Eteros
This largely east-west spanning continent is bordered by the Silver Ocean to the west and the Ocean of Mercator to the east. The smaller Congoma and Treronia oceans border the continent to the north and south, respectively. The most pronounced features of this continent are The Dry Sea and Learners bay. The Dry Sea is bordered to the north by the Tempitus mountain range, and to the south by the Theater of Gods. To the east it is bordered by the Jafinem Hills, and on its Western side sit two large bays and the Silver Ocean. Further east of the Jafinem hills is the smaller of he two large forests in the region which hugs the Eteron River. This river winds its way across the continent terminating at Hytodes. To the far east sits one of the three large lakes and massive grassland plains. Learners bay sits at the heart of this area and creates a large marsh at its western end. To the south of the continent is the Treronia Sea, the White Isles, and finally the continent of Rallia.
Geography
The main geographic feature is the old mountain range formed by a collision of two plates long ago. This created the Amphitheater of the Gods and the Tempitus range, with the large peak at Mt. Tempitus. Glacial Lakes exist at Lake Rothan and Lake Hedron. Etron Lake, potential a collapsed caldera of long past volcanic activity, is fed by meandering glacial rivers. These rivers also created the fertile plains east of Etron, known as the Theaterlands.
Harlon Wood sits on the Northern side of the Eteron river. To the west of this forest sits the Jafinem Hills. These hills, along with the mountain ranges, trap warmer wet air on their western side, leading to the formation of The Dry Sea. This massive desert stretches the length of Eteros and surrounds the Bay of Laurus. It ends at the Etron Highlands to the south. There a failed continental-rift created wide isthmus called the Neck of Eteros. This same rift also created the Treronia sea.
At the North east of the continent stand six islands known as The Guardians. These massive pillars are formed of hard rock that resisted the powerful erosive forces that batter the storm-prone coastline. Today they stand alone in the waves miles out to sea.
Learners bay is the lifeblood of the region and many cities and towns sit at the waters edge. The entrance at the Falgar straits is dominated by large cliffs, but these recede further into the bay. The island of Sopetra sits in the middle of this bay, home to The Academy of Sopetra. A large natural harbor leads back to the city and capital of Gold Harbor.
The Northlands are often cold and unforgiving, although many people choose to call this area home. Sea Hawks will roost on the cliffs that stand high above the waves in these northern reaches.
Harlon Wood sits on the Northern side of the Eteron river. To the west of this forest sits the Jafinem Hills. These hills, along with the mountain ranges, trap warmer wet air on their western side, leading to the formation of The Dry Sea. This massive desert stretches the length of Eteros and surrounds the Bay of Laurus. It ends at the Etron Highlands to the south. There a failed continental-rift created wide isthmus called the Neck of Eteros. This same rift also created the Treronia sea.
At the North east of the continent stand six islands known as The Guardians. These massive pillars are formed of hard rock that resisted the powerful erosive forces that batter the storm-prone coastline. Today they stand alone in the waves miles out to sea.
Learners bay is the lifeblood of the region and many cities and towns sit at the waters edge. The entrance at the Falgar straits is dominated by large cliffs, but these recede further into the bay. The island of Sopetra sits in the middle of this bay, home to The Academy of Sopetra. A large natural harbor leads back to the city and capital of Gold Harbor.
The Northlands are often cold and unforgiving, although many people choose to call this area home. Sea Hawks will roost on the cliffs that stand high above the waves in these northern reaches.
Ecosystem
Excerpt from the Encyclopedia Gloratium: "The continent of Eteros contains two primary climatological zones, the western and eastern sides of the mountain chain, and general highlands, formed by the Tempitus Mountains, the Jafinem Hills and the Amphitheater of the Gods. For more information regarding specific biomes, refer to the entry for each region."
Fauna & Flora
Fauna
This continent is home to many different creatures. Bane Wolves roam the more arid reach of the east. While Ekipters soar above the western plains. Harleq gallop across the Dry Sea, while Horned Crowns can sometimes be heard in the mountain passes of the Amphitheater of the Gods. Seahawks dominate the skys, while Valar are stalked by Tenmar in the plains.
