Yemas

Yemas is a large region and one of the places settled by the ancient proto-Yemanic peoples. It is located in the southernmost part of the north-western third of the Southern Continent, bordered by the Vulcan Mountains to the east and south, Yemabera to the north, and the sea to the west.

The main language spoken here are the regional forms of Yeman. Sylvan dialects are also commonly spoken here, owing to the region's strong ties to Vafheim which have led to sizable populations of satyrs and centaurs.

## History

Yemas was initially settled by the Proto-Yemanic peoples in the distant past. The greatest settlement was on the island of Aventus, just off the coast of Yemas. Many modern Yeman city-states started off as colonies of the ancient Aventi Empire. After the sinking of Aventus, the collapse of their empire caused many of the cities to become independent states.

Soon after the collapse of the Aventi Empire, piracy and banditry became common on the roads and sea routes between different cities, and such individuals were respected due to being seen as defenders of their land from invaders. Needless to say, this shows a hostile relationship between many of these city-states.

In Yeman culture, an army is generally no larger than 10,000 soldiers, with anything larger being used only against threats from outside Yemas requiring a coalition to build. Average army size is roughly 3,000 men. The city-states often war against each other in the summer months, after the first rains of spring. These wars would not be considered major conflicts in the imperialised parts of the world, but here the fate of entire nations could rely on just a few thousand individuals.

Roughly 1,000 years ago, during the time of upheavals caused by Mora's summoning of Pandorym, the hill people of the Vulcan Mountains invaded Yemas, displacing vast quantities of the population and taking over about half the region. This caused a dark age lasting roughly 300 years during which writing was lost and reinvented, and the invaders adopted local customs and culture for their own. After this dark age, the city states of Kena and Epidaemon grew in influence, with Kena becoming the foremost of Yeman city-states. Around this time the Saugland Wars started. These wars involved a number of attempts by various Saug nations to conquer Yemas, leading to fracturing of alliances in Saugland, and culminating in an invasion of Saugland. These wars lasted roughly 150 years. The Yeman League was formed at the start of the war as a defensive pact amongst a number of city-states, and after the wars the Danian League was formed amongst most of the other city-states, initially centred on the city of Danus, but later centred on Kena. These two alliances had a number of wars against each other over the succeeding centuries, typically small-scale conflicts over petty things, and Yemas has been in a general state of cold war ever since.

Since then, many empyreans have been born in this land. Some fought for the good of the people, and others tried to oppress them. This led to the Empyrean Wars, which resulted in the deaths of many notable empyreans, such as Androkles the Magnificent, and ultimately broke the stranglehold the empyreans held on power in the region. Many empyreans from both sides who didn't die either went into hiding or were enslaved; very few maintained their former positions in this region.

With the recent destruction of Kena by Keeper and Draeg Treespeaker, Yemas is in great upheaval due to the most influential city-state in the region being wiped off the map, resulting in the destruction of the Danian League and the explosive increase in the influence of Epidaemon on the wider region.