Kamde Harbor

Diederich Kamde was said to be an enthusiastic adventurer. Although he wasn't possessed of any sort of aptitude for the blade, nor did he practice magic, and he hadn't the faintest idea of how to properly operate a bow, Diederich was possessed of something entirely unique and impossible to learn, luck. Diederich was born in the insignificant hamlet known as "Tree Cross," so named due to the large and unnaturally sprawling tree that sat at the intersection of the two major roads that met at the center of town, located in the Eastern World in central Zabrun. And so, it was said that luck alone had guided his safe passage across the deep seas, aboard a merchant vessel which was said to have sunk only months after Diederich's voyage with the crew, and from the last harbor the ship, ironically known as "Lucky Rose," was seen in, the harbor known as Boulder Fall Harbor, and from there, the Avrarlum Dwarf harbor, where he learned of the trade of precious metals and weapons, he got the clever idea to search for dwarves in Arrotha. And thus, Diederich made his journey from the western shores of Straephus to to the eastern shores of Arrotha and spent several months, alongside a notable monk who was later known for opening his own monastery and having claimed "Diedrich's luck rubs off on people," Diederich happened upon a rather unknown group of dwarves known as the "Greystone" dwarves who had begun carving a grand mine in the southern reaches of Nin Thoram.

Somehow, perhaps with significant assistance from his traveling companion, the monk known as "Mao-Zan," Diederich was able to establish a friendship with the dwarves, even said to have worked in their mines for several long months until winter passed. The Greystone dwarf's mine would later be known as Bel Buldohr, and Diederich would later create a small tradepost on the shores to the southeast of Nin Thoram. He and his monk friend would often travel far along the western-reaching roads to kingdoms that once resided in the now desolate Voiceless Valley. Soon, word of the magnificent metals and weapons coming from a small tradepost on the southeastern ridge of the Nin Thoram mountains brought ambitious entrepreneurs, and the small tradepost soon flourished into a hamlet. Soon, a small harbor was built in town, sending fine weapons around to other ports in Arrotha and nearby harbors in the Western World, and little by little, the small trading post established by Diederich and Mao-Zan became a flourishing city.

Despite not being the most popular harbor in Arrotha due to its location, the availability of fine weapons and minerals from the Greystone Dwarfs led to formation of Kamde Harbor, a place that served for centuries as a connection between the dwarves in the mountain and the societies of man. Unlike the Avrarlum Dwarves who were known to do business with non-dwarf tradesman directly and with zeal, the Greystone Dwarves managed most of their trade agreements with the citizens of Kamde Harbor, a relationship long ago predicated by one lucky man, Diederich Kamde, who is still eternalized as a statue in the city square of Kamde Harbor.

Memoirs: Elrin Frostborn 2

On the Nature of Dragons

Written by Anthony Stuertzel

For most races, understanding the dragons of the realm is a nigh impossible task. Part of the reason they are so incomprehensible is because of their long lifespans, which stretch far beyond even the centuries-long lifespan of the elves. Therefore, you think the elves would be the most inclined to understand these mysterious creatures, but they are perhaps the least equipped to understand a dragon’s psyche.

No, in fact, I dare say that it is the human races, despite their short span of life, who can empathize with a dragon’s mentality the most. For it is the human races which are above all driven by wild emotions and passion, much like many dragon-kin. However, even amongst the dragons, there are vast distinctions. Much like the elemental planes themselves, which according to religious doctorine was no small part of the initial creation of the dragons, the dragons are often seen with polar opposites, from the wrathful red dragons who spread devestation across the land, destroying or dominating any who cross its path, to the magestic white dragons, who like its icy breath is the diametric opposite of the red dragon in personality as well: calm, righteous, and protective.

It’s almost as if dragons were created to represent duality itself. Scholars and monks have often mused over the idea of “duality,” a term which describes our innate impulses, both of agression and passivism, of selfish and selfless, of man and of woman, and so on and so forth. It is said that the individual exists in peace with the world when the two sides of duality are joined in harmony, and so, too, you must wonder if this is the same for the world in regards to dragons.

Perhaps that is part of the reason why I fought so hard to convince my allies to trap Tiemriel, rather than destory him. Perhaps Emella, the Celestial Goddess, saw the duality of the world and urged me to preserve it. And certainly enough, in the final fall of the great wyrm, the resulting devestation was much worse than we could have imagined. Garrenbiuug, the patron demon of chaos, set forth his great designs upon the world, irreversibly scarring the people of the world perhaps forever.

