upriver are unloaded onto carts to continue their trip up the valley while goods moving downriver are transferred from wagon to boat in the opposite direction.

Gundarra has historically pursued friendly relations with Kuzul-Kadrin; given its location and the huge disparity in size and strength between the two, it could hardly afford otherwise. The kings of Gundarra are long-standing allies of Kuzulnizam and numerous dwarven merchants, travelers, and artisans can usually be found in Gundarran towns, where they are received with hospitality.
Fenside

Fenside is a district of Torrune lying outside the walled city; it occupies the wedge-shaped area of land just west of the city proper, formed by the angle of the Helvander-Greywine river confluence. It is connected to the rest of the city by the Nyrrian Bridge, which runs across the Helvander to the Low City's Millstone Quarter, and by the Boatmender's Bridge, which crosses the Greywine and joins the far shore to the south of the High City's walls. West of Fenside rises Hex Hill, with the outermost neighborhoods of the district climbing up its lower slope in a series of winding, switchbacked streets and narrow stairway-like alleys.

Fenside's name stems from the fact that, in the past, this area of low land in the crook of the river junction was swampy and overgrown with marsh grass and willows. Over time, as Torrune grew during the Old Empire days, it began to fill in with workshops and businesses too smelly or smoky to be welcome in the city proper: Tanners, renderers, charcoal-makers' kilns, and so forth. This area was depopulated along with the rest of the city following the empire's collapse, but when the rise of League brought renewed river trade and a rebirth for Torrune, Fenside was soon in use again. Eventually craftsmen associated with the boat-building industry (rope-makers, timber-cutters, joiners, etc.) also began establishing workshops along the riverbanks here as the waterfronts of the Low City became more and more crowded. As small boat slips and piers were built along the shore of Fenside, bigger ones soon followed, then the quays for unloading heavy barges, then warehouses and dockyards.

Today, Fenside much resembles the waterfront districts of the Low City, but with a more chaotic and unplanned street grid: A bustling hive of docks, storehouses, stables, taverns, brothels, and workshops, with countless boats, ships, carts, and wagons coming and going in swarms at all hours. Charcoal-makers and tanneries are still numerous on the outskirts of the area. It is largely working-class and many of its neighborhoods could be frankly described as slums. Fenside is also notorious for its criminal element, particularly smugglers. In reality, the Low City probably has just as much of this activity, but Fenside's reputation as a smugger's haunt is persistent.
Aurhion

Aurhion, the XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX, is one of the Aiyu-Atma; he is the consort of Nysseia and the father-god of the elven pantheon, the Aeiur Aedris. Elven legends tell that he created the moon as a funeral vessel for Khreus, sister of Nysseia, who was slain in the old gods' war against primordial chaos when creation was new.
Electors of the Helvandrian League

The Electors of the Helvandrian League are those rulers of League member states who hold the right to vote in the election of the League's Prince-Palatine. They are thus sometimes referred to as Palatine Electors (Elector-Peers is another, less common, term for this group). Those League states whose ruler holds the rank of Elector are typically referred to as "full-fledged" League members. Palatine Protectorates, Palatine Cities, and Free Cities are excluded from this class since their rulers do not hold Electoral rank (or they are governed directly by the Prince-Palatine or his appointed consuls), and their status within the League is considered somewhat lower.
House of Thoab

The House of Thoab was formerly one of Torrune's richest and most important mercantile clans. Its master, Alberic of the House of Thoab, was chosen as the fourth Lord of the City in 1115 CV. He immediately proceeded to abolish the election of the archons, making it a hereditary position instead and thereby winning himself everlasting notoriety and the cognomen "the Grasper". Notoriety notwithstanding, his strength relative to the city's other major merchant families, and his ruthless suppression of the the subsequent backlash, cemented this change in the laws of the city. Alberic's institution of hereditary succession has held until the present day.

Alberic himself, however, only reigned for four years before dying in 1119 CV (by assassination, it is widely assumed). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Nyrrias of the House of Thoab, who ruled for thirteen years and made himself one of the city's most respected archons. He governed with a strong hand but was flexible when needed; he presided over years of great prosperity and made many improvements to the city, including personally financing the construction of the bridge which now bears his name. His effective rule and general popularity did much to prevent his father's abolition of archonal election from being undone by the jealous schemes of the other merchant clans.

