Terryth

Terryth is a large, northern continent on the world of Urrael. The northern reaches climb into the arctic latitudes while the southern islands and coasts are sub-tropical. It is a rich and variable continent with several major mountain ranges, great forests, a vast western desert, and numerous rivers and lakes.

Note that this page and accompanying images are subject to change as the world of Urrael develops and grows.

The Midlands

The Midlands is the label applied to the large south-central portion of Terryth from the Sea of Storms to the northern edge of the Vallyrin Wood, east of the Raithos River and west of the Terralosa Mountains. Broadly flat and rich in water and earth, this part of the continent has been home to many of the great civilizations of Terryth. The roots of these peoples go very deep, beyond written memory, and there are many lost secrets here.

The Vallyrin Wood

The greatest forest of the Midlands, the Vallyrin is huge, dark, and full of mysteries. From the ancient and indecipherable ruins of Ruach, to Aelfen holdouts and Allanyn tribes, to scattered riverine settlements and incursions by the Kens, Oriloth, and Tharr, the Vallyrin is a place of surprising intrigue, conflict, and secrets.

The chief settlement of the Vallyrin is Red Dale, situated where the Raven River forks into the two branches known as Red Feather and Black Feather.

The Raven River Valley

The Raven River is the chief river of the Midlands, reaching north from the Sea of Storms at Tarsis and branching throughout the great Vallyrin Wood. Its great navigable lengths connect Allanyn, Aelfen, Garreth, Tharr, Kens, and Torrethi peoples. The sources and upper branches and tributaries of the Raven are in the Vallyrin, and reach the various peoples there. The middle reaches of the river, including Lake Akkad and the Arkhen branch, are ancestral lands of the Torrethi, while the southern reaches are ruled by the Garreth.

A moderately sized timber forest called Raven's Nest sits astride the river.

The Raithos and Shemali Rivers

The Raithos River serves a similar role in the western Andesian Plains as the Raven does in the central Midlands, watering vast swathes of agricultural land and linking otherwise widely spaced peoples. As the river that passes through Arleon, the Imperial capital, the Raithos is of prime importance there.

The Shemali River is the center of Jollarin lands, and the port of Arboth at its mouth is a major naval base for the Empire.

Lesser Rivers

Other, lesser rivers (or streams, in local parlance) include the Clearbrook, the Borryl Stream, the Terryl Stream, and the Granitefall Stream. There are also a number of tributaries that are not individually described.

Deepshadow

Another great forest of the Midlands is the Forest of Deepshadow. This great, dark wood is the home of the Deep Aelfen and the Kingdom of Deepshadow. Intrusion is forbidden, and the crucified and brutalized bodies of trespassers decorate the borders of the forest.

Kensorros

The ancestral lands of the old kingdom of Kensorros were long ago conquered by the Sindathi Empire and split up among several Imperial provinces to hinder rebellions. This did little good and the Kens proved to be one of the most difficult peoples in the Empire. These lands are centered on the old capital Wykrim and include the Highfire and Old Forests, the Dun Fens, and the Middle Plains.

Dell Forest

Known among the Sindathi as the "Dell" after a casual insult by a past reigning Emperor, this is the location of the Aelfen Sunset Kingdom. The only Aelfen kingdom to be subjugated to the Empire, the Aelfen there are restless and resentful of their Human rulers but lack the power to win independence.

Hills and Mountains

One major mountain range and several rocky, hilly areas are in the Midlands: The Terralosa Mountains, the Iron Hills, the Fellstones, and Skyhome.

Savage Moors

The Savage Moors form the northeast border of the Midlands, and are so-named in Sindathi because of the brutal, nearly perpetual warfare waged there between native Allanyn and encroaching Oriloth. Both peoples are warlike even among themselves, and networks of rivalries, alliances, and blood feuds can get extremely complex and erupt into nearly genocidal conflicts.