It is curious to me now, looking back on the events, to find that dark forces tend to have a much greater successf of affecting the change in the world’s cycle, that nature I have described so many times before of the world to return to a point it has once been time and time again, than those of good. For even with a greater perspective of the mechanisms of society and change, I find that change for the better requires a subtle interjection, while sinister change often takes place with rapid succession, washing away the foundation of positive structures and replacing them with structures of society that are wrought of anger, fear, sorrow, and other powerful motivators.

We often find ourselves espousing our commitment to positive change, but is these impulsive negative emotions that really inspire action, not altruism, and perhaps that is the whole point of it all. Perhaps these red dragons are like the sinister forces of chaos that mean to derail us from foward progression, that we might always have some greater force to strive to conquor, and these great white wyrms are here to provide a guiding hand toward that perpetual progress, lest we ever achieve our ambitions of making the perfect society, only to change in the other direction much like the spiral design of “duality” teaches us, and teaches us, too, that all things in the world need balance… even good and evil.

-Elrin Frostborn

The World of Mithia

So in an attempt to bring some clarity to the wider world of Mithia, now that my map is fully complete, I thought it would be a fun exercise to examine my map more closely, remark about the various regions of the world, and try to draw some generalizations from it all. So essentially, this is me looking at the world map, and inferring things about what societies would live in those areas based on the names I assigned it and the geography of the region. So in whatever case, I hope its enjoyable for you. You can just read it as it is, but it is quite dry. So it is perhaps best to read it while comparing it to the map. If you have any suggestions on ways to improve this analysis of cultures, please leave those comments below, as there is always room for improvement. However, without further ado, here is "The World of Mithia."

The World of Mithia

Written by Anthony Stuertzel

The world of Mithia is vast, indeed. It is often subdivided up into the Western World and the Eastern World. There is also the polar ice cap, but as far as anyone knows, there are no civilizations that inhabit such a place, and thus, it is often not mentioned in any significant detail in any of the writings by scholars, historians, or cartographers.

The Western World is comprised of five major continents. Of these continents, Arrotha is by far the most interesting. For not only is it the smallest recognized continent in Mithia, it is also arguably the most important. For the geographical location of Arrotha puts it right at the center of busy trading ports, and in many ways, Arrotha connects the rest of the world together. To bulster this important geographical position, Arrotha also has a very advantageous harbor, with two panisulas breaking off around a larger central island in the harbor, which has the effect of making one of the safest and most accessible ports in all of Mithia. Thus, the most prominent cities of men are all harbor cities, who thrive on the constant trade and further prosper by trading with cities in Arrotha that are more inland. Arrotha is also, due to its busy ports and opportunities for great wealth, one of the most diverse continents in the region. Nearly every race or civilization is represented there by at least a small margin.

South of Arrotha, and one of the many trading partners, is Etoloth, which is the next largest continent in Mithia. Etoloth’s harbors are not nearly as secured as those in Arortha, but the continent does have a sizeable island in the northwest to support decent harbors, and therefore is pretty successful in trade. However, these port cities in Etoloth do not have nearby sources of fresh water, and therefore, many of the citizens that live there rely on wells dug deep into the ground to supply fresh water. Although these port cities are often very wealthy in the northland of Etoloth, they do not tend to grow large in population because of this common problem. Even more so, alcohol is often the primary replacement for fresh drinking water in these northern Etoloth port cities, and so, thereto, the brathals and gambling rings are popular as well. These port cities are sometimes referred to as “Cities of Darker Gods” to explain their wild and unruly tendencies.

But all is not as crazy in Etoloth, as the continenent is also a place common to elves who inhabit the many forests of the land. The most notable group of elves is the Sel’Dar’il or “Golden Elves” to the common folk, so named after the bright hue of their skin. They are known for worshipping Chaleyr, the Goddess of Light, rather than the traditional God Marovihn who was said to have been the original creator of the elves. And they are known, too, for their industriousness. This is rather significant and important in Mithia, as most Elven artifacts in the world are centuries or millenia-old, made by people’s long-past. And the Sel’Dar’il elves are the most prominent elven group known for making modern artifacts which trade and sell throughout the land for tremendous sums.

Looking to the northern parts of the Western World, we see the next largest land-mass, Tailus, which due to its northern geographical position is the least populated continent in Mithia. The northern parts of the continent are often referred to as “The Winter Planes” because they are vast areas of flat land often covered in ice. A few nomadic tribes live here, most notably the “Barende Tribe” of barbarians who are seen wearing thick layers of fur clothing and often taking up temporary residence in the Snowcap Mountains or the Broken Peaks when in the north-most parts of the continent. However, they have been known to travel across the wide expanse of the Winter Planes chasing the local heards of yetis and other such creatures.

