Sianna, Western Region of Peredur

Sianna is a vast, swampy forest. There are numerous small villages of Elves and forest Gnomes, but one is advised to stay to the main roads. The reasons are twain: first, the forests of Sianna are wild and the paths within changable and poorly maintained. And second, the villages of Sianna have small wealth, little trade, and the residents are wary of outsiders. There are five large cities in Sianna. In the north one can find the cities of Fayette and Orlean. These two cities are the main way traffic from Campolea comes into the province, as roads reach out from those cities heading North. Fayette is the older town, mostly populated by Men, with sizable minorities of Elves and Forest Gnomes. The grounds around Fayette are soft, wet, and do not take well to roads. In these latter years the highways into Fayette are coming into disrepair, and traffic into that old town is lessened thereby. Orlean picks up the slack, for the terrain in that part of the great forest is more solid, and so traffic is easier to bear.
In fact, it is because of the more solid terrain that Orlean exists at all. It was actually founded early on in the Dwarf Wars, as a supply depot to on the way to Campolea. It was never sacked by the Dwarves, and in the intervening years has grown in importance to become the second largest city in Sianna. This is the City of the Seers, who through strange arts appear to be able to fortell the future. Or maybe they shape it, none know.
South of Orlean, the highway brings one to the city men call Barton, but the elves call Sian Nae Le-lenea. She is the largest of the cities of Sianna and her former capitol. Where most of the cities of Sianna, even Orlean to the north appear slapdash, even slovenly to to those who visit, Barton shows Elven architecture at its highest. Graceful towers, arching bridges over tranquil pools. Columns carved to resemble mighty trees, and birdsong everywhere. Elven troubadours sing while passing outside Gnome shops selling devices that please the eye and delight the mind. Standing in the courtyards of Sian Nae Le-lenea one can indeed believe in the kinship of Elves and Gnomes to the Fey.
The city of Mont lies to the south of Barton, down a highway that passes through the Trackless Fens. Well do the Fens deserve this name, for many a traveller has been lost in that vast, stinking swamp. It is said in Baron that the Fens hate the highway that men have made, and is forever trying to wash the road away. But the trade between the ships of the Mont and Barton have become too important, and even now when otherwise the Imperial legacy is fading everywhere, still Men and Elves strive to keep the Fens Highway clear.
Also leading Southeast from Barton is the Dikeway to the city of Abanoir, which is in Viraven. The Dikeway does not pass through the Fens, but just to the north of them. It is a vast berm raised by the Empire to help contain the Trackless Fens. Today it is the main highway out of Sianna and into central Peredur. Abanoir lies in Viraven but more closely resembles the ramshackle wooden cities of Sianna. It should not surprise one, then, to learn that Abanoir once was a part of Sianna. It was captured by Viraven during the imperial wars of expansion, when Sianna was still a separate realm outside the Empire. When Sianna finally fell and was annexed into the Kaelic Empire, the city remained a part of the province of Viraven as it served as a major legion outpost. Even today, though the city contains mostly Elven architecture, the population is largely human.
The final city in Sianna is Chasse, which like Mont sits on the coast within the Trackless Fens. Unlike the city of Mont, no one has tried to maintain the roads through the Fens, and so although there is a highway from Barton to Mont, there are no highways within Sianna that connect to Chasse. The only way into Chasse comes from cities in Viraven, or by sea.

Geography

The north 2/3s of Sianna are all swampy forest. There are a pair of rivers that meander through the region, heading south to the ocean. In the lower third of the region lie the Trackless Fens, a dangerous place with wild Elves, strange Gnomes, and other, even stranger creatures.

Location under

Peredur, Southern Province of the Empire

Owner/Ruler

Olvain Foamfollower