The Modern Green Lands

a brief summary

Geography: The Green Lands are a group of allied nations on the eastern half/two-thirds of a continent. They were formerly ruled by the evil wizard Vargaz and most of them are new, created by people recently freed or restored to the land. Since the Revolution three years ago, (it's now year 525 according to the New World Calendar), the Green Lands have become a federation of states under the rule of the Council of the Free Peoples (described below). Each of the nations has one representative (although a couple of advisors are allowed to advise each Councillor in open session). Like the former Soviet Union, these diverse and somewhat arbitrarily defined nations do not trust each other (and some groups within a nation distrust others) and there is some actual fighting within and among them, that the Council has been trying to quell. It's not as bad as it could be however, because certain external threats face the Green Lands, pushing them to cooperate.

The east coast and the southeast are heavily forested. High mountains border the north (there is boreal forest on and beyond them). The Marches are north of these mountains, a former colony of the kingdom of Melthris, on the east coast immediately south of them. Kerstagg is within the mountains in between. Erestad is south of Melthris. A long spur of mountains running north and south, containing Kalkrygg, divides the eastern forests from the western plains. The western plains are the province of the Empire of Pertow and its ally, the United Tribes. The Great River (which has a host of different names depending on who you ask) runs through the plains and into the southeastern forests of really large deciduous trees. Here are a collection of small kingdoms and city-states, the Confederation of Missand. The Green Lands are slowly being pulled together under a central government, which has already levied taxes from each member state. With theses monies, it has also assembled a large standing army and regulated the magicians and the overseas trade. The Council Chambers are in the southern port city-state, Vertrask, at the mouth of the Great River. They are actually built on platforms among the boughs of a stand of huge, sequoia- like trees and are a huge complex of buildings linked by bridges.

The technology of the peoples are the Green Lands are minimal (high Medieval Europe). Water, muscle and some wind-power are all that most people have. The red Dwarves have steam engines and have discovered electroplating, but really hot or big fires and long electrical circuits attract elementals so technology and industry do not have much of a future in this world. There is, however, a great deal of magic. Every kind of people has wizards, but these are few. All wizards Green Lands are required to register with the College of Magicks in Vertrask, which currently has 143 names on its list. There are few very powerful wizards and many of these have elected to head off into the western Wilderness or to take service with the Empire of Arlan (see below). There are also many magical creatures in the Green Lands, including elementals, the Dragon, unicorns, and others.

The people (all of these are distinct species, reproductively isolated):

There are two races of Dwarves: red Dwarves, who are your traditional mountain- dwelling smiths and miners. They have very specialized economies (neither supports any farming, let alone myriad other economic activities) and a somewhat xenophobic cultures (they refer to themselves as "True Folk") due to the fact that their lands keep being taken away from them by each new wave of invaders and the

mountains are all that they've been able to defend. They are by necessity great traders. They occupy two ancient realms (both made up solely of red Dwarves): the northern kingdom of Kerstagg and the western republic of Kalkryg.

Black Dwarves, a little shorter, slighter and more darkly complected than the red Dwarves (they also speak a different language) live in many human lands, and have shaky new kingdom of their own in Erestad, where they represent a large majority (although human and centaur residents of Erestad are also subjects of the king with full rights and privileges. They engage in all kinds of economic activity, but are also known as excellent smiths and jewelers, apparently passing along many of the same techniques as the red Dwarves (who treat them more as a separate species than as another race).

Centaurs: were created by Vargaz as part of a magical experiment (and subsequently used for heavy labor). They are scattered across the Green Lands. With no common culture and no majority in any place, they were not permitted to declare national status. They are not overtly oppressed anywhere (although they are all part of poorer social classes) and are beginning to coalesce into clans and tribes within the mostly human or black Dwarven communities they are part of.

Humans: are of a variety of races (who mix freely). Melthris is primarily European-type, Pertow primarily Asian-type and Missand primarily African-type, but local populations vary so greatly that no-one can be certain of a human's nationality by his/her appearance. The are by far the most numerous species in the Green Lands, and, after the goblins, the most prolific.

Goblins: are a physically diverse and probably innately magical species. A goblin female will have a litter of pups, some of whom grow up to be 14' giants and some of whom grow up to be 2' tall kobolds. Some have powers of regeneration (trolls), others have hollow bones and wings (gargoyles). Most are, however, mansized and manlike (orcs). They are a short-lived people (30- 40 years). Many can be found in all but the mountain kingdoms and they are numerous in the western plains. The United Tribes of the Western plains, farmers and craftsmen, have their own government and are allied with the Empire of Pertow (their territories are intermingled, making for a messy map). Many goblins live in roving bands, working as mercenaries or as seasonal farm help (or both!). Others of these bands (or some of the same ones, between jobs) are dangerous rogues.

Elves: have just returned and are settling forests beyond the western plains. Missand has offered them a fair bit of southeastern forest to colonize and they have accepted it (the new country is called Thirindil). Mages are realatively numerous among them and they seem to be very long- lived. The ones who seem to run things are tall slender people; they are served by pixies and boggles of whom little is known.

The Dragon: The last one lives in a valley among mountains south and west of the plains, reputed to be full of Dwarven treasure. From what Maev has said, this dragon hatched after all the others of it's kind had been slain, within the last century. It has no apparent intention of creating havoc in the Green Lands. It is being "watched over" by an abbot who has moved to the southwest.

There are a lot of people not under the government of the Green Lands, many of them very dangerous.

Pirates: humans who have settled archipelagoes to the south, or possibly actual Arlani (or Arlani- backed).

Fish-men: horrific beings, known from ancient Dwarven texts as a powerful race. As they live in the oceans, it is unknown how numerous or advanced they are, although it is claimed that they have made ships and even towns disappear.

Rogue goblins bands, hiding in the mountains, the forests and more desolate portions of the plains, possibly widespread to the west.

Underearth beings: systems of caverns below Kalkrygg and possibly Kerstagg seem to go much deeper than previosly thought and according to the Dwarven texts and Maev's recent explorations there are whole civilizations down there, really nasty ones. Fortunately, the people downbelow are not adapted to dealing with a sunlit, or even moonlit world and are likely to stay put.

Unicorns, found in the far-western forests, are rumored to be intelligent. In any case, they are canny and well-organized predators.

The Dwarven texts tell of legendary, intelligent and cruel giant insects. Everyone has monster stories, and recently there have been tales of human-looking people in the western mountains who aren't and who are voracious meat-eaters. The curse of vampirism hasn't struck the Green Lands in a couple of centuries, but there are magi, so it can always return.

The biggest threat to the Green Lands is on the southern continent, Arlan. Human troops sent to explore it by Vargaz simply settled it and declared themselves free of him over 250 years ago and were able to fight off attackers. Given that the landing force had included camp followers, female cooks, laundresses, medics, etc., the Arlani were able to multiply and subdue their new home. Very little is known of their land or history. Since then, they have developed a peculiar religion (involving periodic human sacrifice) and a totalitarian government centered around a priest-king and the clergy. They have a powerful navy and are given to raiding the southern ports and shipping of the Green Lands and are considered the greatest possible threat to its survival.