Geography of Gaea

Gaea's geography is loosely similar to that of Earth's, but the otherworldly forces that have shaped it through its long existence, from magic to divine action to heavenly bodies, have resulted in significant differences when compared with its counterpart. The world has many more continents, often smaller than those of Earth, many of which have been glimpsed by Earthlings through visions, dreams, and the rare returning Wayfarer. These generally reflect Earth's own locales, the individual subcontinents mirroring their Earth counterparts geographically, culturally, ethnically, religiously, and in terms of nomenclature as well. However, these are often larger than their Earth analogues, due in large part to space-time distortions caused by Magic, and in rarer cases smaller than their counterparts.

Magic suffuses the land, sea, and sky, and further changes the shape and nature of all three, even to the point of creating pocket realities known as Demiplanes that can dramatically increase the effective size of a territory beyond its conventional borders. Some are themselves large enough to count as worlds in their own right.

Most of Gaea's Continents and regions use archaic or alternative historical names for their real-world counterparts, or otherwise are derived from myth, legend, or literature, or in some cases phantom locations. Its oceans and seas are usually named for supercontinents.

## The Continents of Gaea

### Ultima Thule

*Main Article Ultima Thule*

A defunct supercontinent, of a sort, it was shattered roughly three thousand years ago by the mystical power of a terrible Overlord whose sorcery flooded much of Atlantis (following a disaster of more Divine origin), and split the continent now dubbed Ultima Thule in past-tense into three pieces. One of which was forced beneath the waves and now exists only as a scattering of mountaintops breaching the surface and islands that move unnaturally through the water and sky.

Ultima Thule is treated as something of a lost glory to much of modern Man, especially among Western Civilization where its influence was most strongly felt, rivaling the reputation of Atlantis but without the associated sense of divine punishment. The stories of its glory are more than a little exaggerated.

#### Western Thule

*Main Article Western Thule*

A smaller continent that was once part of Ultima Thule, Western Thule is comprised of densely clustered island subcontinents that split from one another during the Sundering of Thule, the most prominent of which are known as the Five Jewels. Most are divided into smaller nations, though some are unified under a single banner. The land is generally cool to temperate and quite wet; rain and snow are common according to the season, with summers generally drier. Much of the territory falls under what is considered a Temperate Rainforest climate, though this can vary on a smaller scale. Western Thule is geographically quite close to Meropis, with only a narrow strait separating the tips of four of the Five Jewels from the northwestern tip of the Great Lagoon. Much of its eastern coast is pitted against the Wandering Sea and the strangeness that can roll in from that, especially unfortunate Eire. Past the northern straits lies Hyperborea, whose various peninsulas stretch down to within easy view of the northern coasts at times. The west opens out into the Atlantican Ocean, whereas it's southeastern territories dip into the Cimmerian, and its northern borders into the Arctican. Despite this, it is generally considered to be in the Atlantican.

Western Thule is most analagous to the British Isles.

##### Annwn

*Main Article Annwn.*

One of the Five Jewels, Annwn is an especially dangerous place. Divided among the Kings and Queens of the Seasons, Annwn is functionally ruled by the Fae, with much of the subcontinent serving as a Manifest Zone for the Feywild. As such, Annwn is *much* larger on the inside than it is on the outside, being effectively *infinite* in dimensions so long as one doesn't have the proper magic or equipment to travel through it. This can lead to some unfortunate side-effects as one travels further from the coasts, especially when it comes to the concept of time...

Annwn's features are difficult to pin down due to the heavy extraplanar influence on it; everything seems brighter, more vibrant, more intense, than is strictly natural. When it is gloomy, it is terrifyingly so. When it is pleasant, it seems idyllic. Annwn is plagued by extremes, with its seasons exaggerated in their qualities and its similarly exceptional lands and waters flooded with Mana. Dense, primeval forests filled with trees too wide and too tall to readily comprehend, or with giant mushrooms large enough to build houses from, are common. As are impossibly wide rivers, unpassable jungles, arctic wastelands, scorching deserts, and virtually every other biome found on Gaea... mostly because travelling too deep into Annwn will deposit you squarely in the infinite wilderness of the Feywild. Due to its unnatural properties and the way in which the lights of dawn and dusk cause the Mana in the air around it to sparkle, it is sometimes called the Glittering Isle.

Annwn is most analagous to the Faerie worlds of Celtic mythology.

