Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

The Eternal Empire has its roots in the Immortal War itself, for it was that war that drove Raskalarn to create her empire. The Immortals had destroyed the world in their fighting and Raskalarn had sworn that, under no circumstances, would she let it happen again. She was not the only Immortal to carry this resolve, however, and she was joined by Karem, the Immortal Wolves. The two Immortals took control of several warrior tribes that had been, until that point, largely insignificant and weak. Under the tutelage and leadership of the Immortal of Conquest and the Great Wolf, these tribes were soon unified into a might force under the control of their new Divine Empress. Taking these tribes to a mountain that had been blackened during the destruction of Idalos and left untouched by its restoration, Raskalarn began construction on Korlasir, the seat of The Eternal Empire.

As construction on the city progressed, Raskalarn and Karem sent their forces to bring the surrounding area into the burgeoning empire. These initial conquests became what is now known as the Korlasir Region, the heart of The Eternal Empire. This early expansion was mixed, with some villages resisting the expansion of Raskalarn's territory and some accepting the better protection and organization offered by the empire. However, it was known to pretty much all involved that this initial expansion was easy, not a true test of the empire's ability to defend itself and defeat a foe. The army was still small yet, as was the empire itself, and food and material supply was still largely inefficient, with little enough in the way of roads or other general infrastructure.

However, while Raskalarn and Karem had been planning to secure these initial holdings and build them up, trouble started fairly quickly. Bandits would attack the more organized villages hoping for better loot or the supply caravans hoping for better food and materials. In these early days, the Imperial Army began to transition from a barely organized horde of warriors into the disciplined and controlled force it is now, as Raskalarn and Karem led the armies personally and instilled the core tenants of organized combat into their soldiers. They rarely referred to these bandit raids as a real threat, but they new that soon enough, they would meet their first true challenge.



To the west of the empire's borders lay the Ithecal nation of Dynaash. Having split off from Ethelynda, these Ithecal chose to force people under their protection and were aggressively expansionist. This attitude quickly brought them in conflict with The Eternal Empire, as Ras declared Raskalarn a blood enemy of Dynaash despite her not having made a move against the Ithecal nation at that time. This war marked the first true test of the Empire's mettle, and it was short and brutal. The warring bands of Dynaash lacked the discipline of the Imperial army and spilled into the empire's territory, taking villages with little resistance as Raskalarn pulled her people to Korlasir to protect them. Despite the advice given by Ethelynda, who knew Raskalarn and Karem better than perhaps any other person outside the empire, Ras could only see victory ahead for his people and blindly charged Korlasir, seeking to crush Raskalarn, Karem, and The Eternal Empire.

The Siege of Korlasir, however, was not to end in Dynaash's victory. For all his bravery and personal skill on the battlefield, Ras was not the tactician that Raskalarn was, nor were his warriors as well trained as Raskalarn's soldiers. The warriors of Dynaash were trapped within the walls of Korlasir, unable to fight as they preferred while the Imperial army was on their home turf. The fighting was bloody, but before long it became clear that Dynaash had lost not only the battle, but had suffered so many losses that they could never recover. However, Ras refused to admit defeat and would have consigned his entire people to death, had his son Kin not stepped in and taken Ras's life, before pledging himself and the survivors of Dynaash to The Eternal Empire.

After the siege of Korlasir, the people of Dynaash offered no resistance to being integrated into the empire, and indeed, many of the villages subjugated by Dynaash benefited from the greater organization and logistical ability that Raskalarn brought with her to the new lands of her empire. Of course, the sudden massive increase in territory that the submission of Dynaash presented came with it's own problems, and having proven their ability to defend themselves, the Imperial Army would now need to prove its ability to expand as The Eternal Empire began to run into problems with its food supply.



Following the integration with Dynaash, it quickly became apparent that The Eternal Empire was no longer capable of meeting Raskalarn's standards for food supply. The Korlasir Region was admittedly still capable of feeding the people of the empire, but it would quickly strain under any extended military campaign. Given the likelihood of such a scenario occurring with The Eternal Empire's mission statement, it was obvious that the empire needed to secure a better source of food in order to maintain their ability to expand. Fortunately, the answer was close at hand, as the region to the immediate south of The Eternal Empire's borders was largely dominated by plains that were perfect for agriculture.