Flora
Much wine is grown in and around the city of Laurus and it is known to be some of the best in the world. Myalban berries dot the oceanside hills around the Treronia sea, while rare herbs hide in the marshes surrounding Back Bay Village. However, the most famous plant is The Desert Fire Star, the beautiful flowering plant that inhabits the Jafinem hills. A festival is held yearly in Harlon for this flower.
Natural Resources
Some timber is harvested from the Harlon wood, but much of the wood needs of this region must be met from external sources.
Stone is prevalent across the continent, as many rocky hills jut out of the landscape, and the large mountain ranges provide easy access. The Tempitus mountain range is known to be a source of Gold as is the area around lake Hedron. Iron is harder to come by in this area, but gold talks and it has rarely ever been an issue for the peoples of Eteros.
Food is grown across the Eteron Vellay and Theaterlands, fed by the water of the Eteron and Union rivers, respectively. Much farming takes place on the Eteran Plains as well, however this area is very prone to drought due to its lack of consistent fresh water. Valar are also raised in the area around Gold Harbor.
Stone is prevalent across the continent, as many rocky hills jut out of the landscape, and the large mountain ranges provide easy access. The Tempitus mountain range is known to be a source of Gold as is the area around lake Hedron. Iron is harder to come by in this area, but gold talks and it has rarely ever been an issue for the peoples of Eteros.
Food is grown across the Eteron Vellay and Theaterlands, fed by the water of the Eteron and Union rivers, respectively. Much farming takes place on the Eteran Plains as well, however this area is very prone to drought due to its lack of consistent fresh water. Valar are also raised in the area around Gold Harbor.
History
Eteros is believed to be one of the original birthplaces of humanity. The major races and ethnicities that dominate this continent are:
Clans of half-orcs control some of the various settlements and cities that make up the Western Shore Union, while another group of half-orcs make their livings along the northeastern Eteran coast in North Eteros. Wood elves are common throughout the Harlon wood and Riverlands, often much more agrarian than some of their counterparts in Rallia and Galladia. Eteran wood elf populations have also mixed significantly with local human populations, especially the Shou, creating a large population of half-evles. The largest dwarven populations, while not native to Eteros, hare primarily near the Wall of Rallis (known in the old tongue as the Korchos Wall), although smaller dwarven settlments were founded near the Amphitheater of The Gods, primarily on the western front.
Small enclaves of halflings and gnomes have also made their homes throughout Eteros. While major gnomish migration took place across the Silver Ocean, between Rallia and the Forests of Gallis, movement was more limited across the Neck of Eteros. As a result, small gnomish settlements are present in the Harlon Wood and in the Back Bay region. Halflings, meanwhile, are largely interspersed in smaller homesteads across the Riverlands and Theatherlands. Halfling populations in these regions are often found intermingled with the other races of Eteros in more rural areas.
The Shou people primarily inhabit the continent east of the Jafinem Hills, while the Mulan, and to a lesser extent the Rashemi, inhabit the lands to the west. In general, the Mulan inhabit settlements in-and-around the Dry Sea, while the Rashemi inhabit areas further south and along the coast of the Treronia Sea. In major cities such as Tentria and Laurus, these ethnic groups are more evenly mixed. The Damaran primarily inhabit North Eteros, east of the Tempitus Range.
The Eteran Plain and Theaterlands produce much of the staple crops consumed across Eteros and Rallia, while cities along the Western Shore import various goods from Galladia, and produce some of the most famous wines in the world. With these complimentary goods, the peoples of the Western Shore have long traded with the peoples of the east, with the Dry Sea and large mountain ranges acting as geographical barriers between the two peoples, difficult for either side to overcome militarily. The Damaran, a hardy peoples, found refuge in the norther region of Eteros, and became renowned for their fishing skills and seamanship navigating the Congoma Ocean. Yet, the Damaran are far fewer in number than either the Shou or Mulan, and have a deeper shared history and culture with the Shou. Additionally, many of the half-orcs living in North Eteros are culturally distinct from the clans living on the warmer and more trade-oriented western side of the Tempitus Range. However, the trade that flourished among these peoples, both of goods and knowledge, helped the various civilizations of Eteros flourish, resulting in major cities developing along major trade arteries relatively early, including the cities of Laurus, Tentrai, Harlon and Gold Habor.
