Civilizations of the World

List of notable civilizations.

## Keldorian Empire

The Keldorian Empire is the mightiest civilization to arise since the Great Cataclysm. In the four centuries since the world was ravaged, the militant Keldorians employed their superb military strategy, mighty fleets, and the innovation of a new metal, iron, to carve out a mighty dominion for themselves. They dominate their home isles, and all the nearby coasts of the northwestern Charkosian Sea, having subjugated the civilizations within their immediate reach. Now, the Empire is a center of wealth, culture, and power, its supremacy unquestioned. But for over a century, its military traditions have been eroding, as the nobility of the heartlands, grown accustomed to the luxuries of their subject states, grow ever more decadent, greedy, and oppressive.

## The Daughters of Zakros

The Daughters of Zakros is the term commonly used for the various powers that once made up the northern colonies of the Zakrosan Ascendancy. The lands of the Daughters comprise Ianos, those elder children cradled closest to the bosom of Mother Zakros, most powerful and prosperous of the city states that arose after her fall. To the north, the cities of Heluros are poorer, but more heavily militarized, originally developed as bastions from the peoples of the north. In the west are the cities of Ellyria, the Bastard Daughters of Zakros, which have now degenerated into a hive of scum and villainy.

### Ianos

The various city states of Ianos, to varying degrees, pride themselves on being the first and greatest of Zakros's daughters. The Ianine cities are as diverse as they are prosperous, and they have forms of government ranging from elected monarchs to great councils of the wealthy. Most Ianosi share a common cultural focus on trade, prosperity, and prestige, and count themselves as the most culturally advanced nations within the world.

#### Cyrodon

The city of Cyrodon is the eldest and most powerful of the Daughters of Zakros. Having stood for over fourteen centuries, it is often referred to as Old Cyrodon, and was originally constructed to control the Strait of Kepar into the Bay of Ianos. Ruled by a council of five ephors, elected annually by the citizens from amongst the noble families whose lineages can be traced back to Mother Zakros.

#### Arkay

Arkay was originally founded as a pleasure resort by the Zakrosan Ascendancy. Situated on the breathtakingly beautiful island of Azuros, within the Bay of Ianos, Arkay also controls a large portion of the western coastline of the bay. It is renowned across the lands for its pleasure gardens, magnificent palaces, and most of all, its legendary bed slaves. Arkay is ruled by the Council of Magisters, a governing body of the thirty three richest and noblest figures within the city.

#### Lykandros

The city of Lykandros originally began as a fortress near the foot of the Torinth Mountains. When it was discovered that the southwestern reach of those mountains were rich in silver, great mines began there, and the city of Lykandros grew wealthy. Now, it is one of the more oppressive Ianosi cities, with most of the lower classes and working in the mines. To distract its people from their toils, Lykandros boasts some of the most famous Blood Pits in the world, where men fight and die for the entertainment of the populace. The city is lead by an Archon, an elected dictator who serves for life.

### Heluros

Heluros was a frontier during the days of the Zakrosan Ascendancy. Many of the local residents submitted to Zakrosan rule, and their lands were transformed into bastions against the northern barbarians. Today, the ancient fortresses from the days of Zakros remain, and the land is dominated by countless feuding warlords who inherited the martial culture passed down to them by their ancestors.

### Ellyria

Commonly known as the Bastard Daughters of Zakros, the cities of Ellyria are largely lawless and corrupt places, but for a scant few martial holdouts in the northeast. Elsewise, however, Ellyria is dominated by criminals and pirates, being so infamous for its piracy that its coast is known as the Pirate's Shore.