The Uncharted Territories

The Uncharted Territories is a region of land taking up the majority of Eastern Vadovass, most of which are on the eastern side of the Archaism mountains. The region is a no man's land of endless plains, mountains, hills and forests. The uncharted territories are wild and dangerous, making them difficult for most expeditions to chart out. The area is said to be patrolled by various tribes of nomads who make use of horses, making conquering or capturing sizeable portions of them impossible. From the few nomads who are not hostile, there is said to be monsters all over the land, including remnants of the giants who once controlled Vadovass, as well as hostile goliath tribes, small holdouts of goblinoid kingdoms and many other mindless monsters that wander the region. The only mapped city is Hillentrom, which is said to be a place where monsters who wish to live a civilized life reside in peace.

History

Little is known about the history of Eastern Vadovass, other than the area was once controlled entirely by the giants during the Dragon-Giant Wars. The area was hotly contested over and saw much of the action that took place between the two. According to myth, the region was so battered by the fighting that it cannot grow most food, making farming a poor means of survival.

After the fall of the giant kingdoms during the Age of Mortals, the region was nearly entirely ruled by the Ancient Elven Dominion, but the control they had over its non-elven inhabitants is unknown. The elves, while establishing civilization in the area, are believed to have mostly kept to themselves, rarely dealing with others unless provoked. Things became less stable after the First and Second Cataclysms, and eventually the elves fled back to Secaré, leaving behind their fortresses and cities, which are believed to have gone mostly undisturbed by raiders.

Inhabitants

The primary inhabitants of the lands are the numerous nomadic tribes that operate on horseback, their presence extending as far south as the border of the Hadaran Empire and as north as the border of Zaviorth's Domain. Most of these tribes are hostile towards outsiders and raid across borders, but some have been known to even be friendly. Less friendly are the goliath tribes, operating on foot. Much slower and smaller in tribe size than the human nomads, they make up for it with their superior strength with melee weapons made of stone. While the two groups fight each other, they seem to enjoy fighting more with their other rivals, the orcs and goblinoids. Some orc tribes are nomadic, while others are said to have set up small settlements. Greater in tribe size than even the humans, they are said to be in constant conflict with the other two groups. Meanwhile, the goblinoids are set up in both the mountains and further north. While most of their settlements are small, some nomads tell of a greater civilization that lies northwards, where they maintain cities, towns, and villages. Apart from mindless monsters, there are also legends of dragons and giants that live in both the mountains as well as the very farthest one can go north.

While most of these inhabitants are no issue for the other nations of Vadovass, that is not true for their neighbors. The Hadaran Empire routinely fights off human, orc, and goliath tribes that wander across the Archaism mountains. While a nation can make a truce with one nomadic group, there are dozens of tribes for each race. Many times other nomadic tribes will attack, only for that nation to believe they were betrayed by those they made the deal with.

There are rumored to be some cities and towns inhabited by the native steppe people. While most of these are human settlements, there is talk of some goliath in the deep Archaism Mountains, as well as numerous cities for both goblinoids and true giants further northeast, but there are few confirmed settlements. One of the few that is confirmed is the mysterious city of Hillentrom, east of the New Golden Alliance. The city is said to be entirely inhabited by intelligent monsters in an old ruined elven city that seek to leave their savage ways of life behind them.

Ruins

The presence of elven ruins makes the area very attractive to explorers, treasure hunters, adventurers and those seeking to uncover lost secrets. However, many of the few known ruins have already been looted in small expeditions over time, and any larger ruins are only speculated to exist. The risk one would need to take to travel deeper into the uncharted territory is made harder to swallow with the possibility that maps that mark some ruins may be totally destroyed or already looted. Still, some groups venture into the territory regardless, but few return.

Type

Region