##### Albion

*Main Article Albion.*

One of the Five Jewels, Albion is a bastion of Church influence, having forged an alliance with the old Remulan Empire centuries before the Church was formed in battle against a powerful Overlord known as Balor. Ostensibly a single nation with its capital in the bustling trade city of Boudica, Albion is cool, wet, and prosperous due to the bounty of the seas, the soil, and lands rich in coal and ore. Much of Albion is densely forested and legally the property of the Crown, with hunting strictly regulated by wardens.

Albion is a land of dense forests, rolling hills, low peaks, windswept plains, cool marshes, and damp caverns, with low, wide rivers common and many streams and creeks besides. It is sometimes known as the Diamond Isle due to its white beaches, coastal chalk cliffs, and the presence of a few viable diamond mines on the island.

Albion is analagous to England.

##### Alba

*Main Article Alba.*

One of the Five Jewels, Alba lies to the north of Albion and east of Annwn and is notable for generally having a higher elevation overall. Deep fjords and rias cut into its shores, while much of the land is comprised of tall hills, fertile valleys, and rocky moors. Though the land boasts several impressive glens and valleys in these areas, it's best known for its highlands; Alba boasts several prominent mountains, including some of the tallest peaks outside of Hyperborea in the Starfell Range. It is sometimes known as the Sapphire Isle due to the blue hue granted it by fog and mist clinging to the lowlands between the mountains, visible from the shore.

Alba is primarily divided among influential clans who are ostensibly loyal to a single High King... however, in practice, they're more likely to follow lesser, local Kings or their clan chief. The land is rife with political turmoil and violence due to the frequently shifting alliances and tendency of the clans to resort to feuding, raiding, and banditry when times are hard or honor offended.

Alba is roughly analagous to Scotland.

#### Central Thule

*Main Article Central Thule.*

Little remains of what was once a land of hills, plains, dense forests, fertile valleys, and tall mountains; this land was ruined through the actions of a previous Overlord who unleashed terrible magic and catastrophic natural forces, ravaging the land and driving most of it under the sea or afflicting it with strange curses and properties in an event known as the Sundering of Thule. What land does exist is often twisted in strange ways by magic; islands float through the air like clouds or drift on the waves like flotsam, while ancient mountaintops erupt from the waters, spewing strange lava or standing in mute testimony to the horrors that Monsters can unleash. The inland sea that now stands where Central Thule once did seethes with magic and churns wildly with little rhyme or reason, only to grow deathly still without clear cause. Time and space are not what they seem here, distance is deceptive and capricious, and the weather is anything but natural.

##### Blåkulla

*Main Article Blåkulla.*

Blåkulla, the Blue Hill, is a strange microcontinent within the Wandering Sea. Originally an island off the coast of the now shattered nation of Suane, Blåkulla served as the Gaean seat of power for the Witch-Cult. Through processes not known to outsiders, the island withstood the Sundering of Thule. In truth, it benefitted, as the strange land somehow assimilated free-floating islands into its own mass, growing in size. One would think, then, that the island was fixed in place. However, it's anything but; it is quite capable of moving under its own power like an eerie, earthen predator. Blåkulla is one of the most magically advanced places on Gaea as its culture is based heavily on magical power and aptitude, especially that of Witchcraft. Its capital city, Aradia, is home to one of the best magical academies in the world. One that also serves as its central government under the control of the Baphomet's cult.

Geographically, Blåkulla originally consisted of a large, rocky hill with an unusually rounded shape, the slopes of which descended to a thin beach, with relatively little lowlands between it and the sea. It had limited plant life, with only a few groves and hardy shrubs clinging to terrain otherwise dominated by bluish lichens and molds. After the Sundering, it has acquired significantly more landmass, somehow integrating and rearranging these acquired lands in a way that seems *almost* natural. The island has ballooned and now features a wider range of geography, its central hill somehow rising higher as others have been attached and new landforms developed.

#### Eastern Thule

A land that's naturally cool thanks to its dense forests and high elevation, Eastern Thule is an ominously beautiful place. Tall mountains and plunging valleys conceal calm rivers and ancient, still lakes. The shadows are long here, and the days short; the trees grow tall to catch the light and gloom clings to their feet as readily as lichen and moss. It is a land of dark things, of mystery, and strange shadows in the night.

### Hyperborea

One of the largest single landmasses on all of Gaea, Hyperborea rests at the planet's northern pole, a sprawling, frigid mass of glacier-covered land, titanic ice shelves, and frozen peaks. Large portions of the continent's fringes feature volcanic activity, making them both dangerous and relatively hospitable due to the geothermal warmth and rich soil.

### Meropis

*Main Article Meropis*

A large landmass resembling a crescent-shaped lagoon surrounding a massive inland sea, Meropis's climate varies quite extensively. Parts of it are arid and rocky, while others see heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures. Countless small, volcanic islands dot its inner sea and outer coasts. The land suffers frequent tremors and minor eruptions as Atlantis's tectonic plate continues to subduct beneath it.