These areas were mostly home to farm villages that offered little resistance when Raskalarn, Kin, and Karem led the Imperial Army into the region. What resistance was offered was generally crushed swiftly, though reprisals were generally merciful, as Empress Raskalarn wished to fully incorporate new territories into the empire, rather than treat them as subjugated peoples. The victories won by the Imperial Army during this period, relatively easy as they were, helped to train the newly incorporated Ithecal and refine their tactics, dealing as little harm to the territory and civilians as possible while still ensuring they were able to take and hold the region.

Following the conquest of the Southern Plains, Raskalarn decided to stop for some time and consolidate the empire's holdings. In addition to the expected build up of roads to make traversing the empire easier, the construction of watchtowers to make defense both internal and external threats easier, and the other traditional work of nation building, Raskalarn also made sure that the children of the conquered territories were raised and treated as citizens of the empire, each successive generation becoming more and more incorporated into The Eternal Empire, rather than holding onto dead traditions and beliefs. This practice drastically lowered the odds of attempted rebellion, as people considered themselves Imperial citizens, rather than people of a subjugated territory. In the future, this practice would prove to be key to the Empire's lasting unity and peace.



As Raskalarn and the Imperial Army consolidated their current holdings, another region was added to the empire's borders and in a most unexpected way. To the east of the Southern Plains lay a great forest, but it was known to all that the region was unsafe for logging or hunting, though otherwise remarkably lacking in danger. Owing to her nature as the Immortal of the Hunt, Karem found this intriguing enough to go and learn about this forest personally. While the Great Wolf expected to encounter dangerous animals or perhaps some savage tribes or bandit groups, she found something that not even an Immortal could expect. The forest itself was alive and through her Domains, Karem was able to communicate with it, gaining safe passage to the heart of the forest.

There she met with Maguon the Benevolent, one of the Five Hearts of the great Unabor Forest. The Great Wolf spend five arcs in that forest, speaking with Maguon and learning of it, as Maguon itself learned from her. In the end, Karem emerged to speak with Raskalarn, and the two Immortals returned together to speak with the Great Heart. There, Raskalarn learned that Karem had bartered a deal with Maguon, letting The Eternal Empire claim most of the forest as part of their territory so long as they would control logging and hunting in the area. In addition, Maguon would provide medical herbs and let them harvest fruits and vegetables from the trees in the forest as if they were orchards.

Raskalarn readily agreed to the arrangement that Karem and Maguon had come up with, and declared the region, now known as The Sacred Forest as a protected part of The Eternal Empire. Small villages were set up under Maguon's guidance, while Karem instructed the hunters and loggers in how to communicate with Maguon to see what was safe for them to take without harming the forest as a whole. The agreement proved to be an excellent one for all parties involved and has lasted from the day it was made into the modern era, with no signs of strain. This easy expansion and the resources it brought let the empire focus on building up it's infrastructure and maximizing it's production of food and finished good, leading directly into the empire's first golden age.



As the empire's infrastructure strengthened and the movement of food, goods, and people became not only easy to manage, but relatively easy to protect, Raskalarn once again turned her attention to expanding the borders of the empire. There had been several raids by bandit clans and the like into the Sacred Forest from the mountains to the east of the empire, and so the next Imperial conquest was decided. After ensuring Maguon that they could move troops through the forest without causing a significant amount of damage to it, Raskalarn and Karem led the Imperial Army into the Hotlands Border Range and began to seek out and destroy the bandit tribes in the area.

In addition to the bandit tribes, there were some small number of villages that had been mostly living in fear of the bandit clans. These villages, tired of being raided at every opportunity, were wary of the Imperial Army at first, since their experiences with large numbers of armed people was rather poor. The Imperial Army, having been trained to Raskalarn's standards of behavior and discipline for several generations at this point, responded to these suspicions by sharing their own supplies with the villages and defending them from the bandit raids. This display of charity and protectiveness won over the beleaguered villages, who willingly accepted Imperial authority and joined the Eternal Empire.

