Zemyland

**Zemyland** is the northernmost continent in [the world of] Giantstep. A fully islandic continent, it is located in the northeast of the world of Giantstep, surrounded by the Okhelian Ocean, the Sea of Wraiths and the Platinum Strait. Zemyland is the second smallest continent in the step, behind Giantstep, Scimitarian and Littlestep, and only ahead of Wanaidheain.

## Geography of Zemyland

The continent of Zemyland is full of contrasts. The middle of the continent is dominated by the massive mountain ranges of the Corteau Canyon, which nearly divides Zemyland in two areas, and in its center lays the desert valley of the Rognarey, a bizarre salt desert isolated from the rest of the world. The extreme heights of the mountains block nearly all water and rains, only with the few people living there accessing water through the glaciers at the edges. North of the Corteau Canyon, the land is covered by a massive semi-frozen tundra, the White Fox Tundra, starting from the forests at the feet of the mountains and quickly becoming a massive tundra with vast grasslands and plants resistant to freezing during the coldest periods of the year. Further north, and one can find the White Mountains and the Perpetual Frost Peaks, two mountain lines that signal the massive Great Frozen Glaciers, covering nearly the entirety of the shores of the north, with the exception of to the valleys between the White Mountains and the Perpetual Frost Peaks, where the lost town of Kentgorod resides. South of the mountains of the Corteau Canyon, one can find the Grey Western Tundra and the Grey Eastern Tundra, massive plains covered in either taiga forests or grasslands. Unlike the north, however, the presence of big rivers like the Vovrova, the Zymeya and the Etheraidd allows areas where more productive agriculture can be developed, so long as the river stays flowing and not frozen. Further south, the Hyperborean and the Elder Mountains allows the presence of further rivers like the Sorokoronka and the Cherr. Areas south of these mountains are more densely covered in forests, with frequent rains and fogs, and strong snowstorms during winter, but the lands are agreeable enough to regular agriculture so long as one knows how to deal with the harsher periods of the year.

## Demographics of Zemyland

In ancient times, the demographic layout of the continent was marked by the duality of the human tribes and nations, led by the hyperboreans, and the fey, led by the snow elves. Aside from these groups, the presence of the owlmen in Biblion is poorly understood, but they have occupied part of the White Fox Tundra since many could remember (though records show the first inhabitants of Biblion were actually primitive dwarves). Minor groups now mostly displaced are dwarves, drow and many minor fey, as well as ogres and trolls. This balance was broken once the humans from the south began the colonization of Zemyland during the 22nd century ABE. The arrival of the “**zemylanders**”, the name they received from the local populations, and the name that would eventually replace the names the locals used for the continent, quickly increased the human populations. The south and the east quickly filled with small towns and coastal cities, pushing the hyperboreans and snow elves back, though their influence would not be felt as much north of the Corteau Canyon.

## Regions and nations of Zemyland

* Alltaf
* Ashen Shore
* Biblion
* Collapsed Realms of Rust
* Corteau Canyon
* Elder Kingdom of the Aine Saevherne
* Kentogorod Town
* Kingdom of Copper
* Kingdom of Gold
* Kingdom of Silver
* Kingdom of the Crimson Queen
* Nerim Tribes
* Pondlings
* Princedom of the Platinum Strait
* Rögnarey
* Shelkividur
* United Nomads of New Hyperborea