Great Belt
The Great Belt describes the vast grasslands that stretch from the Rheuthengage Mountains eastward to the Sea of Dreams. It is one of Tarien's largest geographic regions and one if its most oddly shaped, as the widens and narrows around the contours of mountains and the coastlines of both the Sea of Storms and the Eldorian Sea. The greatest anomaly occurs in the east where Soulmeliti Forests dip down into the Belt. It is broken into several, smaller regions, including the Rheuthen Basin - part of the ancient Heartland Forests cause the belt to tighten.
Along its journey east, the belt goes by a series of names. Starting out as the Rheuthen Basin where it tucks into the shadow of the mountains, it changes into the Lawless Steppes after crossing the River of Darkness. Further east it splits into the Menter Plain - typically south of the Snake River and Pendril River Rivers - and the Denton Plains north of them. Interestingly, the Galkin Plain, located further south is generally considered part of the Inner Seas region. Further east still the Denton Plains give way to the open expanses of the Darien Plain that separate the Soulmeliti Forests from their distant cousins on the Merdenkal Peninsula.
Beyond the various herds - cattle in the west, bison in the center, and dinosaurs to the east, the Great Belt is home to a number the continent's most unusual nation-states. While the Principality of Grennig operates much as one might expect of a monarchy, its neighbor, Grand Duchy of His Lord Mennith is nothing more than an autocratic theocracy. Further east a number of independent settlements - Katzpütch, Dalencroft, and the loosely confederated towns and cities of Sarya's Freestates all call the Belt home. Like the open range upon which they reside, these states honor individual freedom above all other ideals - in many cases to the detriment of public welfare.
Hunters and Hunted on the Darien Plains
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Included Locations