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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9759868" data-attributes="member: 6750502">Chapter 4: Geography of Fallen Ansalon, Part 1 <img src="https://i.imgur.com/L3bHoD3.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Picture taken from the Legends of the Twins sourcebook.Abanasinia: The corruption and dissolution of the Seeker faith. The Red Dragonarmy invasion and genocide of many Plainsmen tribes. And now, the death of the gods. Abanasinia is a land that has suffered great turmoil in rapid succession, yet many continue to look at it as a bastion of hope. Partly for it long being a haven for immigrants across the continent wishing to start a new life, and partly for it being the place where the prophets Goldmoon and Elistan brought knowledge of the true gods back to the world. But the many crises are stretching society to the breaking point: sprawling refugee camps grow day by day outside cities, starving families pick through razed plains and ashen forests for anything edible, and more and more would-be adventurers embark for the flooded ruins of Xak Tsaroth to find some miraculous treasure or artifact, never to return.Tika Waylan still lives in Solace. While still bearing the skills and training of those who saved Ansalon from the Dark Queen, she has her hands full in keeping the town safe from Raistlinites and other dangers. The City of Haven, its Seeker leadership recently dissolved, sees a rapid turnover of leaders, who are quickly replaced by their opportunistic peers when they're unable to deliver on impossible promises. The town of Ankatavaka serves as a port of entry for the Raistlinite cult, its local culture having long been used to the development and discarding of religious traditions when convenient. The town of New Ports, on the other hand, has proven to be the most resilient settlement against contemporary dangers. Its guildmasters pool resources to keep trade routes open and safe, while also making deals with the Qualinesti diaspora and Thorbardin dwarves to lend each other their armies for repelling outside threats. The Armies of Reorx rely on New Ports for travel north of their mountain kingdom.Balifor: One of the first lands to fall to the Dragonarmies, Balifor's traditional decentralized politics and rough climate served its people well in looking out for themselves. Flotsam and Port Balifor are pirate havens, who find their numbers swelling with desperate people willing to kill for survival, while the tribes of the plains and deserts attempt to remain one step ahead of rampaging magestorms. Its kender populace found unusual acceptance recently, earning goodwill by helping foreign refugees find safe routes through hostile climates. The Window to the Stars, an ancient mystical plateau, is long said to be a place where one can commune with the gods, and Ansalon's faithful of both living and fallen deities travel here. Not just to receive guidance from their patrons, but how they may aid them in their battle against Raistlin.Blöde: One of Ansalon's two ogre-majority nations, Blöde's feudal structure all but disintegrated with the defeat of the Dragonarmies and death of Takhisis. As one of her most devout worshipers, many ogre rulers found themselves robbed of the Dark Queen's divine gifts and the material backing of the Dragon Empire. King Vogar Stoneshaker of Blöten was ousted by the usurper Rishen Bloodtooth, while the human baronies of Langtree and Blödehelm used the opportunity to break off from ogrish influence and conduct their own land-grabs of prized territory. Less known but no less sinister, former worshipers of Takhisis are gathering in the ruins of Takar. Not only is it believed to be the place where the Dark Queen first created ogres, it also holds some mysterious, evil force. The worshipers are hoping that their goddess holds a secret weapon capable of slaying the Magegod. Even if their theory's right, what price must be paid for its awakening?<img src="https://i.imgur.com/1uM0adx.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 406px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4XybL2" target="_blank">Minotaur-Underwater Charge by Elenea "Greenedera" Zambelli</a>Blood Sea Isles: From foggy Mitos to the tightly-populated yet barren Saifhum, the Blood Sea Isles is a region whose very foundation reminds its people of the terrible power of the gods. One need only look at the crimson currents of the Maelstrom stretching farther than the eye can see, a metaphorical reminder of the blood that was shed as a fiery mountain fell upon Istar and rent the land asunder.Now that the tables have turned and the gods are being hunted and slain by Raistlin, many islanders cannot help but find a sense of poetic justice in the situation, even if they are themselves worshipers. While many fear the loss of divine magic, magestorms, and falling pieces of moon, there is less a sense of existential panic, for Saifhumders and minotaurs alike recall their ancestors proclaiming similar apocalyptic visions during the start of the 4th