Continent of Talirae

 

Nation/Region of Origin

Players are encouraged to choose a nation or region of origin for their PCs, since doing so will help to ground them in the geography and history of the campaign.  The following is a list of significant regions of civilization and national political entities on the continent of Talirae.

 

Cauldron Region:

This strange and isolated frontier region in northwest Talirae is home to the crater city of Cauldron and the coastal city of Sasserine, as well as a number of smaller settlements.  Despite the region’s northerly location, its climate is subtropical and is home to miles of trackless jungle.  This unnatural climate is thought to persist due to the region’s long history of demonic infestation; arcane scholars hypothesize that it may be coterminous with one more layers of the Abyss.  This hypothesis may have been borne out during the Convergence, as the Cauldron region was one of the areas least effected by the recent cataclysm; its unusual climate and ecology persist to this day.

 

                Cauldron itself is nestled in the throat of a dormant volcano, but despite the hostility of the surrounding region the city has thrived.  It is currently overseen by the elected Lord Mayor Severen Navalant, and his captain of the guard, Terseon Skellerang.  The region is known to be inhospitable and dangerous, and persistent rumors of bestial demons prowling the jungles keep all but the bravest adventurers from venturing there.

 

                The heraldric symbol of Cauldron is a pattern of colored concentric circles representing the volcano crater.  The inner circle is blue, the middle circle grey, and the outer circle is red with a thin black border.

 

Chenrol Province – Northern Alliance Protectorate:

The Harbinger War was the most recent military conflict to scar the face of Talirae.  The war was fought in response to the aggression of Lord Shaur, an upstart human warlord and worshipper of the Elder Bane Tyraudon, who raised an army of humans, husthra, and constructs over two million strong from his fortified industrial city-state of Chenrol in the midlands of Talirae. The Harbinger War was responsible for the formation of the Northern Alliance – a mutual defense treaty between Falgenor, Hathorae and Moridar – and it claimed over 1,600,000 lives and 4,800,000 total combat casualties over its twelve year duration. 

 

                The war reached its crescendo in Auborean 6239CG when General Ishak Al-Sayidd, then Warmaster of Hathorae, infiltrated Lord Shaur’s army and turned it against him during a crucial battle along the Moridar front.  When the Moridar line collapsed, Shaur was forced to end his three year siege of Aerendale and pull his forces back to defend Chenrol. His army was caught in the pincers of the main thrust of Falgenor’s offensive just as Hathoraen agents struck behind his lines and disabled key components of his arcane war machines, causing them to fall silent at an opportune moment.  Chenrol, known as the City of Iron, finally surrendered four months later in Janiver 6240 as a winter-long siege by the Northern Alliance finally breached its inner walls.

 

After the fall of Chenrol and the death of Lord Shaur, the Northern Alliance installed a tripartite board of governors – one each from Falgenor, Hathorae and Moridar – to oversee the rebuilding of the city and its surrounding territory.  The ruined City of Iron is still only sparsely populated, and its economy has not yet recovered due to the rigors of surviving in the post-Convergence chaos.  In many ways it is considered a bothersome resource drain by the leaders and citizens of the Northern Alliance nations, and in the wake of the Convergence the city has not received the logistical support required for its renewed prosperity.  As such, crime and poverty have taken hold and the Tripartite Office of Governors has abandoned large swaths of the ruined city to concentrate on the more populated areas.

 

 

In 23CR, the Chenrol Province has become a gathering place for urban minded husthra humanoids, refugees displaced by the Convergence, and other downtrodden souls.  Rumors persist of vast networks of stone and iron bunkers beneath the city proper, which may or may not contain monstrous inhabitants and hidden plunder from the days of Lord Shaur’s conquests.

 

 

The heraldric symbol of the Chenrol Province is a steel grey kite shield with an inverted black “Y” running up its center and framed in hexagonal steel bolts, representing the tripartite governorship of the province.

