Southern Realms Areas
he Southern Realms are one of the most ancient and least understood areas on the continent of Circadia. Many items of interest that existed before the Coming of Sentience are almost littered throughout this mysterious place. The most known and least understood is a "net" of artifacts that dot the landscape without any contiguous pattern. These items were placed here by an unknown group of entities in order to control a phenomenon that occurred in the area when the world was created. Several independently operating gates somehow formed. These gates work at random intervals and apparently have access to every plane in the universe.
When the entities realized their inability to stop the gates from functioning, they created the artifacts to both control the frequency of the gates and to have a way of closing the. When the Gods completed the net, they all decided that protectors were needed to prevent mortal tampering with the device. A group of nomadic horsemen on the Plains of Gustali were chosen. These nomads were instructed to keep all but the beings shown to them by the Gods from the main operating areas that were placed on the plain. The horsemen quickly agreed to this and foreswore any use of magic for eternity. In return, the Gods gave them many abilities that were unseen before. One of these abilities was extended life and vitality (the average Plainsman lives as long as a dwarf). Another was that the tribes became more resistant to mortal magic.
Once the protectors had been selected and made able to perform the necessary duties, the Gods wished to place someone in charge of maintaining and researching the net and perhaps find a solution to the problem of the gates. They found a mage that was near dying from age though his power would hold off death for several more years. He had been searching for a way of being immortal without having to resort to becoming a lich or some other form of undead because he felt that undeath would be far worse than dying. The Gods offered him life that would last as long as he maintained the net. He readily agreed. When the Gods showed him to the Plainsmen in order to allow him entry, they worshiped him as a deity despite all his protestations to the contrary. The Gods allowed him to form a small group of mages to aid him in the research on the net. Being a careful being, the mage, Zarien, searched constantly and when a suitable candidate would appear, Zarien would invite that person into the group. When these people died off, new recruits may or may not have been brought in to fill the vacancies left depending on the will of Zarien.
The current group is widely known as the Wheel of Five. The Wheel of Five have two main objectives. The first and foremost is the fulfillment of the Gods request. The second is to gain magical and spiritual power. The members of the Wheel of Five all feel that the net is their "exclusive" area due to the Gods assigning it into their care. Very little information about the net has been revealed other than bits and pieces and only the Wheel of Five know about its capabilities. Magicians are regulated within the area of the Plains where the gates open at. No mage has ever been allowed to research the net except the Wheel of Five, not even their apprentices. Until...
A mage representative of the Conclave of Nine explored an area recently in order to investigate anomolous magical readings in the area. The Wheel of Five was unaware of the existence of a minor artifact of the net in the area. No one knows what the mage did, but he somehow activated the minor artifact that in turn activated several other items in the net that created a gate the size of which was unseen since the installation of the net. The gate was linked to several planes simultaneously. The resultant invasion was named the Mulct. The entire Southern Realms was devastated by the hordes of evil beings. The Wheel of Five managed to close the gate within the week it was opened but it was several years before the demons were driven from Circadia. Some of the demons managed to get beyond the Southern Realms but were stopped by the combined efforts of the Conclave of Nine.
The Wheel of Five is currently conducting investigations for other "minor" activation points and to find out what exactly the mage from the Conclave of Nine did. Their investigation has revealed little beyond the excavation of an area that contains a large tower. Little has been investigated of this strange tower and all attempts to contact the spirit of the mage have failed. The Gods are curiously unresponsive about anything concerning the net since the installation of the protectors.
Ahlissa River
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Amaranthine Sea
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Antor
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Arruka
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Azure Gulf
he Azure Gulf was named for the beautiful, clear blue waters. Visibility throughout the Gulf is two hundred yards under ideal conditions. Many shellfish thrive in the pure waters. Both Horsa and Venatis are known for pearls and abalone shell. The presence of several ancient wrecks is also known, though the cause of the wrecks is not.
Blythe
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Broken Dagger
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Cairn Cliffs
his entire area is shunned by all but the most ardent adventurers. Located where the Serpent Peaks approach the sea, the Cairn Cliffs are more a series of steep mountains than an actual set of cliffs. The cliffs get their name from an obscure legend. The legend was written in an ancient, obsolete tongue that only the most learned of sages even know the existence of. The language does not readily translate into any known modern language, making translation a work requiring translation to an intermediate ancient language before translation to a useful language. This difficulty also adds to the amount of errors that occur. The details that can be gleaned are terribly general and often contain contradictory accounts.
The legend states that a great "God War" occurred before the emergence of any of the current sentient lifeforms. What gods were involved and what they fought over cannot be deciphered. Several Gods fell in the battle and were entombed by their brethren. The site of the entombment was the Cairn Cliffs.
Early in its history, the Grand Kingdom chose to ignore the implied dangers and sent a mining party in to assess any possible mineral wealth. Despite its apparent lack of belief in the legend, the Grand Kingdom provided large amounts of protection and sent its most powerful warriors to protect the party. The remnants of this party are the only account of anyone entering and leaving the area. Very little coherency can be found in the accounts due to every surviving member having several diseases and most being severly traumatized by the experience. None lived three months beyond reporting back.