Age. Also helping are the minotaur's Glory Voyages, which even the humans find inspiring in a valiantly doomed way.Social collapse and disruption of trade routes created a famine on the Island of Saifhum, whose own natural resources have been exploited to extinction long ago. Piracy has become more openly acceptable, with former merchant crews and explorers raiding mainland ports they once treated as homes away from home. Physical isolation combined with small populations resulted in entire villages and towns vanishing. Their souls persist as spectral apparitions, their fading hands seeking to fill the hunger in their souls. Many Moonfallen shards find themselves in the Blood Sea, floating atop the waves as otherworldly environments or sinking deep into the depths to trouble the Dargonesti Elves living in the ruins of old Istar.Dragon Isles: With access to their own unique magic, the metallic dragon clans have shielded their archipelago from the worst effects of the Magegod. But its inhabitants, dragon and non-dragon alike, know that they won't be safe forever, and there is great debate on how to make the most of their time left on Krynn. With many metallic dragons still undoing the damage on Ansalon wrought by the War of the Lance, the Isles are a lonelier place. The capital city of Auralastican is an eerie, half-empty metropolis full of dusty stores and echoing manors.The Preservers and their huldrefolk allies managed to gain access to the Dragon Isles via ancient pyramids built by the fey since before even the time of dragons. This motley assortment of treasure hunters and scholars believe that the land can be used as a safe haven from the apocalypse, but they're unsure as to how the dragons will react to their uninvited presence. And the dragons, for that matter, are vaguely aware of intruders. If misunderstandings are not cleared up, tragedy between two well-meaning groups is sure to occur.Estwilde: With its sedentary cities ruled by autonomous warlords and its rural regions made up of equally-independent nomadic tribes, Estwilde was never a truly united realm. Not even with the arrival of the Dragonarmies. The dissolution of the latter group has made Estwilde more isolated than ever before, with precious few people heading into its desolate marshes and valleys if they can help it. The Lor-Tai have been the hardest hit. Between their multitude of taboos for everyday activities and overall good nature, they found it hardest to adjust to the new cataclysm afflicting Krynn. The Mountain nomads and Lahutians exploited this to take many of their people and their lands, with towns and cities in central Ansalon filled with newly captured Lor-Tai slaves.Of interest to Probability Futurists and scholars of the Final Volume is the divinatory tradition of Calantina, a dice game with its origins among worshipers of Gilean. Seers with the proper training could find meaning in their results, and with Gilean's return their profession experienced a notable revival. When several practitioners found that they could predict the trajectory of magestorms, they became a valued asset to anyone in the know…including Raistlinites and other foul folk.Estwilde is one of the realms that will be entirely covered by Nightlund. Able to remain beneath the swampwater without risk of disease or drowning, undead ambush and surround entire villages and towns, eventually killing off most of the region's people.Goodlund: Natural and political turmoil forced the already-low numbers of nomadic humans, centaurs, and Kagonesti elves on the Goodlund peninsula to emigrate further west. Groups of sligs, gnolls, and goblins expanded from the Laughing Lands, fighting the weakened tribes that remained and forced them deeper into the forests of Kendermore. The kender are the most populous and stable group, led by Kronin Thistleknot who attained much respect in defending his people against Dragonarmy incursions during the War of the Lance. The short folk have managed to hold onto much of their territory while providing aid to their nomadic neighbors. Many accepted their helping hands, although adaptation to the forested life and culture shock with kender incapable of understanding the concept of personal property has caused tension and conflict between the groups.There has been talk of reaching out to their urbanized neighbors in Flotsam and Port Balifor for trade and aid, although those cities' new pirate rulers make for untrustworthy allies. Kronin is under no delusions that they will fairly treat the people of Goodlund without some show of strength, so he's on the lookout for adventurers who can "speak softly, but carry a big staff or sword" to act as ambassadors for Kendermore.Hylo (Kenderhome): Between its geographical position, historically placid Ergothian and goblin neighbors, and an unwillingness for foreign conquerors to bear the headache of ruling over kender, the folk of Hylo have lived a rather peaceful existence for millennia. When the Cataclysm struck, the greatest dangers were from the shifts in nature, from mass floods to plagues. Sadly, Hylo bears