 

Dreamlands:

The Dreamlands are strange, hypnotically beautiful lands inhabited by the Dreamlords, a group of powerful fey-touched dreamkin who controlled significant portions of the Dreaming continent of Talirae prior to the Convergence.  When their holdings were suddenly merged with those of Prime Material Gaia, an initial period of confusion regarding political boundaries ensued, but bloodshed was avoided thanks to careful diplomacy on both sides.  During the Taliraen Convergence Accords, the Dreamlords agreed to concede their territories in the interests of peace and prosperity for all, but not without reserving their seat of power – a verdant block of land south of the Three Vales – for themselves.  In the 23 years since the Convergence the Dreamlords have altered their new land through magic, and its haunting beauty has been enhanced in strange and surreal ways.  Non-dreamkin cannot hail from the Dreamlands, as they are not commonly permitted to enter the territory.

 

                Little is known of the Dreamlords’ culture and motives, but speculation suggests there are two primary courts – the Seelie (light) and Unseelie (dark) – which vie against each other for control of what remains of the Dreamlands.  Scholars believe that the dreamkin are some manner of fey beings infused with the raw essence of dreamstuff – the energy which formerly constituted the Dreaming itself, and which now intersects with Gaia’s own aether due to the Convergence.  They are thought to be the sibling race of the Gaian elves, and to have broken away from the affairs of Prime Material Gaia during the Darastrae Epoch to pursue the exploration of the Dreaming.

 

                The Seelie Dreamlords’ heraldric symbol is a fey courtblade wrapped in a flowering vine whose flowers are shimmering jewels.  The Unseelie Dreamlords are represented by a stylized black swan with a purple collar and sharp purple wingtips; the swan is usually pictured taking flight.

 

Falgenor:

Falgenor is located in the midlands of Talirae, south-southwest of Hathorae.  It is a 2000-year old human oligarchy with the founding family, the Falgenharts, at the top.  The Falgenhart family is supported by the 9-member High Council of Falgenor, and this arrangement has served the nation effectively for many generations.  Wealth and political influence gravitate toward the most well connected families in Falgenor, and there is noticeable class stratification with a wide gap between the poor laborers and the rich aristocrats.  The capital, Falgenburg, is considered to be one of the finest four cities on the continent (the others are Rachspire in Moridar, Aerendale/Haven in Hathorae, and Valhgate).  Falgenor is a member of the Northern Alliance, and also a strong ally of Hathorae because of some generous land concessions made by that nation 600 years ago.  The lands of Falgenor are not densely populated except in the cities, and it is considered a hot spot for adventurers seeking their fortune.

 

                Falgenor recently avoided a terrible fate, thanks to the brave actions of a band of adventurers known interchangeably as the Twin Falls Company and/or the Heroes of Falgenor.  Falgenburg itself had been infiltrated by a murderous organization of intelligent undead known as the Cymos Clan, who managed to forcibly corrupt a few key high-ranking officials in the High Council, including the wizard Biotras Rondaen, the Magister of Magic.  Cymos agents seeded the city with darkshard crystals, which formed an arcane matrix that allowed their leader, a lich called Korelith, to activate a Darkening zone of negative energy around the city.  Only the timely intervention of the Twin Falls Company prevented Korelith from utterly destroying Falgenburg and reanimating its population as an army of undead under his control.

 

                Falgenor’s heraldric symbol is a grey and brown falcon with widely spread wings clutching a mass of arrows in its talons, against a silver and blue background.

 

Free State of Jarta:

Founded by colonists from northern Malo and Saradhassa over 2,000 years ago (4119CG), Jarta has maintained its wealth and considerable financial influence through shrewd immigration and trade policies.  Its population is ethnically diverse, with a greater variety of skin coloration and intersections of Taliraen, Malo and Saradhassan culture and religion than anywhere else on any continent; as such, it serves as a meeting place for scholars, arcanists, theologians and scientists. 

