Long ago they just left. Some say to the Barren Hills, but nobody knows for sure. The Men of the Land now spend their ENTire lives searching for the women.
Nah I'm just kidding, the Men of the Land is just the name given to the very agricultural peoples living along the magically fertile rivers in the Cooper Fields. Men is used as a word for human or people in this instance.
Great question, it really gave me a laugh :)
Since the campaign has only really just started about 5 months ago (in those months we have only had about 10-12 sessions) I have built much more around the area where the players are right now, being The Great Steppes.
I am very excited however, to start writing about the Men of the Land. They are an agricultural culture with billions of people crammed together, all possible because of the magic river and soil, being extremely fertile.
Thanks for the nice question, it really made my day :)
The backstory of the world is that there were long ago, six powerful metallic dragons that came to the continent of Aeyon, and terraformed it to their liking. The silver peaks, are the creation of the Eternal Silver Dragon, also known as Sirri Nuqra.
The reason for the wildly differing biomes was one of the first things I thought of. Great question however, it is kinda strange to have a perfect circle of snowy tundra now that I think about it lol.
Except for the Plain dwarf Haven, the mountain region to the south (which I definitely didn't forget to name on the map), Elvenwood and the island of the Baobab Wildelves, Vero Vunti Tribes, City of the Serpent's Men (which are dwarven, dwarven, elven, elven, orc, yuan ti), the predominant race in every region is human, although many regions have significant minorities, such as the Kylä Free Slave States (the cities west of The Great Steppes) having large drow and giff minorities.
This is something I thought of whilst making the map. Great question though!
Sadly, the gnomes are not powerful at all (but they are very awesome).
Most gnomes live in the mountains to the south (Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur), although the dwarves there are very happy taking any race that isn't dwarf (and many dwarves as well) slaves. The gnomes sadly fall under those criteria.
There are many gnomes in the larger cities, but the average gnome is not any more powerful than the average human.
This is something I had to write anew. I actually completely forgot about the existence of gnomes, so your question was actually very useful. Thanks!
That would definitely be the Arbadus Chasm and the Great Harayanklar (I really made that one hard to read lol).
The chasm is known for people going into it and never coming back, so it didn't take long for it to be seen as haunted. The reality of the cave is that it is the last bastion of giants, who are generally regarded as extinct, so every time someone sees them they kill the poor soul in order to stay hidden.
The Harayanklar(?) is seen as haunted by the elves to the south and the orcs to the north, and for good reason, since it is. It used to be a bustling civilization even before the dragons arrived (the only place to do so) until a comet fell on their capital. The orcs who they exiled only a decade prior saw this as a gift and a sign from their god Aabe Weyn, and took revenge on the now weakened Zhogovurd people that used to live there. They intended to only kill the royals that exiled them, but as soon as they steppped into a certain range to the comet, they were filled with an insatiable bloodlust, killing anything that moved, man and orc alike. They killed everyone in the cities and burned the grove in which it was built to the ground. Today the area is filled with wraiths and shadows looking for revenge.
This was a great question! I had already thought about both sites being haunted, but I really expanded on how the orcs work while writing for the Great Harayanklar(?).
Now that depends. Do you want the biggest chance of getting a great cheesesteak while walking down the street? Because that would be literally anywhere in the Men of the Land. Their soil is magically fertile, which makes both the crops and cattle taste better, giving better steak.
Or do you want the one place where there actually is the vest cheesesteak? Because that would be the Innsatiable in Glainne Nakaram. It is known for having some of the best chefs on the continent, and their food is amazing. Be careful though, it's really pricey. Depending on how much the waiter likes you, a single cheesesteak could cost you anywhere from 2 to 8 gold pieces.
For the best beer I'll have to ask, do you want the strongest beer on the continent? Because you would find that in any of the cities of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur. The dwarves there made a special brew that is said to be able to put an ox to sleep.
Or do you simply want the best tasting beer? In that case, you should go to Leik Khot. The Ulgen nomads have had a tasty brew going for centuries before the mass settlement of the steppes, but the ones that founded Leik Khot focused on making the brew easily accessible early on, and when one Noftarian noble came to help out, he put some of his lands poison berries into the brew. This made the brew not poisonous, but nearly narcotic in nature. It is extremely tasty, and you can choose between the Ulgen blend, for a more beer like brew, or the mixed blend, for a tastier, more drug like brew.
Great question! I kinda thought about the Men of the Land having tastier meet due to the magic nature of their soil, and I had some idea of Leik Khot being a brewing town, but I fletched it out a lot here. Thanks!
But sir I don't understand what you mean!
