Lore & Setting > Geography of the Empire > Beyond the Realm
As much as the Empress likes to think otherwise, there is more to this world than Heibesu. There are many continents out at sea, with as many races and cultures. Here's a breakdown of foreign lands in the known world.
The Continent of Catharia
Catharia is a landmass about twice as large and far more rugged than Heibesu. The Ton'keena native to this cold and dreary place are known as a hardy, war-like people. Catharia itself is, in fact, split in many kingdoms and many more barbarian tribes still roam the wastes of the continent. Catharia is a land of miners and hard-working pragmatists who tend to isolate themselves from contact with the outside world.
The Continent is dominated by large and forbidding mountains. In the middle of the continent, arid wastes are inhabited by powerful monsters and few are those who dare to venture there. Fewer are those who survive. Catharia is predominantly a land of miners, smithers and tailors - but of very little else. There are very few mages in Catharia, as magic is considered evil. No High Manes are ever known to live there, possibly because none ever get trained or worse, they get hunted down by the local authorities. Kitsune and Tengu are also usually sent away though some Kitsune managed to befriend some local people and live there.
The biggest kingdom is also called Catharia - though in reality it only claims a tiny fraction, all things considered, of the mainland. Catharians and Imperials are cold to one another, a split only driven by the one thing that unites all of Catharia, however loosely : their religion. The Fellowship of Saiah is present in every kingdom and even in some barbarian tribes, and is at complete odds with the religions followed in Heibesu.
The Daarian Steppes
To the south, at tropical latitudes, there is a land of beautiful architecture, glistening cities and endless deserts. The Daarian Steppes, and by extension all of the continent, are twice as large as the Imperial continent. Daaria is the realm that controls most of the mainland, and it is populated by both Ton'keena and Kitsune. The Steppes, in fact, are the more welcoming parts of the realm. There, towering cities of jewelers, traders, and intrigue rise in front of the sea or amidst the dunes, and Daarian smithar-wielding warriors are known as some of the world's more fearsome. The Realm is friendly to the Empire, mostly because their religions are very close to one another.
Daaria is also known as a land of science and rational enlightenment, but the realm is predominantly urban. The interior of the continent is rocky and barren, with towering peaks in the south. Due to the sheer hot temperatures and lack of water, very few people live in the deserts, if at all. However, to the north, one of the continent's most bountiful forests is sealed off to outsiders and to the Daarian themselves. Rumors say the Font of Growth is located there.
The southern mountains are inhabited by dwarves, and there are as many as fifty fortresses, banded together in a loose coalition. The Dwarves of Daaria are far less hardy and battle-worn than their counterparts elsewhere, and the Daarian fortresses are far more lavishly decorated. Clockwork is but one of many specialties of Daarian dwarves, and their automatons roam their fortresses as ever-faithful guards. Daarian Ton'keena and Dwarves have developed a friendly trade relationship, for each race has its own well-separated and sufficient territory and plenty of room to expand without enroaching in the others' own lands.
Wild Mainland : The Four Colonies
The Wild Mainland is by far the biggest and less explored mainland in all of the known world. It is a massive Continent, mostly covered in jungles and swamplands in the north and vast mountains and plains in the south. Ton'keena brave enough to survive the harsh and wet conditions of this Continent live on its eastern shores, closest to Daaria and Catharia. There are four small Ton'keena realms there which struggle for survival along with a dozen more City-States : the Kingdoms of Soha and Lain, the Dwalish Nation, and Neesana. There is also an Ameiko trade counter, which is where contact is made between the Imperials and Dwarves.
The Four Colonies, as they came to be called, are the frontier of Ton'keena expansion. All of these realms are small and at least nominally colonies of another, bigger realm, usually Catharian realms. Most of this land remains untamed and Elven ruins and old, sunken shrines dot the land. The wild Ton'keena tribes that inhabit the land further constantly harass the colonists, too, as they claim the Colonists destroyed most of their holy shrines, usually based around the Elven ruins.
To whomever can brave the outlandish weather and the dangers caused by the natives and the wildlife alike, life in the Colonies is also one of freedom. Colonies tend to decide their own fate and morals are relaxed compared to the rigid customs of some of the home nations. The Church of the Iron Maiden has also gained a serious foothold in these Colonies, which worries the Chantry colonists that made contact with the native Kami of the area.
Wild Mainland : Dwarven Holds
The southern areas of the Wild Mainland are split in two Dwarven coalitions totaling together more than two hundred Fortresses.. These are the ancestral homelands of the Dwarves and the Halflings, who live in symbiotic societies : the Dwarves protect the surface and exploit the rich land below, while the Halflings inhabit the surface and take care of it, growing crops and building small villages. The eastern part belongs to the (confusingly) Western Dwarven Coalition, while the southern area is held by the Jade Empire coalition, led by a High Thane - today, Brena Firebeard.
