recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Amran

Amran is the capital city of the Phyridian Empire and, by some accounts, the largest city in the world. It stands in the imperial heartland of eastern Pelenaia, straddling the Mera River just before its estuary opens into Throne's Bay.

Amran is home to the enormous palace complexes of the Imperial court, and the almost equally splendid palaces of the empire’s most powerful aristocratic families. Just as impressive are the grand temples of the city’s tessaraon (generously endowed over the centuries by various emperors seeking to please the gods or curry favor with the priesthoods), the expansive precincts of the imperial library, the huge citadel of the emperor’s battle-mages, the imposings fortresses and barracks of the XXXXXXXX [elite praetorian-like or janissery-like infantry forces based in the capital], the two colossal hippodromes that feed the population's passion for chariot-racing, and the many great domed bazaars and marketplaces of the city’s mercantile quarter. The distinctive architectural style of these great structures, with their gilt-covered domes and spires rising hundreds of feet into the air, has inspired Amran’s epithet “The Golden City”.

The overall plan of Amran's cityscape is as carefully designed as any of its individual edifices. The innermost district of the city is perfectly circular and just over a mile in diameter, triple-walled, and is occupied entirely by the imperial palaces and their grounds. It has twelve monumental gates spaced evenly around its circumference (the four largest of which are the meridian gates, or great processional gates, facing due north, south, east, and west) and a thirteenth sacred gate giving the imperial household direct access to the city's tessaraon. From this circular inner city and its great gates, an elaborate system of radial processional boulevards expand outward, with concentric districts and quarters spreading out between them. Every detail was drawn up in scrupulous accordance with the divine numerological and geometric precepts of (XXXXXXXXX Utara-vaati sacred numerology). Only the city's outermost quarters, beyond the outer walls, do not follow this strict pattern. They grew in ad-hoc fashion after this grand urban layout was completed, and thus are much less orderly and sprawl in a more chaotic fashion.
Hex Hill (Torrune)

Hex Hill is the steep-sided, bald-peaked hill that rises just to the west of Fenside, on the edge of the city of Torrune. Fenside's outlying neighborhoods spread up onto the lower part of its eastern slope, with narrow lanes ascending the hillside in a series of switchbacks. Some of these come to dead ends or double back to run downhill, while others narrow to footpaths that continue up towards the summit.

Hex Hill is also sometimes called Witch's Hill or the Witching Hill, Crone's Hill, and various other such names. Local superstition holds that a coven of witches or evil sorcerers once met atop its summit to carry out their rituals by night—summoning fiends and coupling with them, calling up the dead, and so forth. They say that the weather-worn remnants of a round stone structure atop the hill are the remains of a shrine to the gods of the underworld, or perhaps of a ring of rune-stones, where the coven once met. More sober-minded people say its the foundation of a ruined watchtower from the Old Empire days.

Many paths lead to Hex Hill's top, but besides a good view over the city, there's not much to see there except the low partial ring of stones. With the exception of Fenside's periphery spreading up onto the hill's eastern foot, little stands on the slopes either, just some shepherd's huts scattered among the pine groves.

Notably, the hill is positioned such that at midsummer, the sun, as seen from the city below, goes down directly behind its peak.
Beraitha

Beraitha is the easternmost portion of Khadoa, centered on the huge valley of the Split Steel River. It is bounded to the north by the shores of the Fyrdenglin (into which the Split Steel River empties), to the east by the Arkanmoor, to the west by the massifs of the Khadoan highlands, and to the south by the vantagelands at the edge of Shiankar's high, barren plateaus.

The lower (northern) valley of the Split Steel forms a wide, fertile lowland plain which is generally considered the center of Beraitha. This area forms the heartland of Uldaegu, where most of its major cities and population are concentrated. The flat or gently rolling river plain offers excellent grazing for livestock, and its black soil is ideal for growing the wheat, millet, rye, and sorghum which make up the staples of the Khadoan diet.

Going south from here, the terrain rises and becomes rockier; the Split Steel's valley and those of its tributaries narrow; and the landscape slowly transitions from rolling green plain to forested hills and then craggy mesas with white water rushing through gorges between them. At the southernmost extent of Beraitha, jagged cliffs and forbidding mountainsides soar up beyond the pine-cloaked highlands. This imposing escarpment, notched with hanging canyons, marks the northern edge of Shiankar. Beyond its crest, broken scablands crossed by twisting ravines stretch away south towards the Desolation of Xhan.
Chogoru-Vaati

The Chogoru-Vaati, the offspring of Chogorus, are those chthonic gods of Karkharos who were formed directly from the dark essence of Chogorus himself rather than spawned in the vile womb of Ymuz (they are greatly outnumbered by the latter, called the Ymuzu-Vaati). However, some who study the lore of the underworld say that even these sons of the Great Devourer came forth only after he had consumed Ymuz, so perhaps they, too, contain some part of her foul essence mingled with his own.
Talrik's Square

Talrik's Square is a large open plaza in the south-central portion of Torrune's Low City. It is located in the southern part of the Aulgasmark district, just north of the waterfront and the Tower of Ghorodan at the Fortress Bridge's north end. It is named for Talrik of the House of Turpin, second Archon of Torrune, who ordered its construction and endowed funds for the monumental column which stands in the center of the plaza. This column, commonly called Talrik's Pillar for the same reason, is surmounted by a gilded statue of the goddess Sidra (thus is also often called Sidra's Pillar or the Sidrene Column).