Nevertheless, Nyrrias was also likely assassinated in 1132 CV, and succeeded by his younger brother Gallen, whose unremarkable rule only lasted a year and a half before he died in a fall from his horse. Gallen was then succeeded on the archonal seat by his pubescent son Gessen in 1133 CV, who was deposed later that same year by a conspiracy of merchant clans lead by Thacco of the House of Lugaro. Thacco promptly took power for himself and ruled the city for over three decades. Thus the archonate of Torrune passed from the House of Thoab to the House of Lugaro, although Thacco's two successors (his two sons Ubertin and Jerrard) would hold it for only a few years each before their family was supplanted in turn by the House of Serekan.

After Gessen's overthrow, he and his whole household were driven out of Torrune, first seeking refuge with allies in Yenris and eventually migrating south to re-establish themselves in Alondrian lands. The descendants of the House of Thoab now mostly live in Sedoa, where they are minor merchants, far-fallen from the days when they controlled all of Torrune and reaped great riches from the Helvander river trade.
Myrru Xhuramensu

Myrru Xhuramensu was the eldest daughter of Tarquenus, born to him in Aarb before the Schism Wars began. She came of age during those terrible times and was one of her father’s earliest and most faithful disciples, and one of the first priestesses of the Rhantaseppa. She accompanied her father and the other Tarquenian exiles on their flight across the ocean to Achuirea, where she became a prominent religious and political leader in the new Rhantashannu civilization they founded there.

Her second name is an honorific meaning “beloved of Xhura” and tradition holds that she was the most favored priestess of Xhura in particular. Nayalla the Unflinching, the paladin-priestess of Fimra who led Vhaluzia’s conquest and established the Redhawk Empire, claimed direct descent from Myrru Xhuramensu and the empresses of her dynasty have sustained that claim ever since. The land of Myrrene, which covers a large part of Vhaluzia and makes up the heartland of the Redhawk Empire, is named for Myrru.
House of Kroma

The House of Kroma was one of Torrune's most important mercantile clans in the early years after the city bought its independence from Charagma. In 1103 CV, when Talrik of the House of Turpin was forced to abdicate the archonal seat due to ill health, Leovar of the House of Kroma was elected as his replacement and thus became the third Lord of the City. He ruled for twelve years and died peacefully in his bed. The next archon after him was Alberic of the House of Thoab, who infamously abolished the election of archons and instead passed his title on to his son, establishing the pattern of patrilineal succession that has lasted ever since.

After Leovar's archonate, the House of Kroma's influence waned somewhat, though they remained comfortable and respectable. However, they came to be closely aligned with the House of Lugaro. This benefited them during the long rule of XXXXXX, first archon of that name, but in 1176 CV his younger son Jerrard was overthrown by the House of Serekan. For supporting the old regime, the House of Kroma was persecuted by the new archon, XXXXX of Serekan. Their wealth and holdings were confiscated and many of their members were imprisoned, or executed, on trumped-up charges. Many others were driven out of the city altogether. The Kroma clan was reduced to insignificance and their name itself died out over time through intermarriage with other minor trading families.
Beklagard

Beklagard Fortress, sometimes called Beklagard Castle or simple Beklagard or Beklagar, is a massive stone fortification which stands like a man-made island in the middle of the River Helvander where it flows through the city of Torrune. It was built as that city’s central citadel and the lynchpin of its defenses during the early days of the Old Empire, and is now used by the Archon of Torrune as a prison, armory, store-house, treasury, and barracks for his city militia. It has been over a century since Torrune was directly threatened by a hostile army, so the military function of Beklagard has been long-neglected, but it would certainly remain a formidable stronghold if the city was ever besieged again.

The foundations of Beklagard stand upon what was, originally, a low, rocky, roughly teardrop-shaped island in the center of the Helvander’s main channel. This islet is now completely built over and no trace of it remains visible. In ancient times, though, prior to Beklagard’s construction, this small island was the site of a series of smaller forts and watchtowers whose remaining foundation stones were partially incorporated into Beklagard itself. The overall plan of Beklagard is elongated and ship-like, with its western end tapering like the bow of a gigantic stone ship turned into the flow of the river.

