Regions & Cities
Sunlit cities may lie dotted across the globe — no exploratory mission has ever come back unharmed. Those cities confirmed to survive the Cataclysm lie mainly amidst the archipelago off the coast of Tarkas. This region has come to be called the Dark Isles, even though they may be the last place in the world where light still shines. Below are some of the Isles’ most influential cities.
Tarkas
The southernmost continent left undestroyed by the darkness which fell over the planet, Tarkas is quite cold and in many places boasts both terrain and weather that is hostile to all but the hardiest of mortal beings. Likely, this is why the Skrel’eth have made it their home; many Skrel’eth villages and cities have blossomed in this challenging land.
Perran
The Skrel’eth are not generally known for creating cities, instead preferring a tribal lifestyle, in the main. Perran stands as an example of a Skrel-dominated city. Known as the ‘gateway to Tarkas,’ Perran is the closest port on the continent of Tarkas to Seahaven, and often sees an influx of visitors from around the isles and continent during the warmer months. Ice and snow tend to cut the city off during the colder month of the year. Perran is a free-wheeling and loosely-regulated city; ruled by Skrell and populated by no small number of Tir, humans often find this trading post anarchic.
Kharn’at
A coastal village right at the southern edge of the inhabitable portion of Tarkas, Kharn’at is home to one of three of the dominant Skrel’eth clans. Fighting is a way for these people as it is for all Skrel’eth, and they occasionally organize raids against another dominant clan from the distant village of Cav’tlan.
Cav’tlan
On the northern half of the island of Tarkas, this Skrel’eth village is located some distance inland from the coast, and occupied by one of the three dominant Skrel’eth clans. This clan of Skrel’eth warriors often send out raiding parties to skirmish with the clan at Kharn’at.
Pha’kat
Unlike the previous three villages, Pha’kat is comprised almost entirely by clanless Skrell who fled to livable parts of Tarkas after the Cataclysm hit. Though many have settled down into new lives, the stigma of the clanless remains strong over the entire city.
Heas
The northern of the two inhabited continents, Heas sports a typically warmer climate which is quite comfortable for three seasons of the year, though Darkfall is still dangerously cold. The areas that remain untouched by the Darkness support life of a variety of different cultures, many of which have intermingled in the major cities.
Seahaven
This Aartiran city and nation, situated on the southern coast of the island of Heas, was once the lynchpin of world trade. Now, it fulfills the same function, but the world is diminished, and a city reliant on trade from far-flung corners of the globe has found itself hurting, with its grand fleet much reduced. Seahaven is mercantile at heart, a nation where titles are bought and sold as evidence of mercantile prowess.
Self-reliance and upward mobility are valued, and poverty seen as a sign of failure. Government is handled by a council of nobles, which acts under the blessing of a reigning monarch. The patron goddess of Seahaven is Ylessa, Mistress of the Sea, and women possess rights equal to men, but lingering tradition still sees men in most of the positions of power. The city’s major export is metal.
Milford
This farming village some distance to the east of Seahaven is still considered a part of the city itself and is well protected and provided for by the King. The reason is simple; despite the small size, the little community provides the majority of the produce and fabric that the city needs to thrive.
Aruta Highlands
This mountainous region forms the northern border of Seahaven’s territories, and has been tasked with defending it from the demons which filter from the darkness-shrouded lands beyond. The land is harsh and rocky, supporting little in the way of crops or other plant life, though rumors and legend have it told that there are mines in those mountains which conceal veins of rare ores such as platinum and mithril.
Bregh Plains
A lush, fertile land, the Bregh Plains have long been occupied by the Sayaki who are tasked with defending the western boarder of Seahaven’s land. Flat fields flourish here among the twisting streams and though there are few demons to be seen along the plains, they are only barely held back by the fighting force of the Sayaki people.
Wolfwood
As the name suggests, the Wolfwood is indeed dense forest, located not far east of the village of Milford. Shadows of large wolves have been seen slinking through the trees and though the occasional farm animal goes missing, the reports of wolves attacking people are quite infrequent. Rumors abound about this mysterious land, though all that is known for certain, to all but a brave few, is that the Marquis and his small band of men very skillfully keep the demons at bay.
Kizuni Odawi
The Sayaki, a nation of oriental humans, lost their homeland to the Cataclysm. A relative handful of their people, the staunchest and most pious traditionalists, followed their mystics and clergy to the island of Heas, where delicate negotiations earned the Sayaki refugees their own protectorate in the Bregh Plains. Here they built Kizuni Odawi, the Stalwart Fortress, in their own tongue. It is a place full of heavily engrained decorum and tradition, where piety and loyalty are valued over all else. Society is centered around a handful of august warrior lineages, and the heads of these clans confer with one another to decide on affairs of state. Men and women are generally encouraged to pursue military and artisan paths, respectively. The city’s main exports are artistic, supported by a generous Seahaven stipend, in return for their military protection of Heas.
Balinand Isle
Though small, Balinand has a fame that outstrips its size, due to the presence of one of the world’s most famous Balorite monasteries. Warrior-monks from Balinand were once seen throughout the world, noted for their combative prowess, and widely called upon in assassinating rogue magi. Mages are killed on sight, in Balinand, as the Spear of Conquest teaches they are nigh-invariably corrupt. Relations with nearby Seahaven are often contentious, as the throne of that nation has often claimed Balinand as among their holdings, a claim that the Balinese have often put to the test with fire and steel. Their small, dark-skinned population is proudly nationalistic and self-sufficient.
Rhonastre
Simply mentioning Rhonastre is enough to earn mistrust in many cities. For a long time considered a childish fantasy, or dangerous heresy, the existence of this Vek-dominated city has recently become undeniable. Its exact location is unknown, and the method by which people come and go is not openly disseminated. More widely admitted is that Rhonastre is a tightly-stratified society of Belial worshippers, who dwell in a city where the sun never rises. Rhonastre is noted for its advanced technology and artifice, and is highly reliant on foreign sources for food.
