Difference between revisions of "Scavenger Lands"

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=Nations of the Scavenger Lands=
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The actual nations of the Scavenger Lands are few, considering the space and vast resources. Nations rise and fall constantly in these warlike lands, as some dictator or warlord seeks to carve an empire for himself out of its myriad settlements, creating a kingdom, until he extends his reach too far and is crushed by those he threatens.
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Though it is not always readily apparent, there is a difference between the true nations of the Scavenger Lands and the city-states with their clients. Nations maintain a sort of national identity; one of the Kelinai considers himself a citizen of the Keldin Nation in addition to being a citizen of his city. Additionally, nations usually have bureaucracies in place that cover the entirety of the nation's well being, and maintain a national defense force in addition to local ones.
 
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==The Girian Protectorate==
 
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The Girian Protectorate is located in the windswept prairies of the central Scavenger Lands plains. The favored place in times past for great wars and the tombs of heroes, these plains now serve as the nation of the Girian Protectorate, a nation of mercenaries. Many mercenary companies base their primary operations out of one of the cities of the Protectorate.
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'''One Square = 500 miles'''
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The Girian Protectorate is ruled by a governing Council of Armsmen, a council made up of a single representative from each of the mercenary companies that make up the Girian Protectorate. Those companies that are accepted onto the Council of Armsmen are bound under the Armsmen Truce, a bond that says that companies that find themselves on rival sides shall be merciful towards one another, limiting losses as much as possible, and aid one another where they can. They are also bound to keep any such assignments against one another from impacting their peaceful co-existence as part of the Protectorate.
 
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The townships are guarded by the individual mercenary companies that dwell there. Additionally, each season, every company is required to dedicate 10% of its forces to the Armsman Force, the standing army that defends the Girian Protectorate. The core of the army, however, is made up of the former forces of the Giria's Company, the mercenary company that first proposed the Armsmen Truce.
 
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The Protectorate is home to more mercenary companies than occupy the Council, for not every mercenary company that occupies land within the Protectorate is granted a place on the Council. Though these companies are not required to contribute to the Armsman Force, they do pay higher taxes than those companies who are on the Council proper (one of the reasons many of the companies strive to be accepted on the council). All of the mercenaries have a say in the governing of the city or township that they are based out of, however, as they belong to smaller councils led by the companies that are actually part of the Armsmen Council.
 
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===Toroshi Citadel===
 
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'''Capital of the Girian Protectorate'''<br>
 
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The central citadel and location of the Chambers of the Council, Toroshi Citadel is ruled utterly by the remnants of Giria's Company. Though their founder, Giria, is fairly elderly now, Giria's sons capably manage both the military for the nation and its bureaucracy (which is really mercenary bureaucracy applied to running a nation).
 
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===Delbreth===
 
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The second-largest settlement in the Protectorate, Delbreth is home to no less than four of the companies that sit on the Council: The Fierce, Chanerlin's Troop, the Omen Dogs and the Silver Company. Delbreth is known for its nearby iron mines and the smithies that supply most of the equipment in the protectorate.
 
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===Wolfkeep===
 
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Located near a fair-sized wood, Wolfkeep is run by the Black Wolf Brotherhood, the only company in the keep to sit on the Council. Wolfkeep supplies much of the lumber for the Protectorate, and is a favored place for members of the Council to go hunting.
 
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The Rose Towers: An impressively towered keep, the Rose Towers are named that for the company that founded them, the Ebon Rose Elite, known for their archers and skirmishers. The towers themselves are impressively carved with climbing vines intermixed with actual vines that grow wild up the sides of the towers, blooming with wild black roses.
 
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The company is run by the Ebon Rose Dowager, a small god of black roses who has undertaken a military endeavor. The towers are shared by the Ebon Rose Elite, plus two other companies: Karvin's Dragoons and the Thousand Blades.
 
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==The Keldin Cliff-Cities==
 
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The Keldin Cliff-Cities are ancient settlements dug into the very faces of the cliffs that overlook the flowing of the Yellow River. The cities that make up this nation all share a similar design – each city is arranged in levels of terraces, with actual dwellings consisting of several tiered levels of balconied buildings. Each terrace-level has an impressive railing-wall that stands perhaps four feet tall, but is fitted with clever engineering that allows them to be fitted with larger bulwarked walls in times of war.
 
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The terrace-streets themselves are utterly massive, often with park-like strips of greenery and gardening along the open side, allowing peaceful enjoyment of the view while not impeding the normal traffic of day-to-day life. Each terrace ends in a ramp that connects it either to the level above or below it. Each of these ramped areas are fitted with a gate that can be sealed in times of war, and the entries to the city both at top and bottom are fitted with stout gates crafted during the First Age, which have never been breached.
 
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These cities are resplendent with tall granite pillars and incredible amounts of statuary. The cities themselves are quite wealthy, for they have excellent defenses without the need for expensive building materials – they construct their homes from the solid stone of the cliff-face, creating the honeycombed cliffs that the Cliff-Cities are known for.
 
