Ischium

Ischium is a vast continent containing every natural biome and many that are not. The Continent of Ischium's populace is largely the normal as far as fantasy races go; dwarves, humans, elves, orcs, halflings, gnomes, etc. but many other more exotic species exist. Such as the Goliaths of the Bronze Mountains, Nagakin of the southern archipelago, and the various hybrids of species, from the standard human and orc/human and elf to the Cambion and Nephilim. Demigods walk the earth alongside mortals.   The political landscape in Ischium is an interconnected web of city-states that fight with and against each other. Trade is hindered only by the distance between trading posts and cities. Reflecting this, government and private petitioners have focused a significant portion of their brightest minds and funds to transportation development, large police forces to patrol trade routes, hiring adventurers to bust up bandit dens and other dangers to the public transportation system, as well as fortifying trade posts. At least one if not more sets of train rails connect large and influential cities to each other. The trains themselves often steam-powered using either an ensnared fire elemental or multiple coal boilers as a means of powering the engines. Sky docks pepper cities, flying ships being a convenient and relatively safe way to transport people and cargo both within and outside the city limits, although not as many or as much as trains would allow.   The current world powers in Ischium are; The Five Cities of Arnithon, or Arnith; and the vast Subterranean Kingdom of Nargunarg. Arnith is an urban landscape comprised of 7 boroughs, 5 of which were individual cities at one point and the other 2 formed after the original cities allied, an eventual consequence of the baby boom that followed. each borough has a specialized economic focus, led by a borough council consisting of noblemen, guild representatives, and local clergy; headed by a democratically elected councilman who acts as the people's voice to the council and the crown of Arnith. The current king is Del Skullrend direct descendant of the founder, Arnis Skullrend, the cities namesake. Nargunarg is a vast subterranean city consisting of several interconnected hollowed mountains. The government has two branches, one is bureaucratic representative elected parliament managing domestic affairs called the Merchant's guild, and the second a monarchy concerned with seeing that the local government stays uncorrupted, busting up monopolies within Nargunarg's economic sphere, infrastructure, and defense. The leading monarch of Nargunarg is a relatively young King, Wodan Asheshild, a nephew of the founder Asir Norhammer.   With a total continental population of around 25 million though this seems a massive population, it averages out to around 10 people per square mile. But in reality, the population density of undeveloped land is maybe 1 per square mile, rural areas are around 15 people per square mile and the most densely populated city, Arnith, sits at around 20k people per square mile. To get an idea of this, NYC's population density in 2010 was ~27k per square mile. Ischium's surface area is around 10 million square miles.   The driving force of Ischium's governments is to prepare for the Apotheosis, a potentially cataclysmic event that occurs every 43,098 days, or approximately 118 years. The Apotheosis is an attempt by the evil deities and cultists to bring about the end of mortals, cause suffering or both either as a means of gathering power from their life essence for themselves or others, to strike back at the deities that created the mortals, or even just to fulfill the being who has invaded's own desire or compulsion of destruction. It can be as straightforward as the avatar of a deity raising an army of undead abominations, or it could be something as subtle as all magic drawing on the life force of everything within 100 miles. It is to be noted that these events can change the face of Ischium forever when the year of Apotheosis closes danger does not end there. The plans of some deities can lay in wait for decades, centuries, or even millennia. Notable Apotheosis events that are still going on include Amu'um the Lich's ongoing struggle with Behemutt and his cult (this is not widely known, what is known is that Amu'um is a lich involved in an Apotheosis event, and it is best for all to stay clear of his island), A known avatar of an eldritch being named Tupikan in the Tupikan jungle, and the millions of entombed undead in the catacombs of Hnabrygg led by a vampire sultan.