Beklagard is connected to both banks of the Helvander, and both walled portions of Torrune, by the twin spans of the aptly named Fortress Bridge (also called the Dwarven Bridge, since it was dwarf-built). One span of the bridge runs from Beklagard's south-facing bastion to the High City's Griffin's Gate; the other runs from the fort's north bastion to the Tower of Ghorodan on the Low City waterfront. Between the bastions, where it traverses the fortress, the roadway of the bridge passes through a long rectangular courtyard with high ramparts looming over it on either side.

Like the bridge spans that connect it to both banks of the Helvander, the Beklagard fortress was designed and built by dwarven engineers in the employ of the Asgalian Emperor XXXXXXXX. This accounts for the surpassing high quality of the fortress’s stonework, the superb defensive features of its design, and its durability over nearly a millennia during which very little maintenance or reconstruction work has been needed. Typical of dwarven military architecture, it is constructed of very large but meticulously shaped blocks that fit together so tightly and neatly that no mortar is required between them. Its foundations and outer walls are made not from the blue-grey riverbed limestone which is abundant around Torrune, but from harder and stronger granite quarried in the foothills of the Adhemars some 150 miles to the north.

Beklagard's name is derived from that of Bekala the Blue, a renowned warrior who was long in the service of Emperor XXXXXX (and his son and successor XXXXXXX after him). She was appointed to serve as the first commander of the fortress after it's completion, although she held that post for less than a year before being called away to lead troops in XXXXXX's wars against the Phyridians.
Ghalimar

Ghalimar is a Kirdan slave-port located near the mouth of the Bay of Sirens on Thelbiron's coast. The fortified city is perched on a rocky headland where the bay's mouth opens into the Gulf of Yrsa. It is the primary entrepot for the Kirdan Empire's trade in Thelbir slaves. It was greatly enlarged during the reign of Tembekai VI (grandfather of the current Tash-Teshivan), substantially increasing the imperial revenues derived from the slave trade. It serves as the central point in a network of smaller Kirdan outposts and fortified settlements scattered around the Bay of Sirens' shores and up the course of the River Tarba.
Elacreon

Elacreon is a hilly region to the northwest of the Plain of Tharsus; it is a part of greater Kelimaria but is often considered somewhat distinct from the rest of Kelimarian lands. Part of the reason for this is obviously geographical, since Elacreon’s upland terrain (rolling hills and dome-shaped limestone karst formations divided by twisting river valleys) is quite different from the flat forested plains covering most of Kelimaria. However, the distinction is also cultural, and the inhabitants of Elacreon have long been considered different in their customs and dialect from the rest of the Kelim people.

For centuries, most or all of Elacreon has been governed as an emirate ruled by the accordingly titled Emir of Elacreon; like other Kelimarian states, the Emirate of Elacreon has been autonomous or fully independent in times when the Kelimarian Sultanate was weak or nonexistent, and has been subordinated to the Topaz Throne in times when strong sultans ruled. The current emir of Elacreon was an obedient vassal to the most recent sultan, Olugar IX (and in fact was one of his strongest supporters), but the collapse of the sultanate during the end stage of the orcish wars has left him functionally sovereign and his emirate de facto independent again.

Elacreon’s biggest city is Tarrek, the so-called Holy City or the Jewel of the Gods, home to one of the largest and most beautiful temple complexes in southwestern Orithea. It is a particularly significant cult center for the worship of Telaon, Deinoa, and Kothaur. Large numbers of Vanir-Vaati from all over Kelimaria, Ojaum, the Medrenesse, and beyond travel as pilgrims to Tarrek to make offerings on its sacred altars and participate in its religious festivals. This flow of pilgrims also brings substantial wealth to the region and considerably swells the coffers of the emirate.

The emirs of Elacreon have often held court in Tarrek and have palaces there, but the traditional capital of emirate and seat of its rule is the smaller city of Camabar.