 

Jarta is a favorite tourist spot for wealthy Taliraen families, and exotic Jartian foodstuffs, intoxicants, gems/jewelry, ceramics and textile exports are highly prized.  As a seafaring nation, Jarta has suffered financially because of an inability to maintain international sea trade routes since the Convergence.  This decline in trade may account for the aggressive marketing techniques of Jarta's merchants, famously exemplified by the "Taste You Remember" campaign (featuring General Ishak al-Sayidd) launched in 22 CR by Jarta Coffee, Inc.  Jarta is run by a board of governors known as House Jarta, whose members are selected every twelve years from the pool of resident merchant families.  It lies on a large peninsula on Talirae’s east coast.

 

                The Free State of Jarta also holds the second largest collective population of halflings on Talirae.  The trade city of Fairshore reaches from the coastal foothills of Malatka to the eastern shore of the Jartian peninsula, and over 15,000 halflings call the community home.  The clever and prosperous halflings of Fairshore keep in constant contact with their brothers and sisters in the Hearthstead in the Tuhliss Freehold, and together the two city-states constitute the political and economic strength of the wayfaring halflings of Talirae.

 

                The Free State of Jarta uses a wide-mouthed vase of brick red and gold trim as its primary heraldric symbol.  The vase is depicted as full to the brim with gold coins.

 

Goldor:

Goldor is the name of both the above- and below-ground territories of the Goldor mountain dwarves.  It is a vast territory, but the Goldor are a prolific people and run their nation in a lawful and organized fashion.  Goldor is located in the mountains north of the Moridar border, and stretches deeply into the frozen reaches of the north.  Human eyes have never seen large portions of the territory, particularly the underground areas.

 

Like the Kagan, the Goldor look to their Thane as the uniting ruler, and when he dies a new king is chosen through ancient rituals.  The reigning Thane Ulraud Dwimmerblade has a reputation as a fearless warrior and an accomplished and cunning general.  Though the Goldor are occasionally challenged by incursions of creatures from the deep Underlands, they consider the lower realm their home, and hold dominion over their ancestral territories with valor, precision and efficiency.

 

The Goldor use a gold hammer with silver trim against a black and maroon background as their heraldric symbol.

 

Hathorae:

Hathorae is a large, prosperous social democracy that was founded 250 years ago by the surviving members of the exalted White Rose Company after their defeat of Khyraundros.  The lands now within the borders of Hathorae were purchased from Moridar, which had laid claim to them thousands of years before and loosely governed them as a wild and essentially lawless annex; the funds for the purchase (upwards of two billion gold pieces in cash and sundries) came directly from the personal coffers of the White Rose Company, who together founded the nation as a grand social experiment. 

 

Two ageless members of the White Rose have served as its heads of state since Hathorae’s founding in 6030CG: President Weylorn Orren (a paladin of Jenoic and a stalwart foe of evil) and Vice President Miyra (widely considered the most powerful sorceress on the Planet).   Presidential elections occur every six years, and the beloved and ageless leaders have been elected 42 consecutive times by popular vote since the nation’s inception.  Hathoraen lands stretch through the low northlands and into the midlands of Talirae, bordering Moridar to the north and west, Falgenor to the south, and Malok-Gorthai to the northeast. 

 

Hathorae is extremely environmentally conscious and has adopted a peaceful political stance, though their army is formidable and battle hardened from its defense of the nation during the Harbinger War.  Hathorae is currently plagued with a serious urban overpopulation problem, because its capital city, Aerendale, shifted into the morph Dreaming city of Haven during the Convergence, effectively creating a single giant metropolis out of the two cities.  It is considered an idyllic and somewhat decadent nation by the rest of the continent given its generous living stipend and public service policies, though it is a strong founding member of the Northern Alliance and quite well equipped militarily.  Humans and morphs are the primary residents of Hathorae, but other races are well represented – halflings and dwarves in particular.

 

The heraldric symbol of Hathorae is an oak tree of brown and green with a heart carved in the center foreground of its trunk and a longsword background against a background of forest green, gold and black.

