To the east is the Great Eastern Wood. This wood extends from the East Shield of the wastes all the way south to Bashan. The wood is dense and very dynamic. The woods are not mapped very far into their interior as even experienced guides tend to become lost. The area is heavily populated by spirits who take an increasingly active and hostile interest in parties as they penetrate deeper into the wood. Moreover, the wood itself is extremely dense which makes it quite difficult to keep one's bearings.
The wood contains a wide variety of plant and animal life and covers several different climate areas. Many of the plants and some of the animals have commercial value. For this reason, human continue to settle along and even within the edges of the wood. This is not without risk and several people will inevitably disappear each year. Those who remain in prolonged contact with the wood often develop subtle markings on their skin. This too is attributed to the spirits who live there, although how they could be responsible for these physical manifestations is not clear.
To the west is the Sea. (As there is only one sea, no one has really thought to give it any name more precise than that.) No one has found any land beyond it to the East.
There are many islands, but most are fairly small (only a few square miles) and remain uninhabited. There is one large island called Skae. Skae has a central mountain range (volcanic) but surrounding this is relatively fertile land which is heavily wooded (although nowhere near as densely as the Eastern Wood). The people of Skae comprise one of the major nations of Greshland. Its climate is temperate, akin to northern California.
Just south of the Wastes is the land of Gos. Gos consists mostly of rolling plains with some sparse woodland. The land becomes more fertile to the East, near the Eastern wood, and to the West, near the sea. In the center, the area is fairly dry with only sparse trees (Nebraska). To the north west, a number of villages engage in mining, particularly at the foot of the West Shield mountain range, despite the danger of demons. Metals as well as alchemicals can be extracted from the ground in this area. They are then usually shipped down the Grinothvalg rive to the sea where they then travel to the south. Around the mining towns the land tends to be less fertile due to the byproducts of the foundries. The weather in the area is almost always rainy and hot.
To the south of Gos is Hirat. Hirat is mostly low rolling hills of fertile wood and farmland. It has a climate similar to North Carolina with an equivalent amount of rainfall. Hirat has the largest amount of high quality farmland in the area.
Bashan is to the south of Hirat. Its climate ranges from Ohio-like in the north to Northwest Territory-like in the south. Its north country is relatively flat with hills and eventually carved valleys developing to the south. It receives less rainfall than Hirat, but this is compensated for by the large number of lakes and rivers in the territory.
Traveling further south from Bashan the weather gets increasingly cold and the terrain more rugged. The area eventually turns into ranges of snow covered mountains and glaciers. No one has ever found anything but rock and ice by traveling further south. (Ships attempting to explore south by sea have reported eventually coming to a wall of ice rising from the sea which they were unable to go around.
Then Grinoth began his rebellion, striking with a mass of forces he had built up in the forests and mountains. Humanity was driven south and west by the assault, many retreating to Skae which was relatively untouched by the plague of demons. Within 5 years the population of humans was halved as demons stored villages and slaughtered the ill-defended townsfolk. Aided by Frethur, Ethron, and Nolen, however, humanity was able to launch a counter-assault and, with the divine assistance of the other gods and their races, pushed the demons north. Eventually, after almost 10 years, the counter-assault pushed the main body of demons into the wastes. Even then, however, the battle was far from over. While the lands in the south began to rebuild, wave after wave of demons and humans met in the wastes. The stories tell that, at the age of 15, nine out of every ten children, boys and girls, would be sent north to help reinforce the armies desperately seeking to hold the demons back. On numerous occasions the human armies appeared to have broken the backs (or whatever) of the demonic forces only to have a fresh onslaught nearly push them out of the Wastes (which was now the name of the northern area). This situation continued for more than 50 years, with periodic breaks sometimes lasting a few years. Then, 70 years after the demonic advance started, the great human avitar Winshied, several lesser avatars, and a massive company of soldiers fought to the heart of the wastes to Grinoth's own lair. There, the four other gods bound Grinoth. In the process, Winshied and all the other warriors were also entombed with the god that he and his minions would forever be kept at bay. A lone soldier who was wounded in a previous battle and could not join the final push remained to bring the news to the lands to the south. Legends say that Winshied's army is not dead, but continues to fight Grinoth and keep him at bay.