  
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Over the years, the Keldin Cliff-Cities have been ruled by any number of modes of government, from republics to military dictatorships. Currently, the Keldin are ruled by a dynasty of merchant-princes who trace their lineage to a Guild functionary from several hundred years ago. This family, the Ivory Star Dynasty, rule from White Sentinel. Quite wealthy, they maintain the military of Keldin – known for its siege engineers and sledge-wielding cavalry – as well as a small host of champions both Dragon-Blooded and god-blooded. In times past, one or more of these champions have come close to attempting to take the throne, only to be thrown down by others of the champions.
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The most populous hub of the East, consisting mainly of the River Leagues members, the most notable members of which are the city-states of Lookshy, Nexus, and Great Forks. The landscape is dominated by the major rivers of the Yanaze, the Yellow River, the Grey River, and the River of Tears. The Rolling River and the Avarice River are two other 'minor' rivers in the region, though each is competitive with the largest rivers on Earth.
  
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===White Sentinel===
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The Scavenger Lands are so named because of their many ruins, filled with treasures of a past age, such as Denandsor, the Empty City, giving rise to an entire scavenging profession. This profession is made up of professional adventurer-archaeologists and flat-out treasure-hunters, all seeking relics of the Shogunate and First Age with which to enrich themselves.  
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'''Capital of the Keldin Cliff-Cities'''<br>
 
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The largest of all the Keldin Cliff-Cities, White Sentinel is named for the several-hundred foot tall statues, hewn from the rock of the cliffs that flank the city proper. These statues are actually impressive towers that include First Age engineering that allow various sections of the statues to open and a hollow core with a chain-driven siege engine platform, allowing the city to launch attacks from various heights.
 
  
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The city itself is very prosperous and clean, a place of white stone and fine rich brocades and tapestries in jewel tones. Its people are skilled, thanks to the Guild sensibilities of the Ivory Star Dynasty, who believe that their populace should be made up of skilled craftsmen, supported by an underclass that remains in the small settlement-farms at the feet of the cities proper.
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==The Confederation of Rivers==
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The Confederation of Rivers - sometimes also called the Rivers League, or the League of Rivers - is a political and trade council made up of the major powers and most of the minor powers in the Scavenger Lands. Generally speaking, most of the locations in the Scavenger Lands have representatives on the Confederation council, and those that don't tend to be those with stated antipathy for the Confederation: Thorns, Greyfalls, Joraba and similar locales.
  
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===Delbrennan===
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==The Lords of the Rivers==
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The Quarry City of Keldin, Delbrennan provides impressive granite and marble to much of the Scavenger Lands. The quarries proper of Delbrennan are found on the plateau-top a half-day from Delbrennan proper, but they are well-guarded and walled-in. The impressive slabs of stone are taken to a market at the foot of the city proper, down a set of complicated gear-driven lifts along the eastern side of the city. The city itself is populated by all manner of architects, engineers and sculptors; as a result, Delbrennan is perhaps the most elegantly decorated city in all of Keldin.
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These nations and city-states are easily the most powerful of all the nations and cities in the Scavenger Lands. Each of them holds a position of tremendous importance in the Confederation of Rivers, and is a force to be reckoned with.
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* '''[[Nexus]]:''' The largest city in the Scavenger Lands, Nexus is ruled by a shadowy council known as the Council of Entities, and serves as the headquarters for the Guild. A genuine hive of scum and villainy, Nexus has many laws and edicts, but only one real rule: nothing may obstruct trade.
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* '''[[Lookshy]]:''' The severe and disciplined city-state of Lookshy is the most potent military force in the Scavenger Lands. Ruled by a handful of Dragon-Blooded houses referred to by the First Age term "Gentes," the Dragon-Blooded of Lookshy do not serve the Scarlet Empire. Instead, they are the last remaining elements of the old Shogunate, and have defied the power of the Scarlet Empress on many occasions. Their ability to do this is due to two things: the pervading military culture that defines citizenship in Lookshy, and the potent store of First Age artifacts and magical technology the Dragon-Blooded population of Lookshy have at their disposal.
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* '''[[Great Forks]]:''' Considered a city of wonders, Great Forks is known for its overt hedonism and party atmosphere. It is also known for the large population of gods that dwell there, for Great Forks is also called the City of Temples. It is ruled over by a triumvirate of gods, and its laws tend to favor divinities.
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* '''[[Sijan]]:''' The Funeral City is more than simply a necropolis - it is a culture and civilization based around funereal practices and the propitiation of the dead. Distinctly neutral in disputes between mortal states, Sijan has acted as mediators between the nations of the living and the nations of the dead in the past. It is ruled by the Mortician's Guild, an elite gathering of embalmists, necromancers and ancestor cult priests.
  
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===Goral===
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==The Range Towns of Marukan==
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Goral was obviously designed as a supremely defensible city. Its terraces are actually tall, impressive walls with soldier's walkways. This causes the terrace-streets to feel more cramped than those of the other cliff-cities, but creates a sense of security that is well-founded. All of the other cliff-cities have a single retreat-tunnel that leads to Goral in case of defeat in battle. These tunnels can be collapsed at a variety of junctures, and the "central hub" where all of the tunnels connect before entering Goral is supremely well defended. As a result, Goral is where the troops of Keldin are trained.
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The range-towns established long ago by the Marukani tribes for trading, the Range Towns have formed a government among themselves that is separate from the lives of the tribal horsemen.
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* '''[[Celeren]]:''' Capital city of the Marukan Alliance, and set of power of the Mayhiros clan.
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* '''[[Mishaka]]:''' A small walled town where the Battle of Mishaka was fought, driving back the Dragon-Blooded led armies of Thorns. Known for its hatred of mercenaries and Nexus.
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* '''[[Deren's Ford]]:''' The smallest of the Marukan Range Towns.
  