Elacreon’s climate is noticeably cooler than that of the Kelimarian plain, partly because of its somewhat more northerly location, but mostly due to its elevation. Like the lowlands, however, it has an ample rainy season, and is generally green and lush. Whereas most of Kelimaria is covered in warm and wet (almost subtropical) woodlands, Elacreon’s hills are blanketed with cooler coniferous rainforests, full of ferns and pines, and often cloaked in misty clouds. The climate does get somewhat drier and colder in the region’s easternmost parts. Here, the dense rainy fir-forests transition to more open woods of highland spruce, then patchy cedar and juniper groves, and finally sparse thorny thickets with occasional scrub pines as the steep dome-shaped hills give way to the high plain of the Suagir steppe.
Dwarvish (language)

The language of the dwarves is called by them XXXXXXXXX, meaning "the honest speech," but humans simply call it dwarvish or dwarven. It uses a runic alphabet and is written vertically, in columns ordered left to right. This alphabet is a relatively simple syllabic script with 22 characters, but there is also a much more complex system of runic logograms, numbering in the thousands, which is used in some cases.

The dwarven tongue has remained remarkably consistent across great lengths of time and wide geographical dispersion, with very little variation in dialect even between far-flung dwarven populations who had have no contact for many centuries. Even the corrupted and degraded speech of the foul Derro is fairly comprehensible to other dwarves, offensive as they may find it.
Alborak

Alborak was a volcanic island in the Sarpic Seas, situated in the Gates of Ghirn between the Saulean Sea and the Sea of Pearls, which was home to the city of Qoss up until its complete destruction in the Great Cataclysm.

Alborak was crescent-shaped, roughly twelve miles in diameter, and almost completely enclosed a circular bay. This sheltered bay, open to the sea only via the gap less than a mile wide between the horns of the crescent, was an ideal natural harbor. Qoss stood upon its shores with the titanic spires of the Sorcerer-King's palace looming over all. The arc of the island's crescent was mostly steep-sided and rocky; Qoss itself rose in stairstep tiers up the interior slope facing the harbor, and outside its walls, terraced groves and gardens clung to the precipitous hillsides.

Alborak and Qoss were completely obliterated by the Great Cataclysm and no trace of them remains. Nothing but the rolling blue expanse of the open sea is now to be seen where once was the seat of a great empire.
Aulgu's Market (Torrune)

Aulgu's Market, also called Aulgasmark or simply the Grand Market, Great Market, or Great Bazaar, is the huge central marketplace of the city of Torrune. It is located in the middle of the Low City, north of the central riverfront and east of the Syrennian Hill. It is so large that its environs (i.e. the marketplace itself plus the neighborhoods around its edges) are considered a major quarter or district of Torrune in their own right. When referring to the whole quarter around the market, Aulgasmark is the term most commonly used.

Some parts of the market take the form of a street grid or network of alleys, not much different from any other part of the city, with shops of a certain type all grouped together along various streets. Other parts consist of plazas divided up by long sections of covered arcades flanking open avenues, which provide rows of alcoves where vendors can set up stalls or stands with their wares (although in many such areas, stubborn hawkers have established permanent occupation of their alcove and their stalls have become practically miniature shops built into the space, with sturdy lockable trellises or grates to secure them when the owner is away). The lowest grade of peddlers simply gather around the edges of plazas and main streets, or along the back-lanes that run between blocks of shops, sitting cross-legged on an old blanket or reed mat with their wares spread out before them.

In some places, barrel-vaulted or timbered roofs have been built over the streets and the lanes between arcades, enclosing them against the elements. This has created covered market areas like great high-ceilinged halls lined with dozens or even hundreds of shops. Some of the narrow twisting alleyways have been similarly roofed over, resulting in maze-like warrens (sometimes multi-leveled) filled with countless tiny businesses barely spacious enough to contain the proprietor and a handful of his wares on a single narrow shelf.

Major streets or sub-markets include the Street of the Coin-Changers, the Street of the Lute-Makers, the Cordwainers' Lane, the Lamp-Makers' Street, the Court of the Wine Sellers, the Street of the Herb-Sellers, the Furrier's Street, the Olive-Sellers' Street, the Bootmender's Court, the Salt-Sellers' Way, and many others.

Aulgu's Market is named after Aulgu XXXXXXXX, one of the magistrates or procurators entrusted by the Dukes of Charagma with Torrune's administration in the early League days before the city gained its self-rule. His tenure was during the early days of the city's rebirth, when it had been restored from a mostly-ruinous state and was growing again into a major commercial hub based on the renewed river trade. It was he who ordered the demolition of an area of slums in the central Low City in order to create a large arcaded market plaza, which now forms a section of the much-expanded bazaar's southern part.