Despite it's name, Talrik's Square is actually triangular. It's northern edge is defined by the east-west thoroughfare known as XXXXXX, and its other two edges are formed by the diverging avenues of XXXXX and XXXXX, which split off to run northeast and northwest where the roadway of the Fortress Bridge emerges from the gate of Ghorodan's Tower. Across XXXXXX [east-west thoroughfare] from the plaza lies the Splicer's Market.

On certain days of the week, vendors such as fruit sellers and fishmongers are permitted to set up their wares in Talrik's Square, in which case the open plaza temporarily becomes a maze of walkways threading between rows of carts, tents, wagons, and canopy-shaded stalls. The rest of the time, it is criss-crossed by crowds of pedestrian going about their business, and inhabited by an ever-rotating cast of peddlers, beggars, street performers, and loitering itinerants. All are often forced to dodge aside as heavy oxcarts or galloping horsemen emerge from the end of the bridge and come cutting across the plaza.

Talrik's Square is also periodically used as a site of public executions, by tradition on each XXXXXXX Day when the criminals who have been condemned to die over the preceding year have their sentences carried out. On these occasions, a large wooden scaffold will be erected in the plaza for the purpose; afterwards, the remains of those executed will be carted through the Low City streets with a crier calling out people to see them, and thence to the Hill of Crows outside the walls for display on the gibbets there.
Helgremars

The Helgremars are a series of mountain ranges in the southern part of central Rhydain, extending northeast from Tholomyra into Rhyndara; their jagged peaks then subside into the rolling highlands of the Lokenmoor. The Helgremars form the southern edge of the upper Helvander valley, and part of the boundaries of the larger region known as the Taefemach.
Ceregar

Ceregar is a member state of the Helvandrian League. Its rulers style themselves Archonas (they are exclusively female, adhering to the Sarino'atma tradition of mother-to-daughter succession) and thus it is an archonate. It is situated in the northwest portion of the League lands, in the lower foothills of the eastern Adhemars, a region of gently rolling green pasture-lands interspersed with thick beechwoods. The river Waeth flows down through it from the north and gives its name to the Waethwood, the expanse of thick forest which covers part of south-central Ceregar. It is bordered by Baltusraal to the north, Miarkos to the east, the dwarven lands of Kuzul-Kadrin to the west, and Qyrsh, High Krovaax, and Low Krovaax to the south.

Ceregar is renowned for the exceptional high quality of the wool it produces, and almost all its open land is used for grazing sheep; the wool trade has greatly enriched its merchants and landowners, as well as the treasury of the archonas.
Giant’s Coffins

The Giant’s Coffins are a set of formidable mountain chains in northeastern Shandara. They lie to the east of the Kar Nebehar; to the north, they meet the eastern Yhevnas and the ranges of the Haakonvorns. To the south, across an intervening plateau of high alpine tablelands, they face the Greycairns.

Their name derives from the fact that these ranges contain a number of distinctive steep-sided, flat-topped peaks, like enormous mesas, which the local Daare Karsha tribes believe to be the burial sites of ancient titans.
Harumau

Harumau is the region of northwestern Achuirea located between the Seas of Rhud to the north, and the Manticore Mountains to the south. Much, but not all, of Harumau has been under the control of the Sarcian Empire for many centuries. The native peoples of Harumau are called the Harunna or Harounnes.
Khyron

Khyron, the Spiteful, The Great Deceiver, was one of the Aiyu-Atma; he was brother of Klython and Thaedon. He was deceptive, vain, avaricious, and hateful. Myth tells he was ashamed of his own cowardice during the Old Gods' war against the [forces of primordial chaos], and envied his brother Thaedon's valor and victory; and that it was he who fooled the five sons of Thaedon into murdering their father; and that they slew him also in revenge when they learned the truth. Before his destruction, Khyron also mated many times with vile Ymuz, begetting several of the younger gods of Karkharos and countless lesser demons and monsters too.
Chabaari

The Chabaari are a distinct caste or community who live along the middle and lower reaches of the River Helvander, many on the river itself. Their lifestyle and traditions are intimately connected with the river and almost all of them are employed as watermen, fishermen, boat crews, and so forth. They are typically highly proficient in these vocations and are widely recognized as masterful boatmen. Some live in settled villages along the riverbank or in their own enclaves in larger towns, but others are quasi-nomadic, with whole extended families living on their boats and moving up and down the river seasonally or in search of work.

They have the same mixed Brecai-Uremite heritage as the general population of the Helvanderûn, but their peculiar ways and shared sense of identity mean they stand apart from the rest of the region's inhabitants. They speak Tuvai with a distinctive cant or accent and have a whole range of folk traditions unique to their caste. Part of these traditions is their communal claim of shared descent stretching back to ancient times, and they tend to only marry within their own caste in order to preserve this common ancestry, meaning all Chabaari families are interrelated to some degree (however tenuous). Outsiders often view them as clannish and insular, and may suspect them of criminal tendencies. Certainly their skill on the water means that some find success as smugglers and, when the law is weak, robbers or river-pirates.

