Bleak Geography

Summary
This article discusses physical, cultural, and political geography.

Bleak's geography is literally defined by the Shards of Grace, which hold the world stable. The farther one travels from the Shards, the more chaotic and fluid the landscape is. There is no boundary to the world, it simply melds into an ever-changing dreamscape that extends out to infinity called the Elemental Void. At the farthest reaches that people have traveled, the world dissolves into purely elemental energies that defy all the laws of nature. Those who travel so far do not come back unchanged, for the Shards of Grace hold people in their forms as much as the land, and to stray far from their influence is to sacrifice their protection. Those who do return are monstrosities, or at best mutants.

Tonis, the ancient homeland of northern civilization is a massive, desert island that lies off the coast of the main continent. Although once covered in verdant plains and lush jungles, all that has since melted away into an endless desert of dirt and sand. Where once mighty cities stood there are now only ruins. Few but the Eladrin have records with even the most vague descriptions of this time, a vast 2,500 year gap since the Ravaging has destroyed nearly all knowledge of that time.

The Main continent, Kazael, is about four times larger measured North to South and six times larger measured East to West. It is largely unexplored and unkown to Tonisians, save for the coastal lands. These stretches are arid plains or deserts and low mountains inhabited by nomadic tribes of beast men.

Physical Geography
Whichever direction one travels, ultimately they will delve too far from the Shards of Grace. However there is no definite boundary, it is more like walking into a lake. On the shore the ground is stable, all is well. Nearer to the water the ground is soggy and soft. The edge of the shore itself moves with every wave and with the rise and fall of the tide. As one goes deeper into the water the gound turns to mud and the water rises eventually over the head. In this way, there is no definitive boundary to the edge of the world, but every traveler has their limits.

The central continent is Kazael, at the center of which is the only heavily forested land in the world, the Heart Forest. Tonis, the heart of ancient civilization, moves in a slow, counter-clockwise circle around Kazael. As Tonis makes its rotations around Kazael, it stabilizes the world. On the opposite side of Kazael from Tonis the world melds into dangerous chroma long before the coast and is even considered dreamscape near the sea.

Tonis is an island, is always such, so as it orbits Kazael it is always surrounded by water. However, farther from Tonis the sea fades into elemental power. If Tonis is north of Kazael, then there is a sea north of Kazael. But when Tonis is in the south, the sea will be in the south and to the north will be a frozen tundra where once there was water.

Kazael
To the North the world is bounded by ice and freezing winds. To the West are hurricane winds and bolts of lightning as long as a river that snake along the ground. To the East, the world melts off into endless planes of fire, ash and molten rock. To the south is Sharam, the savannah of the Light and Dark sun, where shadows and rays of sunlight rob life and burn flesh. Below the world lies Necrosis and disease, and from the depths of the sea their influence travels. The ocean is a feared and hated source of pain and loss. From the sky comes acid rain and gossamer, the stuff of dreams and nightmares.

Cleaving the civilized worlds in two is the Chroma Straight or Black Depths, a body of water that separates Tonis from Kazael. The ocean here is too wide for the Shards of Grace to keep things safe and stable, so the ocean and many inland miles of Kazael are considered Chroma. This makes travel between the two lands rather dangerous, though the Kazaelic Stammen live in the Chroma, somewhat inland. From the dark depths of the Chroma Straight rise all manner of vile and necrotic beings. From this sanguine well springs all the evil of the Elemental Void.

Regarding the stable parts of Kazael: There is a flat, icy tundra to the north. To the east are the red mountains, and beyond them the land flattens into an endless plain of flame. In the south are the rollings hills and blighted lands, long expanses of earth purged of life by the constant battle between light and dark energies. In the west are the sandy beaches and deserts, and beyond the shores lie the infinite expanse of ocean that eventually becomes one with the Elemental Void.

The center of Kazael is the only land where any agriculture takes place, primarily in the form of grains and vegetables; the cultivation of orchards and vineyards for fruit is too difficult to do en mass. The very heart of Kazael is an expansive forest, preserved in body but not spirit by the Shards of Grace. The forest is corrupt with Elekin and all manner of natural beasts, though those who risk entry are often rewarded with medical herbs and mystical materials that cannot grow elsewhere. Ringing the forest are the various nations of the South, the counterpart civilization to Tonis.

Tonis
On Tonis, the cardinal directions don't make much sense. At the start of the year, North is away from Kazael and South is towards it, but half a year later North is towards Kazael and south is away. Similarly, East and West are different directions throughout the year.