Besides the huge marketplace itself, the district called Aulgasmark extends south to encompass the Court of the Portreeve, the Splicer's Market, and Talrik's Square; its southern edge reaches down to the stretch of waterfront around the Fortress Bridge.
Aarb

Aarb was a city or city-state in southeastern Orithea, somewhere along the northern coast of the Saulean Sea, during the archaic period. It was destroyed in the titanic upheavals at the end of the Schism Wars and where exactly it stood is not known today, partially because some lands sank into the seas or were torn apart by terrible earthquakes during that catastrophe; the pre-Schism coastlines of the Sarpic Seas were not identical to their current shape. In addition, the shores of the Saulean Sea were mostly swept clean by the tsunamis of the Great Cataclysm much later, so even if some trace of Aarb remained after the Schism Wars, it probably would have been obliterated by those terrible waves.

Aarb is famous as the city where the prophet Tarquenus delivered his revelation, attracted his early followers, and first preached the worship of the Rhantaseppa. He and his disciples were subsequently chased out of the city in an episode which saw a large number of the first Rhantashanis slaughtered by mobs, or captured and executed or imprisoned by the Aarbish authorities.
Achuirea

Achuirea is the easternmost continent of Urva, lying across the Thurnic and Emerald Oceans from Orithea, Ulthark, and Thelbiron. It is considerably smaller than their combined size, but still enormous, stretching roughly four thousand miles from north to south, and nearly that far from east to west.
Durrak's Passage

Durrak's Passage is a very wide channel between the northeastern coast of Achuirea and the tip of Forvirad (the Cape of Woe), where the Thurnic Ocean joins the Encircling Ocean. It is one of three waterways where the Inner Oceans connect to the Encircling Ocean; the other two are the Gates of Barossus and the Myrrenian Channel, far to the south on either side of Vhaluzia.
Lamasar

Lamasar is a Chartered Free City of the Helvandrian League, located on the lower Helvander River. It and its territory form an enclave completely surrounded by the duchy of Meniri, of which it used to be a part. At the conclusion of the Four of the War Palatines, in which the duke of Meniri's faction was defeated, Lamasar was stripped from the duchy and granted self-rule. This led to a permanent decrease in Meniri's wealth and influence within the League, since control of the city's rich river trade was key to the duchy's former prominence. Today, Lamasar's mercantile elite is closely linked with that of Hakoris.
Lake Lhodogir

Lake Lhodogir is a very large and extremely deep lake which fills much of the Tigerstone Rift between Kelimaria and Vastemar. It measures nearly five hundred miles long and is sometimes also called the Sea of Lhodogir or the Tigerstone Sea. It is fed from the north by the Aitrus River, which winds across the Kelimarian plain before plunging down into the rift valley in a series of spectacular falls, and from the south by the XXXXX and XXXXX rivers which come flowing down from the Zanobian ranges of northeast Vastemar and western Sularia.
Iraolis

Iraolis is the god of the western wind, whose onset brings autumn and chases away the heat of summer. He is a son of Klython, thus one of the Klythonu-Vaati and counted among the Aiyu-Thani, and is a brother of Turomë, Nabhiru, and Uatha.

The traditional shamanic cults of the Suagirs often place great emphasis on the propitation of Iraolis (who is known to them in their language as XXXXXX). When summer is hot and fierce on the steppe, his arrival is beseeched by the Suagirs to grant relief from the scorching heat, and to bring autumn rains that will restore some good forage to the parched soil before winter arrives. Like his siblings, he is also worshiped by the Rhantashans as a minor deity within the cult of his father Klython, and as part of the druidic tradition of the Vardic people.
Dogtooth Mountains

The Dogtooth Mountains are a mountain range in west-central Shiankar, running down from the Tuzul Massif (of which they are generally considered an arm or branch) to the Mountains of Thundering Flame. Their southern portion contains several active volcanoes. The Dogtooth range forms the eastern boundary of the Kar Kuzul and the corresponding western edge of the Kar Kadash.
Archon

Archon is a title of lordship or nobility that is used in various regions throughout Orithea and Rhydain, and in certain parts of Achuirea and the Azarian Isles as well. Depending on the regional and cultural context, it may have a number of different connotations, and may rank higher or lower in the hierarchy of noble titles. The territory ruled by an archon is typically called an archonate, and the female equivalent is "archona."