When the war ended, most of the great leaders blessed by Frethur had also fallen in the battle. According to Bashan, Frethur still selects the new ruler of humanity (who coincidentally happens to be the priest-king of Bashan) whenever an old leader dies. However, even the historians in Bashan admit that the kings before and during the great war were the greatest. Regardless of whether they were divinely endorsed or not, the first five kings of humanity managed to keep the hegemony in order for more than 100 years. Histories point to the sixth kingship as being where the trouble started. There ended up being three contenders for the throne, all of whom indicated that they had been personally selected by Frethur. While there was occasional contention in the succession of the previous kings, the matter had been settled without violence. However, even after one of the candidates withdrew, the remaining two, Lanos and Agemon, refused to back down. Six months of debate only served to harden both side's resolve and cause consternation in the countryside as the succession question became more and more tense. Eventually, both contenders rallied supporters in the capital and for three days fighting took place in the city. Eventually, Lanos's forces ambushed and killed Agemon and Lanos and became the sixth king. Apparently fearing retribution, Lanos purged the government of those he felt sympathetic to Agemon's candidacy. Many of these supposed supporter were forced to flee to the countryside. Three years into his reign, a group of purged bureaucrats formed a rebellion and attempted to seize the area around Banges, an important trading post. Lanos was able to quickly put down the rebellion, but it marked the first time the king's authority had been challenged.
Lanos appointed his son, Alain, to succeed him claiming that Frethur had granted his line rulership in perpetuity. Alain's first actions were to run another, more extensive purge of the government and aristocracy. Many of the nobles had grudgingly swallowed Lanos's kingship telling themselves that it wouldn't last forever. When Alain was appointed, it became clear that Lanos did, in fact, intend his rule, or rather that of his family, to continue indefinitely. As a result, there was even more opposition to Alain than to Lanos. Four provinces went into revolt and Alain wasn't able to reunite Greshland for 6 years. Rule passed to Alain's daughter, Teramin, in a slightly smoother fashion with only one rebellion and three assassination attempts.
The dynasty was able to continue, albeit with some opposition, for another 105 years (a total of 148 years) when the last king died without surviving children (both of whom had been murdered). This time, the civil war that broke out covered the mainland. Only Skae remained uninvolved. (Skae's physical isolation buffered it a great deal during the succession turmoil.) It took two years before a winner became evident and he didn't live long enough to see the entire mainland reunited leaving that task to his daughter. The second dynasty lasted 82 years before it was left with no clear successor and another civil war ended in the founding of another dynasty. The third dynasty lasted 73 years, the fourth 82, and the fifth a mere 47. Following this, Greshland had three successive kings who were unable to establish dynasties beyond their own reign. None of these were ever able to completely consolidate their hold on the empire, especially its outlying regions near the Wastes and the Ice Mountains. It was also during this time that the governor of Skae, who had been appointed by a previous king, announced that, while Skae didn't dispute the priest-king's dominion over humanity, in return for giving them sanctuary during the great war, the people of Skae belonged to Nolen and are of the sea more than they are "of man". As this was a fairly inoffensive secession (not to mention quite difficult to invade) the island was not molested. This period was known as the First Breaking of Greshland and lasted 18 years.
Finally, one of the generals in the civil war named Tetzu was able to consolidate enough power to be proclaimed king. He set about re-consolidating the empire, but did so diplomatically as well as through conquest. It was during this time that many large cities developed a level of autonomy that they had not experienced previously. By the end of his 42 year reign he could legitimately claim control of all of Greshland save Skae and a few or the northern and southern-most provinces. The monarchy fell to his son with relatively little unrest. This dynasty continued for a total of 183 years. As the line of rulers progressed, the monarchs became more willing to let individual city states govern their own affairs so long as the requisite taxes were sent. In a few cases, cities even managed to get out of their tax obligations. The final monarch in the line felt that things had gone too far. He attempted to force cities to honor all their tax obligations and to submit to his primary authority. When some balked, he sent in the army. Five years into his reign he was assassinated and the dynasty ended.
The succession question became an especially difficult one at this point since most of the current aristocracy was now scattered about Greshland living in the various city states. As a result, the proffering of candidates for the new kingship became a highly regional matter. Within a year of the end of Tetzu's dynasty, there were no less than a 8 declared kings in various cities throughout the country, all with strong regional support. However, the contender in the capital city of Kiho, a woman named Misu, was able to convince two divisions of the army to support her. With these, she was able to defeat four of the contenders in battle. One of the other contenders was assassinated by unknown parties during this time leaving Misu with two other competitors: Numus, the "king" of Alma and Clace, the "queen" in Eckford. As Misu's armies swept north toward Alma, Numus and Clace came to an agreement. Numus and Clace were married (Numus's previous wife had died a few weeks earlier, something even the most sympathetic histories can't help but view with suspicion) and their forces merged. Feeling that fighting Numus and Clace's forces would weaken her forces to the point of weakening her own hold on the throne, Misu signed a treaty that declared Numus and Clace, and their descendants, "protectors" of the northern lands, which would come to be known as Hirat and Gos. That done, Misu contented herself with recapturing territories in the south, which came to be known as Bashan (always careful to keep strong garrisons near her border with said protectors.
