The Soulfrost Expanse

As any knowledgeable arcanist or druid will tell you, the geographic position of the Soulfrost Expanse should make it a temperate, if quite mountainous, biome. However, it is plain to see that this is not the case. In the heart of the Kyrr Mountains, which once were as green as the Daebol plains, slumbers the Greatwyrm Yharel, Wielder of Stasis, anathema to life. His terrible icy might is what keeps the region entombed in permafrost, and when he awakens to take flight, the infamous death frost follows the path of its frozen wings.

The Ichorous Peninsula

Beyond the swamps of Rhunia, to the south of Amanis, stands a great wall called the Blackstone. It cuts Iskendar off from the darkness beyond, an eldritch corruption that fell upon the material plane like a scourge and never left. At the center of the once green marshes, a pool of black ink continuously spawns terrible aberrations that have turned the peninsula into one of the most dangerous regions in Eos. It is a grave, more than anything; the only settlement that remains amidst the mistlands is Harspire, the wall-city, manning the Blackstone and protecting Rhunia from the madness beyond.

Nim, Our Lady of Crows

Nim is a gloomy, gothic settlement of great importance, second only to Aurel, the capital. In the times of Catherine the Arcane, Iskendar’s greatest ruler, Nim was the seat of the heiress to the throne, Princess Aurora. In the present day, the port-city has not had a conventional ruler for over four hundred years, ever since Aurora fell into cursed slumber after suffering an unknowable maledict. Curses are what Nim is known for, nowadays, as magical plagues of every kind have fallen upon its resilient, zealous populace. There remains naught but a fickle hope, and yet they endure…

Yungar, the Wild

The sun-kissed steppes of Yungar are the first major region of the Rippling East; a nation of spirits, divine dragons, and millenary tradition. Yungar is the largest of the three lands that comprise the fabled Rippling East, an inhospitable expanse of tall mesas and roaming barbarians, where might makes right. The culture of the Yungari is based almost purely on strength and camaraderie, with the former being the path to the latter. The Divine Dragon Fulgurai rules these unforgiving lands with great disinterest, and thus only Fulguraat, the capital, has any semblance of grace and regalness. 

Daxin, the Illustrious

In stark contrast to Yungar, Daxin, is a lush and vibrant mountain range, forked by the famous Soul River and its thousand streams, and endowed with spiritual and elemental energies. Great treaties of philosophy, science and battle come from Daxin, a nation with a noticeable inclination towards the scholarly arts–and of course, warfare. Acusp countless mountains, entire towns are occasionally swallowed by the wandering clouds–when they reappear, their inhabitants are suddenly endowed with watery elemental powers. Miles below , within the impossibly thick forests, lie the blackpowder mines, where warlords known as daimyo fight for dominance.

Asiore, the Crimson Isle

Asiore, the realm of the late dragon Vazan, is the most traditional of the three kingdoms ruled by the Leung Dynasts, shielded from modernization by its towering topology and the frenetic zeal of its inhabitants. The people of Asiore teach that strength is the opposite of emotion, and that the Yokai, demons of emotion that pose an existential threat to the whole of Satokai, thrive on the weakness that has taken civilization. To endure and silence bouts of passion, whatever their source may be, is the mark of a virtuous individual, to these sullen people.

Mount Ferrus

The steel mountains of Northern Amanis have a long and complex history, having been the seat of the infamous Storm King Ferrus. The giants enslaved the many mortal races of Western Amanis during the early Third Age, and reigned with an iron fist for long and painful centuries. It took half a millennia for the giants to be defeated by Camadar, and from that legendary realm, many successor kingdoms were formed, including Iskendar. The least heroic part of that tale is the fate that befell the defeated giants: mass liquidation. A few isolated communities of them still endure here, among the ruins.

The Molten Crucible

In antiquity, the Molten Crucible was the home of a now near-mythological civilization: the Teng. These primordial humanoids were the greatest mortal race in the history of the Universe, developing and perfecting arcane technologies that have been thrice forgotten and conquering the stars beyond the material plane. It was a complex combination of tragedy, arrogance and sabotage that spelled its doom, and now it is inhabited by fiery elementals and covetous devils, locked in permanent war above the ancient vestiges of greatness.