These battles, however, proved the toughest that the Imperial Army had faced since the war with Dynaash. The bandits had built decent forts and usually had the terrain advantage against the Imperial Army. Hunters from the villages generally helped the Imperial Army mitigate the latter problem where they could, but the forts still had to be taken primarily by siege. However, the Imperial Army had better tactics, discipline, and supplies, not to mention their advantage in sheer numbers, and so they were able to bring down these bandit fortress and, eventually, add another region to The Eternal Empire.



With the addition of the Hotlands Mountain Range to The Eternal Empire, Raskalarn decided against expanding into the Hotlands for the moment, settling for building a fortress to keep an eye on the desert. Instead, she turned her attention the growing presence of mages in The Eternal Empire. After a brief, mostly verbal, argument with the small Seeker's presence in the imperial borders, Raskalarn agreed to let mages operate within the empire, so long as they didn't try to hide their magic. While there was some initial tension between most people and the mages, these faded after a few generations as magic started to become more integrated into The Eternal Empire and the Seekers presence in the empire faded following the collapse of their leadership.

Around this time, an expedition went into the Volcanic Mountain Range to the north of Korlasir. There were no real expectations of finding anything the region, but the expedition was sent on the off-chance of finding a use for the region. To their surprise, what they found were a very few villages clinging to life in the region. These people had fled warfare in the snowy mountains beyond the volcanoes, but they hadn't been able to gather the supplies to make it to more civilized areas. Intrigued by their survival, Raskalarn went to visit these villages personally, so that she could speak with their leaders. The leaders balked at joining the empire, but agreed on one condition. Their former culture had been one of challenges and so they challenged Raskalarn. If she beat their challenge, they would join the empire, if not, the empire would leave them be.

Raskalarn accepted and so the challenge was set: The Empress had, with whatever aid required, to find a way to live in the region that was as comfortable as living in a "softer" region. Raskalarn pondered the problem for a short time, then gathered up as many mages as she could, particularly Defiers and Abrogaters. With their mastery of magical defenses and elemental manipulations and her own powers, Raskalarn began construction on what would eventually become the Imperial Arcane Academy, though for now it was simply a mighty castle. To prove a point about the power and ingenuity at the empire's command, however, Raskalarn had the castle built in the middle of a lava field. To the surprise of not only the villages, but the mages who assisted her, the enchantments woven into the castle held easily, and the castle stood, kept cool and comfortable by magic. At her offer, the villagers moved into the castle, now citizens of The Eternal Empire.



Following the settlement of the Volcanic Mountain Range, Raskalarn spent quite a bit of time building up the region. As the requirements to build towns and fortresses on lava fields were intensive, this meant a general slowing of the empire's expansion while the new region was built into a more proper part of The Eternal Empire. It was near the end of this period that Korlasir received a messenger from the nearby city of Cahryst. When Raskalarn received this messenger, he explained that Cahryst wished to become part of The Eternal Empire, as they believed their best hopes for the future lay in joining with the strongest military power on the continent. When pressed on the reason for this sudden submission, the messenger explained about Cahryst's ongoing crisis, a section of the Unabor Forest ruled by one of the Five Hearts of Unabor: Scyne the Intolerant.

After learning of this, Raskalarn and Karem when to discuss the matter with Maguon, the ruler of the Sacred Forest. Maguon confirmed Scyne's nature and explained the dangers of Scyne's forest to the two Immortals, then said that their agreement was in no danger if they acted against Scyne. Raskalarn returned to Korlasir and told the Imperial Army to get ready for operations, then journeyed to Cahryst with the messenger to accept Cahryst as part of The Eternal Empire. The leaders of Cahryst readily bowed to their Empress, and Raskalarn took charge of helping the city integrate to the empire while Karem, who had joined the Imperial Army, led their military forces against the Forest of Corpses.

Scyne's forest proved as dangerous as they had been told and it quickly became apparent that they wouldn't be able to destroy the forest with their current forces. They would, however, be able to surround the forest and prevent it from growing any larger. This encirclement quickly became the new plan, and fortifications were erected to keep the soldiers as safe as possible while they worked at halting the expansion of the Forest of Corpses. This ended in the current state of affairs for the Cahryst Region, with the military holding back the Forest of Corpses while the empire brings Cahryst's educational advances to the rest of the empire.