Misu's dynasty lasted for a total of 63 years. During this time, she and her descendants focused on recapturing the southern territories. They almost succeeded but another succession crisis cut them off. Fortunately, the violence associated with this crisis was relatively mild and the new king, Betin, took the throne in only a few months. He was more inclined to follow in the steps of Tetzu and leave most cities to govern themselves. This worked for 44 years until three provinces in the south declared their independence. Betin's grandson, who was king at the time, was content to allow the secession to go through but one of his generals named Agus, feeling the empire crumbling, rebelled. After securing the support of the army, he overthrew the Betin dynasty and had himself named king. He then embarked on a intensive consolidation of power. He re-exerted control over those cities who had become more independent and began to push south. The southern provinces had plenty of time to prepare and he met stiff resistance. The dynasty founded by Agus continues through the present day and has almost completely recaptured the southern provinces, although pockets of resistance remain. The country remains under very firm central control and the army, church, and government are effectively the same entity. Many of the cities of Hirat worry that, once the conquest of the southern provinces are complete, Bashan will turn its attention north.
In Hirat, once the treaty with Misu was signed, Numus and Clace attempted to consolidate their position. However, in this regard, they had very little flexibility as most of their support had been provided by other cities on the condition that these cities maintain their autonomy. Through a series of treaties, threats, and two sieges, Clace (her husband now deceased), managed to get acknowledged as the ruler of the northern lands. It was, however, a largely meaningless post by that time. Control passed from Clace to her son, then to her grandson, and then to her great grandson. When he died without heir, the succession question didn't even warrant a civil war. Arrangements were made between the nobles and merchant princes (usually one and the same) of the various cities and, after numerous exchanges of favors, marriages, and a couple assassinations, a new queen was selected. Her dynasty continues to this day, although it is a relatively weak affair.
Most people in Bashan see their country as the direct descendant of the original hegemony founded by Frethur himself and governed by the great kings of old. Foreigners who come to Bashan would do well to note that many people, even the lowest farmer, take great pride in this.
The large Bashani cities can be home to almost half a million people. Most people living in cities work in some sort of production process (textiles, metals, alchemy, brewing, smithing, trading, crafting, etc.). Outside the city, however, one will almost invariably by a farmer. City residents tend to view the country people as second class citizens. All but the most menial of city workers will have had at least a basic education and will be able to read, write, and do simple math. The Bashani universities are the best in the world. Country farmers are almost all uneducated. Due to the differences in education, it is very difficult for someone from the country to succeed in the cities as anything other than menial labor. As a result, the army is a common outlet for those dissatisfied with country life (although such a person needs the permission of their lord to join).
Major exports include spices & herbs (often from the eastern woods), perfumes, technological items (such as clockworks and spring powered devices), artworks, and some magical items (although the latter is tightly controlled). Major imports include spices and herbs, metals, and food.
Hirat - Hirat claims to rule all the mainland above Bashan up to the Wastes. In fact, Hirat is really just a loose confederation of city states with little interest in the intervening territory. Which the king technically rules over the entire land, he really only controls the capital at Alma and makes a point of not pushing his authority. The cities themselves are ruled either by a single aristocrat or, more likely, by a council headed by the various merchant interests. Under the council, various civil servants enforce the council's rulings.
Society is much less stratified in Hirat, although it is still difficult to change one's class standing. Most people in cities belong to a large middle class who either owe loyalty to, or at least provide services to, one of the large merchant houses. Education is based on one's ability to afford it, but most people are literate. In the country, farmers tend to be fairly poor and uneducated. Many go to the cities seeking to improve their station - more likely they won't, but it happens often enough that many people try it at some time. Farmers usually work for landlords, but, unlike Bashan, some actually own their fields and homes.
Cities themselves tend to appear thrown together with narrow streets that are occasionally blocked by businesses that needed room to grow. While Bashani cities tend to be very open, Hirati cities tend to be almost claustrophobic. They also tend to be dirtier and more chaotic as people bustle around in service to competing masters. Most cities live and die by their trade and any city with a harbor worth its name can expect the docks to always be busy as goods are loaded and unloaded. Overall, Hirati cities may hold up to 200,000 people, but most respectable cities hold less than half that number.
