Tor'zanbe

Tor'zanbe is the southern continent of Tanju.

Geography

Tor'zanbe is generally separated into three categories: western, central, and eastern. Each has its own geographical and weather characteristics that distinguish it from the other two.

Western Tor'zanbe

The western part of the continent is classified as all land to the west of the great towering cliffs known as the Ring of Protection, a landmark that demarcates the border of Elouvria. This portion of the continent is dominated by a region known as Godsfall, a land filled with ambient divine and fiendish magic where the ancestors of the aasimar and tieflings of today would settle. This area has several distinct biomes within it that were once natural, but have since been warped by the incredible power of divinity into newly formed landscapes. The weather has been irrevocably changed due to these influences, and winter in Godsfall is marked by fierce storms that bring snow and lightning together when they strike.
The Ring of Protection that surrounds Godsfall has remained relatively untouched by the energies roiling within Godsfall itself, leaving the leonin and loxodon inhabitants of the plateaus atop it to their own devices. Kiniyan leonin live much as they always have, settling in prides across the flats that raid neighboring settlements when their scavenging of resources comes up short. Meanwhile, the samrakayin loxodon live in their small communes around relics from a civilization that seemingly came before them, studying the ancient language to slowly reveal the truth of the world to their people.

Central Tor'zanbe

The boundaries of central Tor'zanbe begin in the west with the Ring of Protection and end in the east at the great crossroads between the Tora Plains, the Sun Sea, the Rrua Jungle, and the Rakkiri Range. Three major regions can be found here, equal in size but not in prominence. The Tora Plains has quickly become the heart of the continent, for the port of Umlani provides an easy gateway for all sea trade that subsequently travels across the plains to all corners of the continent. As a result, the centaurs, minotaurs, and tabaxi of the plains have adjusted their lifestyles to suit a new economy driven by exotic trade goods. The Songblood Archipelago, a string of islands off the northern coast that includes Umlani Isle, is considered a part of Central Tor'zanbe.
The more literal center of the continent is the Rrua Jungle, a green and humid expanse lying to the south of the Tora Plains. The area is seldom traveled, for it is dangerous and little explored. There are few settlements readily accessible with which to trade, and most of the rruka tabaxi and khota firbolgs that dwell there simply wish to be left alone.
Even further south is the unforgiving tundra known as the Expanse, separated from the jungle by an imposing ridge of large mountains known as Sentinel Ridge. If the jungle had little of interest to outsiders, the tundra has even less, and consequently few have traveled beyond the Sentinel to explore the expanse. Few have even pondered what might lie in such a desolate and hostile place.

Eastern Tor'zanbe

Eastern Tor'zanbe stretches from the eastern border of the Tora Plains to the island off the eastern coast of the continent. Three major regions can be found here, each of them quite different in terrain and climate.
The Sun Sea covers a large swath of eastern Tor'zanbe's territory. It acts as a gateway to the Fractured Plateaus even further to the east, sitting between them and the Tora Plains. The huge expanse of dunes is broken only by a central oasis where the largest city of the Sun Sea has arisen, and by an ugly mass of hives that force travelers to go around them rather than through them in order to make it to the oasis. All travelers know it is a death sentence to stray into the hives.
The Fractured Plateaus lie beyond the Sun Sea in the northeast where the terrain turns from soft, golden dunes to crags, rocks, and cliffs that jut into the sky to form grand, massive plateaus. What were once arid and dry grasslands atop them have turned into elementally aspected terrain of varying types, each of the four grand plateaus dominated by a different form. One is a swamp, another is a volcanic wasteland, a third is a sparsely forested grassland with trees bent by the howling winds, and the fourth is split between a cracked, barren badland and a lush deciduous forest. The canyons and valleys in between the plateaus are influenced by the weather above, but are mostly split between arid and wooded. The center of the plateaus is home to the nexus, a great labyrinth of rocks carved by erosion of all the rivers that collect there. Within these rocky structures is built a city that connects the surface world to the Undertor subcontinent.
Finally, the Rakkiri range dominates the southeastern corner of Tor'zanbe, starting as beautiful, tropical ridges before transitioning into ever taller peaks and spires. The weather beyond the humid and warm foothills transitions normally through the seasons, with winters covering the region in snow that never quite melts from the highest, most southerly peaks. The coastline is marked by sweeping rock archways that some postulate could not have formed naturally. The skies are dotted with the floating cities of the rakkiri aaracokra, while the valleys are home to villages full of lizardfolk, kenku, tortles, and tabaxi. The slopes of the mountains themselves are home to more aaracokra, those who do not have the status to live in the floating cities above.

The Deepways

Deep beneath the surface of Tor'zanbe is a network of tunnels and caverns that spans the entire continent. Few could agree on what to call it, so explorers simply used the Deepways for simplicity's sake. Below is an alien world of caverns and tunnels dominated by insectoid creatures and abominations both terrible and strange. Even the creatures that call the darkness home speak of a place even further below, lightless depths where none have dared to venture.

Fauna & Flora

Scaled megafauna can be found here, as can the smaller varieties of saurid that both terrorize and harmonize with the inhabitants of the continent. Used for anything from meat to sport, reptile and insectoid life dominates this continent, with any mammals either having long since become sapient races, or staying small so as not to attract the attention of their saurian neighbors. Flora varies wildly, with all manner of plants being found in the many varied regions above and below on the continent.

History

Tor'zanbe was named such by the centaurs of the Tora Plains, with which the first Taan-jian explorers came into contact. Despite the relatively late advent of many of its civilizations, the continent is no less rich in culture and history than its northern counterpart. The first civilization to develop was the aasimar and tiefling society of Elouvria, but since then others have followed suit in all habitable areas of the continent. The land of Tor'zanbe is steeped in magic and remains relatively untamed compared to Taan-jia, making it an exotic locale for brave travelers from across the Blooming Sea.

Maps

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  Tor'zanbe Map

  A map of Tor'zanbe, the southern continent of Tanju.

Area: Approx. 505,830 sq. miles

Alternative Name(s)

Taan-tora (Taani)
Alirakk (Rakkisi)
Ch'Éluterre (Elouvrier)
Orn Vozem (Duldross)
Azruk'osh (Lu'azik)

Type

Continent

Included Locations

• Godsfall
• Rakkiri Range
• Rrua Jungle
• Sentinel Ridge
• Tarkuthor Plateaus
• The Expanse
• The Sun Sea
• Tora Plains

Inhabiting Species

• Aaracokra
• Aasimar
• Centaur
• Changeling
• Firbolg
• Genasi
• Gnoll
• Goliath
• Kenku
• Leonin
• Lizardfolk
• Loxodon
• Minotaur
• Shifter
• Tabaxi
• Tiefling
• Tortle