Chabaari are known by a variety of nicknames, some pejorative, others less so, along the length of the Helvander. They are often called "water-rats" or "river-rats." Around Torrune and certain other areas, they are called "rakers," since many of them work the fisheries of freshwater clams and oysters along the river's sandy-banked stretches, which are harvested using long-handled rakes with curved iron tines.
Emerald Ocean

The Emerald Ocean is the more southerly of the two Inner Oceans, and is sometimes called the Achuirean Ocean. It is bounded by the western shores of Achuirea, the northern shores of Vhaluzia, the eastern coastline of Ulthark, and in the north, by the southern edge of Rhydain and Taijuria as well as the many islands of the Azarian archipelago. It joins with the Encircling Ocean via the Gates of Barossus and the Myrrenian Channel, and with the Thurnic Ocean via the many straits and channels between the Azarian islands. It connects to the Sea of Surna, and thus the rest of the Sarpic Seas, via the Dragon's Jaw, which is controlled by the strategically located city-state of Thrommelport. The Emerald Ocean lies mostly in tropical or subtropical latitudes, and its name probably derives from the characteristic clear blue-green hue of its waters.
Encircling Ocean

The Encircling Ocean (also called the Great Ocean, the Outer Ocean, or the World Ocean) is the enormous, world-girdling ocean that covers a majority of Urva's surface. It surrounds the continental landmasses of Umre and Achuirea, which in turn surround the Inner Oceans.

The Encircling Ocean is connected to the Inner Oceans in only three places: The narrow strait called the Gates of Barossus between western Vhaluzia and Ulthark's southeastern tip, the wider Myrrenian Channel between eastern Vhaluzia and southwestern Achuirea, and the very wide Durrak's Passage between northern Achuirea and the Cape of Woe at the end of Thelbiron's Forvirad peninsula.
List of Countries

* The Helvandrian League
* Gundarra
* The Kirdan Empire
* The Sarcian Empire
* The Phyridian Empire
* The Free Duchies of Tythium
* Thrommelport
* Cetesh
* The Alondrian Principalities
* The Koerdian Freehold
* Kuzul-Kadrin
* Mabulzikar
* The Kelimarian Sultanate
* The Sultanate of Azhir
* The Kingdom of the Sornele
* Morvendria
* Dorovhnia
* Thuldaran
* Thubala
* Umuzmatin
Daare Karsha

The Daare Karsha people, sometimes called Karathandis, are the human inhabitants of the Kesh Karkhan: The harsh and arid deep interior of the Orithean continent. They do not worship the Thaedonu-Vaati for the most part, and they speak a family of languages that is unintelligible to Tuvai speakers. This, together with their tribal social structures and often nomadic or semi-nomadic traditions, causes most Oritheans from outside the Kesh Karkhan to view them as barbarians or half-civilized at best.

“Daare Karsha” means simply “inhabitants of the basins”, from the same archaic Tuvai word “kar” (a desert basin or wasteland) that appears in the name of the Kesh Karkhan and its major features like the Kar Kadash. “Karathandis” stems from the same root and means “basin-crossers” or “those who traverse the basins,” a reference to the nomadic habits of many of these tribes (or at least their ability to travel with apparent ease through landscapes that outsiders often find harsh and forbidding).

Both are blanket terms used by Tuvai speakers for many different tribes living in this vast region. In truth these various tribes are a diverse group and do not think of themselves as a unified race or tribal family in the way the “civilized” Oritheans view them; members of two tribes from different parts of the Kesh Karkhan might consider themselves as foreign from each other as they are from, say, Kelims or Uremites. Nevertheless it is true that they speak a set of tribal languages which, if not all mutually intelligible, are at least all clearly descended from a common root. They also at least arguably share a certain set of physical characteristics, albeit with wide variation. Thus there may be some germ of truth to Tuvai-speakers lumping them all together under a single name and considering them a distinct people.

Scholars of ancient history speculate that the Daare Karsha are descended from those kindreds who migrated north in the early proto-archaic era, shortly after the first humans left Ulshanru, rather than settling around the Sarpic Seas as did the founders of the first known human civilizations. These wayward wanderers, the theory goes, spread out into the barren lands of the Kesh Karkhan, settling in the harsh deserts and craggy badlands, slowly forgetting Utara-Vaati and the ancestral gods of mankind. Over the ages their language changed from the shared proto-archaic Tuvai of all early humans to the various tribal tongues they now speak, much as (for instance) the Chomarra language has its roots in ancient Tuvai but has changed so much over the millennia that it is no longer at all intelligible to modern Tuvai speakers.
Phoacia

Phoacia is a region of southeastern Urem, lying on the coast of the Sarpic Seas (specifically the Sea of Tyrus to the south and the Sea of Kaikesh to the east). Like most of the rest of Urem, it is flat and low-lying; however the Phoacian plain does lie outside the drainage basin of the mighty River Rhanna, which has has probably contributed to it being considered a distinct region within larger Urem.

Also like the rest of Urem, all of Phoacia is ruled by the Kirdan Empire. It is a populous and prosperous country, containing several of the empire's large, important cities, most notably Mimyran and the "winter capital" of Gemata. Much of the trade between the Kirdan Empire and the lands to the south flows down Phoacia's rivers (principally the Charymis and Celidon) to reach the Sarpic Seas.
Dragon's Jaw

The Dragon's Jaw, also called the Strait of Throm or the Gate of Throm, is the narrow waterway between eastern Rhydain and Taijuria's western tip that joins the Sea of Surna (and, through it, the rest of the Sarpic Seas) to the Emerald Ocean by way of the Shreenwater. As a chokepoint for maritime trade, it has great commercial and strategic value; over the centuries, many empires and rulers have fought for mastery of the straits and of Thrommelport, the city that commands them.