Following the addition of Cahryst to the empire, Raskalarn decided it was time to improve the empire's educational structure, as there had been no real higher education available up to that point. She was assisted in this push by one of her top generals at the time, and the two planned and began construction on the Imperial Officer's Academy, the Agricultural Research Center, and the Grand Imperial Library. The also made a deal with Maguon to begin construction on the Imperial Medical Headquarters and converted the first of Raskalarn's lava castles into the Imperial Arcane Academy. Over the course of these labors, the two became close, and in time, Raskalarn gave birth to the most prominent of her children: Valtharn.

Though Valtharn was born as one of twins, her twin was believed to have died in childbirth. Not content with one tragedy, however, the malignant Immortal Sintra attempted to inflict a second upon the royal family. She ordered her Webspinners to attempt to assassinate the infant Valtharn in the cradle. Raskalarn, who had been very watchful over Valtharn following her twins death, was able to interrupt the attempted assassination and learn the allegiance of the attacker. Following this, and enraged by Sintra's actions, Raskalarn ordered a search for more Webspinners to be conducted over the entirety of the Eternal Empire. The Webspinner Purge remains the only time in Imperial history that Raskalarn used her authority against citizens of the empire. If ordered by a less disciplined being, or carried out by less disciplined troops, it might have destroyed The Eternal Empire.

However, Raskalarn's orders were specific. No one who wasn't a Webspinner was to be harmed in the purge, no one's belongings were to damaged or taken, and no one was to be accused of being a Webspinner if evidence couldn't be found. However, most Webspinners had evidence of their allegiance in their homes or places of business, and these servants of Sintra were promptly tried and executed for treason. Even with the justification of the attempt on Valtharn's life and the careful precision of the order, it made the people of the empire very nervous. Raskalarn would spend the next two decades working on calming her troubled citizens and reassuring them that she was not going to descend into an oppressive tyrant.



Over the two decades that her mother spent calming her people, Valtharn grew into an adult and joined the Imperial Army. As a soldier, Valtharn quickly proved that she took after her mother and was not only a highly skilled personal combatant, she was also an intelligent and daring commander. With these gifts alone, as Raskalarn had declared that her daughter would have to make her own place in the empire, Valtharn quickly rose through the ranks of the Imperial Army. By the time she was forty, she was already a general, and there was trouble brewing on the horizon. The warrior tribes that had driven out the people who originally inhabited the Volcanic Mountain Range had begun to cause trouble along the northern border.

After a discussion among the leaders of the various branches of the Imperial Army, it was decided to recommend Valtharn as the Marshal of the northern campaign. Raskalarn agreed and ordered Valtharn to conquer the area known as the Winter Reach. Valtharn spent the next year building up the Imperial Army in the Volcanic Mountain Range, and when spring came, she led her soldiers in a lightning campaign against their foes. The northern tribesman mostly lived in fortified castles, frequently requiring the Imperial Army to put them to siege. Normally a long and grueling process, Valtharn proved her ability by using the terrain against the northern tribes, digging tunnels through the snow that led them straight to the walls so they could secretly set up siege ladders or employ sappers, diverting rivers or blocking roads with ice and snow to choke the enemy supplies, and once even deliberately setting off an avalanche to create a smooth ramp the Imperial Army could use to charge right up onto the battlements of a castle.

The campaign was quick and decisive. Within five years, the Imperial Army had taken the last of the fortifications held by the warrior tribes and the last of the villages had submitted to Imperial rule. Raskalarn herself had made frequent visits to the front, as the increasing complexity of the empire had largely kept her off the front line, and had made it clear that she was well pleased with the campaign. Valtharn was made a member of the Imperial High Council for her service to the empire and took over the job of fully integrating the Winter Reach to the wider Imperial whole.



As time passed after the conquest of the Winter Reach, people began to notice that Valtharn, despite her victories, was looking increasingly strained. This led to several enterprising soldiers under her command trying to help her by figuring out what was straining her. Unfortunately, their attempt went sour after a battle with several bandits after they found Valtharn torturing one of the captured prisoners. Shocked by their commanders cruelty, they attempted to confront her over it, only for her to kill them in a frenzy. In the immediate aftermath, Valtharn appeared regretful over the incident and didn't even resist her own arrest. It was only after her aging father came to visit her that something went horribly wrong. There is no solid record of what happened between them, but Valtharn flew into a berserk rage.

