MAMMOTH DOWNS

The Mammoth Downs are so named for the size of the massive downs, although some people claim that mammoths still roam the downs grazing on the scrub brush that covers their leeward side. The Mammoth Downs themselves are relatively dry, their steep sides face the Gunfirth Sea, and the cliffs there are wet and mossy, with dark gray rock. The long, gently sloping lee sides slope downward for miles, are much drier as the water is blocked by the cliffs and the tall trees that line their tops, and slowly runs downward to congregate at the base of the next down.

The Mammoth Downs are not home to a magical pocket of any kind -- they are simply relatively open areas where herds of beasts are raised by the humans (almost exclusively) that live in the area. Various clans of herders and riders live in the area, speaking dialects of a common language. They typically are rather tall, with bronzed or olive skin, and very light brown eyes. These clans, who are occasionally referred to collectively as the Downsfolk by others, do not recognize a common kinship, and are often each other's own worst enemies. They generally have little interest with other nations, being themselves relatively primitive in terms of social organization, although many traders, trappers and other individuals do make their way around the area.

They are not necessarily warlike or aggressive, but are distrustful and taciturn to strangers. Their mounted warriors are notorious and highly feared, and have on occasion served as mercenaries or irregulars in the armies of Landreth or the Graenwald, or even occasionally Valennia. The Mammoth Downs is also a source of a cottage industry of homemade goods that is actually becoming quite lucrative to the inhabitants in more settled areas -- Downsfolk carved goods, rugs, pottery, and other goods sell for high prices in Cassant and other highly civilized areas. What the Downsfolks do not have locally is any mechanological constructions, and in very recent years there has been a relatively rapid influx of many of the smaller and more transportable items, including firearms.

LANDRETH

Landreth is a strange land, famous as the home of one of the more dramatic "magical pockets" in the world. As one nears Landreth, the sky very quickly grows dark and cloudy, and the very air itself is foggy, or perhaps gritty, with a tangible darkness. After traveling little more than a mile or so into Landreth, it becomes permanently night-like over several hundred square miles. The sky is pitch black, no stars or moon or sun can be seen at all. The very air feels dark and greasy and cold, and even lights, torches, and the like seem to burn less effectively than normal (half distance illuminated is all) assuming they can be lit at all. Normal plants naturally do not grow in Landreth, but great fields and even forests of mushrooms and fungi dot the landscape, giving at least a steady of somewhat unsavory source of food to the inhabitants. Strange fungivores have also developed to feed on the mushrooms, and dangerous nocturnal predators that in turn feed on them make travel in Landreth a hazardous proposition for any but large and relatively well-armed companies.

Many of the inhabitants of Landreth are human, and there are also orcs in the area, but the most famous inhabitants are, of course, the Charissan. There is a city in Landreth, also called simply Landreth, that is the seat of charissan power and the head of the full area. Regiments from Landreth city have garrisons and wayposts throughout the area, and keep an iron grip on the populace at large. Landreth City is also a den of corruption and crooked politics the likes of which no other nation in the area can even concieve. The Shadow King, who rules the area, is unknown by name or face to both the populace and even his counterparts in the other major kingdoms of the area.

This corruption and general state of paranoia that pervades life in Landreth has led to a harsh and brutal centrally controlled government. For this reason, many native Landrethans leave Landreth if they can escape to live in freer areas such as Cassant.

GUNFIRTH SEA

One of my primary inspirations for the geography is the ancient Lake Bonneville -- a giant freshwater lake that once covered most of the state of Utah. The idea of a great freshwater sea nestled amongst the mountains appealed to me, so the Gunfirth Sea is a large freshwater lake, like Lake Bonneville was. However, living a few years near the Great Lakes has also given me another twist to it -- how about two great freshwater seas connected by a narrow strait, thus giving whatever maritime power is located directly on the strait access to premium trade routes. This economic control essentially sparks the cold war that is a consistent theme of the BLOODLINES Campaign Setting.

The Gunfirth Sea is therefore the northeasterly such body of water, a vast, dark lake infamous for its choppy waters, barren islands and cold winds. Some of its shores are notoriously unfriendly (Landreth, for example) albeit profitable for traders, while the Graenwald area is a veritable paradise.

GRAENWALD

Graenwald is another magical pocket area -- although here the magic is much more clement. The Graenwald area is famous as the most beautiful and enormous garden in the entire world. It is a place that the season's don't touch in the normal way -- fields are always covered with wildflowers, trees always have pink, white or other varicolored blossoms, the air is always warm and stirring, and there seems to almost be a hint of laughter lurking in the wind around every corner. Despite this, vinyards, grains, fruits and vegetables of all kinds -- they all grow at any time of the year, and foodstuffs is the most important export of the area. Graenwald also seems innimical to mechanology for some reason -- perhaps the abundant magic stunts the ability of mechanological constructs to work as designed, so the area is surprisingly pollution-free. It's shores are mostly hard, red cliffs, preventing easy access from the sea except at special harbor locations, and it is surrounded on land by the Lonely Maid Mountains and the Mammoth Downs, making invasion from any angle a difficult proposition at the best of times.

The Graenwald lacks any form of central government -- it is instead made up of a number of large city-states that come in many different styles and forms of government, much as classical Greece was. Humans are the main inhabitants, both of the dusky Downsfolk physical type and the shorter and fairer skinned Lonely Maid Mountains physical type. The bloodline that developed due to the magica energy is the esonir, a statuesque and comely people perfectly suited to the land that spawned them.