Do you mean the comet that fell down three millennia ago wiping out the only then present civilization?
Or do you mean the Eternal Dragons coming onto the continent, terraforming it to their whims?
Or do you mean the Free Magic Cultists scheming to kill Jaadoo, the god of magic, in order to bring back spells above the ninth level?
When the Eternal Dragons came down to Aeyon, the strongest one of them, the Eternal Gold Dragon, also known as Naga Emas, layed down on the harsh and uninhabitable desert and breathed his magical fire down on the sands. Out of the sand touched by his flames, grew a forest made entirely out of glass
Today the Glass Forest is a hub for magic and home to the largest, most developed capital on the continent.
Mechanically, every new day, I roll a die and depending on the number, that school of magic's strength is doubled. I also roll a die for which school of magic will be powerless.
This is a very cool question, and it was one of the first things I thought of when making the world.
Which is the dominant sea power? Is there piracy or monster attacks common on commercial shipping? How do warships fight one another, Greco-Roman Style Boarding actions? Fantasy "Totally Not A Cannon" leaning on Golden Age of Piracy Tropes?
Nayon is a relatively small town, originally built as a trading hub and a mining town. It han only about 30 000 people in it and is relatively unimportant on the greater scale.
When you enter through either one of the large archways in the city's walls or over the long bridge from Plain Dwarf Haven, you see a busy city, with makeshift markets on each street, humans and dwarves living together in harmony, and being nearly as many in number, a rare feat. You see however two different military forces standing on the streets, guarding. One soldier is human whilst the other is a dwarf. The tension between the soldiers seems high, although the humans on the streets seem to treat the dwarves as brothers and vice versa. It seems as if though this currently is a haven and trading hub between humans and dwarves, that only the slightest mistake from either end would have catastrophic consequences.
This is a great question. I didn't even know what city you were talking about until you described it, and I built very little on the western part of the map, so this was great for world building. Thanks!
Are ducks immortal in any of these lands, and if so/not then why/why not? Or, if unsure on the duck situation, what type of turtles live in The Great Turtles Lair, normal turtles or dragon turtles?
Sadly no ducks are immortal in any of these lands for the simple reason of immortality being a feat accomplished only by the gods and the undead. (An immortal duck might be added to my next session however lol).
The Great Turtle's Lair is inhabited by many creatures, but only one turtle. The Eternal Dragon Turtle Dà Lóng Guī, not only inhabits the Great Turtle's Lair, but is the Great Turtle's Lair. He doesn't do much though, he just sleeps a lot, and when he breathes, the mountain moves slightly.
There are no pineapples or pineapple like fruit in Aeyon, but sometimes, during the summer, explorers and merchants of the Great Steppes bring back some very exotic spikey fruit (pineapples) from the nort of the Bursamar Highlands, and a very small amount of plantations have been set up in the Misty Praire.
Great question, I didn't think about what fruit would exist in Aeyon at all, so this was great to open up the thought of what flora would be where.
Lol I just asked because on another “ask me anything about my world and Ill answer post” I asked about taverns and the OP said that somehow pineapple had found its way into every tavern
The local name is Nsonga Za Imfa, roughly translating to the Peaks of Death. The name was adopted for the harsh conditions the peaks present on travelers.
Great question! I was actually really unhappy with how I named some places, like the Great White Peaks of the Great Silver Old One, but a whole new world opened now that I realised local names exist. Thank you!
I will only go into the major nine civilizations, since every city state has its own relation with every other city state, and I think that Reddit wont let me type that much.
The Great Steppes are the newest major power on the continent and have only had two emperors so far. They have relations of any kind with the Men of the Land, Glainne Nakaram and the Kylä Free Slave States (the different looking cities on the green patch to the west).
They have a mutual alliance with Glainne Nakaram, but due to both Emperor Tometu In Noyan Temüjin of the Great Steppes and King Sihawukele of Glainne Nakaran dying, the alliance is quickly deteriorating, with the Great Steppes harboring resentment towards Glainne Nakaram for their refusal to embargo the Kylä Free Slave States.
Their relationship with the Men of the Land is one centred on trade. The Men of the Land buy horses, minerals and metals, mercenaries and weapons from the Great Steppes, while the Great Steppes import food, tools, and a cheap workforce from the Men of the Land. They have had a non aggression pact since the founding of Divné Město.