Of note are the mining cities in the north west corner of Hirat, just under the West Shield. These areas are of particular interest to the various merchant houses since even a single strike can be extremely lucrative. As such, virtually all merchant houses have a presence there. The presence of so many competing parties and with so much wealth at stake makes it a very dynamic environment. It is a tough place for those who live there, partially due to the perpetually rainy climate, partially due to the pollution caused by the mines and refineries, partially due to the work and the pressure put on them to produce, and partially generally explosive political situation that exists in the towns. Most towns are relatively small 10-20 thousand people, but they account for most of the inter-merchant conflict in the area.
The various merchant houses are constantly competing with each other. They compete for the best craftspersons, the best contracts with buyers and sellers, and the most lucrative goods. They also constantly maneuver for political power as the former goals are aided by political connections. While dirty tricks (sabotage, rumors, intimidation, political maneuvering) are used regularly, an effort is made to keep the combat from getting out of hand. Merchant houses that begin fighting in the streets (or, more specifically, disrupting the trade of third parties) are likely to be censured. Of course, this makes a deniable expediter all the more valuable.
One of the first thing Numus and Clace did, or were forced to do - the accounts differ, was separate the monarchy from the church. The head of the church is in Banges on the coast. The Hirati church, as noted elsewhere, is much less orthodox than the Bashani church and much less centralized. As with the government, individual cities have their own church hierarchy with only minor oversight from the central church.
Finally, Hirati has no standing army per se. All of the cities, especially those close to Bashan, have a militia, but it is mostly composed of reservists. The merchants and other nobles often have their own forces, but these tend to be small affairs primarily to provide protection to the merchant as well as to their goods while in transit. (Brigands are a problem in the long stretches between cities.) Technically, all the states have a mutual defense pact to provide forces if one of them is attacked by an outside (namely Bashani) army. Many question how diligently these treaties would be adhered to in a time of crisis.
Skae - Skae's isolation, being more than 100 miles from the mainland, buffers it from most of the activities there. It generally takes very little interest in mainland matters and sees to its own affairs. It represents the longest standing stable government in Greshland (Bashan's claim of direct decent from Frethur notwithstanding). The island is divided up into 12 provinces, each ruled by a single noble family. Each province provides one chieftain to sit on a central council. (Said chieftain need not be the province's ruler, and these days, they are often different people.) The council decides on matters that affect the island as a whole with the high priest of Nolen breaking ties. For the most part, however, the 12 provinces are autonomous.
Most people in Skae make their living either through the sea in some fashion or other. Those who do not are usually farmers working the wide, fertile lowlands around the central spine of mountains. Society is extremely hierarchical, although not rigidly so. Anyone who has seen a Skae ship being operated and the military efficiency with which it is run would have some idea of how the island is run as a whole. (It should be noted that a captain on his ship is considered the ruler there and crew members are expected to obey all orders. The captain can legally order the death of anyone on board for any reason.) Most people, even farmers, receive a minimal education, although higher education in anything other than a particular trade, most likely one involving seamanship, is not generally available on the island.
People of Skae see themselves as fundamentally different from those who live on the mainland. The describe themselves as sea creatures, even the farmers, to distinguish themselves from "humanity" on the mainland. Many take the statement by the ancient governor that the inhabitants of Skae belonged to Nolen quite literally. They seldom welcome outsiders either to their island or on their boats (which they often refer to as the same thing). They do, however, willingly trade with those on the mainland for goods they need. Even then, however, they are likely to keep to their own and sleep on their boats. This isn't to say that there aren't sociable and curious Skaer, but the stereotype is often true.
Major exports: ships (which are universally agreed to be the finest around), textiles, art, fish and other aquatic goods. They also often serve as transporters for mainland merchants. Major imports: metals, animal skins and other products, lumber.
Gos - Gos is more of a place than a country. Technically part of Hirat, Gos refers to the broad plains just south of the Wastes. There are no cities or towns here. Occasionally a small village of a hundred people or so will exist around a well, but most of the people in the region are nomadic herders who bow to no authority beyond their own clan leadership. Wandering groups may consist of around a hundred individuals. They are stereotyped as being sturdy people and excellent horsemen. Generally having a Gos guard in one's caravan is considered a good sign.
The various Gos tribes tend to get along well with each other, usually trading when they meet. They also actively trade with Hirati towns and merchants, sometimes traveling from the eastern wood to the sea and back carrying wares from one party to another.