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.

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.

Forests

The Midlands are home to seven major forests of interest: The Vallyrin Wood, Raven's Nest, the Forest of Deepshadow, the Old Forest, the Highfire Forest, Erranoth Forest, the Dell Forest, and Darkwood.

Rivers

The Midlands have three major rivers and a number of smaller streams and tributaries.

The Raven River is the chief river of the Midlands. It penetrates north from the Sea of Storms to the heart of the Vallyrin Wood, bisecting the region. The Raven is a major avenue of trade and strategic lifeline. Access to its waters has begun and ended wars. Harreth, one of the ancient Grandfather Cities whose defenses were legendary, was finally conquered only after the river was diverted away to starve it of water and resupply. Its seat at the mouth of the river is what has historically given Tarsis its wealth and influence.

The Raithos River is the longest river in the Midlands and one of two western rivers to feed the fields of the Sindathi Empire. It marks the western boundary of the Midlands and runs from the southern ocean at Kharg north and east, past the Aggonavid Mountains, across the Andesian Plains, through tributaries and lakes all the way to the World's Crown Mountains where it is ultimately fed by the Starry Falls. Mighty and slow, the Raithos is easy to navigate and given to gentle flooding as often as not. Its river valleys are consequently some of the richest lands in Terryth.

The Shemali River is a much shorter, relatively faster river that almost touches the Raithos and flows from the Destin River tributary and Daios southeast to Arboth. It serves a similar function as the Raithos in that it waters great agricultural fields of the settled Sindathi and Jollarin. It also serves to indirectly connect Arboth to the Raithos by way of the roads between Daios and Naithos.

The Clearbrook is a lesser river that springs from the ground at Kor Arren and flows about two-hundred miles west to the city of Dell, at the edge of the Dell Forest.

The Borryl Stream is a minor river that flows south from Ilthar, at the southern edge of the Iron Hills, to Shield Lake and the settlement of Lorran.

Terryl Stream is a more westerly companion to the Borryl stream, near Westride and emptying into Gaer Lake.

Granitefall Stream descends from the Granitefall in the Terralosa Mountains and flows west into the lowlands at Thalia.

Hills and Mountains

The Iron Hills region is in the central Midlands and so-named for their many rocky hills that seem to be overflowing with minerals, chiefly iron. This makes the land difficult to farm, but the Garreth who settled here have always been rich in iron and bronze and led to the development of thriving industries in metalcraft and armaments. The Bloody Mines are home to one of Terryth's most easily accessed sources of Blood Copper.

The Fellstones are a rough area of tumbled stones and jagged hills, west of the Iron Hills. They have historically been home to savage Oriloth tribes who used this region's minerals, almost as rich and easily accessed as the Iron Hills, to arm their warriors with superior equipment. The Sindathi Empire long ago installed a fortress called the Crag to try to maintain some level of order here, but it has never been completely successful.

The Terralosa Mountains are high, rocky mountains that mark the eastern edge of the Midlands. Torreth populate the western foothills, but struggle against Oriloth who live in the higher places of the mountains.

Skyhome is a small, standalone mountain straddling the continental divide at the far western edge of the Midlands. Alone in the Andesian Plains, this mountain was considered by the native Sindathi to be a holy place, ascended only by priests, Emperors, and the most worthy heroes. Atop it is an ancient colony of priests called the Ovaeryn, or "Sentinels."

Plains and Expanses

The Savage Moors lies to the northeast and the huge Andesian Plains to the west. The Middle Plains lie amidst several forests and the northern boundary of the Iron Hills. The Coastal Plains are the lowlands that run along the coast of the Sea of Storms from the Deepshadow east to the Terralosa Mountains, south of the Iron Hills.