Andesian Plains

The vast Andesian Plains, original home of the conquering Sindathi, form the ultimate western edge of the Midlands. Watered by the great Raithos River system, the Andesian plains support both nomadic horse peoples like the fenbari and agricultural, settled peoples like the Jollarin and nimbari.

Famously, the Andesian Plains are home to the fearsome man-eating Andesian lion.

Nations and Peoples

A region of crossroads, most of the peoples of Terryth can be found in the Midlands, even if just as expatriates or travelers. Though some native nations have been subsumed into the Sindathi Empire, the they include Kensorros of the Kens, the sorcerous city-state of Thalia, the Marror of the Torrethi, the Kingdom of Deepshadow of the Deep Aelfen, various Oriloth tribes, the Sunset Kingdom of the Aelfen, and the Grandfather Cities of the Garreth. To the south are the Pirate Isles.

Of special mention is Tarsis, the City of Silver. Tarsis sits in the low center of the continent at the mouth of the great Raven River. This cosmopolitan place is rivaled only by Kcathmar and Kharg as trade centers. In addition, the Great Northern Way runs up from Tarsis, through Deckwell and Kor Arren to Wykrim and finally to the city of Thar.

The East

This refers to everything east of the Terralosa Mountains and Dorresse Forest.

The Oriloth Crescent

A great crescent of land running from the Savage Moors southeast over the Terralosa Mountains and following them southwest to the source of the Eidelos River and the Twin Claws is dominated by Oriloth tribes. They vary in their behaviors and levels of civilization or savagery, but these territories are dangerous to cross and often the site of bloody conflict with other nearby peoples, especially the Allanyn.

The Civilized East

Beyond the Oriloth tribes, the eastern lands of Terryth are home to the Kingdom of Kcathmar of the Ryarr and various small states and confederations of the Leannyr and Kilrannyr. Some few Aelfen holdouts exist in the East, but fewer than in the Midlands and West.

The great Korre River serves a similar trade and communication function for eastern lands as the Raven and Raithos rivers do for the Midlands.

Kcathmar itself is divided between upper, mountainous, southerly Kcathmar and lower, northerly Kcathmar. Upper Kcathmar is more oriented toward seafaring and is the dominant region, while lower Kcathmar is more agricultural and rural, with more local ties.

The Clanlands

In the northeast, beyond the civilized lands but before reaching the ultimate frozen north, is a chilly, rough land between the World's Crown and Hadrygar Mountains inhabited by the Vogar culture.

The Sea of Burning Water

The Sea of Burning Water is so named because of numerous small, and several large, volcanoes there. Dangerous and beautiful, they are the target of occasional mercantile ventures to obtain useful and rare alchemical materials.

The West

Encompassing everything beyond the Aggonavid Mountains and Andesian Plains.

The Sea of Diamonds

The dominant feature of the West is a great desert named the Sea of Diamonds. A sandy ocean, it is inhabited by a strange and reclusive offshoot of Oriloth known as the Weroth and a race of nomadic human traders and raiders called the Ghell. It is spotted by freshwater oases whose existence and placement seem to defy logic and is littered by forests of fossilized trees, unusual ruins, and other indicia that it was not always just an empty desert.

The Great Inner Sea

A huge freshwater inland sea, connected to the Azure Sea in the south by the Ghor'Aggoth River is the heart of Illar civilization. Their namesake capital of Illaria is located there, and the sea is home to several great islands, including one housing the Sapphire Temple.

Southern Coast

The southern coast is dominated by the seafaring Illar, long-time naval rivals of the Sindathi and Ryarr. They have many colonies along this coast, including Kharg.

Islands of Thalegh

The islands to the far southwest belong to a barbaric and warlike people called the Thalegh, who are primarily known for piracy and wearing gemstones embedded in their foreheads as marks of status or office.