What little is reliable concerns ancient script in the style of the original language the legend was written in lining walls in fantastic crypts of a size to rival most small towns. It is believed that many undead exist there, and the body of a dead God is unlikely to rest easy.
Ceboir
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Crystal River
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Dankut
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Densat River
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Dernal's Challenge
long the jagged fjords projecting out from the Grand Mountains is an area of chaos personified. Preists of Dernal say the sea is never forgiving, and at Dernal's Challenge it doesn't play fair either. Treacherous currents, rapidly changing depths, and poor visibility all challenge the captains who would dare to enter this forbidding area.
Though Dernal's Challenge is a true test of a sailor's mettle, many ships attempt the passage for the fine dwarven products available at Segovax. No creatures are known to live in Dernal's Challenge, though many wait on the seaward side for the flotsam to be churned out with the bodies of those who could not meet the challenge of the god of the oceans.
The Sea of Serenity, located inland of Dernal's Challenge, is a wondrous sight for those who make it through. A calm estuary with no monsters, it often is called the reward of passage.
Dragon's Tail Bay
ragon's Tail Bay is one of the three great inland bodies of water in the Southern Realms. Much mystery surrounds this mist enshrouded area. Though no islands are marked, several floating clumps of organic detritus have conglomerated to the point that they can support large mangrove trees. No trade routes go through this bay due to its remote location. Only one border is populated, and that by isolationist elves.
The creation of the bay is a matter of much debate. While natural formation is the most probable theory, the sentient races seem to have an intense need to validate their existence by showing evidence of divine intervention for their sake. The most popular myth states that Dragon's Tail Bay was made in the final instants before the closing of the incredible rift that engulfed the Southern Realms at the creation of the world. All the Gods involved in the creation brought their servants to force the evacuation of the servants of the demons. Many battles were undertaken, the greatest of which involved countless winged warriors led by the Great Wyrm Dragon against a large contingent of beings from the demon realms. During the battle, the Great Wyrm found himself surrounded by the demons who proceeded to pin him to the ground. The Great Wyrm used its enormous tail to extricate itself from the hold killing several of the shadowspawn and creating the bay in the process.
Dreadwood
he Dreadwood was never under what is termed "civilized" control. The humanoid hordes have always called this area home. Most are bitter remnants of what were once mighty nations that controlled vast portions of the Southern Realms.
Though not all humanoids live here, it is seen by many as a "golden land". This is not to say that the humanoids cooperate or even mutually aid each other. Many are in open warfare with rival tribes. But this is where humanoids hold sway, where humans and demi-humans are the slaves and mistreated.
Despite the commonality of this type of society, one distinct difference is the abscence of leadership from outside the humanoid races. In most such situations, either evil humans, giants, or some other superior individual rules the humanoids and uses them only to further their own schemes. This phenomenon has not manifested in Dreadwood. However, those who feel that the inhabitants are little more than a nuisance will soon be stripped of that illusion. Many of the humanoids of the area are uncharacteristically powerful. One unconfirmed account states that a small tribe actually succeeded in hunting down and killing a dragon that had been harassing the tribe. Even with heavy losses, this is nearly an unprecedented feat. Humanoids rule here, and they won't leave without near destruction of all the beings herein.
Gatorbone River
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Gearnat River
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Golam
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Grand Mountains
he Grand Mountains are the single largest mountain chain in the Southern Realms. The largest known volcano, Mt. Pyremius, is located in the western portion of the range. The Grand Mountains are extremely forbidding, sheer cliffs and oxygen deprivation being common causes of fatal accidents.
The Grand Mountains are also one of the places of dwarven origin on the planet of Terron. Unlike many places, dwarves here are plentiful and expanding. Here the hardy people have successfully cleansed the northeastern portion of the mountain range to Mt. Pyremius of all potential rivals. Three entire mountains have been practically hollowed out to support the main population and considerable excavation of several connecting peaks is in progress. Steeped in tradition, most dwarves here can trace their line back over 3500 years, and no dwarf cannot name his ancestors five generations back. For someone to not know their lineage means they are either severly deprived or of extremely questionable background.
These dwarves are industrious, producing some of the best armor in the world. Their armor superiority comes mainly out of necessity, for a large portion of the army are berserkers. The largest group of them (they're too chaotic to be called a battalion) in the world, the Manglers proved to be indispensible shock troops. When the Grand Mountain Dwarves learned of the Mulct, they sent the Manglers to do battle and kept the rest of the army for defense of the kingdom. In the battles waged against the demons, it is not known which was the scarier or more chaotic sight, the Manglers or the demons. With a near 2 to 1 casualty rating, the Manglers proved far more than a match for the demon hordes.