Meropis is the heartland of the Church; the institution was founded in these lands and its preceding religions arose here as well. It is the center of worship for the Twelve Olympians, especially in the northern arch of the continent.

Meropis is largely analogous to the Mediterranean region on the whole.

#### Aeaea

*Main Article Aeaea*

The Walled Island, Aeaea is also known as the Isle of Monsters. As the latter name suggests it is a civilization dominated by Monsters. Physically, Aeaea is a supermassive extinct volcano thrusting up from the depths of Zanclean Sea. Several other peaks break the Sea's surface in the surrounding waters, creating a labyrinthine barrier of hull-gutting stone, towering cliffs, mountainous islands, jagged ridges, and strange reefs. The waters around the isle are virtually unnavigable save to a rare few who've mastered the isle's coasts. Aeaea proper is honeycombed with vast chambers and networks of tunnels long-since emptied of magma, while its surface is now covered in tiered forests and habited cliffs and towers that fill its ancient basin and cling to the island's outer surface and the various cliffs that surround it. Much of the island chain is inhabited, especially by Monsters, a condition that owes its existence to the fact that there is a major natural *Gate* to the Abyss located deep in the volcano's dead heart. In extreme antiquity, a powerful Overlord named Circe rose from this *Gate* and waged a war on Meropis and beyond by exploiting her ability to transform Men into animals and Monsters. While the "Witch Queen of Beasts" was eventually overthrown, her forces were never dislodged from the island. Their descendants dwell there to this day, ruled over by an ancient lineage of Mariliths that served as the Overlord's rear guard.

While it is controlled by Monsters, the island is actually welcoming to visitors who come in peace, and is home to a prominent magical college based in large part around the vast libraries of arcane and esoteric lore that Circe originally collected there thousands of years ago. Of course, these are copies rather than originals, but the knowledge is the same.

Aeaea features a large freshwater lake in its center that is central to much of life on the island.

#### Arima

*Main Article*

Sometimes known simply as the Snake Pit, Arima is said to be the island home of the original Echidna... or perhaps it's simply named for it. This small subcontinent is artificial in nature, having splintered away from Meropis proper during the Sundering of Thule. Though separated from the main continent by deep chasms and a narrow strait, it is nonetheless an important leg of many an overland trading route, and its *relatively* newly produced harbors have made it even more valuable as a sea trading hub. The island is honeycombed with caves, crevasses, canyons, and mines... and is one of the most magically and technologically advanced locations on the whole planet.

It is also overseen almost exclusively by a single family of powerful Monsters, Echidnas, who have made it virtually impossible to attack. A family that claims to have survived the destruction of Atlantis and hidden away the secrets of that nation's power somewhere in the depths of the vast dungeon that serves as the capital city of the territory.

### Atlantis

*Main Article: Atlantis*

Once a large island continent, much of Atlantis has fallen into ruin through a series of catastrophic disasters over the course of twenty years nearly three millennia ago. The first disasters were wrought by the folly of the land's own inhabitants; they had attempted to recreate a powerful weapon from the Bronze Age that they had uncovered, only for their attempts to trigger a terrible earthquake. When the gods sent oracles to warn those who dared to continue this pursuit, they were ignored, leading to divine punishment in the form of a volcano. However, the power and hubris of the Atlantean civilization was such that they withstood this onslaught... only to be destroyed by the catastrophic rise of an Overlord whose deeds were so terrible that all record of his name has been stricken from history and who is *still* spoken of with dread for his shattering of both Atlantis and Central Thule, and the far-reaching destruction this event wrought throughout Meropis in an event known as the Sundering of Thule. It is sometimes known as the Fall of Atlantis, but this term is usually applied to the broader decline of the continent's civilization rather than its final downfall.

What remains of Atlantis today is a much smaller island. Only about half of the original landmass remains above the surface, with the remainder shattered and twisted beneath the waves to create a hellish maze of unnatural currents and ship-wrecking reefs and rocks. The central floodplains and lowlands of the continent have been almost totally submerged as the natural sea wall of its mountainous coast was broken wide, its highlands now jutting from the waves as islands that even to this day are slowly sinking as the continent's tectonic plate is driven deeper and deeper beneath Meropis's own. What remains of civilization here is mostly pastoral and slowly dying as the sea consumes all, with what few relics of their once extravagant past looked upon with fear and trepidation. It has become a nation of Luddites, fearful of advances in technology and magic and slowly sinking culturally even as their homeland does.