 

Kaganish:

Kaganish is the above ground homeland of the Kagan hill dwarves, located in the midlands near the Kingdom of Oberwald and the Valhgate Territory.  The underground home of the Kagan stretches beneath several nations.  The Kagan king (Thane) is chosen by a combination of bloodlines and rituals whenever the previous thane dies; the current ruler of Kaganish is the wise Thane Farlged Silverbeard.  Kaganish is a place of rolling hills, green valleys and small trading towns.  Dwarven civilization is orderly and peaceful, with civic responsibility and community ties emphasized above the needs of any individual.  The dwarves have adapted unusually well to the social and economic challenges of post-Convergence life, and their society is ahead of the rebuilding curve and generally prosperous.

 

                The Kaganish use a copper pick crossed with a silver axe against a round black shield with copper trim as their heraldric symbol.

 

Kingdom of Oberwald:

This kingdom is a scrappy, overachieving feudal nation in the midlands with a strong military presence.  It has managed to maintain its independence through two Ascension Wars and the Harbinger War.  It is owned and governed by House Oberwald, a clan of heroic warriors that traces its noble bloodlines back to the earliest origins of the Great Houses of the Taliraen southlands.  Oberwald is one of Talirae’s oldest kingdoms at over 3600 years strong.  Two adjacent and relatively secluded valleys, Elsir Vale and the Valley of Obelisks, lie within Oberwald’s borders, and the local lords of those lands have sworn fealty to House Oberwald for centuries.  Prior to settlement by humans, the Elsir Vale and Valley of Obelisks were the seat of an empire of hobgoblins who were rumored to openly worship demons and devils.

 

House Oberwald is a mostly benevolent though quite militaristic family and it encourages prosperity only for those who can earn it through hard work.  Hard economic strata separate the peasants and laborers from the noble families.  The lands of House Oberwald share borders with Moridar, Valharic, and Kaganish.

 

The heraldric symbol of the Kingdom of Oberwald is a wide-tipped spear wrapped in silk streamers of gold, red and navy blue.

 

Malok-Gorthai:

Only recently officially recognized by the other nations of Talirae, Malok-Gorthai has existed for over 4000 years in the history of the orc people.  It is located in the forests, hills and valleys of the wild lands in northeast Talirae.  Orcs disagree on the official borders of their nation, but it is large and plentiful with natural resources.  Malok-Gorthai shares borders with Hathorae, Goldor and Moridar.  The orcs have recently unified under the banner of King Thaggha Wraithscorch, a hero of a nameless war against a plague of undead that invaded the region during the late years of the Harbinger war. Under King Thaggha’s banner, the eight major tribes and dozens of minor tribes govern themselves in relative peace and with the fiercely independent spirit which characterizes the orcs of Gaia. 

 

                The heraldric symbol of the Orclands is a dark green octagon made up of eight segments, each of which holds one of the colors and tribal symbols of the eight major orcish tribes.

 

Moridar Empire:

Moridar is an enormous and ancient human nation, over 6000 years old, located in the northlands of Talirae.  A cadre of good-aligned dragons ran it secretly for about 5900 years of its existence, but after the Harbinger War the dragons’ bloodline finally ran out and power was formally turned over to the humans by the dragons.  Moridar is a member of the Northern Alliance and is a generally benevolent and non-aggressive nation, and its people are quite private and industrious. 

 

The government is now a constitutional monarchy, with the bright young human Prince Royce of House Ralaevar having recently ascended to the honored position of Dragon Emperor.  The Ralaevar throne shares power with territorial governors and a two-house parliament, with the highest officials (Prime Minister and a few others) elected by parliamentary procedure every 10 years. 

 

Moridar is quite resource-rich and is dotted with ore, silver and gold mines, and its army is acknowledged the largest and best trained force on Talirae.  The climate varies from coolly temperate in southern Moridar, where the growing season lasts from late Faerisa through early Tenanyé, while in central and northern Moridar – including the seat of its power, the capital city of Rachspire – the weather is chilly year round and inhospitably frigid in the autumn and winter months.

