Galessia

Galessia is the largest and northernmost of the Three Great Continents of Luquastra, north of Fennerland and northwest of Asmarea. A continent of many diverse nations, the realm is recovering from a debilitating military conflict, which has led to almost every piece of land being claimed by some person or entity. The largest countries on the continent are the Kingdom of Grasynnia and the Alliance of Overmyre, and the largest cities are Hartmere, Cindra's Hold, and Herdskeep.

History

Galessia is the ancestral home of many peoples: dwarves, halflings, kobolds, goblins, half-dragons, orcs, goliaths, and aasimar hail from the continent. While all of these peoples established settlements and even civilizations over the centuries, in Galessia's early years, the dwarves were the ones who dominated Galessia, eventually establishing the Ancient Dwarven Empire, which controlled most of the continent - only the frozen wastes of the Ossyeard, the hostile Enridge Sands, the mystifying Great Forest of Baxbury, and the dense Great Rainforest remained beyond their grasp. It was during this empire's reign that humans migrated to the continent, settling in its southern reaches and fighting for their spot. The ensuing conflict would spark similar rebellions throughout Galessia, eventually culminating in the Darksky War and the end of dwarven rule outside of the modern Dwarven Kingdom of Starn.
In the centuries after, many new kingdoms and nations were established throughout Galessia, such as the Kingdom of Dergeria, the Protectorate of Highvale, the Sovranty of the Wendrough, and the Kingdom of Grasynnia. The latter would then be conquered by a warlord from a region known as the Granite Scar, Eridus Dragonbane. He and his descendants would also seek to conquer lands and unite the continent, their zeal eventually tearing through the continent during the Zenith War, which saw Grasynnian domain increase to the largest size of any single entity since the dwarves of eld.

Physical geography

Galessia is the most mountainous continent, its many mountain ranges cutting through the landscape and causing significant climatological divides on either side. The lands north of the towering Galespine Mountains are almost entirely frozen year-round, whereas on their southern flanks, immense forests spread out into the western regions of the continent. The only regions of Galessia without major mountains are the steppes in the northeastern reaches, and the grassy heartlands at the northern coast of Dragonbane Bay. The latter of these has become a major core for civilization on Galessia, where the former experiences the exact opposite situation of near-complete emptiness due to its remote location.
The southwest of Galessia is dry and arid, especially northwest of the Enridge, a coastal range that halts almost all precipitation blowing in from the seas. The southern coasts are dominated by mangroves and swamps, which get more dense closer to the rainforests on the extreme east of the continent. In the heart of the eastern half of Galessia lies the largest inland body of water anywhere on the Three Great Continents: the Gray Lake. Surrounded by unpopulated lands on all sides, the lake knows little activity, beyond the capricious goblins of Gobnor on the lake's southwestern coast. Within the Gray Lake lies a solitary island: a volcano known as Mount Ashfire. Its eruptions are often seen as heralds of dark times.

Political geography

The current sovereign kingdoms, nations, cities, and other polities of the Galessian continent are as follows:

Nation	Capital	Ruler
Kingdom of Grasynnia	Hartmere	Supreme General Althea Dragonbane
Kingdom of Dergeria	City of Dergeria	King Wilfred of Engham
Dwarven Kingdom of Starn	Rotheraine	Dwarfking Dardrag Boulderbrand
Alliance of Overmyre Kingcity of Herdskeep Protectorate of Highvale Sovranty of the Wendrough Abingdon Estoria Free City of Crosswell	Rotating, currently: Herdskeep	Rotating, currently: King Ironhead Dorsson
Satrapy of Senué	Qarakh	Satrap Grennis Sandfarer
United Tribes of Marfall	Nrov	Murzush the Defiant
Princely State of Ilnith	Ilnith	Princess Julietta XVIII (presumed)
City of Garlond	Garlond	Council of Three: Captain Errol Dendrith Master Markrag Chiptusk Judge Rayne Blackwell
Bowlorn	Bowlorn	None
Yarsol	Yarsol	Marchioness Valeria Rosecroft