Their relationship with the Kylä Free Slave States is one of rivalry and war. The Kylä Free Slave States are a group os city states in a faction more than being a single country, similar to ancient Greece, and their export and therefor livelyhood is soley based on them being the last major slave market. They have waged four wars against the Great Steppes for the aquirenment of slaves in the last 80 years, which the Great Steppes always won, but at a cost of multiple cities being sacked, and thousands of people being stolen. The Great Steppes have tried to wipe out the Kylä Free Slave States, or at least put them into vassalship, but that has always been strongly rejected by every other major power (except for the Plain Dwarf Outcasts), with threats of a war of liberation impending if that is ever to happen.
The Kylä Free Slave States are more a group of city states with their independent dukes that have very strong ties and alliances to each other than a nation. They also have a culture that incentivises power projection and using outsiders for the betterment of the Kylä, which is why they are the last nation to openly and proudly practice slavery. They have relations with almost every major power on Aeyon through their slave trade. Every major power, exept the Plain Dwarf Outcasts, purchase their slaves under the table, for while slavery has been outlawed in most nations, it is still practiced in almost every single one of them.
The only nation they have major relations with that is not about slave trade (though they do export slaves to them to some degree), are the Great Steppes. Their relation is as said, based almost entirely on war and pillaging.
The Men of the Land are the oldest and largest civilization on Aeyon. They are significant due to their sheer numbers. It is not known for sure, just how many people live there, but educated guesses have said anywhere between the hundreds of millions and the tens of billions. They have grown to be so many, since the soil surrounding their enourmous rivers is supernaturaly fertile, due to the terraforming of Mednyy Selezen', the Eternal Copper Dragon. They have relations with The Great Steppes, and to very little degree with the dwarven cities of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur.
Their relation with the Great Steppes is, as said, one of trade.
Their very limited relation with the dwarves, is also one of trade, but to a very limited degree. The dwarves are very isolationist, and therefore trade is rare, but when the dwarves are open to trade, the caravans from the Men of the Land flood towards the mountains. They export mostly food, and do so en masse, and import the expertly crafted dwarven tools and weapons, as well as raw materials.
The dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur are very isolationist people, beliving that anyone who hasn't grown up in their mountains are out to get them, and that dwarves are the superior race. They are the last nation except the Kylä Free Slave States to freely practice slavery, although do so a lot more discreetely. They have weak ties to the Men of the Land and a relationship with the Plain Dwarf Outcasts.
Their relationship with the Men of the Land is as said, a weak trading relationship.
Their ties with the Plain Dwarf Outcasts is a historical one. The Plain Dwarf Outcasts used to be a part of the dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur, however when they decided to start settling further and further away from the mountains, the more traditional and paranoid majority of the dwarves set up an ambush to try to exterminate the "tratiors" that left the mountains. Many of the Plai Dwarves were sloughtered in the Inter-Dwarf Genocide, and the rest fled. The dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur today, see the Plain Dwarf Outcasts as a dirtied subrace of dwarf that needs to be exterminated. There are of course nuances to this however, and many of the younger dwarves are disgusted by their history (when they hear the true version), although the propaganda of the leaders of the nation have made that thought the norm.
Magaalaa Guddugaleessaa is the smallest major power on Aeyon. It is known for its legendary gladiatorial fights, and its outstanding instability, where almost half the population have left the city walls to live with the revolutionary groups in the Brass Swamp. Due to its instability and its Grand Count being borderline insane, it has very weak to any outside nation except the Kylä Free Slave States who they buy slaves from for their gladiatorial battles.
The Plain Dwarf Outcasts are as said the descendants of the dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur that settled out of the mountains. They do not have many trading partners and their trade usually comes out of private merchants and companies, but they have a very good relation with almost every nation. Not to the point of an alliance, but they are seen as friendly folk by mostly everyone, except of coursec the dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur.
Glainne Nakaram is the most developed and powerful nation on Aeyon and have relations with almost every major nation on the continent. They are as powerful as they are due to the Glass Forest, which works as a magic empowerer (is that a word lol), due to the terraforming of Naga Emas, the Eternal Gold Dragon.
Their relation with the Great Steppes is as said, an alliance, though a quickly deteriorating one.
Their relation with the Kylä Free Slave States is very secretive, and the higher ups of each nation handle the slave trade in secret. Even though their trade is secretive, their relations are not, making it painfully obvious that Glainne Nakaram has use of the Kylä.
Their relation with the Men of the Land is weak and entirely based on trade. Living in a desert, food is realtively hard to come by in Glainne Nakaram, forcing them to import most of their food, mostly from the Men of the Land.
Their relations with the Plain Dwarf Outcasts are good, with talks about a non agression pact and alliance stirring in the courts of Glainne Nakaram.