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===Lionroar===
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==The Calin Shogunate==
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Located where a small river flows into the Maruto, the cliff-city of Lionroar is dominated by the waterfall of the river, which is surmounted by a massive bridge constructed during the First Age. Where the bridge overlooks the waterfall, it is crafted to look like a roaring lion's mouth, so that it seems to be roaring the river into existence. Lionroar is where much of the river trade to the Cliff-cities takes place, as it has an extensive set of docks set a small distance from the city itself.
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Though once a satrapy of the Realm 400 years ago, Calinti legend has that when the Scarlet Empress was particularly pleased with a Calinti lover and she sought to reward him, he asked for freedom for his people, and she gave it to them. Organized into a variety of noble Houses, all vying for the seat of Shogun and influence with the Council, the Calinti love nothing so much as their Great Game of politics.
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* '''[[Port Calin]]:''' The capital of the Calin Shogunate.
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* '''[[Goodharbor]]:''' The only other large city of Calin, where the Yanaze meets the Inland Sea.
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* '''[[Centak]]:''' A fairly small Calin settlement, Centak is well-known as a resort town that attracts wealthy Lookshyans interested in relaxation.
  
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===Venrathi===
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==The Grey Kingdoms==
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Venrathi is best known for its skilled weavers, who maintain a trade secret for producing jeweled hues in cloth that isn't duplicated anywhere save by alchemical means. Rich brocades and embroidery can be found everywhere here, and there is a thriving textiles market at the foot of the city that features impressive fashion fairs once a season.
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A series of small city-states and tiny nations along the length of the Grey River, the majority of those nations that make up the Grey Kingdoms were once client states of Lookshy. Though the days of the uprising is long past, there is still some lingering cultural resentment in many of the people in these nations against Lookshy's military superiority.
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* '''[[Helz]]:''' Practically torn apart by feuding martial arts societies, Helz is well known as a center of the martial arts world. Helz is ruled by the Eight Silver Coins Clan, and its elder, a Water-Aspected Dragon Blooded who hosts the annual Eight Silver Coins Gathering, the biggest martial arts tournament in the Scavenger Lands.
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* '''[[Lugwaal]]:''' A small city-state, Lugwaal was recently invaded by the organized military state of Varsi. Though most of the populace has been pacified, there is still something of an organized resistance, referred to as the Sons of Thunder.
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* '''[[Melevhil]]:''' Destroyed during the Realm Invasion of RY 88, Melevhil is a popular site for Scavenger Lords, thanks to the old relics and artifacts that remain from the climactic battle between Imperial forces and the Seventh Legion there. Over the years, it has been all but stripped clean, though rumors indicate that there is still a large haul still awaiting discovery there.
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* '''[[Mugadesh]]:''' X
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* '''[[Puyo]]:''' X
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* '''[[Starshalla]]:''' Formerly a Marukan range-town, Starshalla's excellent placement along Guild trading routes led to an impressive boom in both population and prosperity in the area. It is still in the middle of a power struggle between the native moneyed ranchers (many of whom have dramatically expanded their family holdings and businesses) and the Guild.
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* '''[[Varsi]]:''' A military state in the tradition of Lookshy, Varsi has recently expanded its holdings to include Lugwaal. Strangely, this has drawn little or no comment from Lookshy, at least in the public arena.
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* '''[[Werendut]]:''' A small unremarkable city-state, Lugwaal is in a state of near-emergency, having been assailed by an unheard-of infestation of Fire Ants over the past decade.
  
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==The Kingdom of Joraba==
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==The Hundred Kingdoms==
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Once, the Kingdom of Joraba was a free nation. Home to a small pantheon of gods, Joraba once maintained a caste system within its society, each caste of which was representative of one of the gods of the Jorabani. The laborers wore their hair long and marked their foreheads with two curving lines in grey ochre, in emulation of the tusks of Ugaji, the elephant-headed god of labor and physical work (Temperance). The soldiery marked their foreheads with red ochre, for the blood that they spilled, and in emulation of the color of crimson-skinned Bahari, the tiger-headed god of warriors and spear-battle (Valor).
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The eastern half of the Scavenger Lands, the Hundred Kingdoms is a huge swathe of territory in which have risen and fallen hundreds upon hundreds of various nations, territories, city-states and other political formations in the years since the Contagion. To this day, it is a seething morass of political aspirations, petty warlords, alliances and betrayals, made up primarily of kingdoms and domains a week or two across at most - the majority of the "kingdoms" in the Hundred Kingdoms are made up of singular cities, with a few outlying settlements in every direction that look to that city for protection.
  
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The priesthood marked their heads with a single yellow mark, celebrating golden-skinned Dirkashi, the god of sacrifice and incense (Conviction). The nobility marked their foreheads with the pure white mark (and included hanging white pearls in their headdresses) for Lafaia, the crowned goddess of nobility and riches (Compassion).
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The Hundred Kingdoms region of the River Province is the largest unified region in Creation that is not part of the Realm. The exact number of nation and city-states in this region is constantly changing, but they are nearly all member-states of the Confederation of Rivers.
  
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Even the outcaste, who were considered unclean, wore black marks upon their brows, marks in honor of Naramun Dasraja, who was not actually a goddess, but a concept – that of death and filth. It was they who were responsible for dealing with corpses and the filth that any civilization accumulates, and the wisest among them cared for the Ashfields, a haunting shadowlands where the ash of burnt sacrifices and the cremated dead were taken to be deposited in honor.
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The Hundred Kingdoms are generally looked down upon by the Realm and the superpowers of the River Province because they do not wield much power individually, and are a constant political and military nuisance. Hundred Kingdoms nations lining the Yellow, Meander, and Maruto Rivers are often thought of as little more than pirate states for the taxes and tariffs that they impose on travel and trade, while at the same time thy contribute little.
  