 

Moridar’s heraldric symbol is a silver tower shield with gold and black trim bearing a large purple dragon reared back as if ready to take flight.

 

Neridae Confederation:

A collection of small independent southern human trading states near Urgor and the Dreamlands, the Neridae Confederation relies on the products of the sea for its prosperity: seafood, pearls, rare shells and accessible ports. The Confederation was once a unified Great House of the southland known as House Neridae, but the Zirksi War of Ascension broke the economic back of the House and forced its breakup into smaller constituent states. 

 

Life is not prosperous or easy there in the wake of the Convergence, since the open seas are so deadly.  Much like the Valhgate Territory, laws are somewhat lackadaisically enforced and crime is common.  Neridae has no standing military to speak of, and if it were not bordered by strong, peaceful nations it would probably not exist.

 

The Neridaen employ a sea-blue triangle containing a grey dolphin jumping out of the ocean over a jutting black rock as their heraldric symbol.

 

Three Vales:

This small independent nation, bordering the Valhgate Territory to the north, the Tuhliss Freehold to the west and Urgorae to the east, is a peaceful and well-regarded agricultural center.  The Valefolk have been known throughout the 3,000 year history of the nation to be fair-minded, accommodating and tolerant of diversity.  In many ways, the larger nation of Hathorae is founded upon extensions of the social principles which govern the Three Vales.  The land itself is lush, fertile and verdant with burbling streams, rolling fields of grain and abundant farms and gardens. 

 

Each year from Tenanyé 24-27, the Valefolk host an extraordinary harvest festival, during which they invite all who are able to share in their hospitality and bounty.  The exalted heroes of the White Rose Company began their journeys at such a festival, in the year 6017CG.  The only communities within the Three Vales are the three towns for which the nation is named: Ishli Vale, R’haari Vale, and Shem Vale.  A few small satellite villages support these three main townships.  The Three Vales has never mustered a standing army or military force of any kind, and relies on local militias to keep the peace.

 

 

The heraldric symbol of the Three Vales is three stylized trees (pine, maple and oak) intertwined with ornate copper knot work against a light green background.

 

Tuhliss Freehold:

A small, violent and crime ridden area loosely governed by a group of merchant and organized crime families, the Freehold has replaced the obliterated Trader’s Sanctuary as the seat of organized crime on Talirae.  The Freehold encompasses the city of Tuhliss and a 75-mile radius around that city.  Practically anything may be bought or sold within the borders of the Tuhliss Freehold.  It lies on the southwest coast of Talirae, bordering the Vales to the east and the Valhgate Territory to the north. 

 

Prior to the Convergence, the Freehold had become home to a contingent of Zadonites – scarlet-skinned planar travelers with a penchant for masochism, living with one foot in the Dreaming and one in the Prime Material plane – but the Zadonites vanished at some point during the cataclysm and is now known to have collectively sacrificed themselves during the event for some unknown purpose.

 

 

                The Tuhliss Freehold is also the site to one of only two established nations of halflings on Talirae: the Hearthstead of Laedré.  This bustling but clean and orderly community is home to over 19,000 halflings, and it has become the destination of choice for merchants and adventurers who prefer the excellent hospitality and services of the halflings over the shady and dangerous streets of Tuhliss. 

 

                The Tuhliss Freehold’s heraldric symbol is a pair of crossed brown strands of wheat and rye bisected by a stylized red rapier against a black background.

 

 

Urgorae:

Founded as a divine-right kingdom by the wealthy and beneficent House Urgor over 3,400 years ago, this nation is now a free representative democracy.  The last Lord of House Urgor – Delmaunt IV – was brutally murdered by the mad sorcerer Ostric Diante in the chaotic period following the Harbinger War (prior to the Convergence).  He had no children, and his last will and testament granted the lands of House Urgor to its people to govern as they saw fit.  The fledgling southern democracy is an ally of Falgenor, with whom it shares a northern border.  The lands of Urgorae suffered severe flooding during the Convergence, which turned large portions of its agricultural centers into swampland; consequently, the nation has been forced to rely on the largesse of Falgenor and the Vales to supply its people with adequate food.  In 23CR, the nation is rife with crime and is both economically and militarily vulnerable, but its people are resilient and eager to participate in the formation of a democratic government.