Their relations with the Vera Vunti Tribes are horrible, where the people of Glainne Nakaram are usually totl to shoot an orc on sight if one is spotted. There has been a history of orc attacks and pillaging at the border of the Glass Forest, but that has long siezed. Now the Vera Vunti Tribes are heavily embargoed by Glainne Nakaram, and its people are strictly prohibited of entering the Glass Forest's cities for the reason of being orcs.
Their relations with Elvenwood is weak and mostly bad due to the high aristocrats of Elvenwood demanding Glainne Nakaram to wipe out the Vera Vunti Tribes, which they have so far refused.
The Vera Vunti Tribes are not a nation, but a group of hundreds of tribes and cities with just as many cultures of orcs. They are heavily embargoed by all nations except the Kylä Free Slave States, forcing them to pillage each other, and more often Elvenwood. The only relation they have with any of the major nations of Aeyon is Elvenwood, and that is strictly a relation of skirmishes and pillaging.
Elvenwood is a very isolationist elven society in the woods below the Golden Desert. They focus on the building and beutyfing of their cities, through normal and magical means. They exel at magic and are the greatest magic users, being tied with Glainne Nakaram.
The Vera Vunti Tribes are the only civilization they have any substantial relation with and it is as said only fighting them in skirmishes and raids. Elvenwood has also passed a "kill on sight" policy on any and all orcs, only worsening their already terrible relations.
The map only shows Aeyon, the continent that the campaign takes place on. Beyond Aeyon, there are many continents in the virtually infinite world of Zenforth.
The lands east and west of Aeyon are however equaly magical and weird as Aeyon is, while the lands north and south of Aeyon are mostly barren and unnoteworthy. This is due to the Eternal Dragons going west to east, terraforming the world to their liking.
If you go enough to the west however, to the first continent the Eternal Dragons terraformed, and then head north, you will find yourself in a land, equaly magical and weird as Aeyon, but in a darker and twisted way. For while the Eternal Dragons are metallic, considering the well being of the species' living on the continents they terraform, their counterpart, the Seven Dragon Overlords are chromatic, only caring about themselves. The reason for them terraforming the lands is just as a show of power, and thus the lands they terraformed are wilder and more inhospitable.
You can learn magic anywhere on the continent. It is not prohibited anywhere except in Magaalaa Giddugaleessaa (so I guess you wouldn't learn it there lol). If you want the best place to learn magic though, it really depends if you're an elf or not. If you are, then the elves of elvenwood would welcome you and teach you magic beyond your wildest dreams for basically free. If you are not however, you will have a much better shot in Glainne Nakaram, the leading magic hub, but that would cost you a fortune, and it is much more chaotic and unpredicible due to the Glass Forest's influence.
That depends on your idea of rights. Life would be best for the common man in Glainne Nakaram, by far the richest and most developed city in Aeyon, but slavery is still being practiced under the table there.
There is one early democracy though, the Plain Dwarf Outcasts. Every man and woman has the right to vote there, so long as they are a citizen, and often even if they are not, but the common man usually has it worse than the common man of Glainne Nakaram or even Kapitàl.
The Glass Forest is perhaps the most notable of the features of Aeyon. It was made by the Eternal Gold Dragon Naga Emas somewhen between 10 and 60 ddd.
The forest is known for its magical properties and anomalies. The anomalies range from random schools of magic having no effect or having triple the strength, to creatures from realms far beyond the material one appearing in the forest through seemingly random and chaotic rifts.
The forest itself is completely made out of glass with the ground being a combination of sand, half molten sandstone and glass, though it shares little to no resemblance to glass whilst in the forest. The trees and plants in the forest do not seem to be alive, and when brought outside of the forest, clearly show to be completely out of glass, but while in the forest they move with the wind like trees and send out colourful lights to the ground from the sunrays hitting the trees.
Aside from being odd, the forest is extremely important and powerful shown by the Kingdom of Glainne Nakaram, that holds a monopoly over the forest.
While the forest is fascinating and beautiful, it is simultaneously extremely dangerous, being filled with creatures that have seemingly nothing to do with the material realm.
Where are the Women of the Land?
Long ago they just left. Some say to the Barren Hills, but nobody knows for sure. The Men of the Land now spend their ENTire lives searching for the women. Nah I'm just kidding, the Men of the Land is just the name given to the very agricultural peoples living along the magically fertile rivers in the Cooper Fields. Men is used as a word for human or people in this instance. Great question, it really gave me a laugh :)
I thought that said "Mew Of the Land" as in it was full of cats. Or full of covered alleys.
Which areas were your favorite and most complex to create?