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But all this changed with the coming of the Realm fifty years ago. They arrived first under a flag of negotiation and then eventually came in force, "pacifying" the Jorabani. Even their gods were put to flight by the powers of the Immaculate monks, and soon the presence of a Satrap and his Dragon-Blooded entourage became the norm. Their faith was outlawed, their caste system overthrown and great walls were put up around the Ashlands, surrounded with circles of salt and wards against the dead.
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However, at several times in the past the Hundred Kingdoms have proven to be the deciding factor in military and political conflicts throughout the East. Military contingents assembled from the region, for example, were crucial in turning away several Realm invasions, including helping in the most recent Realm invasion via the city of Thorns. The southern Hundred Kingdoms, with the aid of the Seventh Legion, have proved to be an effective shield against the hordes of the warlord Ma-Ha-Suchi, while the northern Kingdoms have proved effective in that same role against the Linowan.  
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* '''[[Aryvyras]]:''' Ruled by the hooded Despot of Aryvyras and his secret police, Aryvyras is a place of paranoia and fear, where everyone is careful to follow the Despot's Code, lest he be turned in by a neighbor.
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* '''[[Bourbon]]:''' A small city-state in the midst of a massive bayou, Bourbon is best-known for the incredible decadent carnivales it throws every Calibration. Bourbon is almost perpetually at war with its neighbor across the river, Rana.
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* '''[[Cho-Holuth]]:''' A city ruled by the Salinan Sodality, the council of headmasters of the Academy of Cho-Huluth, one of the largest thaumaturgical academies in the Eastern Hundred Kingdoms, based out of Cho-Huluth.
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* '''[[Darangin]]:''' The matriarichal culture of Darangin is ruled by a traditional grandmother-mother-daughter triad: the Dowager, the Queen Mother and the Royal Maiden, all of whom act as the brides to the god of Darangin.
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* '''[[The Girian Protectorate]]:''' A nation made up of four sizeable cities, the Girian Protectorate is less than a century old. In its short existence it has made a name for itself as a home to mercenaries, and is ruled by the Council of Armsmen, a ruling council made up of the leaders of all the member mercenary companies.
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* '''[[Kalishar]]:''' The Kalishari people are a small nation made up of a single large city a number of smaller towns between the Keldin City-States and the Sandy River. A culture based on the principles of enlightened geomancy, they are ruled by the Fang Shih, the hereditary master geomancer who governs the nation's growth and development.
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* '''[[The Keldin Cliff-Cities]]:''' A nation of ancient settlements dug into the cliffs that overlook the Yellow River, the Keldin Cliff-Cities are known for their fine statuary work and stone craftsmanship. The Keldin Cliff-Cities are ruled by the Ivory Star Dynasty, a lineage of kings descended from Soaring Majestic Father, the god of the Keldin Cliffs range.
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* '''[[Laris]]:''' Dramatically reduced from its Shogunate splendor, Laris entered into a vicious conflict with Velen that left both of them nearly crippled.
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* '''[[Mahanaga]]:''' A small agricultural center, Mahanaga is known for its large numbers of serpents (and the products thereby), and the impressive Monastery of the Serpent King which overlooks the town.
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* '''[[Marita]]:''' An otherwise unremarkable city-state of little influence, Marita's central location has made it the headquarters for the Confederation.
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* '''[[Matetha]]:''' Called the Gate of Chaya, Matetha acts as the border between the Hundred Kingdoms and the kingdom of Chaya.
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* '''[[Meresh]]:''' The center of a large number of baronies, Meresh is the oft-fought over crown jewel of the Mereshi Houses, none of whom quite have the power to proclaim themselves the Kings of Meresh.
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* '''[[Nathir]]:''' A major Guild stopping-point, Nathir is ruled by the Otamijo Dynasty, rivals of the Keldin nation's Ivory Star Dynasty.
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* '''[[Nechara]]:''' The site of a major battle between Guild mercenaries and the Seventh Legion against the Arzhecki Horde that turned back the Horde the last time they came rampaging through the Scavenger Lands, sacking several cities along the way.
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* '''[[Rana]]:''' The bayou-nation of Rana is made up of thieves, river pirates and cut-throats, and is nearly impossible to get to save by air. Rana is almost perpetually at war with its neighbor across the river, Bourbon.
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* '''[[Scab]]:''' A den of iniquity just south of Greyfalls.
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* '''[[Velen]]:''' Dramatically reduced from its Shogunate splendor, Velen entered into a vicious conflict with Laris that left both of them nearly crippled.
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===Villages & Other Small Settlements===
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* '''[[Still Sky]]:''' A tiny village near a bamboo grove that houses a potent Wood-aspected Demesne. Ten days west of [[Mahanaga]].
  
