Alboria
Tis a silly place
Alboria is a land whose name dates back to before the rise of the serpentfolk, it's origins lost to history. Located on the eastern edge of The Crater Sea, Alboria is one-half of a larger landmass which is split into two sections by the massive mountain range now known as "The Alborian Spine", separating it from the deserts known as the eastern wastes.
Geography and climate
Alboria is a large region, averaging 500 miles in width and 400 miles in height, although it is irregularly shaped. Most of its residents will tell you that it resembles a wolf's head with its mouth agape, snapping at the crater sea and the spellstorm in it's center. Your average Bommbergonian will tell you that it looks like a pig trying to eat something too big for it to swallow, typical of an Alborian. Alboria is mostly composed of flatlands and gentle hills, with larger hills rising into the mountains of the Alborian Spine along its eastern border and the fertile Arldempt River Valley running across it's center from east to west. In the north, the formidable pine forests of the Ombrebois run all the way to the coast.
The Arldempt River Valley
This fertile river valley runs from Lake _____ in the central western end of Alboria to the port city of Arldsmouth in the east, and the bulk of the population of Alboria lives there. The extremely fertile soil has made the region the breadbasket of the Alborian Empire, and the river is used both to power mills and factories and to transport goods across Alboria. The Arldempt is broad and slow moving for most of it's length, making it excellent for transporting goods from the heart of the region to Arldsmouth and Ephosmos. Historically, the Arldempt River Valley has, along with the Nesse River Valley, held the bulk of the population of Alboria.
The climate of the river valley is temperate, with moderate winters and warm summers. The forests are a mix of deciduous and evergreens, and they have been well explored and tamed. Well made roads run through them, and the forests are well managed for timber harvesting, with less desirable trees pruned back to allow for the more desirable ones to grow straight and tall.
The Nesse River Valley
Drier, hotter, and somewhat hillier than the Arldempt River Valley, the Nesse River Valley is similarly fertile and home to a large amount of agriculture. Vinyards and orchards line its hills, and The Alborians claim that their olive groves produce the best oil in the world, although both the Oenotrians and Achaean City States would disagree.
The Ombrebois
The northern third of Alboria is dominated by the dense pine forests known as the Ombrebois, or Shadewood. The Ombrebois is the only place in The Shattered Continent that Shadewood Pine trees are known to grow. These pines can grow to immense size, and the supernatural gloom that they cast leaves the forests perpetually drenched in shadow. Many of the creatures which dwell in the shadows of the Ombrebois have been shaped by it, having developed the ability to melt into the shadows and see perfectly in the darkness.
The Ombrebois is the primary source of timber in Alboria, the tough wood being excellent for both ordinary construction and shipbuilding. The immense pines are particularly sought after for use as ships masts by the navy of the Alborian Empire, and poachers from Alhamland can make a fortune delivering stolen trees of mastmaking size. The Alborian Empire expends a great deal of effort protecting the Ombrebois from poachers. The forest is largely untamed, with only scattered human settlements, mostly to support logging operations.
The Ombrebois has a much colder climate than the rest of Alboria, more resembling the climate of southern Alhamland. The winters are cold and fairly harsh, and the summers don't get particularly hot. Snowfall transforms the Ombrebois dramatically, the bright white covering the ground seeming to hold the shadows at bay somewhat, and many loggers prefer to do their work in the winter.
The Alborian Spine
When the Cataclysm sundered the continent, the massive mountain chain known as The Spine was split into several sections, the second largest being the section which bisects Alboria. The otherwise relatively flat terrain of Alboria transitions into mild hills in the east, then into progressively larger hills until they merge with the mountains of the spine.
As the hills get higher, the temperatures get colder and the vegetation more typical of an alpine environment. These reaches are more untamed than most of Alboria, with many of the monstrous races having been pushed out of civilized areas and into the rough terrain of the Spine.
The Southern Coast
Towards the southern coast of Alboria, the climate gets hotter; with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The flatter terrain of most of Alboria becomes mild hills as it approaches the sea, terminating in sheer cliffs all along the coast, a relic from the formation of the Eastern Strait during the cataclysm. The hot, dry climate has proven to be excellent for growing olives and grapes, and the deep waters of the Eastern Strait are rich with fish, providing a livelyhood to the many coastal communities.
The Alborian Empire
Alboria is completely dominated by a single state, The Alborian Empire.
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