Country Names: Castellar 36

Cultural Names: Lucida Calligraphy 72

City Names: Monotype Corsiva 12

Cultures

Lothingren
Capital: Jeburg is the generally accepted leader of Lothingreni culture
Noted for: fishing, mining, bardic colleges, the finest axes, the finest mead; monster
knowledge

The Lothingreni are renowned as strong, large-framed,

and loyal to a fault. Despite being seafarers since ancient
times, they do not trust the deeper waters of the world
due to a wide range of superstitions and old tales.
Lothingreni tend to be human, but some dwarven and
even half-orc lines have deep ties to the region as well.
Many of the greatest bards, poets, and skalds either hail
from or were trained in the chill, fogbound Lothingreni
lands.

At the height of the Cantabrine Republic, Lothingreni

warriors formed the backbone of Republican armies, but
their long-time treatment as mere second class “citizens”
of the Republic caused them to revolt, secede, and
isolate themselves from their former masters. However,
this didn't isolate them from the monsters that are rooted
in their lands. Any number of menaces can be found in
Durbach and Wodereich itself, and Lothingren warriors
regularly venture into the world at large to combat
menaces abroad as well in the hopes of earning their spot
in the Halls of Amber, the goal of all worthy warriors.
This wide-ranging knowledge has been passed down as
bardic tales that even the lowest Lothingren pauper child has likely heard at least once.
Thrasea
Capital: None (ostensibly Cantabria, as the center of the Church of Life and Light, but there is
no accepted political capital among the fractured competing powers of the area)
Noted for: races and other athletic competitions, wine, raw minerals, aquaculture, oratory;
religious adherence, martial discipline

In centuries past, Thrasea was the most powerful and widespread

power on Kiada. However, they have fallen far from their
imperial aspirations of an age ago. The ancient Cantabrine
Republic was advanced in the ways of architecture, art, music,
and philosophy. The culture itself has largely crossed the
normally strong boundaries between species, and dwarves, elves,
men, and many others all claim Thrasean descent across a half-
dozen states of varying size and influence.

As a whole, Thraseans value three things: the gods, glory, and physical and social exceptionalism. They
love athletic pursuits, and are very fond of their kirkuses, conventions held quad-annually, always in a
different location, where athletes from all the many rival states come together for several weeks of
spectacle and competition. Glory, one of the intangible “currencies” of the realm which Thraseans
consider to be of extreme importance to their personal standing, is gained during kirkuses not only by
the hosting city, but also by individuals based on their placements within events.

Glory can be gained in any number of other ways, of course.

Through martial valor and a military command, through the
discovery of some new or lost ancient bit of knowledge or magic,
even something as deceptively simple as properly serving the
gods (now largely saints of the Church of Life and Light, but that
is a topic too broad for this overview). While it has never been
codified (and indeed the Church at one time tried to ban the idea
itself), glory is a largely informal way of basically comparing
oneself to one's peers. Some even think that it affects how well
one is placed in the afterlife.

While unified under a single (admittedly expansive) church, unified during kirkuses, and unified in
their love of public activities in general, they are a fractured people. There is always a war going on
between individual states (and sometimes between leaders within the same state), so martial discipline
is a highly prized commodity. Soldiers may be killing their rivals from a state one season, only to be
allied with them the next and fighting a third party. Shockingly, this constant tangle of shifting
allegiances has not led to an underhanded culture, largely due to the nigh-legendary Thrasean
forthrightness. There are few things more damaging to a person's glory than to be caught in subterfuge.
Aetos
Capital: Vatosia
Noted for: technology and clockwork artifice, druidry, philosophy, lumber, paper; creativity,
rigid social hierarchy

An utterly dualistic and contradictory

culture, new and growing, which has carved
out a foothold in the wild and untamed
spaces on the southern end of Kiada.
Humanocentric and having come from
“across the sea” near the beginning of the
current age, the Aetosians are renowned for
their scientific and philosophic endeavors,
their seagoing prowess, and their
stewardship of the natural world.

A sizable population of gnomes and minotaurs ascribe

themselves to this culture, although they are not
considered “citizens” of Aetos properly, and are
considered more akin to indentured servants who owe
the “true” Aetosians for the knowledge and science that
they've been bestowed. Paradoxically, given the
Aetosian predilection for technology's cutting edge,
many druids travel here to study and learn from the
masters of several circles.

The Aetosians share few similarities with the humans on either continent, leading many to think that
there is a third major continent in the world. One of the the most drastic departures from the more
mainstream continental beliefs is the widespread atheism present amongst the Aetosian human
population. The underclasses tend to maintain some semblance of their old belief systems even now,
however, and the Aetosian rulers seem to be in no hurry to challenge them.
Kalindi
Capital: Angara
Noted for: banking, animal husbandry, ranging, public gardens, grand structures; ancient
wealth, magocracy

Kalindi is home to an ancient and proud culture (some would say

overly so on both accounts), highly efficient, bureaucratic, and
more than a bit stodgy, where a comparatively recent cultural
schism has split the formerly unified culture along a small but
widening fissure. The Dromalans retain the older ways and pride
themselves on being traditionalist lords of the grasslands. They
retain most of the high positions within the bureaucratic
magocracy, and with their powerful firion-riders and large
standing army, much of the real power still resides with them.
Meanwhile, the Iamala have begun following the more Aetosian
belief that “science is the one true god” and use it to expand their
influence into other domains such as banking and trade.