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In this time, however, an assassin cult has sprung up, with the intention of murdering the Dragon-Blooded. The locals claim that it is made up of only the outcastes, but the Dragon-Blooded know that this is simply another example of the Jorabani leaving their outcastes to do their dirty work. Men dressed in black, their foreheads marked with the old symbol of the outcaste, attempt to waylay any Realm citizens they encounter – some of them have even tried (and in a few occasions succeeded) at murdering Dragon-Blooded.
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==The Last Vestiges of the Realm==
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Though the Realm is all but ousted from the Scavenger Lands, particularly in the wake of the Scarlet Empress' disappearance, there are only two places that are yet under the thumb of the Blessed Isle's Great Houses: the far-off nation of Greyfalls, and the southern jungle-kingdom of Joraba.
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* '''[[Greyfalls]]:''' A satrapy of the Realm, Greyfalls is a sizeable nation, with quite a Dragon-Blooded population (including a Cathak Legion) and several Immaculate monasteries.
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* '''[[Joraba]]:''' A nation once heavily segregated by a divinely-mandated caste system, Golden Joraba was "liberated" by the Legions nearly fifty years ago. Now one of the few strongholds of the Cathak Legions away from the Blessed Isle, Joraba is one of the few places in the Scavenger Lands still fulfilling its duties as a satrapy of the Realm.
  
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===Golden Joraba===
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==The Republic of Chaya==
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'''Captial of the Kingdom of Joraba'''<br>
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A peaceful, friendly republic that experiences a strange annual madness.
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The capital of Joraba, seat of the Rajas of Joraba, is also home to the Satrap Cathak Naltir. It is perhaps the best pacified of the cities, and in many ways runs like any other Realm city, though its citizens are terribly dispirited. Every year or so, the Satrapy has to outlaw new ways of expressing former castes among the older generations, while the newer generations have begun to forget what their castes meant at all.
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* '''Larjyn:''' Larjyn is the capital of the Chayan Republic.
  
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===Imishaal===
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==Lands of the Dead==
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'''The City of Ash'''<br>
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The Scavenger Lands suffer from not one but several massive Shadowlands. Into these places, the dead always rise up from the Underworld, and in at least two cases, a Deathlord - one of the mighty and ancient dead lieges of ghosts - have arisen as well, and built their black citadels in the heart of these fell places.
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The city at the edges of the Ashlands, Imishaal was the great Temple-City of Joraba, home to the largest temples to the gods of its people. At the very edge of the city, in the Quarter of Skulls, is the massive crematorium where the Sons of Dasraja, an order of mute outcaste morticians, brought the corpses of dead Jorabani for their last rites. Bodies were brought in the Door of Silence and exited into the Ashlands themselves, carried by the mute Sons to their final resting place.  
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* '''[[Walker's Realm]]:''' An ancient Shadowlands south of Great Forks, this Shadowlands is rulled by the Walker in Darkness from his citadel, the Ebon Spires of Pyrron.
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* '''[[Thorns]]:''' The youngest Shadowlands in the River Province, Thorns was once a thriving city of the Confederation of Rivers. Then, its royalty ceded power to the Scarlet Empire, and war broke out between Thorns and the rest of the Confederation of Rivers. Thanks to the overwhelming numbers of Hundred Kingdom soldiers, and the advanced tactics and weaponry of Lookshy's Seventh Legion, they were beaten back and the Dragon-Blooded put to flight. Thorns was weak and vulnerable, however, and it didn't stand a chance when the Mask of Winters came with his terrible undead army and his citadel atop the massive animated behemoth corpse known as Juggernaut. Now, it is a land of the dead.
  
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Now, however, Imishaal is home to a garrison of Legionnaires, and a number of monks, who watch the temples, which are now manned by Immaculate monks who both perform the proper rites for the gods of the Jorabani (who have been incorporated into the Immaculate Philosophy's calendars) and keep an eye on the gods themselves, who have not emerged from the sanctums within their respective temples.
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==Scavenger Lands Barbarians==
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The tribal folk of the Scavenger Lands range from the quite savage to the nearly civilized. Even the wildest of them, however, know that they stand to benefit from trade with the stinking cities, and so tend to limit their attempts to raid the greatest of settlements. Still, this doesn't quite protect the outlying villages and traveling caravans of the area from falling victim to the occasional barbarian raid.
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* '''[[The Hill Folk]]:''' Barbarian tribes to the east of Great Forks.
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* '''[[The Riverlin]]:''' Small groups of river-boat nomads, with a reputation as thieves and con artists.
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* '''[[The Marukani Alliance]]:''' The nomadic horselords and herdsmen of the western Scavenger Lands.
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* '''[[The Karala]]:''' A tribe of semi-civilized herders on the savannahs outside of the Republic of Chaya, known for their connections to Lookshy's Seventh Legion and the annual raids they wage on the Kingdom of Joraba.
  
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===Ashlands===
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==Criminal Syndicates of the Scavenger Lands==
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The Ashlands of Joraba are a shadowlands made up of several miles of strange honeycombed trenches and canyons, most of which are separated by no more than a foot of rock. Over these canyons have been built pavilions and foot bridges, allowing those who come here to pay their respects to the dead to remain above the canyons, for they are home to literal seas of ash, from hundreds of years of the ashes of sacrifices in temples and the cremated remains of all Jorabani. Once, any day would see a regular arrival of priests to deposit sacrificial ash and families to pay their respects to ancestors, but now the Ashfields are empty and forlorn both day and night.
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* '''The [[Five Shades Association]]:''' A rough collection of various gangs and local crime syndicates, the Five Shades are notorious for their powerful fighting skills, and their flair for revenge. They are known to organize themselves into a variety of clans, and identify themselves with a system of coded tattoos.
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* '''The [[Grass Spiders]]:''' A shadowy organization of assassins purported to take great pride in ironic or whimsical deaths and avoiding the harm of anyone save those they are contracted for, the Grass Spiders traditionally leave a warning sign to those they are contracted to kill: a grass spider in their beds.
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* '''The [[Harbingers of the Final Breath]]:''' A guild of assassins thought to be based out of one or both of the bayou cities along the eastern Yellow River, the Harbingers specialize in quick, simple deaths, usually by garotte or throat-cutting. They are also master kidnappers.
  
