Geography

## Geography and General World Information

The world of Illisia is large. There are two known continents in this world, Anaria and Wild's Edge, which are separated by a vast sea in between. The rest of the world is covered by water in all directions occasionally dotted by untamed islands. No empire, let alone individual, has ever been able to find the end of the oceans, but few feel such a call due to the sprawling lands on both civilized continents. All peoples have a place to call home and the lands have known peace and prosperity for hundreds of years. Pockets of civilization orbit around useful resources and places of interest, but the distance from one town to another makes even simple travel a significant commitment of time and resources. War is a faraway memory, the world has nearly forgotten the last major war entirely, and events before "The Forgotten War" are barely mentioned even in the oldest of historical texts. Of course, legends never die, and heroes are long remembered. Stories of ancient dragon gods, living forests, invisible mushroom people and the like are cornerstones of children's stories and late-night banter at the local tavern. But for all the stories that exist in the land, life is mostly quiet and peaceful. Especially in the lands under the protection of the Istvani Empire.

## Anaria

On the Eastern continent of Anaria is the lands controlled by the royal family of Istvan, and the empire they have forged since just before the Forgotten War. Within this empire there are many outlying towns, territories, and regional seats of power. The capital is a country unto itself, a military bastion, a thriving economic powerhouse, a place of advanced science and deep appreciation of art all in one. It is a shining golden beacon of not just humanity, but all civilization. Partly carved out of the mountains surrounding the area it spans in a valley, its prosperity and role in governing the surrounding lands have been stewarded by its unbroken line of kings and queens through the ages. Guiding the region with the tenants of glory, loyalty, and tradition, the mainly human empire spans from the Western costal lands hanging off the edge of the Mountains of Dawn, all the way inland to the spine of the Dour Mountains, South to the Topaz coast and Faefang Woods, and to the edge of the Silent North where the frozen mountains frame the only safe passage to the lands of the Unending Coast. Despite the Istvani Empire being primarily human, all races have long been full citizens of the empire and entirely integrated into society. Since even before the oldest remaining records of history large populations of Dwarves, Orcs, and Elves have permeated all sectors of society and even members of the wild races, such as Fey and Kobold, live in and interact with the empire. The only races that experience any sort of exclusion or prejudice are Half Wood Elves and Dark Elves, and even then most people cannot point to any specific event in history to justify their poor treatment besides superstition and rumors. To the East the lands of the Unending Coastline the continent from the end of the Faefang Forest to beyond the edge of the Silent North, supposedly all the way around back to the Northern edge of the Mountains of Dawn, though it has never been thoroughly mapped or explored to confirm. In these lands past the Dour Mountains there are few towns and only one center of civilization, the High Elven city of El'iair.

## Wild's Edge

The untamed Western continent. Few members of the "civilized" races permanently live here, and there are few towns that exist anywhere on the known and mapped areas of the continent. The sea journey itself is prohibitively dangerous and long enough to discourage any meaningful exploration or establishment of larger civilization. While there is vast wealth to be made in bringing back rare resources and exotic beasts, most ships that set out for Wild's Edge never come back, and it has even been an indirect execution method through mandated exile in the past for people to sail to the untamed continent. Because of this, it's said that there are exile and pirate communities living on Wild's Edge that survived the journey that resent the Istvani empire and those from it and are generally hostile to all outsiders. The only official empire outpost is Behemoth, a small city created out of the remains of the massive ship of the same name that was sent by the empire to attempt to establish a stable trade/travel route. While the city itself survives, the plan to open a safe route through mapping and growing the outpost have failed utterly. Behemoth itself is secure, but it has not been able to expand to plan partly due to the failure to establish resupply and transport to increase population, and partly because the wilds of the land are relentless. Even the greenery is so voracious that every beam of wood that goes up is immediately beset by twisting and crushing vines in a matter of days. To those on Anaria, it is seen as a land of monsters where only the exceedingly brave or horribly desperate would ever travel to.