Akilos

**Akilos** is the second-most northern continent in Siira, only surpassed by Te-o-Thuust. Alongside this, it is also the second-largest continent, directly behind the Unknown Lands in the Southern Hemisphere. Akilos is characterized primarily by temperate to freezing environments, multitudes of intelligent races, technological advancement, and diverse culture.

Akilos houses a large majority of the countries within the first half of Siira, and, as a result, also has the largest total population within a land mass. The total population of permanent residents in Akilos numbers approximately ten billion, five million (10,005,000,000) inhabitants.

## Overview

Akilos is a large, sprawling continent in the Northern Hemisphere of Siira. As a result, most of the continent is covered in temperate, deciduous forests, alongside a mostly mild temperature gradient. In the southern portion of the continent, sand or loam beaches line the coasts of various nations. In the west, smaller countries are packed into condensed clusters, whereas eastwards, the countries generally are larger and more spread out.

Akilos has two completely uninhabited regions, the Eastern and Western Wastes, so named due to the lack of intelligent races, alongside the permanent, difficult terrain which prevents all but the most highly-specialized species from maintaining a foothold. The Western Wastes are also believed to be the original homeland of the Piquits, a race of bipedal humanoids characterized by animalistic traits, but the Piquits eventually left the Western Wastes for unknown reasons.

Akilos is well-known throughout the world as housing a great deal of islands, said to have formed after the continents began to drift apart. Compared to most other continents, barring the Pjestelagos, Akilos has the largest number of habitable islands, though not all have permanent residents.

Akilos has plentiful mountain ranges, which increase in size progressively the more Northern one would travel. A notable nation, Ts'ilvka, has islands which act as a natural barrier, alongside its mountains, to produce an arid, desert environment, the only true, full sand desert in all of Akilos. Some of these mountain ranges act as natural barriers, others as impenetrable enigmas, and even more house thousands of unique species, even within a single mountain range.

## Ancient History

Just as all other continents, Akilos' history is shrouded in mystery. It is not known exactly how the continents, or even the numerous races, came to be. The earliest verified, advanced documents of Akilos can be traced back to the predecessors of the Sistan Empire, which documented various extinct flora and fauna, languages, and long-forgotten nations. However, true documentation came after the Sistan Empire began spreading eastward, recording and even keeping various, at the time for the Sistans, curosities. Unfortunately, very few of the samples collected by the natural philosophers of the Sistan Empire would not uncover the mysteries of the formation of Akilos.

During the period of the Sistan Empire, Akilean history, although somewhat biased, became substantially documented, with the Sistan Calendar allowing scholars, historians, and researchers to specify and contain numerous historical records by specific and pinpoint dates.

The Sistan Empire contacted innumerable cultures, races, and belief systems that both continue into the present day or have been subsumed by the dominant powers of the contemporary or following times. These ranged wildly from humans and humanlike beings, to almost barren wastes that evolved into lush landscapes by the unyielding Sistans and their technological advancements which brought the lands to heel. These regions retroactively became known as Sistan Akilos

## Countries

The countries of Akilos, in alphabetical order, for ease of discovery.

* Balae
* Caleach
* the Confederacy of Tullemäs
* The Crags
* Cymryddas Pycŵyt
* Deleevala
* Donarrstoft
* Eddersden
* The Empire of the Holy Ritamusto
* The Federation of Peléd
* Kingdom of Gennedrict and Her Vassals
* The Grand Duchy of the Luscus Estasteras
* Grinjal
* Grovensreitsch
* Hippalaanutuk
* Imperial Kawana
* Ingrastel
* Kilae
* The Kingdom of Khoratoshka
* The Kingdom of Tulôn
* Litaatsuo
* Nahilia
* Njala Amalae
* Nostland
* Port Barkkum
* Qi’ella
* Reisen
* The Republic of Easthaven
* The Republic of the Jagged Straits
* The Republic of Thelossia
* Saltstin
* Takukyak
* Termeda Kurus
* Thenden
* Ts’ilvka
* Tsjûnljååne
* Ugova
* The United Kingdoms of the Northern Empire
* The Valeramidian Republic
* Yokuli
* Übrich