Drawing on power that none had seen before, Valtharn easily escaped her cell and butchered her guards. She then went on to slaughter any who tried to re-apprehend her and charged after her father, who had left her prison before she snapped. His guards tried valiantly to defend them, but Valtharn cut a bloody swath through them and slew her father, only taking a single wound over her eye for the trouble. After murdering her father, Valtharn began to cut her way through what had once been her own soldiers, apparently lost in a berserker rage. It was only the arrival of Karem and Raskalarn that put an end to the fallen Marshal's rampage.

The battle was furious, with Valtharn being one of the few people that could be held to the same level as her mother in terms of pure combat skill. Words were exchanged between mother and daughter, though no one could here was was said over the din of the battle except for Karem, who has refused to repeat was said. In the end, Valtharn was defeated and recaptured, though she was not slain. Her weapons and armor were taken from her by the Empress and Raskalarn herself oversaw her daughters trial. In the end, Raskalarn could not bring herself to execute her daughter and Valtharn was exiled from The Eternal Empire. It is said by those who witnessed it that the look on Valtharn's face at the news was one of profound regret, though she said nothing and left the empire without further trouble, though she would prove a thorn in the side of most of the rest of the world for several decades to come.



Following a long period of quiet following Valtharn's exile, Raskalarn once again ordered the Imperial Army on the offensive. The merchant city of Nashaki, rulers of the Hotlands region, were well known for their disregard of Mortal life in favor of its endless pursuit of coin. Raskalarn decreed that this was no longer tolerable and declared war on Nashaki. The war began in the Northern Hotlands, as the Imperial Army marched into the desert. At first, it was only regular bandits and the occasional Nashaki raid that they encountered, but in time, they met in battle at the Hotlands Claypan. The battle was swift and ended with the Claypan firmly in Imperial hands. Following this, there was a stall as the empire worked to determine how best to operate in the desert while Nashaki brokered for peace.

Following an attack on the peace talks near Nashaki, The Eternal Empire contracted with the Rhakrii Raiders for their better familiarity with the desert and attacked the only Nashaki fortress in the Northern Hotlands. The battle was as short as the one in the Hotlands Claypan, owing in no small part to the aid of the Rhakrii Raiders. This, however, would prove the last battle of The Hotlands War. While peace was never formally declared, an impasse was reached. Nashaki could not dislodge The Eternal Empire, but the empire was not able to operate effectively enough in the desert to continue the war.

In the end, an uneasy truce was reached and The Eternal Empire began to work on building up the Northern Hotlands to make it a more effective staging grounds, while at the same time looking to the rest of the empire's borders. During this time of quiet, a treaty was made with Rharne, Viden, and Scalvoris that the four nations would defend each other if attacked. In addition, Raskalarn began to build up the Imperial Navy, looking to open up new means of warfare and travel to the mostly landlocked Eternal Empire. This leads directly into the current state of affairs for The Eternal Empire, holding the Northern Hotlands and looking forward to its future.

The Korlasir region of The Eternal Empire is so named because it's most noteworthy feature is the sheer cliff of blackened stone upon which sits Korlasir, the capital of The Eternal Empire. Aside from the black city itself, however, the Korlasir region is also the region that encompasses the initial territory of The Eternal Empire. Owing to the need to supply the burgeoning empire, the Korlasir region is largely made of well cultivated farmland, with watchtowers placed regularly upon the roads. However, as the empire has grown beyond the ability of the Korlasir Region to feed alone, the food production from this area has increasingly turned to keeping an emergency supply on hand in case of famine or drought in the Empire.

This region is not without its dangers, however. Bandit groups occasionally strike into this part of the empire looking to raid the farms and food depots in the area, or hoping to raid rich caravans travelling to and from the capital city of Korlasir. If any bandit group is foolish enough to try and set up a permanent base, however, they will often find themselves dealing with the Korlasir garrison itself, and no military unit that operates so directly under the watchful eye of the Empress will be unprepared to deal with something so relatively minor as a bandit camp or fort.