In Rhydain, eastern Orithea, and Taijuria, the rank of archon is often used for the lord of a free city or city-state, whether his position is elective or hereditary, and whether he is sovereign or subordinate to a higher liege-lord. In such cases, it is interchangeable with (and considered nearly synonymous with) the title "Lord of the City." This rank is often, but not always, roughly equivalent to that of a duke. For instance, the Archon of Torrune, and the archons of various Alondrian city-states, are generally treated as if they were of ducal rank in terms of honors and etiquette. However there are exceptions; the ruler of the free city of Thrommelport, for example, technically holds archonal rank (along with several other titles) but is widely considered to be more like a king than anything else.

In the Phyridian Empire, by contrast, the title "archon" is used specifically for a class of imperial governors who are appointed by Amran to rule over certain cities. They are distinguished from other types of high governing officials by the particular privileges and prerogatives afforded to their administration. In this context, even the lowliest commoner may assume the title of archon if the Phyridian Emperor sees fit to appoint them governor of a city whose rulership includes those archonal prerogatives (although in practice, as with other high imperial appointments, these are usually given to a relatively small circle of aristocratic families with ties to the imperial household).

In Kelimaria and parts of the the Western Isles, by contrast, an archon may be the lord (typically noble-born and hereditary) of a single city, a province or prefecture, an individual island, or even a large feudal domain. It may be considered equivalent to any of several different grades of nobility, depending on the size of the lord's holdings. A petty archon who governs a single small city and its hinterland might be considered to hold something like baronial rank, whereas the greatest archons ruling huge territories might be considered nearly equivalent to an emir (prince).

In Achuirea, the meaning of the title is generally close to that used in Rhydain and Taijuria (i.e. the ruler of a city-state, of whatever status), although this is by no means always true.

"Archon" may also be used for the masters of certain religious orders or priesthoods, or the high priest who also holds paramount governing authority or rulership over a temple-state.
Druune Basin

The Druune Basin is a large endorheic basin situated in southwestern Orithea, with the Sunken Sea at its center. Much of its area lies well below sea level. Beyond the immediate margin of the Sunken Sea itself, the basin is typically divided into two main regions: The great Jade River valley stretching off to form its southeastern arm, and the land of Ojaum lying north and east of the sea. The whole basin is bounded, generally speaking, by Varadeska and the Dranurian massif to the east; by the high Suagir steppe to the north; by the Kelimarian plain to the west; and by Sularia and the Zanobian ranges to the south. The Scyra Highlands, which are the northernmost extension of Sularia’s massif, separate the Druune Basin from the adjacent Tigerstone Rift to its west. The basin’s landscape is mostly green and lush, with a warm climate and ample rainy season each year.
Maarna

Maarna was the capital of the now-destroyed kingdom of Zanbalik, and the seat of its royal court. It was besieged, breached, overrun, and completely despoiled by Gol Garga's hordes in 1250 CV. The citadel and royal palaces were torn down to rubble; the city was plundered and put to the torch. Its tessaraon was defiled by the rituals of Korgul's shamans, and stained with the blood of human prisoners sacrificed to that cruel god. Much of the city's population had already fled to the north at the time of its destruction, but those that remained were slaughtered or taken as slaves. Great mounds of severed heads were piled up in the public squares and thousands of terrified captives were dragged away in chains. Maarna now lies in ruins, completely abandoned.

Some of the Zanbaliki people who escaped their homeland's destruction fled into Rhydain, passing east and finding their way to the Taefemach. A number of them, especially those from Maarna itself and the surrounding country, eventually sought settlement around the city of Torrune. The shantytown which has grown to the south of this city's walls is home to many of these refugees and is thus called 'Little Maarna' by the locals.
Eatheus

Eatheus is a low-lying region extending as a wide, rounded peninsula from Orithea’s northeastern coast. It is a part of greater Urem and its flat grasslands and beech forests are contiguous with the Uremite plain; however, it is mostly drained by the river XXXXX rather than the great Rhanna and its tributaries. The shores of Eatheus are washed by the Sea of Jalmar (to the northwest) and the Scarlet Sea (to the east).

The inhabitants of Eatheus are mostly of Uremite and Ullyr stock, the latter predominating along the coastlines, with a Suagir-descended Kirdan elite making up the lordly caste. All of Eatheus lies within the borders of the Kirdan Empire.