Tairghol

Tairghol is the continent named for the world. In the absence of knowledge of other landmasses, the world and the continent have become synonymous.

Tairghol is a roughly rectangular landmass with a large inland sea in the east, on which lie settlements of the Men-on-the-Water. Deciduous forests cover much of the north coast of this inland sea, constituting the indigenous realms of the Eastforest and Westforest; forest also cover areas of the mid- and northwest. The Trade Lake also lies in the northwest, accessible to the sea via the Merkata River and fed by several others.

North of the Trade Lake is a large nameless mountain range inhabited by the Mountainfolk; further north span the Vasterlands, and below is Suren's Desert, which is dominated by the Solitary Peak. Further south is an expanse of grass plains, on which live the Plainspeople.

Further south the climate becomes colder and the land south of the inland sea is swathed in coniferous forest. The furthest reaches of southern Tairghol are claimed by the Snowtribe, who reside near another mountain range, again unnamed as is Tairghol custom. The realm of the Snowtribe is the furthest south Tairghol has been explored.

## History

### **Pre-Humanity**

Tairghol was originally intended to be an afterlife for the flora and fauna of Earth, without the commanding presence of humanity. As such, it harbours the same plants and animals found on Earth. The only exception is the People.

#### **The People**

The origin of the People is unclear - they may have evolved from some Earthly fauna in the local ecosystem, and this theory is supported by the extremely quick rate of adaptation and evolution that the People experience. For example, the People split from a single race into nearly a dozen physically and mentally distinct races within five hundred years of the arrival of humans.

This evolution theory does not account for the fact that, for the People to have evolved directly from regular animals, they would have to have suddenly miraculously gained the ability to evolve thousands of times faster than any other creature. If this was the case, it stands to reason the other fauna would have evolved as well; this has not occurred. This conclusion was reached by scholars of the late Reman Republic in the 6th Century, and the theory has since been dismissed.

The other theory is that the People are, like humans, colonists of Tairghol. The theory that the People managed to reach the continent without any clear semblance of self-government or concepts of philosophy, let alone the technology required for open-sea sailing. This portion of the theory - that the People had no knowledge of boats - is debunked by the Men-on-the-Water, who regularly make use of galleys and simple carracks. However, scholars of the University of Arpia recently raised the point that, if the People can quickly evolve to be able to achieve goals then this should be counterbalanced by the quick loss of skills no longer needed. Thus, after their arrival it is likely the People would have lost the ability to sail as they no longer needed to sail.

### **Arrival of Humanity**

When humans arrived in the 8th Century BCE, they came from the north. The arrival of the Halcyonian Flotilla seriously upset the balance of the continent as they sailed up the Flentia River. Where humans settled, they drove wedges between the populations of the People and, over time, this isolation caused the evolution of the People into the creatures they are today.

When humanity first settled, it was too small and too widely spread to immediately resume the natural Earthly state of geopolitics. The Age of Migration, ranging from the 8th to 5th Centuries BCE, marked this stage of repopulation. By around 350BCE Tairghol was around as densely populated as 11th Century Europe and politics began to play a role.