These mountains are unforgiving to whomever is not well prepared, for ravines and harsh winds are the natural defences of the Dwarves and Halflings that live within. Increasingly, Kitsune and some Ton'keena are welcomed into the Dwarven lands, especially as these races prove invaluable in fending off the fiendish Drow. The War of the Great Hammer that nearly destroyed the Jade Empire coalition at the hand of the merciless Drow was only won after the Kitsune joined forces with the Dwarves and used magic - a concept nearly unknown to most Dwarves.
The Fortresses of the Wild Mainland are crude and practical in design, and far more fortified than the Dwarven holds in Daaria, for even on the surface danger is omnipresent. The local, semi-sentient Ogres and Trolls love to harass the Dwarves and especially Haflings, and Drow slaver parties also conduct night raids on some of the outlying holds. Allowing Ton'keena to live on the surface is not just a display of friendship following centuries of distrust, especially for the Jade Empire, more prone to Drow attacks : indeed, Ton'keena are excellent surface fighters who will protect their towns far better than the Dwarvers or Halfligns ever would.
Wild Mainland : Uncharted Wilderness
The aforementioned areas of the Wild Mainland make up for a tiny fraction. In fact, most of its interior has never been fully explored. It is mostly a mix of impassible mountains and disease-ridden jungles, where the strangest wildlife can be found alongside savege, barbarian Ton'keena tribes whose warriors, attuned to an endless war with the Drow, dedicate themselves to a lifetime of pillaging and looting. There are 57 known tribes of Ton'keena - and that's just the tribes which have direct contact with the Dwarves or the Four Colonies.
Because it is such a hostile and unknown landmass, the interior of the Wild Mainland generates both little commercial interest and wild mass-guessing speculation fueling the nightmarish tales and bedtime stories of gneerations of Ton'keena children. It is not without reason. Beyond the wildlife and the native barbarians, the fallen remnants of the once proud and fair Elven race, the infamous Drow, live deep in caves and cities underground. They have laid out intricate traps on the surface and are known for their raiding parties that enslave any sentient creature that is not Drow.
The Uncharted Wilderness is, all in all, one of the most hostile places in the known world. Very few adventurers venture forth into the Wilderness and survive to tell the tale.
The Ragondan Mainland
Also known as the Great Dark Beyond, the Ragondan Mainland is a landmass to the north-east of Heibesu and the homeland of the fox-folk Kitsune. However, most of what is known - its great magical cities, its ethereal woods, and its mystical wildlife - belong in the past.
Catharia is a landmass about twice as large and far more rugged than Heibesu. The Ton'keena native to this cold and dreary place are known as a hardy, war-like people. Catharia itself is, in fact, split in many kingdoms and many more barbarian tribes still roam the wastes of the continent. Catharia is a land of miners and hard-working pragmatists who tend to isolate themselves from contact with the outside world.
The Continent is dominated by large and forbidding mountains. In the middle of the continent, arid wastes are inhabited by powerful monsters and few are those who dare to venture there. Fewer are those who survive. Catharia is predominantly a land of miners, smithers and tailors - but of very little else. There are very few mages in Catharia, as magic is considered evil. No High Manes are ever known to live there, possibly because none ever get trained or worse, they get hunted down by the local authorities. Kitsune and Tengu are also usually sent away though some Kitsune managed to befriend some local people and live there.
The biggest kingdom is also called Catharia - though in reality it only claims a tiny fraction, all things considered, of the mainland. Catharians and Imperials are cold to one another, a split only driven by the one thing that unites all of Catharia, however loosely : their religion. The Fellowship of Saiah is present in every kingdom and even in some barbarian tribes, and is at complete odds with the religions followed in Heibesu.
The Daarian Steppes
To the south, at tropical latitudes, there is a land of beautiful architecture, glistening cities and endless deserts. The Daarian Steppes, and by extension all of the continent, are twice as large as the Imperial continent. Daaria is the realm that controls most of the mainland, and it is populated by both Ton'keena and Kitsune. The Steppes, in fact, are the more welcoming parts of the realm. There, towering cities of jewelers, traders, and intrigue rise in front of the sea or amidst the dunes, and Daarian smithar-wielding warriors are known as some of the world's more fearsome. The Realm is friendly to the Empire, mostly because their religions are very close to one another.
Daaria is also known as a land of science and rational enlightenment, but the realm is predominantly urban. The interior of the continent is rocky and barren, with towering peaks in the south. Due to the sheer hot temperatures and lack of water, very few people live in the deserts, if at all. However, to the north, one of the continent's most bountiful forests is sealed off to outsiders and to the Daarian themselves. Rumors say the Font of Growth is located there.