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===Birish Ahl===
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==Martial Arts World of the Scavenger Lands==
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Once the center of the military complex of Joraba, Birish Ahl underwent an incredible siege some fifty years ago, during the so-called Pacification of Joraba. Now its impressive elephant-riding cavalries are in the service of the Legions, and its spear-fighting generals have all bowed their heads to the Satrap. The Jorabani still have to fight off the tribal Karala, but they do so at the orders of the Satrap now – no more are brave enemies captured to be sacrificed on the altars of the tiger-god Bahari.
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The martial arts world is quite strong in the Scavenger Lands, with many sifus and dojo across its length and breadth.
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* '''[[MA-Face-ScavengerLands|Famous Scavenger Lands Martial Artists]]'''
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* '''[[MA-Temples-ScavengerLands|Known Martial Arts Temples & Cults]]'''
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* '''[[MA-Rebels-ScavengerLands|Known Martial Arts Rebel Movements]]'''
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* '''[[MA-Military-ScavengerLands|Known Martial Arts Military & Law Enforcement]]'''
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* '''[[MA-Dueling-ScavengerLands|Known Martial Arts Dueling Clubs]]'''
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* '''[[MA-Barbarians-ScavengerLands|Known Martial Arts Barbarian Tribes]]'''
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* '''[[MA-Enclaves-ScavengerLands|Known Martial Arts Mystic Enclaves]]'''

Latest revision as of 16:34, 28 August 2019

wiki-ScavengerLands.jpg

One Square = 500 miles

The most populous hub of the East, consisting mainly of the River Leagues members, the most notable members of which are the city-states of Lookshy, Nexus, and Great Forks. The landscape is dominated by the major rivers of the Yanaze, the Yellow River, the Grey River, and the River of Tears. The Rolling River and the Avarice River are two other 'minor' rivers in the region, though each is competitive with the largest rivers on Earth.

The Scavenger Lands are so named because of their many ruins, filled with treasures of a past age, such as Denandsor, the Empty City, giving rise to an entire scavenging profession. This profession is made up of professional adventurer-archaeologists and flat-out treasure-hunters, all seeking relics of the Shogunate and First Age with which to enrich themselves.

The Confederation of Rivers

The Confederation of Rivers - sometimes also called the Rivers League, or the League of Rivers - is a political and trade council made up of the major powers and most of the minor powers in the Scavenger Lands. Generally speaking, most of the locations in the Scavenger Lands have representatives on the Confederation council, and those that don't tend to be those with stated antipathy for the Confederation: Thorns, Greyfalls, Joraba and similar locales.

The Lords of the Rivers

These nations and city-states are easily the most powerful of all the nations and cities in the Scavenger Lands. Each of them holds a position of tremendous importance in the Confederation of Rivers, and is a force to be reckoned with.

  • Nexus: The largest city in the Scavenger Lands, Nexus is ruled by a shadowy council known as the Council of Entities, and serves as the headquarters for the Guild. A genuine hive of scum and villainy, Nexus has many laws and edicts, but only one real rule: nothing may obstruct trade.
  • Lookshy: The severe and disciplined city-state of Lookshy is the most potent military force in the Scavenger Lands. Ruled by a handful of Dragon-Blooded houses referred to by the First Age term "Gentes," the Dragon-Blooded of Lookshy do not serve the Scarlet Empire. Instead, they are the last remaining elements of the old Shogunate, and have defied the power of the Scarlet Empress on many occasions. Their ability to do this is due to two things: the pervading military culture that defines citizenship in Lookshy, and the potent store of First Age artifacts and magical technology the Dragon-Blooded population of Lookshy have at their disposal.
  • Great Forks: Considered a city of wonders, Great Forks is known for its overt hedonism and party atmosphere. It is also known for the large population of gods that dwell there, for Great Forks is also called the City of Temples. It is ruled over by a triumvirate of gods, and its laws tend to favor divinities.
  • Sijan: The Funeral City is more than simply a necropolis - it is a culture and civilization based around funereal practices and the propitiation of the dead. Distinctly neutral in disputes between mortal states, Sijan has acted as mediators between the nations of the living and the nations of the dead in the past. It is ruled by the Mortician's Guild, an elite gathering of embalmists, necromancers and ancestor cult priests.

The Range Towns of Marukan

The range-towns established long ago by the Marukani tribes for trading, the Range Towns have formed a government among themselves that is separate from the lives of the tribal horsemen.

  • Celeren: Capital city of the Marukan Alliance, and set of power of the Mayhiros clan.
  • Mishaka: A small walled town where the Battle of Mishaka was fought, driving back the Dragon-Blooded led armies of Thorns. Known for its hatred of mercenaries and Nexus.
  • Deren's Ford: The smallest of the Marukan Range Towns.

The Calin Shogunate

Though once a satrapy of the Realm 400 years ago, Calinti legend has that when the Scarlet Empress was particularly pleased with a Calinti lover and she sought to reward him, he asked for freedom for his people, and she gave it to them. Organized into a variety of noble Houses, all vying for the seat of Shogun and influence with the Council, the Calinti love nothing so much as their Great Game of politics.

