Arikanda

Arikanda is a continent in which you will find no shortage of excitement and intrigue. Great Empires in its south, untamed frontiers in its north and west, city-states and kingdoms of all shapes and sizes here in the Heartlands. Whatever destiny you seek, it is there for you to find.
-"On Arikanda" by Druid Celan of the Vessa, Senior Philosopher at the Academy.

Located in the northern central section of Annyrion, this continent goes by many names, but the most common word across the major empires and kingdoms is 'Arikanda'.
The south and east of the continent are home to the three Great Empires - the Kalriv Empire, the Helikan League, and the Avadian Sovereignty. North of the Great Empires are the Heartlands, a broad stretch of forest, plains and mountains that are home to various small kingdoms, city-states and tribes. Beyond the stretches of the Heartlands to the north are cold taiga forests, tundra and snow, where few dare to tread. Living out an existence here are the Wessuth, hard-bitten nomads and warriors. 
The continent is bordered to the east by the Sapphire Sea and the continent of Sembar, to the south by the Calinan Sea, the Beyan Archipelago and the continent of Calina, and to the north and west by the Boundless Ocean, a vast body of water nobody has ever returned from.

Geography

Arikanda lies in the central northern hemisphere of Annyrion. At its broadest points, Arikanda stretches about 5000 kilometres across from west to east. It is not known how far north it stretches, as the north is almost completely sealed off by the mountain range known as the Sheer, and all attempts to cross it have failed. It is entirely feasible that the land could stretch all the way to the North Pole.
Arikanda is mostly bordered by ocean save for the Sheer in the north and, in the far southeast, by the Strait of Kas, a narrow channel between the Calinan and Sapphire Seas where the city of Kas is located. Off the south coast of the continent, a chain of hundreds of islands of various sizes exists, the Beyan Archipelago which is considered a part of Arikanda itself.
As a continent, Arikanda has a broad range of geological features. The majority of the land is forest and mountain, changing to taiga and tundra in the north. In the central Sapphire Coast, a broad rocky desert can be found, while in the extreme southwest temperate jungles and rainforests exist. The southern reaches of the continent are mainly plains, scrub and hills.
Arikanda is split into the following geographic regions;

• Tanoron, a region of farmlands, rolling hills and plains along the southern coast
• The Avadian Colonies, a diverse region in the southwest, consisting of temperate grassland and forests in the north and subtropical wetlands and rainforest in the south.
• The Heartlands, a region of forests, mountains and rivers in the centre of the continent.
• The Sapphire Coast, a warm and dry region ranging from hills and plains in the south to the rocky canyons and gorges of the Venderan Desert.
• The Great Taiga in the north, a stretch of hundreds of miles of boreal forests, lakes and rivers.
• The Siellar Range in the far northwest, a cold and mountainous region inhabited by Wessuth tribes including the nascent Kjor kingdom.
• The Arikandan Unknown, a vast, sprawling stretch of sparsely inhabited forest covering the bulk of the north and west of the continent.

Type

Continent

Included Locations

• Arikandan Unknown
• Avadian Colonies
• Sapphire Coast
• Tanoron
• The Great Taiga
• The Heartlands
• The Sheer

Included Organizations

• Avadian Sovereignty
• Helikan League

Contested By

• Avadian Sovereignty
• Helikan League
• Kalriv Empire