In addition, there are records of bandit groups that are unfortunate enough to attack a caravan that has either Empress Raskalarn herself or the Great Wolf Karem travelling with it. Those encounters tend to be short indeed, with disastrous results for the bandits. Aside from the odd bandit, and even odder dangerous animal roaming into the region, the Korlasir Region is known for its tranquility and orderly nature, as befits the seat of The Eternal Empire.



Old Dynaash is made up of what used to be the holdings of the Ithecal nation of Dynaash, before Dynaash as a whole was absorbed into the Eternal Empire. Old Dynaash is made up of rocky plains that are mostly used for raising sheep and other animals that don't require too much food, as the area isn't particularly suitable for agriculture. It also has quite a few horse ranches and the region as a whole is one of the foremost suppliers of Imperial cavalry, barring specialty mounts like those used in the Hotlands. Outside of the ranches and supporting villages, however, the region is not particularly lived in, owing to the rocky terrain being unfavorable for larger cities.

That is not, however, to say that the region is lacking in Imperial presence. In addition to the Imperially mandated roads and associated watchtowers and defensive fortifications, the Imperial Officer's Academy is located in this region. This gives the region a very strong military presence, owing to the troops and build up required for practical training as well as classroom education for the officers. There are dangers in this region as well, bandit groups looking for horses or animal meat, as well as monsters and dangerous animals. The are usually used as training for the Officer's Academy, though they are taken no less seriously for that.

Finally, the region is also home to the Tomb of Ras, the first and last ruler of Dynaash. He is interred here in what was his main fortress as a sign of respect from both his son and Raskalarn, and it is considered one of the great historical sites of the empire, as a symbol of when the Empire truly had its start.



The Southern Plains are perhaps the most aptly named region, being an area largely made up of plains to the south of the Korlasir Region and Old Dynaash. Even more so than the Korlasir Region, however, the Southern Plains are made up of bountiful farmland and livestock pastures. The Southern Plains serves as the primary source of food production for the entire empire, with almost it's entire population and land area turned to this mass. That said, it is a poor place for orchards and the like, as there is little in the way of trees in the area. Irrigation, however, is not a problem, owing to no small number of rivers running through the area and into the territory held by the city of Volanta.

Like all regions of the empire, the Southern Plains has a notable military presence, though it is turned entirely towards defense, as there's not major concentrations of military authority in the region as is the case with Old Dynaash or the Korlasir region. However, the Southern Plains is home to the Agricultural Research Center, the central facility for the education of farmers and ranchers, as well as where most of the research on how to improve the empire's food production is done. Of course, there are bandits and such that attack the area, but they are largely dealt with by the existing military presence.

However, despite the occasional bandit or other troublesome fauna, the region is mostly peaceful, barring the occasional raid from particularly ambitious Yari companies. These are usually met in force and dealt with accordingly, though the area has seen a bolstered military presence recently owing to the appearance of Vielkrontier in Yaralon.



The Sacred Forest is made up entirely of part of the great Unabor Forests, in particular the section overseen by Maguon the Benevolent, one of the Five Hearts of Unabor. The region got its name from an Imperial Edict that illegalizes unauthorized logging and hunting within the bounds of the Sacred Forest. Despite that, the Sacred Forest remains one of the bigger sources of wood and wild game in The Eternal Empire, as Maguon leads loggers and hunters to trees and animals that need to be pruned for the ongoing health of the forest. Even then, however, the logging and hunting done is tightly controlled, largely done by groups that have earned the approval of Maguon itself for their temperance and respect for the forest they are working in.

In addition to wood and game, the Sacred Forest provides the vast majority of the empire's curative herbs, as well as much of the fruit and vegetable supply, as there's a large number of orchards and vineyards within The Sacred Forest. These are supported by relatively small and open villages built in great clearings in the Sacred Forest. In contrast with the rest of the empire, however, there is a relatively small military presence within The Sacred Forest, mostly consisting of watchposts and medical centers. The reason for this is Maguon itself, as the Heart of Unabor is fully capable of defending the forest from most threats on it's own. Nothing moves in the Sacred Forest without Maguon knowing it, meaning that threats and poachers are dealt with almost immediately, either by the Imperial Army or by Maguon itself. This has made the Sacred Forest the safest place in The Eternal Empire, even counting Korlasir itself.