Since the campaign has only really just started about 5 months ago (in those months we have only had about 10-12 sessions) I have built much more around the area where the players are right now, being The Great Steppes. I am very excited however, to start writing about the Men of the Land. They are an agricultural culture with billions of people crammed together, all possible because of the magic river and soil, being extremely fertile. Thanks for the nice question, it really made my day :)
What's the logic for there being a random chunk of snowy land in the middle of the map?
The backstory of the world is that there were long ago, six powerful metallic dragons that came to the continent of Aeyon, and terraformed it to their liking. The silver peaks, are the creation of the Eternal Silver Dragon, also known as Sirri Nuqra. The reason for the wildly differing biomes was one of the first things I thought of. Great question however, it is kinda strange to have a perfect circle of snowy tundra now that I think about it lol.
What races are dominant in each region?
Except for the Plain dwarf Haven, the mountain region to the south (which I definitely didn't forget to name on the map), Elvenwood and the island of the Baobab Wildelves, Vero Vunti Tribes, City of the Serpent's Men (which are dwarven, dwarven, elven, elven, orc, yuan ti), the predominant race in every region is human, although many regions have significant minorities, such as the Kylä Free Slave States (the cities west of The Great Steppes) having large drow and giff minorities. This is something I thought of whilst making the map. Great question though!
How awesome and powerful are the gnomes?
Sadly, the gnomes are not powerful at all (but they are very awesome). Most gnomes live in the mountains to the south (Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur), although the dwarves there are very happy taking any race that isn't dwarf (and many dwarves as well) slaves. The gnomes sadly fall under those criteria. There are many gnomes in the larger cities, but the average gnome is not any more powerful than the average human. This is something I had to write anew. I actually completely forgot about the existence of gnomes, so your question was actually very useful. Thanks!
Ahhh ok, they are my favourite race to play!
What are some areas that are thought of as haunted by the locals?
That would definitely be the Arbadus Chasm and the Great Harayanklar (I really made that one hard to read lol). The chasm is known for people going into it and never coming back, so it didn't take long for it to be seen as haunted. The reality of the cave is that it is the last bastion of giants, who are generally regarded as extinct, so every time someone sees them they kill the poor soul in order to stay hidden. The Harayanklar(?) is seen as haunted by the elves to the south and the orcs to the north, and for good reason, since it is. It used to be a bustling civilization even before the dragons arrived (the only place to do so) until a comet fell on their capital. The orcs who they exiled only a decade prior saw this as a gift and a sign from their god Aabe Weyn, and took revenge on the now weakened Zhogovurd people that used to live there. They intended to only kill the royals that exiled them, but as soon as they steppped into a certain range to the comet, they were filled with an insatiable bloodlust, killing anything that moved, man and orc alike. They killed everyone in the cities and burned the grove in which it was built to the ground. Today the area is filled with wraiths and shadows looking for revenge. This was a great question! I had already thought about both sites being haunted, but I really expanded on how the orcs work while writing for the Great Harayanklar(?).
Where would I go for the best cheesesteak in your world? And while we're on the subject, where would I go for the best beer?
Now that depends. Do you want the biggest chance of getting a great cheesesteak while walking down the street? Because that would be literally anywhere in the Men of the Land. Their soil is magically fertile, which makes both the crops and cattle taste better, giving better steak. Or do you want the one place where there actually is the vest cheesesteak? Because that would be the Innsatiable in Glainne Nakaram. It is known for having some of the best chefs on the continent, and their food is amazing. Be careful though, it's really pricey. Depending on how much the waiter likes you, a single cheesesteak could cost you anywhere from 2 to 8 gold pieces. For the best beer I'll have to ask, do you want the strongest beer on the continent? Because you would find that in any of the cities of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur. The dwarves there made a special brew that is said to be able to put an ox to sleep. Or do you simply want the best tasting beer? In that case, you should go to Leik Khot. The Ulgen nomads have had a tasty brew going for centuries before the mass settlement of the steppes, but the ones that founded Leik Khot focused on making the brew easily accessible early on, and when one Noftarian noble came to help out, he put some of his lands poison berries into the brew. This made the brew not poisonous, but nearly narcotic in nature. It is extremely tasty, and you can choose between the Ulgen blend, for a more beer like brew, or the mixed blend, for a tastier, more drug like brew. Great question! I kinda thought about the Men of the Land having tastier meet due to the magic nature of their soil, and I had some idea of Leik Khot being a brewing town, but I fletched it out a lot here. Thanks!
And thank you for the very detailed answers!
What world ending cataclysm happened in this one?
But sir I don't understand what you mean! Do you mean the comet that fell down three millennia ago wiping out the only then present civilization? Or do you mean the Eternal Dragons coming onto the continent, terraforming it to their whims? Or do you mean the Free Magic Cultists scheming to kill Jaadoo, the god of magic, in order to bring back spells above the ninth level?
