The Girded Valley
Home of the Crusader States
Nestled between the Belt and Kilkreath mountain ranges lies the Girded Valley. A massive expanse of land around the size of a kingdom of old, the Girded Valley is home to various races, beings and oddities. To its west lie the largest mountains in the world, the Belt, succeeded by its largest desert: the Silverwastes. The two combined are often called the Two Valleys, though in reality they are far larger regions than a standard mountain valley. To the east lie the Kilkreath mountains, and beyond them the inland Sea of Visceria which flows into the Ruby Expanse, the southernmost ocean.
There are no kings here, though many wish to be. Instead, the various counties of the Girded Valley are administered by arch-knights who have sworn fealty to the barons of one of the three crusader states that have propped themselves up since the fall of the Empire of Arran in Albion Today, these three states have claimed nearly all swathes within the Girded Valley.
Geography
When the first Crusaders arrived from Alba, they soon discovered the 'valley' they sailed towards was more akin to a local region rather than a small valley that needed to be pacified. The Girded Valley is in fact so large that it covers a variety of different climates, including tropical jungles in its north.
The Togatal Jungles
Those northern Togatal jungles are but a tiny fraction of the greater jungle that extends across most of northern Ezura. They are feared by all good folk, not just for their rampant disease and maze-like structure, but more importantly for their inhabitants. Saurians and Nyoka can be found here, and they are the only 'civilised' ones of the lot. Large behemoths are trapped within the jungles, and many a night watch on the Sat-Jek river has heard unnatural sounds originating from the deep jungle. It is on this rampant river that many a crusader fort can be found, holding eternal vigil against the terrors of the north.
The Central Plains
The plains in the center of the 'Valley' are large swathes of lands only upset by various streams, forests and hillsides. They are also home to the Tycho Crater, a mysterious aberration within the landscape. Known to have existed before the Crusader states had established themselves, most locals, natives and newcomers give it a wide berth when travelling. No one knows for sure what lies at its center, but those that attempt to find out either return mad or do not return at all. The few who have speak of unbridled magic, daemons and a floating island, sometimes of rivers of pure magic. It is difficult to ascertain if these accounts are true, for the crater is surrounded by hills and mountains on its edges.
The Temperate South
The southern Girded Valley is more akin to what most Crusaders were used to when they shipped out from Albion. A temperate region with forests, bogs and rivers, it is the first point of contact and home to the largest settlement within the region: Kirkshaw Harbour. It is here that the first Crusader began to etch out a home for themselves at the expense of the native Damarans. These locals have, over the course of 500 years, been driven out, slaughtered or assimilated into the settler population. Speaking the local language nowadays is considered a crime, and only further south and beyond the Morinor mountains does their population still speak it freely.
Alternative Name(s)
Druatan (local heathens)
Type
Valley
Location under
Included Locations
Related Ethnicities
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