  • Port Calin: The capital of the Calin Shogunate.
  • Goodharbor: The only other large city of Calin, where the Yanaze meets the Inland Sea.
  • Centak: A fairly small Calin settlement, Centak is well-known as a resort town that attracts wealthy Lookshyans interested in relaxation.

The Grey Kingdoms

A series of small city-states and tiny nations along the length of the Grey River, the majority of those nations that make up the Grey Kingdoms were once client states of Lookshy. Though the days of the uprising is long past, there is still some lingering cultural resentment in many of the people in these nations against Lookshy's military superiority.

  • Helz: Practically torn apart by feuding martial arts societies, Helz is well known as a center of the martial arts world. Helz is ruled by the Eight Silver Coins Clan, and its elder, a Water-Aspected Dragon Blooded who hosts the annual Eight Silver Coins Gathering, the biggest martial arts tournament in the Scavenger Lands.
  • Lugwaal: A small city-state, Lugwaal was recently invaded by the organized military state of Varsi. Though most of the populace has been pacified, there is still something of an organized resistance, referred to as the Sons of Thunder.
  • Melevhil: Destroyed during the Realm Invasion of RY 88, Melevhil is a popular site for Scavenger Lords, thanks to the old relics and artifacts that remain from the climactic battle between Imperial forces and the Seventh Legion there. Over the years, it has been all but stripped clean, though rumors indicate that there is still a large haul still awaiting discovery there.
  • Mugadesh: X
  • Puyo: X
  • Starshalla: Formerly a Marukan range-town, Starshalla's excellent placement along Guild trading routes led to an impressive boom in both population and prosperity in the area. It is still in the middle of a power struggle between the native moneyed ranchers (many of whom have dramatically expanded their family holdings and businesses) and the Guild.
  • Varsi: A military state in the tradition of Lookshy, Varsi has recently expanded its holdings to include Lugwaal. Strangely, this has drawn little or no comment from Lookshy, at least in the public arena.
  • Werendut: A small unremarkable city-state, Lugwaal is in a state of near-emergency, having been assailed by an unheard-of infestation of Fire Ants over the past decade.

The Hundred Kingdoms

The eastern half of the Scavenger Lands, the Hundred Kingdoms is a huge swathe of territory in which have risen and fallen hundreds upon hundreds of various nations, territories, city-states and other political formations in the years since the Contagion. To this day, it is a seething morass of political aspirations, petty warlords, alliances and betrayals, made up primarily of kingdoms and domains a week or two across at most - the majority of the "kingdoms" in the Hundred Kingdoms are made up of singular cities, with a few outlying settlements in every direction that look to that city for protection.

The Hundred Kingdoms region of the River Province is the largest unified region in Creation that is not part of the Realm. The exact number of nation and city-states in this region is constantly changing, but they are nearly all member-states of the Confederation of Rivers.

The Hundred Kingdoms are generally looked down upon by the Realm and the superpowers of the River Province because they do not wield much power individually, and are a constant political and military nuisance. Hundred Kingdoms nations lining the Yellow, Meander, and Maruto Rivers are often thought of as little more than pirate states for the taxes and tariffs that they impose on travel and trade, while at the same time thy contribute little.

However, at several times in the past the Hundred Kingdoms have proven to be the deciding factor in military and political conflicts throughout the East. Military contingents assembled from the region, for example, were crucial in turning away several Realm invasions, including helping in the most recent Realm invasion via the city of Thorns. The southern Hundred Kingdoms, with the aid of the Seventh Legion, have proved to be an effective shield against the hordes of the warlord Ma-Ha-Suchi, while the northern Kingdoms have proved effective in that same role against the Linowan.

  • Aryvyras: Ruled by the hooded Despot of Aryvyras and his secret police, Aryvyras is a place of paranoia and fear, where everyone is careful to follow the Despot's Code, lest he be turned in by a neighbor.
  • Bourbon: A small city-state in the midst of a massive bayou, Bourbon is best-known for the incredible decadent carnivales it throws every Calibration. Bourbon is almost perpetually at war with its neighbor across the river, Rana.
  • Cho-Holuth: A city ruled by the Salinan Sodality, the council of headmasters of the Academy of Cho-Huluth, one of the largest thaumaturgical academies in the Eastern Hundred Kingdoms, based out of Cho-Huluth.
  • Darangin: The matriarichal culture of Darangin is ruled by a traditional grandmother-mother-daughter triad: the Dowager, the Queen Mother and the Royal Maiden, all of whom act as the brides to the god of Darangin.
  • The Girian Protectorate: A nation made up of four sizeable cities, the Girian Protectorate is less than a century old. In its short existence it has made a name for itself as a home to mercenaries, and is ruled by the Council of Armsmen, a ruling council made up of the leaders of all the member mercenary companies.
  • Kalishar: The Kalishari people are a small nation made up of a single large city a number of smaller towns between the Keldin City-States and the Sandy River. A culture based on the principles of enlightened geomancy, they are ruled by the Fang Shih, the hereditary master geomancer who governs the nation's growth and development.
  • The Keldin Cliff-Cities: A nation of ancient settlements dug into the cliffs that overlook the Yellow River, the Keldin Cliff-Cities are known for their fine statuary work and stone craftsmanship. The Keldin Cliff-Cities are ruled by the Ivory Star Dynasty, a lineage of kings descended from Soaring Majestic Father, the god of the Keldin Cliffs range.
  • Laris: Dramatically reduced from its Shogunate splendor, Laris entered into a vicious conflict with Velen that left both of them nearly crippled.
  • Mahanaga: A small agricultural center, Mahanaga is known for its large numbers of serpents (and the products thereby), and the impressive Monastery of the Serpent King which overlooks the town.
  • Marita: An otherwise unremarkable city-state of little influence, Marita's central location has made it the headquarters for the Confederation.
  • Matetha: Called the Gate of Chaya, Matetha acts as the border between the Hundred Kingdoms and the kingdom of Chaya.
  • Meresh: The center of a large number of baronies, Meresh is the oft-fought over crown jewel of the Mereshi Houses, none of whom quite have the power to proclaim themselves the Kings of Meresh.
  • Nathir: A major Guild stopping-point, Nathir is ruled by the Otamijo Dynasty, rivals of the Keldin nation's Ivory Star Dynasty.
  • Nechara: The site of a major battle between Guild mercenaries and the Seventh Legion against the Arzhecki Horde that turned back the Horde the last time they came rampaging through the Scavenger Lands, sacking several cities along the way.
  • Rana: The bayou-nation of Rana is made up of thieves, river pirates and cut-throats, and is nearly impossible to get to save by air. Rana is almost perpetually at war with its neighbor across the river, Bourbon.
  • Scab: A den of iniquity just south of Greyfalls.
  • Velen: Dramatically reduced from its Shogunate splendor, Velen entered into a vicious conflict with Laris that left both of them nearly crippled.