On Tonis, the leading edge of the island is "Turnwise" (West at the start of the year), the trailing edge is "Anti-Turnwise" (East at the start of the year. The edge that leads off into the dreamscape is "in land" and the edge that faces Kazael is "out land" or "oceanic." So one might have a conversation like,

"Old Man, where is Jerar from here?"

"Jerar? Oh it's a jaunt from here, boy. You'll need to head two months Turnwise, two months oceanic to get there. Once you reach Modol, I'd figure it's about ten days still Turnwise and out land. Not a pleasant trip."

In the center of Tonis is the Stone Forest, an ancient forest now petrified. Travel through here with any sort of vehicle is near impossible, and only sure footed mounts are recommended. Halfway between the Stone Forest and the AntiTurnwise coast are the Scale Mountains, a long range of mountains known for their dragon scale-like shape. Turnwise of the Stone Forest is a vast plain, once a marsh, and now a pocked and pitted landscape of twisting dry river beds and empty lakes.

Outland of the Stone Forest is the heart of ancient Tonisian civilization, dotted by crumbling cities and ancient fortress ruins. Though nearly picked clean long ago, there are still some treasures to be found by those who venture in deep enough. Flanking the ancient civilization on either side along the coast are two massive deserts, both devoid of water since long before the Ravaging. The Turnwise desert is home to the blasted remains of the World Seal and is totally uninhabitable. Caravans and convoys must pass around the ancient, mystic ruble to avoid certain attack by geists.

There are three major geographic features on the out land coast. Most Turnwise is the Nalan Gulf, in the center is the Black Gulf, and most Anti-Turnwise is the Kaythen Peninsula.

Political Geography
You may wish to brush up on the history of Bleak .

Tonis is covered by a combination of fuedal, city-state and anarchic territories. The biggest boundary to political power and expansion is the ever-present threat of tempeters and (especially) elekin, who harass and kill without warning and against whom retribution is virtually impossible.

On the far turnwise coast are the clay cities: Tuhutan, Suhutel, and Seletan. Tehto and Sutan make up the Sutanese kingdom that lie out land of Tuhutan. On the Nalan Gulf is the Kingdom of Jerar, which contains Domias, Doras, and Jerar. Their close neighbor is Nakulu, built on the steps of ancient Naktu-Ur.

Further Anti-Turnwise is the uninhabited land around the ruins of the World Seal. Then comes the Black Gulf and on its Anti-Turnwise coast, The Kingdom of Votan and Beata Tembria.

On the Kaythen peninsula are the Kaythen States Kovan, Kalatel, Kazador, and Karimael.

Anti-Turnwise of the ancient desert is the coastal home of the Dwarves at Mo'a's Harbor, which is encompassed by Mo'adin, Mo'adel, and Macrag.

Cape wind is furthest Anti-Turnwise outland 'corner' of Tonis, and is home to Tae'odon (the city of two oceans).

Inland is the Gulf of Mo'aen and it's two major cities, Tel'odon and Rasirin.

The furthest in land city on Tonis is Taelis, perched literally on top of Mount Gaelyn overlooking the Bay of Good Souls. It is said that those who die Turwise of the Scale Mountains must pass through the aptly named Pass of Souls in the mountains and then snake down to the Bay of Good Souls to be able to pass into the afterlife. If you run fast enough, you may beat a dead friend's soul to Mount Gaelyn and be able to rescue his essence.

The largest nation is the Kingdom of Jerar, a fuedalistic monarchy in the out land Turnwise coast. The capital city, Jerar, contains the largest Shard of Grace on Tonis. The monarch (always male) holds the oaths of fealty of his dukes, who in turn control their barons. There are 27 baronies and 12 duchies in the kingdom, with a total of about 6,300 inhabitants spread over some 50,000 square miles. There are, in fact, entire stretches of uninhabited land that were not owned by any barons until the Pact of Thunder (when all land on Tonis was divided amongst the monarchs). The King of Jerar employs an entire band of Nagath warriors, the Aran Megil, to hunt down Geists or even natural beasts in his kingdom. It is thought by many modern scholars that the King's ability to employ the Aran Megil is what has lead to his success, compared to their wanderlust nature in other states.

The Kingdom of Votan is collection of cities owing allegiance to their capitol, Votan. Each of the cities has a hereditary ruler, a Prince or Princess, who is subject to the King in Votan. There are typically 8 cities under the control of Votan (7 if Beata Tembria isn't cooperating). The Votanian king is protected by a group of soldiers from Beata Tembria, hence the phrase "Safe as the King of Votan." (An ironic statement that is used to describe a precarious situation in which you is safe from everything but the thing that is protecting you.)