### Hispania

*Main Article*

A small, volcanic continent to the west of northern Meropis and southeast of Western Thule, Hispania was once part of Meropis's Gallia region prior to the Sundering, and is a rocky, arid, mountainous place for much of its landmass, with fertile floodplains to the south and west that eventually give way to the sea. Atlantis lies far to the west and somewhat south of the continent. It is bordered on the east by the Zanclean Sea and the Cimmerian Ocean to the west, before those waters give way to the Atlantican.

While Hispania has fertile lands in its southern and western Trajan territory, many of its population centers are in the rockier northeast of Hadria, geographically closer to other continents. These are often situated in beautiful valleys that are protected from the worst the generally warm climate can bring to bear while still providing sufficient food.

While technically a volcanic island, one formed around a supervolcano no less, Hispania's Mount Hadrian has been dormant for virtually the entirety of Human habitation.

#### Antillia

*Main Article*

Sometimes seen as the lesser sister of Hispania, Antillia was once part of the same continental mass. However, a catastrophic eruption in extreme antiquity on the main continent split Antillia from it, and it was further shifted during the Sundering, eventually creating the current state of the two. Antillia sits to the immediate southwest of Hispania, divided by a strait that formed when the continent split. Viewing each other from across the plunging cliffs, they seem almost close enough to bridge.

### Šamû

*Main Article*

A mountainous, arid continent, Šamû features many low, rocky peaks and relatively fertile river valleys. Equatorial, this land is hot and dry, making its coasts, caves, spring-fed oases, fertile wadis, and vibrant oases the centers of civilization. As potable water is a precious commodity here that’s often only seasonally available at any given place, many peoples of Šamû are semi or fully nomadic... and many have long histories of raiding and warring with each other over lasting water sources.

Šamû's subcontinents aren't always such, per se; they’re more geographical regions, ranging from the fertile coastal forests and rias of Tibil to the vast depths of Irkalla's whistling canyons and caverns, to the strange, crystal-studded dunes, plains, and peaks of Kafkuh, to the encompassing desert sands of Barzakh and Hurqalya, to the lightless depths of the Dark of Ur and the Sup Sea, to the floating islands of Mšunia Kušṭa and their perpetually-flowing waters.

### Mezzoramia

*Main Article Mezzoramia*

A vast and ecologically diverse continent Mezzoramia is sometimes called Greater Eden, for some believe it's the place were Man was first created (at least according to some mythologies). Home to dense equatorial jungles, vast savannahs, seemingly endless deserts, towering mountains, and beautiful coastlines, it is filled with unusual plants and animals found nowhere else on Gaea. A wonderous place, it is also extremely dangerous, for while it does have dense jungles fed by mountain waters, springs, and powerful storms, large portions of the continents central mass are incredibly arid. And all of it, *all* of it, is home to potentially dangerous life. Even the ordinary animals are often quite large and fierce, and the Beasts are especially dangerous. Most of all on the open grasslands, where there's no place to hide and no obstacles to defend against them.

#### Manu

*Main Article Manu*

The arid northeastern portion of Mezzoramia is known as Manu, a desert now filled with ancient ruins and a few places where the remnants of a fallen civilization still cling to the shores of a great and powerful river Nun and its tributaries and distributaries, as well as a few other, smaller rivers. In truth, it is these valleys that define the region's borders and not the desert itself, which is considered its own region. The gods of this land fell out of favor and power from a time when they were once dominant in the Divine Hierarchy and the Heroes they raised as their living representatives and rulers of the land now lie buried in monumental tombs and hidden necropolises, awaiting a time when their gods will revive them, and they will return the desert to a green paradise.

Manu was the most advanced human civilization of its time, but it ultimately fell to the forces of a powerful Overlord, and now lies as a barren wasteland, its people long fallen from glory. And yet, they remember...

Manu is roughly equivalent to Egypt.

#### Nod

*Main Article Nod*

The endless desert of Nod, overlapping much of Manu across to the coast of the Gondwanan Ocean, Nod was at one point a great inlet of that vast body of water. However, tectonic forces thrust it up from the depths, and while it was once a rich and verdant place, filled with unusual life adapted from the waters, it has slowly wasted away into the sea of dunes it now is. The living things found in Nod are often alien to outsiders; strange organisms evolved from aquatic life and adapted to the arid wastes. Sand eels, desert crustaceans, dune sharks, sand grabbers, desert corals, cloud jellies, various worms and snails and fish and skates, and stranger things call Nod their home... often dwelling in the abandoned ruins of ancient civilizations that dwelt in these lands in ancient days. The dunes rise up and swallow them, only to part and reveal them once more.