The western shore of the Dragon's Jaw is formed by a sheer-sided mountainous promontory on the coast of Tythium called Dun Garna or Throm's Rock, with precipitous cliffs dropping down to the sea. The eastern side of the strait is formed by Cape Kueron at the tip of Peiramia, the west-reaching arm of Taijuria. Thrommelport stands here, on the steep slopes of the Cape's headland, facing Dun Garna across the strait and looking out over the gem-blue Shreenwater to the south.

Although the straits are roughly six miles across at their narrowest point, much of their width is strewn with treacherous shoals, reefs, and jagged rocky islets that barely break the surface (or may be hidden just under it depending on the tide), with dangerous and unpredictable currents around and over them. The only safely navigable passage through the strait runs along its eastern edge, narrowing to within less than a mile of Cape Kueron's tip. Here a deeper channel with a predictable current allows ships to avoid the dangers of the rest of the strait; the fact that they must sail practically under the walls of Thrommelport to do so is what makes the city's location so crucial and allows it to control trade through the Dragon's Jaw so effectively.

The Dragon's Jaw is so-named not just for its angular shape and the dangers of navigation among its jagged (some would say tooth-like) rocks, but also for the winged sea-drakes that roost on the cliffs of Dun Garna across the water from Thrommelport. Legend tells that in olden days, some of these grew to great size and posed a serious danger to mariners in the strait, although the creatures that live there now are too small to threaten shipping and mostly prey on fish and gulls. However, some of the larger specimens could prove dangerous to a lone person, especially unwary or unarmed, venturing near their nests on the bluffs. They do occasionally take a lamb or young goat when careless Tythian shepherds graze their flocks too close to the top of the cliffs.
Greycairn Mountains

The Greycairn Mountains are an expanse of relatively low, rolling mountains and highlands in southeastern Shandara, situated to the north of the Thyrian Steppe and south of the higher and more formidable Giant’s Coffins. To the east, the massif of the Greycairns extends to meet the edge of the Kamurian highlands.
Kar Bharaz

The Kar Bharaz is one of the arid endorheic basins, or kars, of the Kesh Karkhan. It is situated in southwestern Shiankar, bounded by the Horns of Hyuron to the south, the Mountains of Thundering Flame to the north, and the Sawtooth Mountains to the west. Much of its low-lying central portion is covered by shimmering salt flats, which provide a valuable trade commodity to the local Daare Karsha (and to the kingdom of Cetesh, whose northern border extends to the southern rim of the Kar Bharaz).

Etymology: “Bharaz" is a word for snow or frost in archaic Tuvai; this name is a reference to the white color of the basin's salt flats rather than to actual snow.
Split Steel River

The Split Steel River is the largest river in Beraitha, the easternmost part of Khadoa. It runs for several hundred miles from its headwaters on the northern edge of Shiankar to its mouth where it empties into the Fyrdenglin's southern end. Its largest tributary is the Ghauvail River, which flows down from the slopes of the Arkanmoor to the east.

The valley of the Split Steel is rugged and rocky in its upper (southern) reaches, with the river often winding through sheer gorges or plunging over jagged ledges in spectacular falls. The land here is covered in pine forests and the sparse, stony soil is ill-suited to farming. As it flows north, however, it widens and slows, and its valley opens out into a wide, flat, fertile plain which forms the central lowland area of Beraitha. This region is very agriculturally productive and makes up the heartland of Uldaegu; most of the kingdom's major cities and roughly half its population are concentrated here.
Banuviri Sultanate

The Banuviri Sultanate was the dynastic cognomen of the most recent Kelimarian Sultanate; it was founded in 957 CV by its first ruler, Banuvir I the Avenger, from whom the dynasty's name was derived. The first years of the dynasty saw the expulsion of the Suagir Tovaanids from Kelimaria. Banuvir I was himself a junior scion of the household of the previous Kelimarian sultanic dynasty, the Shasrahla, whose sultanate was destroyed in the Suagir conquests of Torkai Ul-Tash in the early 900s CV. In declaring the re-establishment of a native Kelim sultanate but also the foundation of a new ruling dynasty in his own name, Banuvir stirred great excitement across Kelimaria and made himself a focal point for the anti-Suagir uprising which began the previous year with the Woodcutter's Rebellion. He had a number of rivals who disputed his legitimacy and insisted he could not rightly derive a claim on the sultanic succession from his relation to the old Shasrahla bloodline. However, by 970 CV when the last Suagirs were driven out, he had outmaneuvered these rivals and made himself by far the most powerful and popular leader in the land of the Kelims. At that point, no quibble over the laws of dynastic succession could dislodge him or his heirs from the Topaz Throne.

The Banuviri Sultanate lasted nearly three centuries, until its final downfall in 1247 CV. This came as a result of Gol Garga's catastrophic invasion of Kelimaria and the deaths in battle of the last sultan, Olugar IX, and his chosen heir, his adoptive son Rouam of Yarat. In the chaos that followed, the line of succession was broken. No credible successor stood forth and the rulers of the various Kelimarian states--now de facto independent--scrambled to secure their own safety as the Topaz Throne sat vacant.