similar trials during the twilight of the gods, where magestorms rend the plentiful forests and shards of falling moon bring dangers sealed away by the Gods of Magic all too close to its population centers. Their curiosity unabated, the kender are eager to explore their rapidly-changing homeland and beyond, oftentimes to disastrous results. Strengthened by the kender knack for tale-telling and wanderlust, neighboring humans from Ergoth and goblins from Sikket'hul heard all manner of dangerous yet lucrative resources produced from outbreaks of rogue magic. From stories of fleshy trees crying diamonds to malleable lightning that one can move with thought alone, a lot of them sound just like kender tales. But in these times, who's to say that they don't bear a hint of truth?<img src="https://i.imgur.com/CK18s7i.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 706px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zARex2" target="_blank">Winter Castle, by Kacper Szwajka</a>Icereach: Were it not for the location of one of the Dragon Orbs at Icewall Castle, much of Ansalon would've been content to write off Icereach as the utter edge of the world, where only a chilly death awaits in the frozen desolation. Besides wild animals and savage monsters, the region is home to a few thousand nomadic humans known as the Ice Folk and anthropomorphic walruses known as the thanoi, as well as a small gnomish research outpost known as Trandol. The lives of the people here have changed little since Raistlin's ascension; to hear it from the inhabitants, every day is a constant struggle for survival, and the people have long accepted many kinds of death in their harsh environment. But the Ice Folk in particular have an ace up their sleeve they are reluctant to discuss with outsiders: the winternorns, a unique discipline of wizardry to their culture that lets them gaze deep into the River of Time and see its many futures. With their guidance, the Ice Folk weathered seemingly insurmountable odds, blessed with what could only be described as momentous fortune. This most recently manifested when they happened upon the frozen corpses of a Solamnic Knight and gold dragon within a rift near Icewall Castle. Using recently-obtained pre-Cataclysm scrolls bearing divine magic to resurrect them, the Ice Folk gained a pair of powerful allies who locals refer to as the Boreal Knight and Gem Dragon, so named for the shining light that glints off the knight's armor and the shining scales of the dragon. The Knight wishes to make contact with his Solamnic brethren up north, but cannot bear to leave his protected charges for long and so requires adventurers to travel in his stead. As for the gnomes, a delegation of Probability Futurists are very interested in making contact with the winternorns as as to better chart a course for Krynn's survival, but the wizards aren't keen on sharing the secrets to their miraculous lucky streak.Kayolin (Garnet-Thax): Long maintaining an alliance with their Solamnic neighbors and favorable treatment with the Neidar clan, the dwarves of Kayolin were often perceived as the more open-minded and forward-thinking dwarven kingdom in comparison to their southern brethren of Thorbardin. This mindset encouraged them to make great changes to their society, the most recent being accepting a delegation of metallic dragons into Garnet-Thax. The kingdom is spending its vast stores of wealth to do everything in their power to counter the magestorms, Raistlinites, and engage in magical research so as to better understand and defeat the Magegod. That Krynn is fated to be destroyed in less than 2 years encouraged a work-frenzy "doomsday prepper" mentality among the dwarves, digging ever deeper into the planet in the hopes of finding more room and resources far below an increasingly-hostile surface.The most controversial move was in letting a small group of White Robe wizards to serve as a long-range communications network with Thorbardin and the Armies of Reorx via Sending spells. While the common consensus is that "no self-respecting dwarf" would become a wizard, they were fine with securing the labor of other races to use magic on their behalf. And the metallic dragon delegation has their own magical talents unknown even to the wizards, providing another valuable boon to Kayolin. While such a gathering of powerful and talented individuals might make the kingdom look to be a beacon of safety, the peoples' obsessive determination in working towards avenging their god leaves no room for anyone unwilling to make great sacrifices or merely wishes to survive. Refugees are expected to pull their weight and then some, and those unable or unwilling to do so are forcefully exiled.Kern: Its decaying cities supported by slave labor and its dusty savannahs poor in resources, much of Kern became unlivable when magestorms swept across the region. Slaves with nothing to lose rebelled against their ogre masters and escaped, and those on the losing end were cannibalized by starving ogres. The majority of survivors fled to neighboring lands, with only