Archaea

A continent in the eastern reaches of the Adwenian Ocean, Archaea is largely isolated from the other continents of the world. It has tenuous lines of maritime trade with Dokkan to the south, and the Far East beyond the Needlestack Mountains. These routes, however, are haunted by great serpents and leviathans of the deep, allowing only a trickle of the hardiest merchants to escape with their lives. Its trading partners sometimes colloquially refer to Archaea as "The Barbaric West" due to its low population, near-constant state of conflict, and lack of large population centers. The continent is divided into six geographical sub-regions:

* **The Lament** - A desert region, all that remains of the verdant Arkhenatelan, land of Sorcerer Kings. It has been wracked by a series of tragic Desolations which have left it a haunted, ruined wasteland. The city of Lazar is all that remains of the glorious past.
* **Kingdoms of River and Hill** - Once considered an uncivilized hinterland to the glittering westlands, this region was given new prominence by the fall of Arkhenatelan in the Great Desolation. Now the largest remaining population of humans, what began as undeveloped tribeland slowly grew into a patchwork of petty kingdoms nestled amongst the hills and vales of the southern peninsula. These kingdoms maintain a fractious relationship with Kataleon, a city on the southern end of the peninsula formed by a group of Lazarene refugees. This city, ruled by a merchant cartel, is known as the most prosperous settlement on the continent of Archaea.
* **Nedermark** - A land of icy plains, frosted pinewoods, and fjords peopled by a stratified culture of Orcs and Goblins. Organized around long-halls and chieftains, the orcs serve as a warrior/raider class supported by an worker class of goblin farmers and artisans. With no natural border separating them from the Steppes, the warrior clans are in a near constant state of conflict with the Lizard Tribes to the south.
* **Great Nederian Steppe** - Once the heart of an ancient civilization which ruled the continent before the arrival of humans, little is known about the Steppe in modern times. It is peopled by mixed tribes of Lizardfolk and Kobolds, who suffer under a cursed parasite which whips them into a cycle of breeding frenzies and war every five to ten years. The instability of this arrangement has prevented them from developing beyond a tribal hunter-gatherer culture, as they are in near constant conflict with outsiders. Few dare to venture beyond the fringes of the Steppe, and few have any cause to.
* **Eldwood Deeps** - Mysterious and fey, the Eldwood Deeps are the northern half of the great eastern Woodlands, peopled by elves whose politics are completely inscrutable to outsiders. Arranged as Fey Courts, Elven Nobles play a game of centuries-long political maneuvers, trading favors and allegiances to jockey for position. The Courts themselves have no physical location, as the living wooden architecture of their cities is able to move almost freely through the Wood to suit need. The Courts enforce strictly isolationist policies, and forbid most forms of contact of their citizens with the outside world as a means of preserving the sanctity of their Wood.
* **The Lychwood** - Separated from the Eldwood Deeps by the enchanted **River Salva,** The Lychwood is a much wilder, darker place. Spurned by most elves, the Lychwood is a haven for the capricious forest spirits who have wandered out of the Fey. Some elven outcasts and human bogfolk make their homes in this blighted land, and some say it was once home to the primeval kingdoms of Man which first settled Archaea from the East. The Wood is too dangerous for serious scholars to study much of the darkling ruins which hide beneath its eaves.