The southern mountains are inhabited by dwarves, and there are as many as fifty fortresses, banded together in a loose coalition. The Dwarves of Daaria are far less hardy and battle-worn than their counterparts elsewhere, and the Daarian fortresses are far more lavishly decorated. Clockwork is but one of many specialties of Daarian dwarves, and their automatons roam their fortresses as ever-faithful guards. Daarian Ton'keena and Dwarves have developed a friendly trade relationship, for each race has its own well-separated and sufficient territory and plenty of room to expand without enroaching in the others' own lands.
Wild Mainland : The Four Colonies
The Wild Mainland is by far the biggest and less explored mainland in all of the known world. It is a massive Continent, mostly covered in jungles and swamplands in the north and vast mountains and plains in the south. Ton'keena brave enough to survive the harsh and wet conditions of this Continent live on its eastern shores, closest to Daaria and Catharia. There are four small Ton'keena realms there which struggle for survival along with a dozen more City-States : the Kingdoms of Soha and Lain, the Dwalish Nation, and Neesana. There is also an Ameiko trade counter, which is where contact is made between the Imperials and Dwarves.
The Four Colonies, as they came to be called, are the frontier of Ton'keena expansion. All of these realms are small and at least nominally colonies of another, bigger realm, usually Catharian realms. Most of this land remains untamed and Elven ruins and old, sunken shrines dot the land. The wild Ton'keena tribes that inhabit the land further constantly harass the colonists, too, as they claim the Colonists destroyed most of their holy shrines, usually based around the Elven ruins.
To whomever can brave the outlandish weather and the dangers caused by the natives and the wildlife alike, life in the Colonies is also one of freedom. Colonies tend to decide their own fate and morals are relaxed compared to the rigid customs of some of the home nations. The Church of the Iron Maiden has also gained a serious foothold in these Colonies, which worries the Chantry colonists that made contact with the native Kami of the area.
Wild Mainland : Dwarven Holds
The southern areas of the Wild Mainland are split in two Dwarven coalitions totaling together more than two hundred Fortresses.. These are the ancestral homelands of the Dwarves and the Halflings, who live in symbiotic societies : the Dwarves protect the surface and exploit the rich land below, while the Halflings inhabit the surface and take care of it, growing crops and building small villages. The eastern part belongs to the (confusingly) Western Dwarven Coalition, while the southern area is held by the Jade Empire coalition, led by a High Thane - today, Brena Firebeard.
These mountains are unforgiving to whomever is not well prepared, for ravines and harsh winds are the natural defences of the Dwarves and Halflings that live within. Increasingly, Kitsune and some Ton'keena are welcomed into the Dwarven lands, especially as these races prove invaluable in fending off the fiendish Drow. The War of the Great Hammer that nearly destroyed the Jade Empire coalition at the hand of the merciless Drow was only won after the Kitsune joined forces with the Dwarves and used magic - a concept nearly unknown to most Dwarves.
The Fortresses of the Wild Mainland are crude and practical in design, and far more fortified than the Dwarven holds in Daaria, for even on the surface danger is omnipresent. The local, semi-sentient Ogres and Trolls love to harass the Dwarves and especially Haflings, and Drow slaver parties also conduct night raids on some of the outlying holds. Allowing Ton'keena to live on the surface is not just a display of friendship following centuries of distrust, especially for the Jade Empire, more prone to Drow attacks : indeed, Ton'keena are excellent surface fighters who will protect their towns far better than the Dwarvers or Halfligns ever would.
Wild Mainland : Uncharted Wilderness
The aforementioned areas of the Wild Mainland make up for a tiny fraction. In fact, most of its interior has never been fully explored. It is mostly a mix of impassible mountains and disease-ridden jungles, where the strangest wildlife can be found alongside savege, barbarian Ton'keena tribes whose warriors, attuned to an endless war with the Drow, dedicate themselves to a lifetime of pillaging and looting. There are 57 known tribes of Ton'keena - and that's just the tribes which have direct contact with the Dwarves or the Four Colonies.
Because it is such a hostile and unknown landmass, the interior of the Wild Mainland generates both little commercial interest and wild mass-guessing speculation fueling the nightmarish tales and bedtime stories of gneerations of Ton'keena children. It is not without reason. Beyond the wildlife and the native barbarians, the fallen remnants of the once proud and fair Elven race, the infamous Drow, live deep in caves and cities underground. They have laid out intricate traps on the surface and are known for their raiding parties that enslave any sentient creature that is not Drow.
The Uncharted Wilderness is, all in all, one of the most hostile places in the known world. Very few adventurers venture forth into the Wilderness and survive to tell the tale.
The Ragondan Mainland
Also known as the Great Dark Beyond, the Ragondan Mainland is a landmass to the north-east of Heibesu and the homeland of the fox-folk Kitsune. However, most of what is known - its great magical cities, its ethereal woods, and its mystical wildlife - belong in the past.