Tailus is also home to the Qi’l Szar Elves or the “Winter-Touched Elves” as the locals call them. Not much is known about the elves, as they live secluded lives in the wintery forests of The Winter Planes, but legends tell of them having strange magic, and their forests are rumored to be guarded by long-dead spirits who have risen as ice-covered zombies. Of course, not many can attest to how true these legends really are.

In the northwest region of the continent, there is a large forest that is home to the Zhel’Tara, a civilization that was once wholly made up of elves, but now has less than a quarter elf population. It is said by historians and scholars alike that dwarven refugees of the Darhgun family of dwarves fled their homelands in the north, the region now known as “The Broken Peaks” seeking refuge from dark creatures that emerged from the far depths of the earth. The elves took the dwarves in and incorporated them into their society, and soon, the forests were home to runaways of human societies as well. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the tolerant elves took in a tribe of orcs, and so on. Many across the lands that hear of Zhel’Tara don’t fully believe the stories to be true and dismiss the place as a fanciful legend, but many sailors, adventurers, and lost wanderes who have visited Zhel’Tara have professed the truth of the legends and described the population of the once-elven home as being the most diverse and surprising population in all of Mithia. Though it is hardly a desirable place to visit due to the overwhelmingly cold climate in this northern continent, many still dream of some day visiting the fabled land.

The cities of men that live in this frozen northland are generally unremarkable due to both the harsh climate and the lack of accessible ports. Most civilizations that live in this northern continent rely on fishing as their primary source of trade, as it is difficult to grow crops and populations are generally small in any of the cities, but in the same light, due to the lack of access to these resources, trade is paramount for survival as well.

Due south of Tailus and the western-most continent, we observe the next largest, and third-larges continent of all, Aeror. Like Arrotha, Aeror has a very safe harbor. Not only is the harbor closed off to the rest of the open seas, but also faces inward towards Straephus, the next largest continent, which we will soon discuss. Therefore, Aeror is a very popular destination for trade as well. However, Aeror has long mountain ranges that separate the north and south areas of the continent. The eastern region of the southern areas of the continent is home to the Gobi Desert, which is surrounded completely by large mountains on the western side. The Gobi Desert is scarecely populated and generally thought to be inhospitable, as its name is derived from the great carnivorous land worms that are rumored to spring out of the ground and devour unsuspecting victims whole. The only connection to the desert and the mainland that doesn’t require passage through thick mountains is a rocky pass, often referred to as “Bandit Pass” because of the persistent problem with bandits robbing carivans in that area.

South of the Gobi Desert, there is a crest of mountains known as the Nez’Dem Kel’Tar, named by elves in the Amrun Tel’Sir Forest. This region is rarely visited, as the journey to the forest is generally very difficult to traverse, and so the elves tend to be secluded. However, it is said to be the largest and most ancient elven homeland in all of Mithia.

To the west of the elven forests, there is the Westshore Andes, atop an island considered a part of Aeror, but nearly as large as Arrotha. This large island is home to several well-off cities due to the natural resources there, but fails to rise up to a greater standing due to its lack of significant port access. Most of the cities here are self-sufficient, requiring minimal trade.

The midland of Aeror is vast and rich with natural resources. This is a great expanse of human socities, with other nearby civilizations of non-human origin inhabiting the region as well. The northern reaches of Aeror are no less populated, and several clans of dwarves are said to live in the Dragon’s Den Peaks and trade with nearby human socieities. However, due to reports of dragon sightings in the area, few are willing to traverse the mountain peaks. It is rumored that perhaps the dwarves have somehow worked out a bargain with the dragons that inhabit the mountain, and that the breath of the mythic creatures aids in the construction of their fine dwarven weapons and armor.

The eastern-most continent of the Western World, and the second largest continent, is Straephus. This continent has a long range of mountains that breaks through the center of the continent much like Aeror, but the mountain ranges of Straephus are broken up and much more passable than those of Aeror. In the northwest mountains, known as Kinderriden Heights, several prominent societies, believed to be the central empire of giant-folk, reside in the mountains. Not much is known about these societies, as most tend to avoid the region entirely.

On the eastern side of the northern planes is Nagduhn, home of the Tymar clan of dwarves. The dwarves here are rumored to be taller than other dwarves and with strange dwarven accents that are difficult for most other dwarves to understand.

The planes of the northland of Straephus is home to many human civilizations that have grown along trade routes in the mainland. Aided by lakes and vast expanses of rivers, they have been able to grow quite large and proserpous in some areas.

Straephus is also home to several large jungles. The Kijadheer Jungle is known for complex tribal societies who worship strange gods. And the Chilal Jungle in located on an island to the south and is known by locals in the area as “Chiphua Kalul” meaning “Sea of Monkeys” in the tribal tongue of the native tribes there. And indeed, the jungle is rumored to have more different species of monkeys than anywhere in all of Mithia.