The berserkers comprise roughly one-third of the dwarven army. The remaining portion is divided between dwarven infantry and an elite corp of dwarven engineers. The engineering corp provides siege engines, fortification designs, and field weapon and armor repair. No sane being is foolish enough to attempt any assaults on this bastion of dwarven might.
A split occurred recently (by dwarven standards) between two opposing schools of thought. One wished to abandon ancient dwarven ways in favor of more modern ones. The other wished to keep the status quo. When the rift became too large to ignore, the revisionists separated spiritually and culturally from the present ruling body. Since most of these malcontents lived across the Amaranthine Sea, the separation caused little outward change. Ruled as an independent kingdom under the nominal rule of the Grand Mountain Dwarves, the split actually occurred before the official separation. Relations are cordial, with freindly rivalry being the norm.
Hool River
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Horsa
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Hraak's Heart
his was the last region cleared when the Mulct occurred. Despite reclamation efforts by both foreign elves and druids, this entire woodland is little more than a death trap. Giant bees capable of creating golems of wax, mutated plant life, and beings of previously unknown power and malign intelligence are but a few of the hazards awaiting those who would tame this area.
Prior to the Mulct, a small group of largely isolationist gray elves inhabited this woodland. The elves were apparently self-sufficient and conducted no trade outside its borders. No one but an elf was allowed to enter, so population and any cities that were in the woodlands are unknown. The name of the wood before the Mulct was Enduring Barrier. The name was earned when the Mulct occurred.
When the vanguard of the invasion reached the boundary of the woods, they were decimated. For the first week of the invasion, the demons were unable to penetrate the woodland. During the second week of the advance, the main force of demon lords approached the woods. Despite valiant efforts, the elves were defeated. Near the end of the battle, the elven champion Elvanshalee squared off against a greater Demonlord named Hraak. With aid from an apprentice of the Wheel of Five, Elvanshalee succeeded in defeating the Demonlord. Unfortunately, in an attempt to prevent the Demonlord from rising again, she tried to remove the foul organ which was the heart of the abomination. Elvanshalee pierced the heart sometime in the process. The resulting magical maelstrom caused incredible mutations and destroyed most of both forces. The only major battle lost by the demons in the Southern Realms still managed to scar the land. In observance of what the forest has become, the locals have come to call the woods Hraak's Heart.
Isle of the Stars
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Kester Deep
ester Deep is a large fresh water lake. The source of its water is unknown. No river feeds it, and it has never been known to rise above current levels. Expeditions to recover sunken ships have gone down several hundred fathoms without finding any bottom, let alone the cargo that was valuable enough to pay for mages necessary for the recovery efforts.
Kester Deep has no known connections to the sea but the rivers draining from it. Despite this, incredibly large numbers of predominantly salt water denizens frequent the lake. Travel on the lake is hazardous, though not overly so. Many fishermen have never even glimpsed a monster. A saying among the fishermen is trouble finds only those who stick their nose where it doesn't belong.
A strange folk call Kester Deep and many of the connecting waterways home. Rumored to have migrated from another world, the Solayn are a group of clannish people. The only time someone can gain their trust is by marrying into the tribe or long association and performance of at least one great service. The Solayn are also known as the "boat folk" because like gypsies and their wagons, so are the Solayn and their boats. A very athletic people, they often make money by acting as traveling fairs, using acrobatics to augment the money they make trading along the rivers. A little discreet theivery is also linked to the Solayn. Some of the older Solayn women gain powers commonly called the "Sight". This power consists of various psychic phenomena, including but not limited to fortunetelling and card reading.
Klawnel's Revenge
southwestern spur of the Grand Mountain chain, Klawnel's Revenge is a collection of mountain crags, U-shaped valleys, and glacial flows. Clouds dance among the peaks and fog flows like a river. Incredible winds roll off the glaciers and hit travelers with amazing force. Though mild compared to the polar wastes, Klawnel's Revenge may well be Klawnel's instrument of revenge on Terron.
Many areas of this place are both beautiful and savage. Yetis and many other creatures exist here. Ice creatures often frolic in the area.
Lort River
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Mordell Bay
ordell Bay is located north of Azure Gulf, separated from it by the Korenth and Durishi peninsulas. Much trade plies the bay, most of it conducted by the Solayn. Most ocean-faring traffic stops at Horsa, with any goods continuing inland being shipped by the Solayn.
The boat folk are accepted as necessary, though their clannish ways and tendency to self-interest leaves them largely under suspicion. Mysterious accidents and sinkings are known to occur to potential rivals on the bay. The Solayn are willing to trade with anyone for anything, the only exception being someone who has swindled them. Such people find trading anywhere near Mordell Bay dangerous in the extreme. A recent "merchant" was found crucified and set afloat in shark-infested waters.
Piracy has increased on Mordell Bay since the Mulct. The depletion of the general population has resulted in more resources being placed to insure basic needs. This has resulted in a shrinking of naval fleets from Horsa, Blythe, Dankut, Stonehurst, and Antor. The resultant attacks have made the Solayn even more insular. Ballista and catapult production can not keep up with demand.
Old River
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