Perhaps the strangest feature of all is the

### Fusang

#### Datong

A massive network of floating islands hovering high above Fusang's surface, Datong is a land rich in Mana and Elementite that overlooks much of the rest of the continent in relative peace and prosperity. Portions of this island chain are chained to the mountains that encircle Fusang using great shackles devised by the gods... or perhaps the Titans. The locals no longer know. Eight such locations exist, known as the Eight Pillars. Other islands float relatively free, drifting across the skies of Fusang with relatively little direction from their inhabitants.

### Shambhala

#### Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring

A series of floating islands, some of them capped by mountains of their own, that drift amid the Kunlun Mountains proper, these strange locations are often occupied with temples and monasteries of a range of different religions... not all of which are occupied by their original tenants or used for their original purposes. Many Adventurers seek out these places in hopes of riches and plunder, the relics of Wayfarers, divine artifacts, and lost lore. Some even return from such excursions...

#### Liusha

A vast desert where the sand seems at times to flow like water and that is inhabited by a host of strange creatures that seem to have adapted from sea life, Liusha is an otherworldly place. It separates the steppes of Xanadu in the north from the foot of the Kunlun Mountains in the south and sprawls west to the ocean where it becomes one with Shambhala's western coast. An eerie place that few would dare to traverse, it's rife with strange plants and animals, the ruins of lost civilizations swallowed by the sands, and more than a few corpses of would-be travelers and explorers. If there are any permanent residents of this place besides Monsters and Beasts, they keep themselves well-hidden.

#### Xanadu

The sprawling, windswept steppes of Xanadu rise to the north of Liusha's swallowing sands. Cold and unforgiving, this arid plain demands excellence from any who would dare cross it. It's a harsh place, which makes the people who live there equally harsh by necessity.

### Hawaiki

Hawaiki is a long and widely-distributed chain of islands, mostly volcanic and equatorial, situated atop a massive tectonic plate.

### Mu

A blasted continent suffused with magic from a series of successive supernatural events, much of Mu's landmass now floats above the surface of Gaea, while the rest remains scattered across the Atlantean Ocean. It is a place of strange magic, unnatural phenomena, deviant lifeforms, warped populations, countless gates to and manifestations of otherworldly realms, and alien gods and their cults. It is [i]also[/i] a land locked in nearly endless tribal warfare; the result of numerous conflicts triggered by outside forces and their resulting blood feuds.

### Altjira

One of the largest, densest landmasses on Gaea outside of the poles, Altjira has a largely arid climate and terrain. Its seasons fluctuate between dry and rainy, with most of the latter falling on the coasts without reaching the desert center of the continent.

### Agartha

The largest single landmass on Gaea, Agartha's frozen mass covers the planet's southern pole. During the Golden Age, the mountains, plains, plateaus, and valleys of this land were a verdant, volcanic paradise. However, with the end of the Titans' rule, the land slowly froze over. What civilizations that once existed here have long-since been buried beneath thick sheets of ice and snow or forced into much smaller areas kept livable by geothermal activity. Most of its lakes and inland seas are solid as stone now, and only certain caves deep beneath the permafrost remain habitable throughout the outer mainland, the heat and light of vulcanism and the natural temperature control of the underground keeping the place livable. Places nearer the heart of the continent are more likely to be habitable, but only if one remains in around the continent's geothermal hotspots, vents, and volcanoes. Such areas are teeming with primeval life, from prehistoric mammals, birds, and reptiles, to long extinct plant life, all with virtually no human exposure, save a few primitive tribes imported by external forces that dwell either on the outlying islands or near the continent's volcanic heart. However, these areas are also home to some of the densest populations of Aberrations in the world; the Great Old Ones are influential here, particularly in the frigid regions and the vast complex of caverns that sprawl beneath the polar ice.

The degenerate or fading remnants of several alien races dwell here; most prominently the Serpentfolk and Elder Things, as do certain Great Old Ones slumbering beneath the ice or wandering the dense jungles of Muspelheim. Few Men visit this place, and fewer still call it home, but some among the Alaveela, Turnskins, and even a rare few more cold-tolerant ethnicities of the more common Races have settled along the coasts. Various small, primitive tribes locked away from the world by miles upon miles of ice between them and the sea inhabit the hotter parts of the mainland's core. The most advanced civilizations of this land now lie underground, hiding in vast, labyrinthine networks of tunnels and chambers. Though perhaps only the Human descendants of the Serpentfolk can truly navigate these earthen mazes.

Agartha has come to be viewed as having four distinct "subcontinents," though each are largely connected to the others.