The World of The Realms

The Realms, or more specifically the world of the Five Realms, in and around the fifth century of the current era is superficially very similar to that of our own near the end of the Medieval period. Most of the world remains covered by deep wild forests, though a few have been harvested near heavy population areas for the most part nature remains untouched or managed only at their edges. Marshes and swamps are nearly primeval in their sprawl. Vast deserts, untouched snow-capped mountain ranges and unsettled grasslands make up the land of the supercontinental Pangaea we call the world. Though there are other "Realms", when one speaks of The World, or The Realms, or “the lands on which the sun never sets”, it is this large landmass amid a great ocean separated by only a couple smaller island continents. This is the mortal world. A far distant future planet Earth with a moon quite a distance away from where it orbits today and a twenty-six hour day. Civilization still struggles to survive in many regions throughout the world. Generations-old cities and nations of humankind are but youthful memories to the longer living members of the other mortal species of elves, dwarves, dragons, and gnomes in the realms. Mortals young and old are rumored to share a common origin long removed, but such ancestry has been either willfully forgotten or lost to the shadows of history. Since the dawn of the current era, distinct peoples have arisen, easily identifiable through appearance, culture, heritage, and legends as hailing from the civilized regions of Perracia, Rhigolia, Afilam, Hauth, Ethigoviel, Andril, Yrdahn, Nydeis, Dannor, Rhelac, Yeohan, and Lungshi. Many whisper the belief that the giant-like Mountain Men of the Gigans in Ethigoviel and the diminutive Hobbledehoy Kaens of Highshire, Eastshire and the Coastal Shires of Kaendaloth who share a lost common ancestor with mankind but any open discussion of such a thing is considered repugnant by many regardless of ethnicity. Despite their many differences, and with a few exceptions, the vast majority of these mortal species generally share similar mindsets and technological advancements to those of our own prior to the printing press. The introduction of magic, living gods, and mighty creatures does create a significant difference in a few obvious respects. City-states are common with newly formed nations increasing in influence over the past century. As the influence of mortals increased after the events of what is now known as The Godswar which ended the last epoch over four hundred years ago, more and more of the wild lands have been pushed back and gathered under kings, governments or organizations which oversee the proliferation of land ownership into these once unsettled lands. Each vies for power and control of agriculture, trade, resources and textile networks. In the towns, a variety of trades are practiced. Most people in trade belong to the Livery Companies, which have grown out of earlier guilds, or the Guild Merchants to provide welfare to their members and enforce the standard of workmanship, regulation of prices and supervised working conditions for their journeymen and apprentices. Among the biggest companies are the merchant tailors and clothworkers; the Mercers Guild. Traders of silks and luxury fabrics, and the Grocers Guild, traders, and wholesalers of commodities like sugar, currants, and spices. Then there are the Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Skinners, Haberdashers, Salters, Ironmongers and Vintners. Among the lesser companies are the Cordwainers or Leatherworkers who manufacture fine leather goods, Dyers, Plasterers, and Stationers. Businesses are generally run from home, often the wives and children are involved as well as apprentices. People make and sell their own goods on the family premises often producing for home and for the market. Women spin thread for their own use as well as to sell. A housewife may brew beer at home, but sell the surplus, just as her dairy might provide produce for both the home and the marketplace. The worlds of home and work simply overlap for the majority of people. Many people also work in domestic service, often young people work as servants until they marry, rather than it being a job for life. Skills such as metalworking, farming, and crafts and industry are common in civilized lands, so much so that swords and metal armor are available to many enterprising warriors. Literacy and the quest for knowledge vary according to tradition but on the whole are on the rise. The merchants-class is increasing in both wealth and power as more markets and resources open up. Faith, while not usually dominant politically, is a major force in the lives of the people. How could it not be when the gods themselves once walked and fought alongside the ancestors of the noble houses and their miracles and magic still permeates everywhere from the battlefield to the bedroom, from the rise of the sun with the morning dawn to the long dark cold of the night. One has only look up to the night sky and recount familiar childhood tales written in the stars to remember the immortals are looking at them as well. Beyond the grasp of mortals exists the dominions of the paranormal races. Different in many ways, and much older, they include the domains of the Fey-Touched, Shadow-Touched, and the Truly Monstrous. There are great differences between that world and those of mortals. Great beasts and evil humanoids wander the wild, and not-so-wild, countryside. Ruins of ancient cities and towers can still be found among the underbrush, old lands and names from empires of ages past that are now lost to memory and time. More than one farmer has uncovered remnants of these paranormals while tilling their field only to fall into a world of madness and magic. Oh, and there is magic. Some individuals of The Realms have the ability to channel magical energies allowing them to perform mighty tasks, others receive such abilities with the blessing of celestial beings known as The Powers That Be. These magic-users can reshape the face of the world and have indeed done so in the past. The weave of magic is a field known as the Aether. Through the Aether those who can access its power have made hills and forests appear where none had been before, mountains have been moved several leagues from where they once rested and great sandy wastes have formed where once lakes and oceans once held sway. No place is more evidence of the power of magic in the realms than the Shield Wall within the heart Perracia though some would contest the great cradenza in the far north or the ever-moving isle of the fey are greater feats of magic. Some hold to the notion that these things are simply a fault of nature and not the meddling of spell-casters though most sages, human and otherwise, believe these are the acts of the gods themselves. The after-effect of powers used to end the Godswar. Finally, The Realms are a land of adventure, and therefore adventurers. It is a land with many tales of heroes, where those pure of heart, or with a powerful sword arm, hold their own against enemy hordes or evil legions who would surely muster and destroy all before them if it were not for the actions of a few. Nearly five centuries into the Current Era, many nations have arisen, some have fallen and many others sit precariously balanced between the magical tides and forces beyond their control. It is a time when the bold and the lucky make fortunes and gain great power over their world and The Realms that are a part of it, or pass on from the world, broken and forgotten.

Maps

The Western Reaches
Including the Regions of Eraussi, Hauth, Maugulahk, and environs.
The Middle Westerlands
Map of the Medium Plagam, or Middle Westerlands of Ethigobiel, Rhelac, Yrdahn, and environs. (Currently being revised)
The Lands of the West
This is a map of Rhigolia, Andril, Aaledon, & Rhelac.
The Lands of the East
Lungshi, Dannor, Parracia, Nydeis, and environs