This state of affairs changed recently, however, as the nephew of Rouam of Yarat, called Rouam the Younger, emerged to stake a claim on the sultanic title. He has gathered many supporters and, thus far, no serious counter-claims have emerged. It remains to be seen whether he hopes to set himself up as Olugar's heir and restore continuity under the Banuviri name, or establish a new dynasty for his sultanate as Banuvir himself did centuries ago.
Dwarves

Dwarves are a hardy, long-lived, mountain-dwelling race created by the chthonic god Uragan in ancient days, before the birth of mankind. Since time immemorial, they have been bitter foes of the orcish race, spawned by Uragan's brother-god Korgul.

There are many dwarven nations of varying sizes, from small independent city-states to vast empires, located throughout the mountainous regions of Orithea and Rhydain. Dwarves are comparatively scarcer on the eastern continent of Achuirea, but there are some sizable populations there as well, especially in the north.
Kar Kuzul

The Kar Kuzul is one of the arid endorheic basins, or kars, of the Kesh Karkhan. It is situated in western Shiankar, with the Mountains of Thundering Flame to its south and the Tuzul Massif to its north; its eastern edge is formed by the Dogtooth Mountains (an arm of the Tuzul Massif), which separate it from the Kar Kadash.
Tythian Quarter (Torrune)

The Tythian Quarter is one of the major districts of Torrune. It is located in the south-central part of the Low City, with Aulgasmark just to its east and the Syrennian Hill rising to its northwest. It is a crowded commercial district encompassing several large bazaars, the western half of the Low City's canal network, major sections of the thoroughfares running from the Portage Gate down to the river, and a bustling waterfront connected to the High City by Qorro's Bridge. Some areas consist of desperately poor slums, while others contain the walled households of prosperous trading clans. The Raker's Village is located on the southeast edge of the Tythian Quarter.

The Tythian Quarter is so-named because in the early League days, it was home to a number of merchants and emigres from the Free Duchies; this is less true now, but the name endures.
Krovaax

Krovaax, sometimes called Greater Krovaax or Old Krovaax to distinguish it from the smaller states into which it has been split, was a member of the Helvandrian League until it was broken apart in the aftermath of the War of the Yenrisi Succession. That disastrous conflict was caused partly by the Krovaaxi Archon's claim to be the rightful inheritor of the arch-ducal title of neighboring Yenris. After a decade of bloody warfare, the Krovaaxi faction was defeated and the household of the Archon, Theudalf, was driven into exile. Some of his lands were annexed into Yenris, some (specifically the rich city of Qyrsh and its surrounding territory) were placed under direct Palatine rule, and the remainder were split into two smaller states: High Krovaax and Low Krovaax. Rulership over each was granted to noble households which had sided against Theudalf's faction during the war.
Valgunvorns

The Valgunvorns are the series of mountain ranges which dominate the land of Valgomyr, where Orithea’s northernmost extent joins the continent of Thelbiron. They form a high massif stretching nearly seven hundred miles from Lake XXXXXX and the Sea of Knives in the west to the edge of Haothana’s vast taiga in the east. The southeastern ranges of the Valgunvorns run down to the Sea of Jalmar’s shore, and their northern reaches extend into the untamed wilderness of Thelbiron proper.
Mountains of Thundering Flame

The Mountains of Thundering Flame are a long chain of volcanic peaks in western Shiankar, running generally east-to-west and separating the Kar Bharaz from the Kar Kuzul. The easternmost spur of the range extends to the southern edge of the Kar Kadash.

Many of these peaks emit smoke and ash either intermittently or constantly, and violent eruptions are not uncommon. The terrain is rugged in the extreme, the climate is arid, and even the floors of the deepest valleys are at a substantial altitude, meaning that the region’s overall character is that of a high, barren, and mountainous volcanic desert. This is a land lying beyond the frontiers of civilized human kingdoms; much of it is only sparsely populated by a small number of the Daare Karsha, tribes of giants and savage humanoids, and other more monstrous denizens. However, the western ranges of the Mountains of Thundering Flame (which are less violently eruptive than those to the east) is home to the dwarven state of XXXXXX.
Hill of Crows (Torrune)

The Hill of Crows is a low, but steep-sided, prominence situated just west of Torrune's Low City, a short distance outside the Portage Gate. The Portage Road, running from this gate up to Sillport above the falls, passes between the south slope of the Hill of Crows and the north bank of the Helvander.

The hill is partially wooded, but the side facing the road only sparsely so, with mostly low bushes and bracken between scattered trees. On this slope, easily visible from the road below, the bodies of criminals executed in Torrune are displayed in iron gibbets or nailed to wagon-wheels atop tall poles, where the elements and scavenging birds will slowly reduce them to bones and tatters; this is the source of the hill's grim name. The site of this display is chosen so that all the trade and traffic flowing along the Portage Road will pass under it, providing a constant reminder of the punishment that awaits those who defy the Archon's law.