Over time these cities developed into small polities. Harlon (native: Harshaban) became a mixing pot of cultures, while Laurus, Tentria, Etron (native: Aliron) and Gold Harbor (native: Marhahab) exerted significant control over their respective corners of Eteros. Eventually, the cities of the Western Shore formed a loose trade league, while Gold Harbor extended their reach further east, into the Eteran plans, while also conquering the disparate tribes of the Northlands. Harlon and Etron, which became more powerful in their own rights, became more deeply integrated economically with Gold Harbor and the lands of the east. With their wealth growing rapidly, the merchant classes of both the Western Shore and Gold Harbor began to compete on various routes in Rallia, the White Isles and the Hand of Marea. Expert Western Shore sailors, in superior ships, rounded the Rallian coast and established small trading posts along the way extending their reach further into the Ocean of Mercator. Gold Harbor, with a powerful merchant fleet in it's own right, and better knowledge of the Guardian Channel and Channel Islands established dominance in trade along their coast, but now competed in waters they once ruled alone. This brought these two powers increasingly into conflict with each other, although land invasion remained difficult. Over the centuries, the merchants of the Western Shore kept the most viable paths through the Jafinem Hills and Dry Sea a closely guarded secret, viewed almost as a religious experience for the travelers, guided by The Shining God. The only major instance of an incursion, during the period known as The Wars of The Gift, was when a small force of Harleq Cavalry crossed the Dry Sea and began to raid settlements in the Riverlands. Rulers in Gold Harbor dispatched a force of well trained Ekipter riders to hunt down these bandits, thus resulting in the Battle of the Bloody Plains. It was a pyrrhic victory for Gold Harbor, but remembered postiviely by both sides. Each belligerent saw it is as the reason the other side stayed in place on their side of the Dry Sea. As a result of the largely inconclusive battle, both sides maintained only small, but highly-trained, land forces, with the aforementioned geographic barriers acting as natural bastions. As result, a fierce rivalry developed, and persists today, between these peoples especially in regard to trade and maritime matters.
By the time of the forefather arrival, nearly a decade after the first ships landed at King's Rock in Galladia, most of the great cities of Eteros were either aligned with, or controlled by, the Golden Throne in Gold Harbor or the Western Shore Trade League. Additionally, a third force was gaining power, the Golden Bank, based in Gold Harbor. Yet, the Forefathers landed at the entrance to th Bay of Statham, effectively cutting the Western Shore Trade League in half. In the Western Shore, they found a largely maritime, pacifistic society divided into largely independent city states. They had been trading with these peoples for more than a century and while outflows of magical knowledge and items had been strictly regulated, relationships had already been made. This made it relatively easy to take control of the Western Shore, by coopting local leaders and granting them favorable trade privileges with Auriti (the Forefathers Home Continent), as well as newly conquered lands in Galladia, and allowed specific towns to remain pilgrimage sites for the Shining God faith. However, not all were wooed by these concessions. A large contingent of the formidable Lauritian Harleq Cavalry of Laurus rode south to rendezvous with a support army from Rallia, resulting the Battle of the Long Night. Thus the Western Shore was absorbed into the juggernaut that was becoming The Republic of The Silver Sun.
However, when contact was made with the Golden Throne, the tone was very different. As with the various kingdoms in Rallia to the South, the Golden Throne did not take well to subjugation, and thinking they were safe east of the Dry Sea, failed to swear fealty. Thus began a long campaign of conquest. Having primarily outfitted their navy to combat growing Western Shore influence, the Golden Throne was not prepared for a protracted land campaign. Harlon, often what the Golden Throne saw as their only needed bastion to Western Shore incursions. As a result, there were few garrisons between Harlon and Gold Harbor. Learning this, the Forefathers simply sieged down Harlon, and proceeded through the Riverlands. Fearing for their lives, many of the powerful families of Gold Harbor, many of which controlled forces that formed the backbone of the army, fled to the more defensible Lake Hedron, leaving the city largely undefended. The Forefathers did not bite at this faint, and quickly seized Gold Harbor, leaving many locals resentful at their abandonment, and more accommodating to a new ruling government. Additionally, one of the true power brokers in the city, The Gold Bank, was allowed to remain in operation largely unimpeded, which kept the daily-life of many residents largely intact. With Gold Harbor secure, the Forefather army marched on Lkae Hedron, thus starting the First Battle of Hedron. Thus ended the last vestiges of resistance in Eteros.
