Meraset

The earliest written history comes from the logs of the intrepid settlers of Meraset. They pushed through the strange Mists that cloaked the land until they discovered a luminous tree, far prettier than most of the scrubby plants to be found in the hills. Around where the tree grew, the Mist was pushed back, and it was here that the village of Meras was settled.
Time passed and Meras grew. The people learned a bit about the magic of the phosphor tree and looked into way of utilizing it. In the growing town, tempers would sometimes clash and arguments broke out. One such fight grew to such violence that the tree was damaged in the process. A few citizens managed to calm the chaos before it could get worse, and the fighters looked in horror at what they’d done.
It was agreed that a council would work to keep the peace. It would not do to fight each other while struggling to survive. Over time, Meras grew from town to city and learned new techniques for using phosphor oil. It became possible to travel thanks to clockwork mules and filtered masks. The rural community Brackendale was settled in the southern hills.
Eventually Meras City’s explorers encountered the town of Frostmont, a mountainous city that set up near another phospor tree. They kept in contact with each other as best they could. Finn’s Crossing was founded by a group from Frostmont who wished to leave the mountains. They found a place to settle an agricultural town. Eventually, explorers were in contact with all towns, and they decide to look out for each other.
As the biggest safe zone with the most manpower, Meras City collects seeds to convert to oil and distribute to other towns for free.

Languages

Most languages that use the common script, dwarvish script, or elven script are in use. Others have been pieced together from recovered texts and are considered 'dead' languages but the study of them isn't too unusual.

Spoken Languages

• Common, elvish, dwarvish, halfling, goblin, giant, orc, gnomish.
• Tieflings are native speakers of infernal. most aasimar gain insight into the Celestial language once they realize their nature. Kobolds seem to have either an innate understanding of Draconic, or a similar manner of communication. We owe much of our understanding of the languages to them.

Dead Languages

• Abyssal, primordial, sylvan
• Infernal, by non-tieflings
• Celestial, by non-aasimar. Religious positions tend to take up this study the most.
• Draconic, by non-kobolds or dragonborn. Students are fairly warned, it's often difficult to replicate the noises required without sharp teeth and a forked tongue.
• Druidic. Spoken only by druids, and it is uncertain how they learn it in the first place. Every druid seems to have a different story.

Geography

The world of Meraset has two very notable features:
1. Extremely short days: It's a land of almost perpetual twilight. During the longest days the sun rises for a couple hours, casting a sunset-like glow the whole time.
2. The Mist: An airborne threat. It's known to cause confusion, memory issues, sluggishness and fatigue in the early stages. The later stages cause haullucinations, seizure, catatonia and possible death.
The area around Meras City is stretches into hilly area (Brackendale) and eventually becomes forests and mountains. Travel through the woods to the west and you'll hit Finn's Crossing. Frostmont sits up in the northwestern peaks.
There are not many roads to be found in the wilds, but expedition teams tend to leave markers for future groups coming through.

Notable places

Meras City

• Council house, where discussions and meetings are held.
• Tree of Peace, a large phosphor tree in a city park. Has weapons lodged in it that are now out of reach from the ground.
• Luna's Lantern, a popular tavern.
• Trader's Row, a wide open avenue with shops and open air market stalls.

Brackendale

• Cracked Horn Ranch
• Copper Hills, site of most of the town's mines.

Finn's Crossing

• Delia's, a cafe known for their tea and baked goods, also offers rooms for the night.
• Fox Run Park, a major public garden and ongoing project for botanists.

Frostmont

• White Stag Lodge
• Kuldor Mines

In the Wilds

• Cricket Woods, the home of many small spirits and strange Mist-adapted creatures. One known phosphor tree.
• Blackbird Pond. One known phosphor tree, if you have a raft.
• Fog Hill. Low visibility, but map markers indicate a phosphor tree here.
• Whitepine Woods. Great forest starts at the base of the mountain and spreads up through a pass connecting to the east. Very dense and difficult to navigate.
• Wolf's Jaw Mountain range

Fauna & Flora

The wild animals of Meraset have altered in ways to survive in the mists; some gain filtered lungs, others became aquatic. Bug-like monstrosities become more common the further you are from civilization. Not all of them are hostile though dire beasts tend to be more aggressive and intelligent.

Animals in safe zones have been bred to be more docile and standard looking (goats, chickens, cats, dogs, etc)

Most of the plant life has adapted to low light conditions. The phosphor trees are a unique type of flora; it is unsure what causes them to flourish but they are found growing in a variety of areas, and their continued growth is critical to society.

Natural Resources

Phosphor seeds: the fruit of the phosphor tree, used to produce pure phosphor oil. The oil is used to repel Mist and keep settlements safe.
Agricultural producers: Brackendale and Finn's Crossing. Brackendale tends towards wheat and farm animals while Finn's Crossing has a larger variety of fruits and vegetables grown.
Ore/stone producers: Frostmont and Brackendale. Brackendale has a few mines in the hills, but Frostmont's primary form of industry is mining and crafting.
Creature parts: Hunting the strange beasts that roam the wilds is a dangerous but rewarding task as certain materials can be harvested from the bodies.

• Chitin: the tough carapaces of some monsters were extremely valuable for making armor and other tools before mining took off in the area. Mandibles were collected for a similar reasons; sharp, durable, could be used in making piercing or cutting tools. Traditional smiths still like to use chitin; it shares quality with iron when in skilled hands.
• Acid and venom glands: Used in various trades: acids have alchemy purposes or can be used to clean metal or add to fertilizer. Harvested venom is needed to produce anti-venoms.
• Eyes: Intact compound eyes, in particular.
• Silk: Produced by some types of pupae (fairly safe to harvest) to arachnid-type creatures (dangerous to harvest)
• Hides and pelts: material for standard leather goods. There are some beasts whose hides have unique properties, and are well worth it for rangers to track down.

Marks: Currency, hardwood chips branded with varying symbols to denote value. Marks are treated with an alchemical solution that can be checked for counterfeiting.

Type

Region