On the flatter hilltop above the south-facing slope is situated a potter's field where the remains of the condemned are buried after they've been picked clean and taken down (or fallen) from the gibbets.
Eredu River

The Eredu (or Erdu) River is the longest river in the Sornele; it and its converging tributaries flow across the Plain of Szevak before emptying into the Emerald Ocean. Its upper valley extends for hundreds of miles westward between the Dranurian highlands to the north and the Aghai Massif to the south.
Midsummer Day

Midsummer day is the day of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year on which the sun the sun attains its highest position in the sky. By the Vathanalu calendar used in most of Orithea, it falls on the fourteenth day of Aurusmoon. In Utara-Vaati, the summer solstice is the holiest day of Kothaur and the midsummer festival around it is his most important cultic celebration.
Marabain Hotspur

Marabain Hotspur (or Marabain the Hotspur), much less commonly called by his proper regnal name Marabain VII, is the current king of the Sornele. He disgraced himself with cowardice during the orcish incursions against his kingdom, which occurred late in Gol Garga's invasions; many blame his personal conduct for the failures of the Sornelene army (including its failure to join the victorious coalition at the Battle of Crow's Gorge), and the devastation inflicted by orc marauders across much of the realm.

He is currently being kept as a virtual prisoner by the dwarven army of Kuzul-Kadrin, which occupies most of the Sornele. With his kingdom now lying directly on the new Ulthark Marches, Marabain has been compelled to grant royal approval to a number of measures intended to bolster its defenses against renewed orcish attack. The most significant of these will help re-establish several of the displaced Sentinel Orders along the Sornele’s southern and eastern borders. Such measures come at considerable detriment to the power and prerogatives (and revenues) of the Sornelene crown, but the Kuzul-Kadrinu have made it clear to Marabain that he has no choice. They have also “guided” him in most other matters of state over the past three years, for instance in directing the rebuilding and recovery of the kingdom’s orc-ravaged lands.

The sobriquet “Hotspur” was given to King Marabain in his teenage years in reference to his swift riding while on the hunt; prior to the orcish invasions, he favored it and was quite happy to be so-called by his subjects. It is still widely used but has now taken on an entirely derisive meaning, with many cynical jokes about how quickly he spurred his horse away from the advancing orcs.
Blackwine River

The Blackwine is a major river in western Um-Gerat. It flows down from the Trollfells and the Arkanmoor (which respectively lie to the east and west of its upper valley) and empties into the Bay of Bronna. The lower, or northern, part of its basin spreads out into a wide stretch of low-lying coastal plain which forms one of Um-Gerat's major agricultural regions and supports several large cities.
Tel Kiren

Tel Kiren or Tel Kiri is a prominent triangular headland jutting out into the Emerald Ocean from the coast of Belekesh, in the territory of the present-day state of Sharu-Tur. It is the site of the city of Mondolkiren. According to legend, the People of the Ten Thousand Ships made landfall at Tel Kiren after their long escape from Orithea, making it the first place in Achuirea to be settled by humans. Even if this is not actually true, scholars agree that the region must have been *among* the first areas inhabited by the Tarquenite exiles during their early expansion, and thus that their actual first landfall (wherever it was) must have been somewhere relatively nearby up or down the coast of Belekesh.
Tirnavon

Tirnavon is a large, mostly low-lying region in northern Orithea, stretching along the Sea of Jalmar’s western shores. To the north, it is bounded by the mountains of Valgomyr’s massif, to the south by the Kamurian plateau, and to the west by the ranges of Belgoroth. Almost the entirety of Tirnavon (along with certain parts of the surrounding highlands) is encompassed by the borders of the Kingdom of Tirnavon, which takes its name from the region.
Banadyr

Banadyr is the largest city in the Duchy of Charagma and the seat of its ducal household. The ancestral stronghold of the dukes, the fortified palace of Dun Charag, is located on a prominence just west of the city proper.

Banadyr is not large compared to the great cities of the League--Hakoris, Torrune, and Temsevar--but it is still sizable. It is the major intermediary link on the road running from Dardurgan down to Torrune, along which flows considerable commerce between the dwarves of the Adhemars and the outside world. As the biggest city in the duchy, it also serves as market center for all the surrounding countryside and smaller towns. Thus Banadyr is a regional trade nexus of some importance and a mid-sized node on the network of trade routes branching out like blood vessels from the central artery of the Helvander. Although the revenue raised as tolls and fees on this trade is a small fraction of what Torrune garners, it is still substantial.

Banadyr itself has also been a center of metal-working since the Old Empire days (long influenced by proximity to the dwarves); arms and armor from its workshops are recognized for their quality throughout the Taefemach. High-quality brasswares and other metal goods are also produced there, along with textiles and worked leather. As in several other towns in Charagma, distillation of strong spirits is another noteworthy local industry.
Rhantashannu

Rhantashannu is the collective cultus or religious tradition centered on the worship of the Rhantaseppa. It is the most prevalent religious practice among the humans of Achuirea, and its adherents are known as Rhantashans or Rhantashani. Rhantashannu is an archaic Tuvai phrase dating back to just before the Schism Wars (but preserved into modern Chomarra due to its continued religious significance) meaning "devotion to the most high" or "devotion to those on high," in reference to the gods of the Rhantaseppa.
Nabhiru

Nabhiru is the god of the south wind, hot and fierce, fickle and capricious, the bringer of summer, which chases away the spring. He is a son of Klython, thus one of the Klythonu-Vaati and counted among the Aiyu-Thani. His brothers are Turomë of the north wind, Iraolis of the west wind, and Uatha of the east wind.