Eteros continued to flourish under Forefather rule, but taxes paid to The Republic, and the installation of loyal families, instead of merchant-kings, curtailed the ability for families to gain exorbitant wealth as they had done in decades past. As a result, the Gold Bank grew even stronger, with many of the most powerful and shrewd merchants in Eteros instead joining these ranks, and financing many of the administrative costs of the government.
After the Catalcysm, fractures began to emerge across Eteros. In many cases, the merchant families saw this as an oppurtunity to reclaim their former glory. The fall of the Citadel to the revolutionary forces of Rothan Garda, later known as Rotahn the Freer, galvanized merchant families in eastern Eteros to throw off the yoke of the Republic. Using the wealth of the Gold Bank, as well as their own private forces, the stormed the keep and declared independence. Small factions of Republic soldier, along with loyalists to the Republic offered a semblance of resistance, but the bureaucratic system had been greatly diminished by the cataclysm and a united response by Forefather forces was non-existent. Additionally, without the revenues generated by the duties and tariffs in Gold Harbor, Republican leaders became unable to pay local garrisons or maintain order. The merchant families in Gold Harbor, evoking a sense of past greatness, revived the Kingdom of the Golden Throne, under a Merchant King. Their armies, and the mercenary forces of the Gold Bank, fanned out cross eastern Eteros, restoring order and subduing Forefather holdouts. To the south, The Etron Pact, a collection of villages and mountain sanctuaries in the Theaterlands voted to incorporate themselves. This piece of Eteros had few Republic garrisons, as the Forefathers wished to reatin the flourishing arts and knowledge emanating from the various mountain retreats and agrarian estates in this region. Yet, without an army, the Pact swore fealty to the Golden Throne with the understanding that, as before, now military garrisons could be erected anywhere in the region, by either side.
On the Western Shore, the families that had been empowered by the Forefathers, remained loyal to the Republic in name only. With no one to send them to, taxes to Auriti ceased, forefather troops in the major cities were paid off or, if they refused these bribes, declared traitors and exiled. The Western Shore fell back into a series of city-states aligned under the standard of the Western Shore Union, in order to offer joint protection against the now powerful Golden Throne, and to facilitate trade among the cities. Thus, the borders emerged that exist today However, in the decades following the fall of the Forefather empire, the Kingdom of the Golden Throne, bolstered by the ever-growing treasury of the Gold Bank and exclusive trading rights with the White Isles, has grown more powerful than the confederacy of cities and rulers known as the Western Shore Union. Yet, the Dry Sea remains a powerful defense against most large scale invasions, or so it is thought.
- Shou, Mulan, Damaran and Rashemi humans, of which there are many smaller sub-groups
- Half-orcs
- Wood elves
- Dwarves
- Small enclaves of halflings and gnomes in plains and wooded areas, respectively
Non-Human
Clans of half-orcs control some of the various settlements and cities that make up the Western Shore Union, while another group of half-orcs make their livings along the northeastern Eteran coast in North Eteros. Wood elves are common throughout the Harlon wood and Riverlands, often much more agrarian than some of their counterparts in Rallia and Galladia. Eteran wood elf populations have also mixed significantly with local human populations, especially the Shou, creating a large population of half-evles. The largest dwarven populations, while not native to Eteros, hare primarily near the Wall of Rallis (known in the old tongue as the Korchos Wall), although smaller dwarven settlments were founded near the Amphitheater of The Gods, primarily on the western front.
Small enclaves of halflings and gnomes have also made their homes throughout Eteros. While major gnomish migration took place across the Silver Ocean, between Rallia and the Forests of Gallis, movement was more limited across the Neck of Eteros. As a result, small gnomish settlements are present in the Harlon Wood and in the Back Bay region. Halflings, meanwhile, are largely interspersed in smaller homesteads across the Riverlands and Theatherlands. Halfling populations in these regions are often found intermingled with the other races of Eteros in more rural areas.