 

                Urgorae’s heraldric symbol is a golden chalice studded with coral and red gems against a grey background.

 

Valharic:

Located on the west coast of Talirae and bordering the Valhgate Territory on the eastern side, the forests of Valharic have been home to the elves for over 48,000 years.  The nation is currently closed to most outsiders, and only a scant few elves have left its confines since the Convergence.  Prior to the Convergence, Valharic was a loose affiliate of the Northern Alliance and considered the Valhgate Territory a permanent ally.  Little is known of the nation or its internal politics at this time, but elvish ambassadors to the other nations have spoken passionately and at length of the physical suffering of their people since the Convergence.  During the 23 years since the Convergence, individual elves have slowly begun to trickle out into society again, but the bulk of their population remains hidden in the deep forests of the elvish homelands.

 

                The elves of Valharic employ a stylized, upward-pointing green arrow crossed with a greatsword with silver trim against a fluted white spire and a dark green forested background as their heraldric symbol.

 

Valhgate Territory:

This small but very rich territory is made up of small townships and villages in a 100-mile radius around the enormous trade city of Valhgate.  Vahlgate is the largest mercantile center in western Talirae and the site of a very popular annual fighting tournament known as the Tournament of Valor, sponsored by the Halls of Knowledge, Talirae’s most prestigious training facility for aspiring adventurers.  It is also home to the main campus of the Delvers’ College, an academic organization dedicated to training and equipping the next generation of dungeoneers for acquiring and studying antiquities and artifacts of past ages. 

 

Valhgate borders the Valharic forests on its west side – it is known to many as the Elfgate – the Kingdom of Oberwald on the east, and the Tuhliss Freehold to the south.  Excepting those regulations which govern fair trade and commerce, the laws are lax and only sometimes enforced.  A council of merchants, scholars and wizards known as The Assembly are nominally in charge of the city and its surrounding holdings, but members of the group are known to be corrupt and easily swayed by the proper application of gold.

 

Valhgate’s heraldric symbol is a large golden scroll crossed by a black quill pen and a red longsword against a purplish blue background.

 

Ver-Shaon:

The lands of the gnomes and their Kagan dwarf allies was a thriving and prosperous trade center, home to some of the most well respected artificers and arcanists of Talirae prior to the Convergence.  Since the mysterious disappearance of the gnomes – a phenomenon known as the Vanishing – the Kagan dwarves in the area (who swear allegiance to the Thane of Kaganish to the west) have struggled to eke out a living, as defending their subterranean homes from hordes of aggressive Underlands aberrations has taken up most of their energy and resources.  Before their disappearance, the gnomes were ruled by the Empress Ginael Mithralspinner.  The cities of the gnomes lie quiet and abandoned, and no one has yet solved the mystery of that race’s Vanishing from existence.  Ver-Shaon lies southeast of Hathorae, directly east of Falgenor, and north of Urgorae and the Free State of Jarta.

 

                Before their disappearance, the gnomes of Ver-Shaon used a glittering, deep garnet multifaceted gemstone with a stylized eight-pointed flash of light against a topaz background as their heraldric symbol.

 

Unidentified presence, northwest Talirae (?):

Two sizeable military-style outposts have been founded by an unknown group of merchants and warriors in the wild northwest territory of Talirae.  These outposts engage in trade with the Kingdom of Oberwald and the Moridar Empire regularly, and do not appear to be aggressive.  Little else is known about then; they were noticed by the Rangers of Falgenor six years after the Convergence and have been a steady presence in northwest Talirae ever since.  PCs may not chose these unidentified outposts as their region of origin.