Asuria

Asuria is a historic region of Eshor. In ages long past, it formed the heartland of the Asurian empire, but ever since then it has been a hotbed of political instability. Conquest of Asuria has been seen as the start of a grand revival of that ancient empire by countless tyrants who think themselves worthy of succeeding it, which has led to the peninsula being host to numerous proxy wars and invasions. Over the last century or so, several notable city states have risen to prominence, including the city of Caelester.
However, political instability is far from the only danger in this land. Asuria sits between two oceans, with much of its coastline raked by storms. Further, it is a land of geological instability, formed by the meeting of the tectonic plates from each ocean. As a result, its high central mountain range is rife with volcanic activity and earthquakes are common enough that minor tremors often go without notice. The most recent such disaster is the Caelester Earthquake, a powerful quake that struck down the city 8 years ago.

Geography

Asuria is a mountainous peninsula, with towering mountains dominating the interior of the peninsula and foothills often running right to the coastline, and even beyond in places, forming barrier islands. These island chains form a series of unusually large natural harbours along the peninsula, enabling the maritime dominance that has been characteristic of the region throughout history.

Ecosystem

Most of Asuria's rural territory has long since been converted to farmland, with hillsides neatly split into a series of terraces. However, forested pockets remain, protected by Elves and other even more reclusive Forestfolk. Some of these are jealously guarded tangles of true wilderness, fircely protected by inhabitants who still remember times long past when forests stretched across the land, while others are more akin to forest gardens, carefully tended by their residents.
Much of the interior is dominated by alpine plains, high above the farms of the coast. Here little can grow but grass and scrub, broken up by exposed bedrock and steep gullies and cliff faces. There are only a handful of passes with established roads, where one can cross the mountains in relative safety - most of which are available for only half the year when the deep winter snow has melted suffiicently. As such there is far more travel by ship around the peninsula than there is directly across it.

Type

Peninsula