Human
The Shou people primarily inhabit the continent east of the Jafinem Hills, while the Mulan, and to a lesser extent the Rashemi, inhabit the lands to the west. In general, the Mulan inhabit settlements in-and-around the Dry Sea, while the Rashemi inhabit areas further south and along the coast of the Treronia Sea. In major cities such as Tentria and Laurus, these ethnic groups are more evenly mixed. The Damaran primarily inhabit North Eteros, east of the Tempitus Range.
Rise of Nations
The Eteran Plain and Theaterlands produce much of the staple crops consumed across Eteros and Rallia, while cities along the Western Shore import various goods from Galladia, and produce some of the most famous wines in the world. With these complimentary goods, the peoples of the Western Shore have long traded with the peoples of the east, with the Dry Sea and large mountain ranges acting as geographical barriers between the two peoples, difficult for either side to overcome militarily. The Damaran, a hardy peoples, found refuge in the norther region of Eteros, and became renowned for their fishing skills and seamanship navigating the Congoma Ocean. Yet, the Damaran are far fewer in number than either the Shou or Mulan, and have a deeper shared history and culture with the Shou. Additionally, many of the half-orcs living in North Eteros are culturally distinct from the clans living on the warmer and more trade-oriented western side of the Tempitus Range. However, the trade that flourished among these peoples, both of goods and knowledge, helped the various civilizations of Eteros flourish, resulting in major cities developing along major trade arteries relatively early, including the cities of Laurus, Tentrai, Harlon and Gold Habor.
Over time these cities developed into small polities. Harlon (native: Harshaban) became a mixing pot of cultures, while Laurus, Tentria, Etron (native: Aliron) and Gold Harbor (native: Marhahab) exerted significant control over their respective corners of Eteros. Eventually, the cities of the Western Shore formed a loose trade league, while Gold Harbor extended their reach further east, into the Eteran plans, while also conquering the disparate tribes of the Northlands. Harlon and Etron, which became more powerful in their own rights, became more deeply integrated economically with Gold Harbor and the lands of the east. With their wealth growing rapidly, the merchant classes of both the Western Shore and Gold Harbor began to compete on various routes in Rallia, the White Isles and the Hand of Marea. Expert Western Shore sailors, in superior ships, rounded the Rallian coast and established small trading posts along the way extending their reach further into the Ocean of Mercator. Gold Harbor, with a powerful merchant fleet in it's own right, and better knowledge of the Guardian Channel and Channel Islands established dominance in trade along their coast, but now competed in waters they once ruled alone. This brought these two powers increasingly into conflict with each other, although land invasion remained difficult. Over the centuries, the merchants of the Western Shore kept the most viable paths through the Jafinem Hills and Dry Sea a closely guarded secret, viewed almost as a religious experience for the travelers, guided by The Shining God. The only major instance of an incursion, during the period known as The Wars of The Gift, was when a small force of Harleq Cavalry crossed the Dry Sea and began to raid settlements in the Riverlands. Rulers in Gold Harbor dispatched a force of well trained Ekipter riders to hunt down these bandits, thus resulting in the Battle of the Bloody Plains. It was a pyrrhic victory for Gold Harbor, but remembered postiviely by both sides. Each belligerent saw it is as the reason the other side stayed in place on their side of the Dry Sea. As a result of the largely inconclusive battle, both sides maintained only small, but highly-trained, land forces, with the aforementioned geographic barriers acting as natural bastions. As result, a fierce rivalry developed, and persists today, between these peoples especially in regard to trade and maritime matters.
By the time of the forefather arrival, nearly a decade after the first ships landed at King's Rock in Galladia, most of the great cities of Eteros were either aligned with, or controlled by, the Golden Throne in Gold Harbor or the Western Shore Trade League. Additionally, a third force was gaining power, the Golden Bank, based in Gold Harbor. Yet, the Forefathers landed at the entrance to th Bay of Statham, effectively cutting the Western Shore Trade League in half. In the Western Shore, they found a largely maritime, pacifistic society divided into largely independent city states. They had been trading with these peoples for more than a century and while outflows of magical knowledge and items had been strictly regulated, relationships had already been made. This made it relatively easy to take control of the Western Shore, by coopting local leaders and granting them favorable trade privileges with Auriti (the Forefathers Home Continent), as well as newly conquered lands in Galladia, and allowed specific towns to remain pilgrimage sites for the Shining God faith. However, not all were wooed by these concessions. A large contingent of the formidable Lauritian Harleq Cavalry of Laurus rode south to rendezvous with a support army from Rallia, resulting the Battle of the Long Night. Thus the Western Shore was absorbed into the juggernaut that was becoming The Republic of The Silver Sun.