The only major building of note in The Sacred Forest is the Imperial Medical Headquarters, which serves as the primary center for both medical education and medical research. Finally, it sometimes rumored that The Sacred Forest is where Karem lives most of the time. While this is largely due to the confusion between the Sacred Forest and Karem's own Ethereal Forest, it is certain that the Great Wolf can sometimes be encountered wandering the Sacred Forest, as she seems to prefer the peaceful forest to the hustle and bustle of cities like Korlasir.



The Hotlands Border Range is the mountain range that stands between The Sacred Forest and the Northern Hotlands, with the area held by the reclusive City-State of Avaern lying to the north of the range. Owing to this, the range has some notably varied terrain. The western part of the range is heavily forested, and while these woods do not fall under Maguon's influence, they are nonetheless the most pleasant part of the mountains within The Eternal Empire's borders. This area is mostly known hunting and some logging, though the terrain of the mountains makes the latter less ideal than it could be. There are also no small number of villages in this area, owing to the overall pleasantness of this part of the range.

However, the northern and eastern parts of the range are much more barren and stark. The eastern part of the range increasingly turns sparse and heat blasted as one gets closer to the massive desert known as the Hotlands. The northern part, meanwhile, gets increasingly snow covered as approaches the inhospitable area held by Avaern. As a result, there is less in the way of civilian settlements in these regions, and a higher concentration of bandit outposts and the like. There's also dangerous animals and the like that live in the area, owing to the lower concentration of mortal presence.

There is a notable military presence in the region despite this, however, as the area serves as the primary route to the Northern Hotlands region. Between this route and the civilian presence in the western part of the range, the area has quite a few watchowers to protect the villages as well as caravans travelling the road to the Hotlands. Outside of that, however, there is no particularly major imperial facility in the region, and the area as a whole mostly acts as a travel area.



The Volcanic Mountain Range is the area to the immediate north of the Korlasir Region and is known, and named, for the unusually high quantity of volcanoes in the area. The entire area is a hotbed of volcanic activity and can be very treacherous to traverse as a result. Owing to this, the empire has set up a series of roads protected by both magic and divine enchantments. These roads lead to the important areas in the region, as well as serving as a highway between the Korlasir Region and the Winter Reach to the north. These roads are clearly marked, and there's watchtowers posted at regular intervals to keep track of travelers who get lost.

Despite the danger, however, the area is well populated. While fairly little farming and no ranching is done here, the otherwise unusable nature of the terrain has turned the area into the center of magical research in the empire. In addition, the heat of the magma turned out to make forges capable of working some extremely difficult metals for weapons and armor, as well as larger forges capable of creating larger sheets of metal. Rare metals and stones were also found to have formed in the region, creating an interest in mining in the region. Finally, the volcanic soil in the area turned out to be able to dramatically improve crop yield in the farms found in the Korlasir Region and the Southern Plains. All this turned the region into a hotbed of mining and production, for both military and civilian use.

The inhabitants of this region live in specially constructed fortresses and cities, woven with a great deal of magical and divine enchantment in order to make these locations not only livable, but comfortable. These edifices of imperial ingenuity are costly to produce, and so there aren't as many population centers as might be encountered in an area that's easier to settle. The military presence in this area is also fairly limited, as the dangerous terrain deals with most of the usual threats, leaving the Imperial Army in the area with the sole task of maintaining order in the population centers and watching the roads for lost travelers. Finally, the Imperial Arcane Academy is located in this region, serving as one of the foremost centers of magical education in the whole of Idalos.



The Cahryst Region lies to the west of Old Dynaash and is one of the most dangerous areas in The Eternal Empire. The reason for this isn't because of Cahryst itself or because of bandits and the like. Instead, it has to do with the eastern part of the Cahryst Region being largely dominated by another part of the Great Unaboar Forest. Unlike the Sacred Forest, however, the one in the Cahryst Region is far from peaceful. Overseen by Scyne the Intolerant, another of the Five Hearts of Unabor, the forest is incredibly hazardous, to the point that anything less than an armed expedition is all but guaranteed to be wiped out. Scyne hates Mortals and animals and seeks nothing less than their complete extermination, and the forest it rules reflects that.