THE IRON CLIFFS

The Iron Cliffs are a red maze of gaping canyons cut through the rock by narrow, trickling streams, lined with green beds of trees and plants. Above the streams, the Iron Cliffs quickly turn into dusty and arid buttes and spires blasted by sun and wind. No humans are native to this area, although it is home to various tribes of orcs that live in elaborate cliffside stone and brick cities. Of course, Cassant is also on the tip of the peninsula that houses the Iron Cliffs, and almost the entire area recognizes the authority of the city-state. In more recent years, the rich iron mines of the area have been settled by natives of Cassant, and a number of mining towns have sprung up throughout the area.

In general, the natives count on the naval might of their powerful champion Cassant, and the hostile and inaccessible nature of the area itself for defense. As the peninsula approaches the very point where Cassant is located, the cliffs and canyons gradually smooth themselves down into a large plateau. Cassant itself is fairly high above the water level, except for the seedier neighborhoods and the docks, which cling to the hillside itself all the way down to the water.

LONELY MAID MOUNTAINS

The Lonely Maid Mountains, despite the fact that they are further away from the Criadoc Sea than the Iron Cliffs, are actually much less arid. They are sprinkled throughout with lakes and streams, many of which flow through Magloire to empty into the great freshwater sea. The mountains themselves are lush, covered with firs, pines, aspens, and hardy grasses. The winters are relatively harsh, though, with cold weather and several months of deep snow.

In more recent years, the Lonely Maid Mountains have been the scene of several gold and/or silver rushes. Today, there are still several operating mines, but many more ghost towns that used to be booming frontier areas. It also has a number of estates with titled nobles of Magloire and occasionally even Cassantish extraction spending their time in country isolation. In addition to the mines, the Lonely Maid Mountains are known for their wool and mutton, as well as exporting lots of coal from the more mundane and less lucrative mines.

The area is not strictly under the control of any of the main city states of the Two Seas area, but it does tend to get more attention from Magloire than any other area, in part due to proximity no doubt. It's culture is also, therefore very Magloirean in nature. It is primarily inhabitated by humans -- in fact, one of the main branches of human ethnic groups originated in this area. The people of this area were not as tall on average as some others, and had pale skin, but dark hair and eyes.

There are several competing and contradictory legends surrounding the name of the mountain range, but perhaps the most popular involves a princess of some city in the Graenwald area that fled to the mountains to avoid a marriage she wanted no part of. Perhaps the popularity of the legend is partially explained by the fact that she supposedly fled with a minor fortune, and died somewhere in the mountains, leaving the fortune to be discovered by someone. No one has ever found any such fortune, of course, and most don't seriously believe that such a princess ever existed, but occasionally cracked adventurers come into the mountains looking for it. Most, being greedy and ill-prepared come alone and turn into victims of one of the fierce predators that prowl the mountains.

Other legends are often more sinister yet -- involving a mountain maid who mated with demons and gave birth to a litter of fiendish children that are said to still haunt the peaks at times. Naturally, this has also not been corroberated by anyone trustworthy.

MAGLOIRE

Magloire is yet another magical pocket, the third of four such major areas in the Two Seas region. The magic of Magloire is more subtle; the area isn't as obviously different in climate or features as either Landreth or the Graenwald. It is somewhat striking, though -- Magloire is essentially a desert, but one that is so chock full of oases and river valleys that it is depicted on the map as a green area. The humans of the area, of course, live in these fertile river valleys, or around the lakes and oases. However, the bloodline of Magloire, the jannarin, live in the arid sands, steppes and canyons that surround the greenery. Unlike most other magical regions, the bloodline native to the area does not openly rule it, and most individuals seem to have little interest in doing so, for that matter. Three large and powerful rival city states dot the region, but the jannarin themselves only serve as traders, mercenaries and a source of news and current events as they travel the area.

The people of Magloire dress somewhat differently than most people in the area, preferring loose baggy clothing that keeps the sand and sun away from the body. They also have very strict regulations about industry in their area, as pollution of the vital waterways would spell doom to any civilizition in a matter of only a few generations at most.

The culture of Magloire is one based on regional pride -- all of the rival city states are fiercely territorial. However, this also translates into loose coalitions whenever any attempt to threaten the area comes from outside. In the past, the Magloireans have clashed militarily with Cassant, although Cassant's importance as a commercial center make it too important to keep open hostilities. Over the years, the area itself has also been relatively unstable politically -- there have been self-styled emperors who have established short-lived dynasties over the entire region at least three times in the last two hundred years. Today, at least, it is broken up into three reasonably balanced power centers, but as always, there is doubtless several plots afoot to try and unite the entire area again under one ruler.

CRIADOC SEA

Like it's northern relation, the Criadoc Sea is actually a very large freshwater lake. In fact, the Criadoc Sea has more than three times the surface area of the Gunfirth Sea, but is much more mild, dotted with mountain-tipped islands and relatively much more warm and steady in climate. The shores are generally gentler as well -- gently sloping sandy beaches, as opposed to the often sharp and fortress-like shorelines of the more mountainous north. Although the Gunfirth Sea obviously serves well enough as a source of fish and other bounty, the Criadoc Sea is also much more famous for its shoals of edible (indeed, quite tasty) fish, which is one of the few exports of Cassant, along (of course) with industrial technology. The northernmost shores, however, are starting to show the scars of the industrialization of the Cassant area, and the fishing industry is having to go farther and farther afield to bring in the big hauls anymore.

VALENNIA

KSVIAQTUUR

THE BLEIDDIAN WOODS