Nabhiru is worshiped with a fearful awe among the Suagirs, because he may bring scorching heat that shrivels the steppe with drought, or wildfires that sweep across the grasslands with terrifying speed, or sudden thunderstorms that rear up from the horizon and sweep away men in flash-floods, or tornadoes that wreak terrifying devastation. When he is appeased, on the other hand, he brings a warm and mild summer where the grass is not withered and the steppe stays green through til autumn. In order to propitiate Nabhiru, the Suagir shamans will greet the first arrival of the summer wind with lavish sacrifices of horses, other beasts, and sometimes human captives at the sites held holy to him.

No other people place as much importance as the Suagirs on the worship of Nabhiru, although he is venerated alongside his siblings in many druidic cults (such as those of the Vards), and by the Rhantashans as a minor deity within the cult of his father Klython.
Sultan of Azhir

The Sultan of Azhir is the ruler of the Azhiri Sultanate, a domain which has fluctuated greatly in size and power over the centuries. In the best of times, the sultans have been masters of the whole great isle and lands across the seas as well; the lesser islands have paid them tribute and their decrees have been obeyed in the Medrenesse and along Kelimaria's coast. In the worst of times, they have been reduced to puppet-kings ordered about by Yhimir, or else little more than local potentates, governors of their own city only and powerless beyond its walls. The seat of the sultan's court is in Shyrrik; of old it was in Tevril.

The current Sultan of Azhir is Zemune III.
Saulean Sea

The Saulean Sea is the largest and westernmost of the Sarpic Seas, cradled in the junction where western Rhydain branches off from southern Orithea and connecting with the Sea of Pearls to its east via the Gates of Ghirn. It is a historic center of human civilization; the lands around its shores were settled by the early descendants of the Unbegotten Men shortly after they left Ulshanru, and these peoples created the first human societies that are known from ancient records. These include early city-states and empires such as Aarb, Kalkidan, XXXXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXXXX.

The lands around the Saulean Sea were the also the origin for many of the further human migrations that spread out across Orithea in the ancient past: All the way north to Tirnavon, west to Azhir and the isles beyond, south into Sularia and Vastemar, and, following the Schism Wars, east across the ocean to Achuirea.

In more recent ages, a series of powerful states which have dominated the western Sarpic Seas, and sometimes lands beyond, have also been centered around the Saulean Sea. These include the XXXXXXes (whose central holdings were in northern Sarpadia); Qoss (which, prior to its destruction, was located on the island of Alborak where the Saulean Sea joins the Sea of Pearls), and the still-extant Phyridian Empire (whose heartland is in Pelenaia along the sea’s western edge).
Silk Market (Torrune)

The Silk Market is the most popular name for a large bazaar in the north-central part of Torrune's High City, occupying much of the eponymous Silk-Seller's Quarter.

Its name reflects the fact that it originated as an emporium for the sale of silks, brocades, and other expensive fabrics, but it has now grown into a much larger and more diverse marketplace in which luxury goods of every type can be found. Almonds, citrus-fruit, and aromatized wines from Alondria; silk, resins, and camphor from Urem; furs from Gundarra; cedar-wood from Tythium; jewelry, wrought gold, and wondrous metal-work of every type from the dwarven lands; amber from Kamuria; slaves from Thelbiron, XXXXXX, and Aumegaron; laquerwares and incense from Kelimaria; spices and teak from the Western Isles; curatives and elixirs from the city's own alchemists; the best spirits from Charagma and the Sornele; opals and tiger-eye gems from Ojaum; these are a few of the commodities that are traded here.

Like parts of the even larger Aulgasmark, much of the Silk Market consists of arcade-flanked lanes covered over with vaulted roofs to shield them from the elements. Thus most of the market is enclosed and resembles a set of long, high-ceilinged galleries intersecting one another in a grid-like pattern, lined with the storefronts of hundreds of merchants.
Uldaegu

Uldaegu is the largest and easternmost of the major kingdoms of Khadoa. It covers most of the region's eastern half (including all of Beraitha and the Split Steel River's basin), controls all the lands around the Fyrdenglin (including Yhendorn’s southern shores), and extends eastward to the Arkanmoors and the frontiers of Um-Gerat.

Its name means “Homeland of the Daeya” or “Abode of the Daeya” (with a Y-to-G vowel shift common in the Tuvai dialects of Enyrion and Khadoa), from the archaic Tuvai root "uldh-" (abode, dwelling place) and the name of the Daeya people who make up most of Khadoa’s population. The kingdom was founded several centuries ago via the conquest and agglomeration of multiple smaller east Khadoan states, and the name “Uldaegu” was invented to signify the ambition of eventually bringing all the lands of the Daeya people (i.e. all of Enyrion and Khadoa, as well as perhaps western Um-Gerat) under a single huge kingdom; this goal has not been born out, however.
Touzu-Vaati

The Touzu-Vaati are the offspring of Touz, the Aiyu-Thani gods and goddesses who sprang forth parthenogenously from the tremendous creative power of her divine life-force. They are thus all fatherless, born of Touz alone. They are Deinoa, Tefra, and Sidra (who are consorts to Telaon, Kothaur, and Gyrion respectively, and therefore also considered members of the Thaedonu-Vaati pantheon), Auzha, Garhanu, Yazhur, Tulkhur, and Qadira. Touzu-Vaati simply means "Children of Touz" in old Tuvai.