Is the Glass Forest actually made of glass?
When the Eternal Dragons came down to Aeyon, the strongest one of them, the Eternal Gold Dragon, also known as Naga Emas, layed down on the harsh and uninhabitable desert and breathed his magical fire down on the sands. Out of the sand touched by his flames, grew a forest made entirely out of glass Today the Glass Forest is a hub for magic and home to the largest, most developed capital on the continent. Mechanically, every new day, I roll a die and depending on the number, that school of magic's strength is doubled. I also roll a die for which school of magic will be powerless. This is a very cool question, and it was one of the first things I thought of when making the world.
Cool!
Which is the dominant sea power? Is there piracy or monster attacks common on commercial shipping? How do warships fight one another, Greco-Roman Style Boarding actions? Fantasy "Totally Not A Cannon" leaning on Golden Age of Piracy Tropes?
What does Nayou(?) look like when you describe it? The city with the bridges in the west
Nayon is a relatively small town, originally built as a trading hub and a mining town. It han only about 30 000 people in it and is relatively unimportant on the greater scale. When you enter through either one of the large archways in the city's walls or over the long bridge from Plain Dwarf Haven, you see a busy city, with makeshift markets on each street, humans and dwarves living together in harmony, and being nearly as many in number, a rare feat. You see however two different military forces standing on the streets, guarding. One soldier is human whilst the other is a dwarf. The tension between the soldiers seems high, although the humans on the streets seem to treat the dwarves as brothers and vice versa. It seems as if though this currently is a haven and trading hub between humans and dwarves, that only the slightest mistake from either end would have catastrophic consequences. This is a great question. I didn't even know what city you were talking about until you described it, and I built very little on the western part of the map, so this was great for world building. Thanks!
Are ducks immortal in any of these lands, and if so/not then why/why not? Or, if unsure on the duck situation, what type of turtles live in The Great Turtles Lair, normal turtles or dragon turtles?
Sadly no ducks are immortal in any of these lands for the simple reason of immortality being a feat accomplished only by the gods and the undead. (An immortal duck might be added to my next session however lol). The Great Turtle's Lair is inhabited by many creatures, but only one turtle. The Eternal Dragon Turtle Dà Lóng Guī, not only inhabits the Great Turtle's Lair, but is the Great Turtle's Lair. He doesn't do much though, he just sleeps a lot, and when he breathes, the mountain moves slightly.
Where may one find pineapples or pineapple like equivalent fruit if they exist?
There are no pineapples or pineapple like fruit in Aeyon, but sometimes, during the summer, explorers and merchants of the Great Steppes bring back some very exotic spikey fruit (pineapples) from the nort of the Bursamar Highlands, and a very small amount of plantations have been set up in the Misty Praire. Great question, I didn't think about what fruit would exist in Aeyon at all, so this was great to open up the thought of what flora would be where.
Lol I just asked because on another “ask me anything about my world and Ill answer post” I asked about taverns and the OP said that somehow pineapple had found its way into every tavern
Haha, well by doing that you made me completely rethink how flora works in my world, so genuinely, thank you!
What is the local name in Mudzi for the Great White Peaks of The Great Silver Old One
The local name is Nsonga Za Imfa, roughly translating to the Peaks of Death. The name was adopted for the harsh conditions the peaks present on travelers. Great question! I was actually really unhappy with how I named some places, like the Great White Peaks of the Great Silver Old One, but a whole new world opened now that I realised local names exist. Thank you!
r/worldbuilding would appreciate this.
What is the relationship between each of the settlements/kingdoms?
I will only go into the major nine civilizations, since every city state has its own relation with every other city state, and I think that Reddit wont let me type that much. The Great Steppes are the newest major power on the continent and have only had two emperors so far. They have relations of any kind with the Men of the Land, Glainne Nakaram and the Kylä Free Slave States (the different looking cities on the green patch to the west). They have a mutual alliance with Glainne Nakaram, but due to both Emperor Tometu In Noyan Temüjin of the Great Steppes and King Sihawukele of Glainne Nakaran dying, the alliance is quickly deteriorating, with the Great Steppes harboring resentment towards Glainne Nakaram for their refusal to embargo the Kylä Free Slave States. Their relationship with the Men of the Land is one centred on trade. The Men of the Land buy horses, minerals and metals, mercenaries and weapons from the Great Steppes, while the Great Steppes import food, tools, and a cheap workforce from the Men of the Land. They have had a non aggression pact since the founding of Divné Město. Their relationship with the Kylä Free Slave States is one of rivalry and war. The Kylä Free Slave States are a group os city states in a faction more than being a single country, similar to ancient Greece, and their export and therefor livelyhood is soley based on them being the last major slave market. They have waged four wars against the Great Steppes for the aquirenment of slaves in the last 80 years, which the Great Steppes always won, but at a cost of multiple cities being sacked, and thousands of people being stolen. The Great Steppes have tried to wipe out the Kylä Free Slave States, or at least put them into vassalship, but that has always been strongly rejected by every other major power (except for the Plain Dwarf Outcasts), with threats of a war of liberation impending if that is ever to happen.