The Mountains

Two mountain ranges run the western coast. The smaller Val'Ferroth Mountains lie across from the Thalegh Islands where the Azure Sea reaches the Dark Sea and serve more or less as a western edge of Illar and Thalegh settlement.

The Val'Agroth Mountains are much larger and run far north along the Dark Sea. Most in Terryth consider this the ultimate western border of civilization, beyond which there is only deep water and mystery.

Beyond the Mountains

An isolated Aelfen kingdom lies beyond the Val'Agroth Mountains, alone in the far northwest on the Corrista River.

The North

This term really refers to the World's Crown Mountains, including their foothills and other surroundings, from the eastern Clanlands to the western Badlands. This region is cold, and the Ice Dunes north of the mountains can be perpetually frozen. The occasional active volcano, such as Emberheart and Mount Stonefire, contrast with the snow and ice and provide geothermal warmth, including hot springs.

Natives include the Tharr, Fell Oriloth, Eutnar, and certain Allanyn tribes. The Sindathi Empire maintains a garrison at the fortress of Icegate north of the Vallyrin, meant to protect the lands of Orruth and the valuable gold mines of Val Erroth.

Kingdom of Tharre

A Kens city known as Jervais was conquered and settled by a Tharran king some centuries ago. Rather than simply pillage it and leave, however, he decided to come down from the mountains and try his hand at civilized living and Jervais was renamed Tharre ("Tharr place," in Rosh-Tarr. He then set about conquering the surrounding land as well to carve himself a lowlands kingdom. When the borders of Tharre met the expanding Sindathi Empire, the resulting war was inconclusive. Rather than risk facing down what was beginning to be a continental power, however, the Tharran king agreed to an alliance and swore honor and allegiance to the Arrigar dynasty.

The Imperial fortifications at North Hold and Black Keep serve as boundary markers between the Kingdom of Tharre and other Imperial provinces.

Barbarian Lands

The foothills and mountains outside of Imperial lands and Tharre are known as the Barbarian Lands. These territories are virtually ungoverned, home to a fluid mixture of barbaric Tharr and Fell Oriloth who shepherd, gather, hunt, raid, and trade among themselves. A source of destructive raids and fierce mercenaries, virtually everything that comes from these lands is both violent and strong.

Emberheart and Mount Everfrost

Emberheart is a highly active volcano whose plumes and fiery display can sometimes be seen at night from the towers of Icegate. Though often rumbling and spewing magma, there is no recorded instance of a major explosion. Accordingly, it is occasionally approached by alchemists and Daeinarian scholars looking to study or harvest from it.

Possibly the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everfrost serves as the westernmost marker of the World's Crown Mountains. The mountain features in numerous stories and legends by Sindathi, Werothi, Orilothi, and Tharr; always something grand and dark and mysterious. In many, the mountain itself has a temperament and personality, and works against those who dare to scale or even approach it.

The Ice Dunes

The ultimate north, this is a land of near-perpetual snow and ice with no native peoples save the furred and barbaric Fell Oriloth and the mighty Eutnar. Few have dared to explore this barren and dangerous region, but they reported burning earth, strange ruins and unearthly statues, dragon bones, and other fantastical oddities.

Citadel of Fire

The Avyn Tharros has a special place in Tharr society (and is even their namesake), and his clergy have chosen to build their singular and mighty mountain fortress among them. This is the only formal and fixed location in Terryth for the selection, training, and governance of Warbringers and priests of Tharros. Each year, acolytes and hopefuls ascend to seek acceptance into the higher mysteries of the Avyn of War. They always descend in fewer numbers.

Icegate

Located at a mountain pass north of the Vallyrin Wood, this ancient fortress predated Imperial explorers and certainly the Empire itself. The Empire garrisoned it to protect Imperial colonies and protected Tharr subjects, as well as defend the city of Orruth and its valuable mines. It is an unpopular post, situated at the distant end of the Empire far from homes, families, and amenities. Accordingly, assignments there are limited to three years.