The Touzu-Vaati, like Touz herself, are worshipped to varying degrees through both Orithea (where the dominant cultus is Utara-Vaati) and Achuirea (where it is Rhantashannu). Tefra, Deinoa, and Sidra, as members of the Thaedonu-Vaati pantheon, are highly revered in Orithea and not worshipped at all in Achuirea (except in the Sarcian Empire where Utara-Vaati is also practiced). Conversely, the established Orithean priesthoods often view the rest of the Touzu-Vaati, and Touz herself, with a degree of suspicion. This is because they are also venerated by Achuireans alongside the Rhantaseppa, and thus associated with the alien gods of the infidel Tarquenites. Touz herself, in some interpretations, may be blamed for the events that ultimately led to the Tarquenian Revelation and the Schism Wars. However, this suspicion is not enough to prevent them from being fairly widely venerated by common people. They are typically worshiped as minor or subaltern deities, given less prominence than the Thaedonu-Vaati. In some areas their cults may be officially discouraged, while in others they may be tolerated as folk-practice or secondary sects alongside the dominant cultus.

The same suspicion generally does not run in the other direction, and in Achuirea the cults of the Touzu-Vaati (except for Tefra, Sidra, and Deinoa) are revered without much concern for their presence in Orithean lands. As in Orithea, though, they hold secondary status to the dominant cult of the Rhantaseppa. The exception to this is Tulkhur, whose cult is subject to some opprobrium on both continents, since he is said to have made divine weapons for both pantheons during the Schism Wars.
Aotujai Ul-Tash

Aotujai Ul-Tash (sometimes spelled Atujai) was the fifth recognized son of Torkai Ul-Tash and one of the most prominent generals in his father's great wars of conquest. After Torkai's death in 930 CV, he, along with his elder brothers Kirdai and Tovaan, received the title of Ul-Tash in his own right and was given rulership over one of the three major states into which the All-Conqueror's domains were divided. Aotujai received the central portion, comprising all of Suagirea proper and the various peripheral territories below the vantagelands of the high steppe; this was called the Aotujan Empire after his own name.

Aotujai's empire would prove to the most short-lived of the three Torkaian successor states. In 939 CV, Aotujai mustered his armies and launched a renewed attempt to conquer the Phyridian Empire to his southeast, which had stubbornly held out against Torkai himself even as all the lands of Urem beyond were subjugated. He had no more success than his father, and was conclusively defeated at the Battle of Shamach in 945 CV. This loss was so devastating that Aotujai lost the confidence of his generals and warlords, and the many tribal groups that made up his armies. His renown was tarnished beyond reparation and the steppe warriors no longer believed that to answer his summons was to ride to victory.

Despite strenuous attempts to reassert his authority, Aotujai's empire disintegrated over the next decade. His decrees were ignored and excuses were made by those called to send tribute, who previously would have dared not defy him. Fewer and fewer men would muster to his banners. The tamirs who had been his vassals began to look to their own people's affairs again, as their forefathers had in the old days. By 955 CV, a Suagirea that was unified under Torkai had collapsed back into a shifting, fractious patchwork of independent tamirates and tribal chiefdoms.

In that same year of 955, Aotujai gathered all his sons and relations, and all the warriors he could still muster to his banner (scarcely two thousand men by that point) and led them on a suicidal last raid deep into Phyridian lands. They ravaged a swathe of the frontier before being finally intercepted and wiped out to the last man near Vitra. Aotujai himself and his sons, it is said, were slashed to mincemeat by a wall of spectral swords conjured by Phyridian battle-mages. Thus perished the fifth son of Torkai, bereft of his empire and denied even a warrior's death by honest steel.
Atallan

Atallan is the northernmost major island of the Western Isles, and is the smaller of the two large islands in the archipelago’s northern reaches (the other is Bezvaria). Atallan and Bezvaria, together with the many smaller islands around them, form an arc that defines the northern and western boundaries of the Bezvarian Sea.
Portreeve of Torrune

The Portreeve of Torrune is the top official appointed by the Archon to oversee regulation and taxation of all trade in and out of the city, as well as the prosecution of smugglers and others who defraud the tax-collectors. The Portreeve’s agents are the ones who inspect and assess all cargoes coming and going, and collect the tax-fees levied upon them.

Given the centrality of this trade and taxation to Torrune’s well-being, the Portreeve is as close to the city has as a “mayor” or chief magistrate; he answers directly to the Archon and is also empowered to regulate shops and trades, prosecute many types of criminals besides smugglers, disburse monies from the Archon’s treasury for maintenance of public works, promulgate his own edicts within certain limits, and so forth. He has several subordinate magistrates under him. He is sometimes referred to with the generic title “Consul”, used elsewhere in the Helvandrian lands to refer to an officer who has been appointed by a lord to administer a city much like a mayor, although in Torrune the Portreeve's own office does not actually have this title attached to it.

The Portreeve and his subordinate magistrates conduct their official business (judging cases, meeting in council, arbitrating commercial disputes, hearing petitions and appeals, etc.) in the Court of the Portreeve, which is situated in the Low City on the south edge of the great market of Aulgu.

The current Portreeve of Torrune is XXXXXXXXXXX, who is a member of a branch of the House of Gedeira and thus a relative of the Archon (it is quite typical for Archons to appoint some trusted member of their own family to this important post). XXXXXXX is also a wealthy and prominent merchant in his own right, and his commercial success has certainly not suffered from attaining his powerful office.