In the southern region of the midlands of Straephus is a desert known as the Mazacoatl Desert, which is so named because it is commonly reported that the desert is inhabited with strange horned snakes known as the Mazacoatl. Wizards are particularly interested in these creatures, as they are often reported to possess magic and are rumored to be distantly related to dragons, though there is much debate on the subject.

In the western midlands, there are several suitable ports, the most notable being Nenuldur, which is the largest dwarf-city port, inhabited by the Avrarlum dwarves of the Thol Lodar mountains, notable for their fiery red beards. These dwarves are considered the most social dwarves in all of Mithia and the most active in trade, and unlike most dwarves who worship Bhelrigg as the creator of dwarves, the Avrarlum dwarves have a complex pantheon of dwarf gods that according to their mythology, rose to prominensce and took Bhelrigg’s throne. Naturally, the Avrarlum dwarves have a rocky relationship with many other dwarven societies who view them as heratics. And thus, the Avrarlum dwarves have the best relationship with non-dwarf races of all the dwarf clans.

The southern reaches of Straephus are murky and wet, home to many swamps and bogs. The dwarves of the Derkahm mountains are said to be fierce warriors and have developed unique ways of dealing with trolls and other swampy creatures.

Finally, the largest continent, and the only continent in the Eastern World is Zabrun. Zabrun is notable because of its vast size and because it is the most isolated continent in the world. Zabrun trades with other continents frequently, but unlike the commerce between the Eastern World continents, trade with Zabrun is often slow, dangerous, and expensive. And therefore, only large merchant companies that can take on risky ventures dare treck the vast oceans, while smaller merchant companies prefer to trade locally.

Zabrun also lacks significant ports, and the safest ports in the continent are those located in the frozen northland. However, much like those that live in Tailus, the northland port cities are often scarecely inhabited due to the harsh weather conditions, and icy waters surrounding those port cities also presents challenges and dangers for those that wish to trade. Therefore, some prefer the port cities in the south or in the east, but these ports are not well-protected against the ocean and are not ideal port cities, either. Thus, inland trade is incredibly important for Zabrun.

As such, the kingdoms and empires created by men are constantly changing, as it is important to control critical junctures for trade. These changes come about by war, by agreement, or by devestation wrought by monsterous races that overtime can lead to the collapse of a under-defended city.

Zabrun is also home to wide-expanses of forests that house various races, as well as rather hospitable hilled vallies in the north, and large expanses of grassland on savanahs. The Kanguro Jungle to the south is notable for a wide array of mammals that aren’t found anywhere else in the world. The Dagh Faldir mountains in the northland are also home to a unique group of dwarves who seem to have an exceptional tollerance for cold weather from generations of working the frozen peaks.

Zabrun is also home to what is known as The Living Desert, which is seldom visited due to its lack of resources and useful land. However, those who have visited the desert have told stories of giant living cacti that inhabit the land, thus giving it the name The Living Desert.

Newest Updates in the World Map

Mithia is filled with echoes from the past. Sailors and bards alike travel the world in search of heroes, legends, and adventures. Though few of these travelers will ever be a part of their own adventure, every spectator to one of the exuberant stories of slaying dragons, escaping periless traps, or enearthing an ancient dungeon, undoubtedly fantasizes about being the brave knight that rushes into battle with sword and shield, or the powerful wizard who calls forth tremendous god-like power, or the cunning ranger who finds the way forward, or, perhaps, even the dasterdly rogue who accompanies the party of adventurers just for some extra coin.

Though the sea that separates the continents of Mithia were vast, and many cities spread so wide across the lands, these stories reached the ends of the earth nearly in the blink of an eye. For all the kings, the thieves, the wizards, and especially the common folk, were all fond of sharing the tales of recent conquests and ancient legends.

Arrotha is a rather small but important continent. For Arrotha was in the center of Aeror to the west and Straephus to the east. To the south was Etoloth and to the distant north was Tailus. Arrotha was a central hub for trade among sea-faring merchants, and that brought a lot of wealth and development to the land. In fact, only Zabrun, the largest continent in the eastern hemisphere did not trade directly with Arrotha.

So now that the geography of the world map is complete, I am slowly beginning to add in flavor and details to my world. You can see some of the sections that I have done on various world locations in the navigation section under "World of Mithia." I'm using some of my older maps as a guide, but I am adding in locations on the map only as they become more fleshed out, as having a bunch of cities on the map that are only a name and a location doesn't really add much to the world. So I'll try to continue to update this below to show where these things are more clearly. I think I am going to continue to stick to the dot/label strategy for labeling.