FrivYeti/BagrashEast
Back to the Age of Bagrash Kol
Contents
The East: A Fractured Land
Caught between powers, the East is a land filled with opportunity and with danger. The Confederacy of Rivers stands across the Scavenger Lands, unwilling to bow down to either the Realm or to Bagrash Kol, but the Northeast is pulled between the two nations, and the Realm's tributaries across the region find attention focusing on them as Kol courts them and the Realm alternates bribes and threats. The Guild sends operations on Kol's behalf, undermining entire regions, and the Lunar Exalted take advantage of the chaos to found nations and armies. Sixty million people face the threat of disaster, and time will tell how they respond.
The Scavenger Lands
Anchored between the mighty nations of Lookshy, Thorns and Sijan, the members of the Confederacy of Rivers are stalwart in their desire for autonomy, free from autocratic rulers from any nation. Made up mainly of a few dozen minor nations, survivors of the terrible wars that followed the Contagion and of the hard life they've had since, the Scavenger Lands hold a population of over forty million people, the majority of the population of the East at this time. They also hold many of the gods and Exalts of the East, willing to do anything to defend their peoples.
All is not well in the Scavenger Lands, however. Agreements struck long ago with the Guild have been turned against them, as the Guild tries to use economic pressure against the alliance to force them to side with Bagrash Kol, and they are bordered in several locations by the mysterious and territorial ghosts known as 'Deathlords' - the Princess Magnificent, the Dowager, the Walker and the Mask all claim shadowlands scattered throughout the region, and react with varying degrees of hostility to those who dare enter them. The Realm watches the Confederacy for signs of weakness even now, and the member-states bicker with each other and are open to corruption. It remains to be seen if the Scavenger Lands can survive the pressure being placed on them.
The Borders of the Inland Sea
Although much of the Inland Sea belongs to the Confederacy, there are still some nations that owe allegiance to the Realm - in particular, the city of Port Calin is fiercely loyal to the Empress, and her privateers sometimes scuffle with trade ships from the Guild or the Confederacy. Port Calin is the standing point around which the other nations rally, and a total of over four million people in eleven nations on the shoreline consider themselves satrapies of the Realm. Recently, however, these satrapies have suffered greatly, and may yet fall as the Guild cuts off Realm trade in the name of the Sorcerer King.
The Northeast
To the north, the land is split mainly between the Realm and Kol, as the Sorcerer King extends his reach from the North downwards. The Realm has claimed the great nations of Greyfalls and of Linowan, while Kol dominates the nation of Arosh and spreads his influence through the barbarian tribes of the East. As of yet, the forest-nation of Halta remains neutral, taking advantage of the Realm's distraction to win much-needed reprieves from Linowan assaults, but with Kol promising greatness and threatening destruction, they may soon have to pick a path.
The Northeast is also the centre of the Guild's operations. Based out of the mighty nation of Arosh, on the northern borders of the Confederacy, the Guild has been growing in power and influence for the past seventy-five years, since their foundation, and has used much of their power to split small satrapies away from the Realm in order to increase their own economic influence. In the past thirty years, however, the Guild has fallen under the sway of Bagrash Kol. With their headquarters within easy striking distance of his forces, and much of their power inextricably linked to his, they will rise or fall based on his nation - and they are well aware of this fact. The Guild is one of Kol's most powerful weapons.
The Southeast
The Southeast is a much quieter land, where simple survival takes precedence over international politics. From the reclusive land of Chaya to the small kingdoms that surround the Lost Cities - Denedsor, Speriman, and Rathess - life is hard in the jungles and on their edges. Beastmen and Fair Folk still stalk the land, and ancient Lunar monsters have taken up residence in the area in the centuries since the Contagion - in particular, the two elders known as Ma-Ha-Suichi and Raksi define the prevaling attitudes of any other Lunars found in the Southeast. Ultimately, there are no great nations in the Southeast, and what resources there are would require extensive work to take advantage of. For now, the Realm and the Sorcerer King alike keep their attention elsewhere.