small families and scavengers eking out a desperate existence in empty streets and weed-choked farmsteads. Cults of Morgion and Chemosh made great inroads here, offering reprieve through unholy pacts. Unwilling to share power, the cultists clash over control of the temples in the capital city of Kernen. Morgion's forces are made up of druids, living mutated monstrosities brimming with disease, and parasites that can hijack the bodies of victims. Chemosh's forces are made up of conventional zombies, wights, and ghostly shades.Kharolis: A rugged, cold land that sits at the crossroads of more prosperous city-states and kingdoms, the people of Kharolis are famed for the saying that they're "no stranger to strangeness," but don't have much patience for when said strangeness gets disruptive. Traditionally, its people have long dealt with goblins, ogres, and thanoi attacks, but the arrival of Raistlinites presented a new threat to which they are ill-prepared. The monstrous humanoids might be wicked and violent, but they are opportunistic enough to weigh risky ventures and know when to retreat rather than committing to sunk costs. The Raistlinites, on the other hand, view their cause as righteous and believe that the death and destruction they spread is but a favor. Furthermore, many believe that they will be eventually revived by a lightstorm should they die in battle. The otherwise-independent Kharolians were forced to rely on outside aid from Thorbardin and the Wizards of High Sorcery for the survival of their communities. Adding to the dangers, recent magestorms wiped out precious farmland that was only just enough to weather the harsh winters.Khur: A devout yet divided people, the desert tribes of southeast Ansalon celebrated the fall of the occupying Green Dragonarmy, with only the reigning Khur tribe despairing this turn of events on account of their status as collaborators. The other tribes eagerly took their revenge, pushing them out of the city of Khuri-Khan and resulting in their displacement to the Balifor and the Khalkist Mountains.As their people believed that the departure of the gods during the Cataclysm were merely false gods of a foreign Istar, the people of Khur are hard-pressed to believe that their gods are actually being slain. Many interpret the Hourglass in the sky and magical disasters as a war in the heavens between the forces of evil and good, with the forces of darkness engaged in their last death throes after the destruction of the more earthly Dragonarmies. But the religious organizations, such as the Daughters of Elir-Sana and the Seers of Delphon, know the far worse truth, and that their time on Krynn is limited. The Daughters work to provide aid and shelter to displaced tribes, while the Seers of Delphon hire adventurers to counteract the worst effects of the Final Volume, such as locating Moonfallen sightings to defeat any escaping monsters. The Soul Traders, a cult of Chemosh, is the most dangerous of the groups, who offer the "gift" of undeath to those stranded and dying in the deserts and badlands.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/gbwjeD9.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 703px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/1x8mEG" target="_blank">Marshal Wolfram, Druid Sheriff by Dmitry Brushray</a>Lemish: A kingdom of contradictions, the land of Lemish broke off from Solamnia after the latter country placed limits on feudal power during Vinus Solamnus' reign. The Lemishite nobles long resented the many wars that followed, which made its people wary of larger foreign powers despite their own government being tyrannical. While they allied with the Dragonarmies in hopes of making the Solamnics suffer, their defeat, combined with the further discord from Raistlin's deicide, resulted in widespread instability. Instability that Lemish' reigning nobles and thieves' guilds were unable to control, and thus were quashed in a bloody civil war. Now, the Lemishites embrace a more authentic freedom, but even so it is still a self-serving kind, where individual towns and lands are now fending for themselves without the oversight of their former rulers. Lord Tyrian, the former ruler of the capital city, has gone into hiding, and it's rumored that one of the so-called "revolutionaries" bears his tell-tale cackle. Could the former dictator be walking amidst the people in a new form?Many refugees fleeing the cities ventured into Lemish's many forests. Oddly enough, the fey of the Darkwoods chose to accept many of them, provided that they abide by the strange laws of a mysterious entity known as Lord Wilderness. Aided by sorcerous magic and druids, more and more people are throwing their lot in with this archfey, and satyr and nymph emissaries have been seen visiting as far as Fangoth and Elmwood to offer the people a new way. But time is not on their side, for Nightlund's expanding influence will soon encompass all of Lemish by early 358 AC, leaving its forests and plains flooded with the undead.</blockquote>

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