Known primarily as the Forest of Corpses, Scyne's forest is home to every hazardous plant on the Eastern Continent, all of them alive and most of them capable of moving to some degree. This means that the forest actively attempts to expand its borders and such attempts are very dangerous. As a result, the vast majority of the military presence in the Cahryst Region is surrounding the Forest of Corpses in order to keep Scyne's dominion from spreading. While no successful attempt to destroy the entire forest has been made, the Imperial Army has been able to all but halt its growth, and they even manage to beat it back at times. In addition, criminals whose crimes are terrible enough are often assigned to tree clearing duty in the Forest of Corpses.

As for the rest of the region, it's mostly noteworthy for Cahryst itself. Cahryst is very nearly as big as Korlasir, with stout fortress walls that were once used to repel attacks from the Forest of Corpses. Despite this, the city is primarily reputed for its scholarly tradition and Cahyrst is the foremost center for education in The Eternal Empire, though it falls behind places like Viden in terms of education. The city of Cahryst also holds the Grand Imperial Library, the greatest repository of information in The Eternal Empire. The library also serves as the headquarters of the empire's educational department, as the empire's current educational structure was largely taken from Cahryst after the city became part of the empire.



Currently the northern most region of The Eternal Empire, the Winter Reach is a snowy area made up of hills and plateaus leading into the northern ocean near the island nation of Scalvoris. The region is heavily fortified due to having previously been ruled by warring warrior tribes. The fortresses and castles these tribes operated out of were largely taken intact by the invading Imperial Army and were repaired or improved after the conquest of the region, meaning that very little build-up was needed to make defending the region viable for The Eternal Empire to defend. That said, the roads in the area are fairly new and are, rather notoriously, some of the worst roads in the empire due to the bad weather of the region.

Remnants of the warrior tribes that were defeated by The Eternal Empire still exist in the area, mostly as bandit tribes that consider themselves a rebellion against The Eternal Empire. In addition to attacking Imperial caravans and the like, they are also prone to attacking rich merchants or villages that refuse to shelter them. This is intermixed with them trying to cajole the local villagers into rebelling against the empire, but the memory of the dangerous lives the villagers led before the Imperial Army conquered the region means that most of the villagers are loathe to trust the tribes.

Having been part of The Eternal Empire for less than a century, the region doesn't have the kind of grand build-ups many of the other regions of the empire do, and is still in the process of being fully integrated into the wider Imperial whole. The region mostly acts as a supplier of furs and one of the few ports The Eternal Empire has access to, though the remote location of the Winter Reach means it mostly serves as a trading hub with Scalvoris and Viden, as most other cities are too far away to make the sea trade particularly viable.



A very recent addition to The Eternal Empire, the Northern Hotlands have only been part of the empire for a few years. The region is a dry arid desert with the Hotlands Claypan as the only large source of water. As a result of this, and the depredations of the Nashaki government that previously controlled the area, the Northern Hotlands is mostly empty, with only a few tribes wandering the desert and a pair of fortresses. The rough terrain has made building up the region difficult as the Northern Hotlands has basically no base infrastructure to work off of. This has been amplified by the empire's general lack of experience with operating in desert regions, meaning that so far, the Imperial presence in the region has been focused on bringing the nomad tribes into the empire and learning to properly deal with the desert heat.

There have been some advancements made, however, such as changing what type of mounts the Imperial Army in the region uses, as well as progress in making the area less dangerous to live in. After some modifications, the same enchantments that make the Volcanic Mountain Range habitable have been applied to the two fortresses in the Northern Hotlands, making them much more comfortable. In addition, Defiance has made gathering water less cumbersome, as water-kin Defiers have been able to identify places where water can be found away from the Claypan.

However, these have not been as reliable in the Hotlands as it has been elsewhere, for the Hotlands is not entirely a natural desert. The place was once the domain of Anox, and it was turned into a sun blasted desert by the wicked power of the Original. His taint still pervades the desert, and interfere with the enchantments intended to make the desert habitable, causing the permanent ones to short or leading the Defiers astray. This, combined with bandit raids and the occasional incursion by Nashaki has made the region very dangerous, and as such, it has yet to draw in a significant civilian presence.