However, when contact was made with the Golden Throne, the tone was very different. As with the various kingdoms in Rallia to the South, the Golden Throne did not take well to subjugation, and thinking they were safe east of the Dry Sea, failed to swear fealty. Thus began a long campaign of conquest. Having primarily outfitted their navy to combat growing Western Shore influence, the Golden Throne was not prepared for a protracted land campaign. Harlon, often what the Golden Throne saw as their only needed bastion to Western Shore incursions. As a result, there were few garrisons between Harlon and Gold Harbor. Learning this, the Forefathers simply sieged down Harlon, and proceeded through the Riverlands. Fearing for their lives, many of the powerful families of Gold Harbor, many of which controlled forces that formed the backbone of the army, fled to the more defensible Lake Hedron, leaving the city largely undefended. The Forefathers did not bite at this faint, and quickly seized Gold Harbor, leaving many locals resentful at their abandonment, and more accommodating to a new ruling government. Additionally, one of the true power brokers in the city, The Gold Bank, was allowed to remain in operation largely unimpeded, which kept the daily-life of many residents largely intact. With Gold Harbor secure, the Forefather army marched on Lkae Hedron, thus starting the First Battle of Hedron. Thus ended the last vestiges of resistance in Eteros.
Eteros continued to flourish under Forefather rule, but taxes paid to The Republic, and the installation of loyal families, instead of merchant-kings, curtailed the ability for families to gain exorbitant wealth as they had done in decades past. As a result, the Gold Bank grew even stronger, with many of the most powerful and shrewd merchants in Eteros instead joining these ranks, and financing many of the administrative costs of the government.
After the Catalcysm, fractures began to emerge across Eteros. In many cases, the merchant families saw this as an oppurtunity to reclaim their former glory. The fall of the Citadel to the revolutionary forces of Rothan Garda, later known as Rotahn the Freer, galvanized merchant families in eastern Eteros to throw off the yoke of the Republic. Using the wealth of the Gold Bank, as well as their own private forces, the stormed the keep and declared independence. Small factions of Republic soldier, along with loyalists to the Republic offered a semblance of resistance, but the bureaucratic system had been greatly diminished by the cataclysm and a united response by Forefather forces was non-existent. Additionally, without the revenues generated by the duties and tariffs in Gold Harbor, Republican leaders became unable to pay local garrisons or maintain order. The merchant families in Gold Harbor, evoking a sense of past greatness, revived the Kingdom of the Golden Throne, under a Merchant King. Their armies, and the mercenary forces of the Gold Bank, fanned out cross eastern Eteros, restoring order and subduing Forefather holdouts. To the south, The Etron Pact, a collection of villages and mountain sanctuaries in the Theaterlands voted to incorporate themselves. This piece of Eteros had few Republic garrisons, as the Forefathers wished to reatin the flourishing arts and knowledge emanating from the various mountain retreats and agrarian estates in this region. Yet, without an army, the Pact swore fealty to the Golden Throne with the understanding that, as before, now military garrisons could be erected anywhere in the region, by either side.
On the Western Shore, the families that had been empowered by the Forefathers, remained loyal to the Republic in name only. With no one to send them to, taxes to Auriti ceased, forefather troops in the major cities were paid off or, if they refused these bribes, declared traitors and exiled. The Western Shore fell back into a series of city-states aligned under the standard of the Western Shore Union, in order to offer joint protection against the now powerful Golden Throne, and to facilitate trade among the cities. Thus, the borders emerged that exist today However, in the decades following the fall of the Forefather empire, the Kingdom of the Golden Throne, bolstered by the ever-growing treasury of the Gold Bank and exclusive trading rights with the White Isles, has grown more powerful than the confederacy of cities and rulers known as the Western Shore Union. Yet, the Dry Sea remains a powerful defense against most large scale invasions, or so it is thought.
Type
Continent
Location under
Included Locations
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