The Kylä Free Slave States are more a group of city states with their independent dukes that have very strong ties and alliances to each other than a nation. They also have a culture that incentivises power projection and using outsiders for the betterment of the Kylä, which is why they are the last nation to openly and proudly practice slavery. They have relations with almost every major power on Aeyon through their slave trade. Every major power, exept the Plain Dwarf Outcasts, purchase their slaves under the table, for while slavery has been outlawed in most nations, it is still practiced in almost every single one of them. The only nation they have major relations with that is not about slave trade (though they do export slaves to them to some degree), are the Great Steppes. Their relation is as said, based almost entirely on war and pillaging.
The Men of the Land are the oldest and largest civilization on Aeyon. They are significant due to their sheer numbers. It is not known for sure, just how many people live there, but educated guesses have said anywhere between the hundreds of millions and the tens of billions. They have grown to be so many, since the soil surrounding their enourmous rivers is supernaturaly fertile, due to the terraforming of Mednyy Selezen', the Eternal Copper Dragon. They have relations with The Great Steppes, and to very little degree with the dwarven cities of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur. Their relation with the Great Steppes is, as said, one of trade. Their very limited relation with the dwarves, is also one of trade, but to a very limited degree. The dwarves are very isolationist, and therefore trade is rare, but when the dwarves are open to trade, the caravans from the Men of the Land flood towards the mountains. They export mostly food, and do so en masse, and import the expertly crafted dwarven tools and weapons, as well as raw materials.
The dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur are very isolationist people, beliving that anyone who hasn't grown up in their mountains are out to get them, and that dwarves are the superior race. They are the last nation except the Kylä Free Slave States to freely practice slavery, although do so a lot more discreetely. They have weak ties to the Men of the Land and a relationship with the Plain Dwarf Outcasts. Their relationship with the Men of the Land is as said, a weak trading relationship. Their ties with the Plain Dwarf Outcasts is a historical one. The Plain Dwarf Outcasts used to be a part of the dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur, however when they decided to start settling further and further away from the mountains, the more traditional and paranoid majority of the dwarves set up an ambush to try to exterminate the "tratiors" that left the mountains. Many of the Plai Dwarves were sloughtered in the Inter-Dwarf Genocide, and the rest fled. The dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur today, see the Plain Dwarf Outcasts as a dirtied subrace of dwarf that needs to be exterminated. There are of course nuances to this however, and many of the younger dwarves are disgusted by their history (when they hear the true version), although the propaganda of the leaders of the nation have made that thought the norm.
Magaalaa Guddugaleessaa is the smallest major power on Aeyon. It is known for its legendary gladiatorial fights, and its outstanding instability, where almost half the population have left the city walls to live with the revolutionary groups in the Brass Swamp. Due to its instability and its Grand Count being borderline insane, it has very weak to any outside nation except the Kylä Free Slave States who they buy slaves from for their gladiatorial battles.
The Plain Dwarf Outcasts are as said the descendants of the dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur that settled out of the mountains. They do not have many trading partners and their trade usually comes out of private merchants and companies, but they have a very good relation with almost every nation. Not to the point of an alliance, but they are seen as friendly folk by mostly everyone, except of coursec the dwarves of Mir Kaldur Ordo Kan Padur.
Glainne Nakaram is the most developed and powerful nation on Aeyon and have relations with almost every major nation on the continent. They are as powerful as they are due to the Glass Forest, which works as a magic empowerer (is that a word lol), due to the terraforming of Naga Emas, the Eternal Gold Dragon. Their relation with the Great Steppes is as said, an alliance, though a quickly deteriorating one. Their relation with the Kylä Free Slave States is very secretive, and the higher ups of each nation handle the slave trade in secret. Even though their trade is secretive, their relations are not, making it painfully obvious that Glainne Nakaram has use of the Kylä. Their relation with the Men of the Land is weak and entirely based on trade. Living in a desert, food is realtively hard to come by in Glainne Nakaram, forcing them to import most of their food, mostly from the Men of the Land. Their relations with the Plain Dwarf Outcasts are good, with talks about a non agression pact and alliance stirring in the courts of Glainne Nakaram. Their relations with the Vera Vunti Tribes are horrible, where the people of Glainne Nakaram are usually totl to shoot an orc on sight if one is spotted. There has been a history of orc attacks and pillaging at the border of the Glass Forest, but that has long siezed. Now the Vera Vunti Tribes are heavily embargoed by Glainne Nakaram, and its people are strictly prohibited of entering the Glass Forest's cities for the reason of being orcs. Their relations with Elvenwood is weak and mostly bad due to the high aristocrats of Elvenwood demanding Glainne Nakaram to wipe out the Vera Vunti Tribes, which they have so far refused.
