Geography lesson

So, in the interest of gradually (i.e. much too slowly) illuminating the world that I've thrust my players into, I though that I'd give the broad-stroke background.

(Incidentally, until I'm able to get a map loaded on here, a narrative description will have to suffice...)

Yrth (imaginative, no?) is a world like many others in the multiverse of Prime Material planes, with a broad range of climate zones. A world-sea surrounds the single major continent, which coils round the globe roughly southeast-to-northwest. The northwest portion extends up into the arctic circle, while the southeast portion wraps beneath it in the southern hemisphere and enfolds an almost entirely-enclosed inner sea roughly the size of Africa. The northwest portion of the uber-continent is known as the "head" of the world-serpent, while the curling southeast portion is its "tail".

The territories that make up the region of Wilusa lie in the northwest of the super-continent, along the northern edge of the White Sea; to continue the anthropomorphic metaphor, Wilusa lies at the "jaw-line" of the world-serpent's "head". The major city-states lie along the coastline at a latitude of around 55 to 60 degrees north, roughly the same as Juneau (Alaska), Oslo, Stockholm, and Edinburgh. The winters are harsh, to be sure, but the extremely high range of mountains that surrounds the region (the "Teeth of Ymir"), combined with the relatively mild influence of the ocean to the south, creates a passable growing season. Indeed, winters in Wilusa are far less hellish than those just a few score leagues north or west of the Teeth, where the wind can strip a body to the bone and men are said to be beasts and cannibals.

Wilusa proper used to be one of the furthest arms of the far-flung Nomoan Empire (thank you, Mister Stater). When the Empire began to fold in upon itself, six centuries ago, the outlying principalities were forced to become more self-reliant.

To Wilusa's west, across a long spur of the Teeth of Ymir that reaches the coast, are the lands of the Rhun, a conglomeration of different tribes and clans whose only real common denominator is their disdain for "civilization" and its weaknesses. Rhunish raids into Wilusa have become more numerous in the past decade, in spite of the twin fortresses that guard the only major pass through the Teeth.

To Wilusa's north, across the highest peaks of the Teeth, lie the uncharted lands of the enigmatic Ik-Ta. According to the writings of the handful of explorers who claim to have visited this land of grinding ice and darkness, the Ik-Ta are an insular folk, eaters of their own kind and hostile towards outsiders.

Wilusa's eastern and southeastern neighbors are Tormir and Valuna, respectively, both former Nomoan provinces that have taken radically different paths. In contrast with Wilusa's competing city-states, Valuna has a firm authoritarian theocracy in power. The Children of Julian are the ruling (perhaps only) faction in this arid land of scant resources, and the work of their Prime Factor is considered to be the law of the land; more and more, this word has been "expansion", as Valuna has repeastedly threatened war with its neighbors in a quest for more territory.

Tormir, on the other hand, is ruled by a centralized authority of another kind. Emperor Rothroc II is an aging monarch of a weak dynasty in control of a disintegrating state. The booming fortunes of Wilusa have come partially at the expense of Tormir's mercantile class, and constant diplomatic and military pressure from Valuna has shorn the kingdom of much of its prime grazing land. Under such tensions, Tormir is ripe for dramatic change - or utter collapse.

Ever a haven of entrepreneurship, Wilusa's newest fortunes are being made in the mining fields collectively known as "The Faces". The Faces are primarily located in the southern foothills and smaller ranges of the Teeth of Ymir. The first major gem and metal strikes occurred within the last half-century, with more occurring every week as prospectors and fortune-seekers arrive in the coastal cities.