The Outlands

Summary

The Outlands is the name given to all lands west of Taurtofna, The Mycelian Collective, and Shatterfyne. It is famously home to outcasts and outlaws from around the continent who flee the more refined Elvish and Satyr kingdoms on the continent to live in this rugged but freer land.

Adventuring

Adventuring parties are ubiquitous in The Outlands. Most work independently, scouring the countryside for the treasure of lost civilizations or, more commonly, hunting monsters that menace the free towns. Adventurers of particular skill may work for the warlords of the Shifting Kingdoms, but there are no Adventurer's Guilds to organize them. Even the usually-omnipresent Messenger's Guild has no presence there.

Geography

The Outlands are geographically diverse but can be divided into a few large areas that share similar traits. The Shifting Kingdoms are based around large rivers that feed into the ocean or Lake Okike. These are the only agriculturally productive part of The Outlands, but even there, herders are more common. To the west, there are several mountain ranges split by wide valleys where the less hearty ancestries find their homes. This region is called the Frozen Westlands by outsiders. Wild animals, some of them quite dangerous, outnumber people by a wide margin. To the north and south, there are two coastal regions. These are slightly warmer and more populous than the interior. The northern coast is a particularly important avenue for trade, while the south is notable for its numerous ancient ruins that have yet to be well-studied.

Society

No one group has ever united The Outlands, politically or culturally, due to its size and rough terrain. Gnomes, Halflings, and Tieflings are common in the Shifting Kingdoms of the east and the city-states of the southern coast, while the Frozen Westlands are home to Orcs, Goliaths, and Genasi. Humans live across both these regions, though they are a minority in every land. This is also true of their Half-Orc, whose fortitude makes them well-adapted to herding in unforgiving climates most other settled ancestries shun.

Politics

Home to countless cultures and ancestries, the only thing that unifies The Outlands is their lack of unity. Apart from the warlords who rule the Shifting Kingdoms in the Northeast, all political power is purely local. Towns on the frontier fend for themselves, erecting defenses to keep out the raiders and monsters that prowl the windswept plains. As the name implies, political power in the Shifting Kingdoms is extremely unstable: outsiders with large armies or powerful magic routinely carve out their own portions out of the region, causing chaos for those who live there.

The Shifting Kingdoms

These lands get their name from the wars that frequently change their borders. This occurs so frequently that cartographers usually don't bother drawing their borders or names, instead collectively referring to them by this moniker. A few of the Shifting Kingdoms signed a treaty with Taurtofna that gave them immunity from conquest in return for supporting Taurtofna against Siligond in their most recent war. There are currently six polities in the Shifting Kingdoms:

Dnestul: A mostly Goliath, Tiefling, and Goblin land ruled by an Orc Soldier named Adgurr the Icefang. Though the trading city of Marblelash is contained within the territory, the city pays tribute to maintain its independence and is ruled by a Tiefling Warlock named Audramnus the Magnificent.

Oldarir: A primarily Elf and Human domain ruled by a Human Wizard named Kanyinulia. Oldarir is the youngest of the Shifting Kingdoms, only being unified in 3169. It has an alliance with Enmitham.

Enmitham: A mostly Goliath land ruled by a Paladin named Steeleye. He reconquered the land in 3124 AK after his father was usurped in a deadly coup. Enmitham is currently winning a war against Qarinelde and Gepira.

Gepira: A mostly Elf, Human and Gnome territory ruled by a Okikerin Priest named Nakabowa. Gepira has strong cultural ties to Taurtofna, though the two are often at odds politically.

Qarinelde: This polity was briefly a power in the Shifting Kingdoms before the disasterous war with Enmitham. Other kingdoms accused Queen Centame, an Elf with ties to the royal family of Cirithas, of collaborating with Taurtofna to subvert the treaty that protects the Shifting Kingdoms from Taurtofnan invasion.

Harvasta: The largest and currently most powerful of the Shifting Kingdoms, Harvasta holds the distinction of being the only kingdom in Vrashyn to be ruled by Halflings, who are also the land's most numerous group. They are joined by Humans and Half-Orcs. Harvasta's name eludes to its greatest asset, and its grains are the breadbasket of all nearby lands that trade with them.

The Frozen Westlands

Near The Rime, The Outlands are split between the three ancestries most common in the area. Orcs live in migrating communities in the lowlands where they hunt mamoths, walruses, and other large creatures. Frost Giant clans are ascendent in the mountains, where they are joined by Goliath offspring, usually of Orc ancestry. The political balance between these groups has varied over time, but many Orc tribes currently pay tribute to the Giants.

Economics

Due to the cold weather and mountainous terrain, herding and hunting are the most common pastimes in this region. Most agriculture is practiced near lake Okike, though it only reaches a large scale in Harvasta. The Frozen Westlands are home to particularly large animals and deadly creatures, and many furs and other animal products are exported from it. The area imports foodstuffs and finished products that there isn't enough manpower to create in the small towns. The Shifting Kingdoms do significant trade with Taurtofna, Siligond and Sakilos.

Religion

There is no surviving native religious tradition in The Outlands. In fact, it's not even clear what groups the area originally belonged to, if any. Outside of immigrants and White Dragonborn who practice an offshoot of Hierophy in the west, none of Vrashyn's major religions have a significant presence either. Instead, there are numerous small religions shaped by local politics, tradition, and geography. The form of this religion is similar to Spiorady, but given that Halflings are among the rarest ancestries to see in The Outlands, this is likely a coincidence.

A monolithic machine jumps to life in the snowy mountains of The Outlands.