There is great history within Kalindi, and ancient epics tell of

earth-shaking warriors and titanic battles, but by all accounts the
glory days of Kalindi are long behind her and the culture as a
whole is shockingly pacifistic. A non-expansionist imperial
power, they have outlasted everything around them, but are
slowly crumbling from the inside as the Aetosian influence has
challenged all of the old ways, and the old ways are too arrogant
and hedonistic to put up much of a fight. Theirs is a factional land, split mostly along old guard, new
blood, and those who speak of reconciliation and compromise between the two.
Henkan
Capital: Akatsume, seat of the Shogunate of Henkan
Noted for: tea, poetry, the finest swords, furs, massive animals; respectful stoicism,
hospitality

A warrior culture, rich in honor, history, and martial tradition. Rinryou (EEN-you-oh), nearly without
exception, prize honor above all. First practiced by the dragonborn monk Aso Noritsu, the predominant
religious path that has spread throughout Rinryou lands is bukkyou (BOO-key-yo), an art based heavily
in meditation, contemplation, and the veneration of ones ancestors. The cold lands that gave rise to this
culture can be harsh and unforgiving, so the expectation of hospitality runs as deeply as the loyalty to
one's clan.
Khadagan
Capital: Vatosia
Noted for: t

– A Mongolian culture, nomadic, hard, warlike. The culture had its genesis on the Taragai Steppe and
has spread a considerable distance since then both north and south. Relatively recently, however, some
of the ancestral lands of the Khadagan have turned their backs on the nomadic ways of their ancestors
and embraced the ways of Rinryou. The current Grand Khadag is a mighty centaur warrioress named
Xanthacora.
Totakum
Capital: Vatosia
Noted for: t

– a brutal land breeds a brutal culture, and the Totakumi culture is no exception. The southern jungles
are hot, oppressive, and filled with dangerous predators, and it has bled over into the culture of the
small-statured humanoids that inhabit the area. They practice ritual sacrifices, slavery, and other brutal
practices (it is rumored). The Totakumi may be a vicious and warlike culture, and many of the rumors
are true, but beneath them beats the vibrant soul of a dynamic people, fond of art, dance, spiritualism,
science, and mathematics. They are ruled by kings who are seen as living embodiments of a god, a non-
hereditary position.
Ameera
Capital: The Sultanate of Nasirpal in Basha Nataq, and the Sultanate of Amersis Khati in
Najan are both vital to Ameeran culture
Noted for: mathematics, history, spices, magical conveyances, mercenaries; knowledgeable,
cunning

The Ameeran culture revolves around trade, wealth, knowledge, and travel. Culturally curious and
inquisitive, some of the greatest libraries in the known world are curated by Ameeran librarians. A wide
array of sentient beings call the deserts and mountains of Ameera home, including the powerful
crocodilian Subek and the nomadic shapeshifting
Nkosi.
Amandi
Capital: Hugue is the center of true political power, although Leamonde is the largest and
most well-known city
Noted for: livestock, dairy products, fashion, textiles, arcane magic; feudalism,
subterfuge

Despite living in the shadows of their former power and subscribing to a surprisingly open form of
feudalism, the lands of Amandi are extremely cosmopolitan and diverse. People from all over the world
can be found here in some capacity or other.

A terrible accident destroyed the ancient capital city of INSERTNAMEHEREBITCH, collapsing the
central government practically overnight and indirectly (through the apparent loss of the gods) allowing
swarms of extradimensional and extraplanar entities to enter the world, forever changing history. The
architecture of the ancient Amandine is undeniably Gothic in style, although modern architecture leans
away from such grandeur (some would say it has regressed).
Former “Great” Civilizations
On the Continent of Kiada

The Cantabrine Republic – The most recent grand civilization to emerge in the world (and to collapse,
for that matter), the Republic had spread to cover everything north of Kalindi. Using their connection to
divine magic and the fortuitous discovery of the Reivond Paths to allow shockingly fast transit across
the forbidding Hrallr Mountains. While they were absurdly powerful for a time, the sudden and
complete loss of their divine magical connections brought about a precipitous decline in their influence.
The Republic managed to maintain more localized power on the western half of their former domain,
but the lands to the east were officially and forever lost to them after the Flight of the Gods, as their
Lothingreni thralls revolted and closed their ends of the Reivond Paths. Their dwindling power
managed to keep their remaining borders secure for nearly a century before internal pressures and
external invasions brought about the final dismantling of the Republic. Cantabria itself continues on, a
pale imitation of its former power and influence, a whitestone spectacle of a bygone age. That being
said, their religion is still the dominant faith on the continent, and with rumors of divine magic
returning to the world, perhaps the Holy See will once again look outward?

Mormegain Dominion – Named for the Shadow Blade Sovereign, whose true name has been lost to
the mists of time, the Dominion rose and fell several millennia ago on Kiada. Only a handful of
artifacts have ever been discovered from this time period, but their power is prodigious, and evident of
highly advanced alchemical, magical, and forging processes. Although the Cantabrine Republic claims
the Reivond Paths as their own creation, some believe (correctly, as it turns out) that these mountain
miracles are far older and sturdier than anything the Cantabrines could take credit for.

On the Continent of Grimire

The Great and Voluminous Amandine Empire – Relatively recent, at least compared to several other
entries on this list, the GVAE rose to prominence in the northernmost borderlands of the current
Kingdom of Lorard. While they expanded greatly, eventually encompassing over a third of the entire
continent, their hubris led to not only their downfall, but the Flight of the Gods, which was responsible
for the loss of nearly (if not) all magic of a divine nature. The disaster which caused the Flight also
turned the area surrounding the old capital into a wind-whipped desolation full of wild mana and wilder
stories, a true no-man's-land.