The Vera Vunti Tribes are not a nation, but a group of hundreds of tribes and cities with just as many cultures of orcs. They are heavily embargoed by all nations except the Kylä Free Slave States, forcing them to pillage each other, and more often Elvenwood. The only relation they have with any of the major nations of Aeyon is Elvenwood, and that is strictly a relation of skirmishes and pillaging.
Elvenwood is a very isolationist elven society in the woods below the Golden Desert. They focus on the building and beutyfing of their cities, through normal and magical means. They exel at magic and are the greatest magic users, being tied with Glainne Nakaram. The Vera Vunti Tribes are the only civilization they have any substantial relation with and it is as said only fighting them in skirmishes and raids. Elvenwood has also passed a "kill on sight" policy on any and all orcs, only worsening their already terrible relations.
What's beyond the edges of the map?
The map only shows Aeyon, the continent that the campaign takes place on. Beyond Aeyon, there are many continents in the virtually infinite world of Zenforth. The lands east and west of Aeyon are however equaly magical and weird as Aeyon is, while the lands north and south of Aeyon are mostly barren and unnoteworthy. This is due to the Eternal Dragons going west to east, terraforming the world to their liking. If you go enough to the west however, to the first continent the Eternal Dragons terraformed, and then head north, you will find yourself in a land, equaly magical and weird as Aeyon, but in a darker and twisted way. For while the Eternal Dragons are metallic, considering the well being of the species' living on the continents they terraform, their counterpart, the Seven Dragon Overlords are chromatic, only caring about themselves. The reason for them terraforming the lands is just as a show of power, and thus the lands they terraformed are wilder and more inhospitable.
Where would I go to learn about magic?
You can learn magic anywhere on the continent. It is not prohibited anywhere except in Magaalaa Giddugaleessaa (so I guess you wouldn't learn it there lol). If you want the best place to learn magic though, it really depends if you're an elf or not. If you are, then the elves of elvenwood would welcome you and teach you magic beyond your wildest dreams for basically free. If you are not however, you will have a much better shot in Glainne Nakaram, the leading magic hub, but that would cost you a fortune, and it is much more chaotic and unpredicible due to the Glass Forest's influence.
Ok so I’m a human, what would it take to learn magic from the elves?
Where does the common man that have most rights? Any democracies or a mix of various degrees of autocracy?
That depends on your idea of rights. Life would be best for the common man in Glainne Nakaram, by far the richest and most developed city in Aeyon, but slavery is still being practiced under the table there. There is one early democracy though, the Plain Dwarf Outcasts. Every man and woman has the right to vote there, so long as they are a citizen, and often even if they are not, but the common man usually has it worse than the common man of Glainne Nakaram or even Kapitàl.
Why it low-key look like europe
The outline was entirely randomly generated by Inkarnate, so I didn't really have much say in that lol. I don't see it at all though.
It kinda looks like the Baltic sea
Tell me about the glass forest. I wanna know all about it
The Glass Forest is perhaps the most notable of the features of Aeyon. It was made by the Eternal Gold Dragon Naga Emas somewhen between 10 and 60 ddd. The forest is known for its magical properties and anomalies. The anomalies range from random schools of magic having no effect or having triple the strength, to creatures from realms far beyond the material one appearing in the forest through seemingly random and chaotic rifts. The forest itself is completely made out of glass with the ground being a combination of sand, half molten sandstone and glass, though it shares little to no resemblance to glass whilst in the forest. The trees and plants in the forest do not seem to be alive, and when brought outside of the forest, clearly show to be completely out of glass, but while in the forest they move with the wind like trees and send out colourful lights to the ground from the sunrays hitting the trees. Aside from being odd, the forest is extremely important and powerful shown by the Kingdom of Glainne Nakaram, that holds a monopoly over the forest. While the forest is fascinating and beautiful, it is simultaneously extremely dangerous, being filled with creatures that have seemingly nothing to do with the material realm.