Villages & Other Small Settlements

  • Still Sky: A tiny village near a bamboo grove that houses a potent Wood-aspected Demesne. Ten days west of Mahanaga.

The Last Vestiges of the Realm

Though the Realm is all but ousted from the Scavenger Lands, particularly in the wake of the Scarlet Empress' disappearance, there are only two places that are yet under the thumb of the Blessed Isle's Great Houses: the far-off nation of Greyfalls, and the southern jungle-kingdom of Joraba.

  • Greyfalls: A satrapy of the Realm, Greyfalls is a sizeable nation, with quite a Dragon-Blooded population (including a Cathak Legion) and several Immaculate monasteries.
  • Joraba: A nation once heavily segregated by a divinely-mandated caste system, Golden Joraba was "liberated" by the Legions nearly fifty years ago. Now one of the few strongholds of the Cathak Legions away from the Blessed Isle, Joraba is one of the few places in the Scavenger Lands still fulfilling its duties as a satrapy of the Realm.

The Republic of Chaya

A peaceful, friendly republic that experiences a strange annual madness.

  • Larjyn: Larjyn is the capital of the Chayan Republic.

Lands of the Dead

The Scavenger Lands suffer from not one but several massive Shadowlands. Into these places, the dead always rise up from the Underworld, and in at least two cases, a Deathlord - one of the mighty and ancient dead lieges of ghosts - have arisen as well, and built their black citadels in the heart of these fell places.

  • Walker's Realm: An ancient Shadowlands south of Great Forks, this Shadowlands is rulled by the Walker in Darkness from his citadel, the Ebon Spires of Pyrron.
  • Thorns: The youngest Shadowlands in the River Province, Thorns was once a thriving city of the Confederation of Rivers. Then, its royalty ceded power to the Scarlet Empire, and war broke out between Thorns and the rest of the Confederation of Rivers. Thanks to the overwhelming numbers of Hundred Kingdom soldiers, and the advanced tactics and weaponry of Lookshy's Seventh Legion, they were beaten back and the Dragon-Blooded put to flight. Thorns was weak and vulnerable, however, and it didn't stand a chance when the Mask of Winters came with his terrible undead army and his citadel atop the massive animated behemoth corpse known as Juggernaut. Now, it is a land of the dead.

Scavenger Lands Barbarians

The tribal folk of the Scavenger Lands range from the quite savage to the nearly civilized. Even the wildest of them, however, know that they stand to benefit from trade with the stinking cities, and so tend to limit their attempts to raid the greatest of settlements. Still, this doesn't quite protect the outlying villages and traveling caravans of the area from falling victim to the occasional barbarian raid.

  • The Hill Folk: Barbarian tribes to the east of Great Forks.
  • The Riverlin: Small groups of river-boat nomads, with a reputation as thieves and con artists.
  • The Marukani Alliance: The nomadic horselords and herdsmen of the western Scavenger Lands.
  • The Karala: A tribe of semi-civilized herders on the savannahs outside of the Republic of Chaya, known for their connections to Lookshy's Seventh Legion and the annual raids they wage on the Kingdom of Joraba.

Criminal Syndicates of the Scavenger Lands

  • The Five Shades Association: A rough collection of various gangs and local crime syndicates, the Five Shades are notorious for their powerful fighting skills, and their flair for revenge. They are known to organize themselves into a variety of clans, and identify themselves with a system of coded tattoos.
  • The Grass Spiders: A shadowy organization of assassins purported to take great pride in ironic or whimsical deaths and avoiding the harm of anyone save those they are contracted for, the Grass Spiders traditionally leave a warning sign to those they are contracted to kill: a grass spider in their beds.
  • The Harbingers of the Final Breath: A guild of assassins thought to be based out of one or both of the bayou cities along the eastern Yellow River, the Harbingers specialize in quick, simple deaths, usually by garotte or throat-cutting. They are also master kidnappers.

Martial Arts World of the Scavenger Lands

The martial arts world is quite strong in the Scavenger Lands, with many sifus and dojo across its length and breadth.

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