Bazandi

The land beneath the Molten Crucible and to the southeast of the world is called Bazandi, and it is mostly uninhabited. The only true power that resides in the region comes from the Caliphate, a human civilization that split off from the Sunblessed Alliance long ago, and now rules the Qalbian rivers, the only fertile land in the whole region, with an iron grip. The rest of Bazandi extends far beyond into the second circle and is home to rapturous creatures and roaming bands of barbarians, kept at bay by the shattered mesas that dot most of the landscape.

The Rhazaali Jungles

To the south, the thick Rhazaali Jungles defy the draught of the desertic lands that surround them. Many have tried to explain this phenomenon: strange paths taken by celestial bodies, the insulation provided by surrounding mountains, the winds coming from the unknowable center of Eos… In truth, a shard of divinity is behind this geographic puzzle: a shard of Pashama–the dead Goddess of Nature–is entombed at its center, and from it sprouted the building blocks of a jungle. Here also lies the home of the Rhazaali, reptilian humanoids after which the region is named. The city-state of Rhazataz is their sole major settlement, and they are known for their cunning battle tactics and intricate craftsmanship. Wood from this region is highly prized, as nowhere else will you find a material so well suited to the crafting of magical wands.

The Canyon of Grief

Beneath the dense jungles of the Rhazaali, a mysterious mountain range hides the divine secrets of a long-lost goddess. Guarded by the Divine Lions of the South, who are scattered all over Kahar, the Tomb of Sekhmet lies somewhere within the Canyon of Grief. The beastly goddess of strife once ruled over the entirety of the southern continent, along with her spouse, the cat-goddess of luck, Bastet. Together, they accrued a great bounty of legendary artifacts, said to be sealed within seven otherworldly vaults called the Troves of Bastet. Here, in the Canyon of Grief, lies the first of them. Only the greatest of adventurers can traverse the treacherous divine mountains and reach the Tomb’s storied gates. Will you be up to the task? 

The Exalted Savanna

Beneath the civilized lands of the Divine Lion Nemeq lies the hunting grounds of his treacherous brother, Apedemak. The Exalted Savanna is a wild land where gargantuan beasts of all types fight for dominance under the watchful eyes of the glorious and tyrannical lion. Villages and settlements thrive only through the protection of the mighty City-State of Uru, to the north, at great cost to their autonomy, and war always rages on at the borders of the Sunblessed Alliance, for Apedemak will never rest while his golden brother still breathes. The creatures that roam this great region had to adapt over thousands of years of sharing a turf with the Divine children of Sekhmet and Bastet, making for titanic monsters capable of facing demigods.

Uru, the City of Gold

The greatest city in all of the material plane is Uru, the City of Gold, ruled over by Nemeq, the Sunblessed. This Divine Lion is the child of two feline goddesses, and along with his brothers, rules the great southern continent of Kahar. Uru is considered to be the center of a great Empire; the Sunblessed Alliance, a dominion that counts thousands of settlements all across the world, promising protection in exchange for trade. Though Nemeq’s word is absolute, a great Senate advises him, formed by representatives of each of the many regions that joined this coalition. This makes Uru and its surroundings a very attractive region for settlers and merchants alike, providing the unity and stability that can water small realms into great empires.

Daebol, the Greenlands

To the northwest of the First Circle stands Daebol, a nation of green pastures, rounded hills, and highlands stretching as far as the eye can see. Only its easternmost shore lies within the First Circle, with the rest of it bridging the uncounted miles toward wilder peripheries. The illustrious Camran stands unbroken in Daebol–the oldest human city in the west–founded by refugees that fled the tyranny of Storm King Ferrus. Nowadays, the youthful settlement known as Port Kleia has surpassed it in importance, serving as the final stop for many who would brave the Western Ocean seeking the Second Circle.

The Golden Gulf

To the southwest of Kahar, where the divine waters touch the sea, the Golden Gulf is a testament to the prosperity of mankind. Under the banner of the Sunblessed Alliance, and closely monitored by the city-state of Uru, two great cities have conquered the seas beyond the First Circle, all from their small islands in the Golden Gulf. First, Nuem’s Port, city of sailors and philosophers, under the direct protection of Sunblessed Nemeq. The Exarch rules over this inspirational city, a trader who once had nothing to his name, and now leads one of the most powerful navies of Eos. Then, there’s the mystical island of Irinia. What started as a refuge for elves descended from the ancient Teng has now become a powerful port, an essential part of the Sunblessed Alliance, and the reason most elves in Eos prefer to join Nemeq’s great conclave over any other realm.