Transoria (/tranzori:ɘ/ (Aeillan: transoria/))
Θρανζορια
The Transoria is a hilly, densely forested wild region on the borderlands between Iskandris, Syros, and Apepsos. Long unsettled due to rumors of ancient monsters, the region of Transoria has often become a hideout for revolutionaries, fugitive slaves, and even common bandits on account of the lack authority found, especially in the heart of the territory.
The Transoria is home to relatively few people, about two or three hundred thousand including in the chain of hills streching far into Apepsos as part of the Transoria. The interior of the region is even sparser, with the only major population centers being on the outer fringes of the Transoria. As such deep in the woodlands, only villages and a handful of small towns can be found.
The Transoria has long been favored by small bands of people who seek an escape from the established authority of the Ilos and Tyros Vales, and indeed the peoples who live here tend to be fiercely independent. The region has fallen, in practice under the Syroi sway in the years since the fall of the Empire, as growing numbers of escaped slaves find their homes here, and increasingly buy into the passionately abolitionist rhetoric of the Syroi.
Geography
The Transoria's boundaries are difficult to define, in large part because the hilly, forested terrain stretches well into the traditional bounds of the Ilos and Tyros Vale, and indeed interconnects with the northern ranges of the Menaulatolia. Most scholars agree that the Transoria is comprised of the hills on the borderlands between Apepsos, Iskandris, and Syros, with its southern extreme being near the town of Neotraban, its western edge approaching Carnak and following the hills past the falls of Orestes into the Odric Mountains, its east by the hills on the east bank of Tyros until it meets with the Iskend, and its north marked by the descent of the hills into the flatlands of Inner Huria.
The Transoria is a wild upland with most of the region consisting of hills and valleys with relatively dense woodland between them. The Transoria's woodlands are mostly untamed and quite dense for the realms of Aeilla. However, towards the frontiers of the Transoria, the hills tend to become smaller, and more gently sloping, clearings become larger, and uncleared woodlands thin out, fading into the Ilos and Tyros Vale, and Inner Huria takes over the in the north. In the south the boundary is more unclear.
The Transoria's soils are rich and indeed the thick woodlands of the region are clear indicator of that. They are however quite rocky, and thus it is difficult to farm without first clearing out the rocks. This fact prevented most extensive settlement of the Transoria until relatively recent. However, where agriculture occurs, it is extremely profitable for those who partake in it.
Ecosystem
The lands of the Transoria have, for the most part gone somewhat underdeveloped by Aeillan standards, and as a result, much of the natural ecosystem has remained, relatively intact. The natural ecosystem of the Transoria consists largely of supertropical broadleaf forest, though some of the higher elevations possess a somewhat cooler, temperate broadleaf forest. There are a few clearings, which are more common in the fringes of the region, which consist of temperate or supertropical grasslands.
There is little in the way of open bodies of water in the Transoria with no major rivers or lakes running through the territory. Instead, most of the water is stored in groundwater deposits that are relatively close to the surface, or in small ponds and streams. As a result aquatic ecosystems are quite limited, with ponds and the adjoining wetlands being the primary areas where quatic life can be found.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Transoria, like most of Aeilla possesses two major seasons that make up the natural weather cycle of the ecosystem. These are the summers and winters. In the Transoria summers are significantly milder with a temperatures not reaching the heights that can be found in other regions. The winters conversely are somewhat cooler with snowfall, though rare, not being completely unheard of, and with a regular snowfall season occurring for about two or three weeks per year, and accumulating perhaps 6 centimeters of snowfall over the course of the season.
Fauna & Flora
The Transoria is home to a wide array of mostly broadleaf trees, as well as many shrubs, grasses, and other plants and funguses. Of particular note are the wild Illiowiné plants which do grow in surprisingly large numbers here. Other noteworthy elements of Flora include Drojos Ivy, and Gitoflower, the later of which is only found in the wild, within the region of Transoria. This is of course in addition to many berries that are often grown as sustenence in the wild.
Wildlife is also quite plentiful in the region, in addition to the many types of husbanded animals. Bears and wolves are quite common in the area, though their oversized brethren are generally considered extinct in the area. The more monstrous predators, and indeed aerial predators are not found in abundance however. Non-predatory animals range from a few species of large ruminant to many different types of small gatherers, and with a wide variety of wild insects. In the few ponds, there are some wild fishes and amphibians, though most life lies in wild seagrasses.
Natural Resources
The Transoria is host to extremely rich soil. However, there are two challenges in farming the regions. The first of these is the high density of rock in the soil, which requires significant labor to remove. The second is the lack of readily accessible water, though this can be remedied with the construction of wells to tap into groundwater, and adequate irrigation. Ponds provide freshwater otherwise in addition to most being somewhat fishable.
Mineral wealth is more common with plentiful iron deposits, and large rocks (useful as building materials) being especially common. Rarer elements are harder to come by however, though dedicated prospectors have been able to find more than a few copper deposits, and in recent years, several expeditions have found exploitable sources of sulfer.
History
The Transoria was first attested to in written records by the Tilori peoples in the ancient past, these peoples clinging to the northern reaches of the Tyros River, would establish colonies on the west bank of the Tyros and slowly move into the interior of the Transoria over the course of three centuries starting two thousand years ago. This civilization was destroyed by the Yulan-Tai who incorporated the Tilori into their own Empire, taking them away, and incorporating them into the human underclass that would eventually become the Ilsoi, Tyroi, and Spartharoi peoples, and would leave the Transoria uninhabited by sentient beings.
The region would remain largely abandoned until well into the Forging Era. When the Ilsoi Republic, seeking resources to further build up its economic and military might, settlers from the Republic began to settle in the hills, particularly where chartered by the Republic when state Druids detected a source of mineral resources. This project would continue well into the Imperial Period, though the instability of the Late Imperial would put a stop to further deliberate colonization. The Felorans would never conquer the Transoria, though Feloran and Aeillan Imperial raiding forces would make use of the sparsely populated region to move without being observered, and thus the region became a major battleground, especially during the periods that were otherwise calm.
After the Feloran Invasions, and the fall of the Empire the Transoria, would remain inhabited. Despite the instability in the surrounding region. When the Syroi League, an actively anti-slaver state was formed near the Transoria, the region became a hotbed for abolitionist activity with slaves from the nearby realms of Iskandris and Apepsos frquently being trafficked through, or even setting up new communities in the Transoria. This activity, moreso even than the dedicated settlement effort, has been responsible for the taming of the region.
Type
Region
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