Carcosa

Carcosa is famous for being the epynomous kingdom of Moda-Yur and the decadent and corrupt heart of the Cassildan Betrayal Interregnum. Once a paradise of unparalleled hedonism and illusory beauty, Carcosa was reclaimed by the Ithaquan-descendant Erd of Korahan during the Cassildan Betrayal, and it is now home the bastion of Kedar and Korahan. The region is a bitter and literally shattered land, defined by its powerful ancient magics. It is famed for its ancient floating cities and the Old Sarkand rift, a vast storm of entropic darkness which seems to lead to the distant dimesne of @Akashar.
Carcosa's western border with Ythill is demarcated by the Dunorn and Gorshad mountain ranges, considered to begin near the bastion of Kedar, streching all the way east to the terminus of the Cutter Sea and the Old Sarkand Rift
Much of the west of this temperate land is dominated by vast swaths of continental forest dotted with the ruins of Old Sovarkan, but these areas give way to the muddy forests of The Rotlands and then eventually a massive maze of relatively flat tributaries, forest swamps and muddy 'islands' that become progressively more common as one travels east. Within this tangle of brackish swamps lies the Erd city of Korahan in a territory known as the Yuresh Basin, and beyond it north and east, the most massive of all Carcosa's huge tributaries gives way to dozens of islands and waterways infested with the former miseries of Carcosa's namesake, the ancient kingdom of Moda-Yur.
Only the cold and dry grounds of the Tothbog and Tunadar in neighboring Ryggar and Alara or the Kingstomb range promise a refuge from winter rain and snow that create endless mud. East beyond this quagmire lies the steppes which were once the traditional territories of the Erd tribes, beyond them the arcane scar of the Old Sarkand Rift prevents passage further east unless by boat through the Cutter Sea.
According to local legend, the warlord Erdene Sech united the Erd diaspora and brought them to Korahan, and still rules quietly to this day, coordinating the regions defensive and economic initiatives from the Golden Throne, an artifact seized in the last days of Nahavr from the ruins of Carcosa.

The Golden House

The Golden House of the Nahavr were powerful wizards who practiced ancient and forbidden magics of illusion and animus. Their pleasure cities were beautiful to behold but rife with perverted decadence. Eventually, the tastes of the citizenry of Golden House became so extreme and their lust for immortality so powerful that they abandoned their limited physical flesh, gaining immortality by transferring their spirits into special phylactories, the husks of their bodies lived on as laborers and slaves even as their minds wandered paradise. As their empire decayed and the arcane machinations of Carcosa broke down, the fetid, rotting forms of the Carcosans were hidden with ornate masks and robes.
As the centuries wore on, Moda-Yur's phantom world became increasingly bizarre and sadistic. Eventually, ambitious cabals worked to overthrow the Yuresh Nahavr. Moda-Yur's daughter Cassilda conspired with a powerful noble named Aldones of Alara to overthrow the regime. Through an act of cunning and trickery, they banished Moda-Yur to his own phantom world, imrisoning him in the reality of his own creation. Cassilda married Aldones shortly thereafter,and the two of them ruled the kingdom for a short time until Aldones was struck down by the hand of an assassin.
Unbeknownst to the royals of Yuresh Nahavr, Moda-Yur had begun to escape into the minds of other Carcosans. This period is known as 'The Terror', lasting some centuries after the death of Aldones as a paranoid Moda-Yur's assassins wreaked havoc on the corrupt and decadent noble class of Yuresh Nahavr in both the real world and within the phantom truth, causing protracted civil war to rage in Alara and Ythill. from her exile in Ythill, Cassilda and her rebels joined forces with the Ythillians, the Grand Uoht of Alar pledging allegiance to Moda-Yur against the advice of the Chroniclers of Demhe.

Together, Moda-Yur and Uoht overthrew the Cassildan rebels and destroyed much of Ythill, creating a central seat of power over the region known as the Golden Throne. Moda-Yur purged so many royals that chroniclers of Demhe could not track the resulting inheritances of the ancient family trees, resulting in widespread economic weakness.
The Erd, low castes of Ythill, rose in power and prominance beneath Erdene Sech, a veteran of The Terror. Rising beneath the banner of the Free Erd, Erdene Sech rose against Moda-Yur and Uoht, banishing Moda-Yur into the Phantom Truth and enslaving the wizard Uoht.

Erdene seized the golden throne and would ventually go on found the city of Korahan. While the world outside the city walls might exist in a state of tribal mayhem, strictly enforced martial law prevent conflict or chaos from erupting within Korahan itself. Erdene's Law is zealously enforced by the Sechian Guard, a secular, multi-tribal force of elite soldiers bound by magic to the Golden Throne, an ancient treasure that once belonged to the Moda-Yur.

Erdene Sech

While rumors abound about Erdene Sech's immortality, most historians posit that he likely died long ago, maintaining a succession of heirs through the centuries that have taken on a symbolic identity necessary for the intregrity of the region's political body. Erdene sech was and is still capable of uniting the disparate and chaotic tribes of the Korahan wastes against powerful supernatural and political enemies in times of great need, existing both as an important figure-head and as a general of combined tribal forces. If Erdene Sech is truly dead, this would make the Sechian Guard a powerful secret society that rules Korahan justly but mercilessly.

Environs

Large, meandering inlets snake between a series of main passes between , feeding salty wetlands and marshes that support a variety of animals such as tarpans, monophants, antelope, and other grazers. Up above, the steppes are home to planar interlopers including giant sentient spiders, satyr-like humanoid aberrations, and pseudo-dragons. Most of these creatures seem to come through with the ghost city of Carcosa as it transitions to Athwei during the fall equinox, thriving in the warmer, wetter environment that Korahan provides. Uniquely, the region has two extra 'moons'. These are the remnants of the cities Ythill and Alar, set into the sky by The Moda-Yur at the beginning of the Deluge. Their activities seem to be somewhat random, moving around with the time of day and season without any clear logic.

The Cursed Floating Cities and the Moda-Yur

The cursed floating cities are in fact refuges for those powerful and loyal royal supporters of the Moda-Yur. Their movements are mostly a result of the failing magic which keeps them afloat, though sometimes the cities do in fact travel to remote locations for academic and ritual purposes. Within these cities, elaborate plays and art of indescribable complexity and detail are commonplace. The remnants of Yuresh Nahavr which live in these cities are thoroughly undead, and most have been alive for an age or two. Occasionally some intrepid adventurer or seer manages to glimpse these cities, bringing back some snippet or script for some entrancing performance which often has some horrifying effect on mortals.

The Modal Remnants

The Modal Remnants are a form of living sarcophagi, decaying shells of those who were severed from the Phantom Truth when Moda-Yur was destroyed. They seek arcane devices and forms of magic which allow them to gird their ancient forms against destruction. In many ways they resemble golems or constructs, but hints of a once-organic body can be seen beneath their shrouds.

Waters: Dunornjezar, Gorshadjezar, Spinner Sea
Lands: Kedar Lowland (Steppe), Gorshad (Forest/Montane), Old Sovarkan (Steppe/Ruin) , The Rotlands (Swamp/Ruin), Shatter Lands (Swamp/Black Water), Tuthbog (Swamp/Taiga), Yuresh Basin (Steppe/Swamp), Hyadian Fingers (Swamp/Blue Water),
Bastions: Kedar (125,000 souls), Korahan (143,000 souls)

Type

Region

Location under

Ythill

Included Locations

• Gorshadjezar
• Old Sovarkan
• Shatter Lands
• The Rotlands
• Yjan-Tekal Ruins

Owner/Ruler

Erdene Sech