Brandjorden
The southern continent of Mellanvärlden, a land bathed by the scorching sun and home to several different civilizations, whose people are normally called Ashalli. Unlike
Preomona and Människar, who are home of the most ferocious and terrible creatures, respectively, Brandjorden proves to be just as harsh by other means: its weather.
Vast and immense, the southern continent extends far beyond what usual Manniskarian maps depict, as the land stretches as far south as Manniskar does north, leading to entirely different civilizations and smaller islands. However, for most, what is really known and remembered about Brandjorden is its northern coast, in which lies the rich and exotic city of
Alluabid and, to the west, the collection of slaver cities that form the Kaliin Union.
The peoples and the language are called Ashalli in honor of Asha, the first woman to have roamed the world and mother of all of mankind.
Geography
Should an explorer land at Alluabid, he'd find the city surrounded by a vast desert, rocky canyons and endless dunes of thin, yellow sand. Into the desert are rare, yet lush oases that are capable of sustaining an ecossystem and be the salvation of countless caravans that cross the Brandjordian Plateau.
To the west, the climate becomes somewhat more forgiving, as the desert mixes with other types of climates, such as tropical and semi-arid forests. The coast, where the slaver cities are settled, sustains quite a diverse ecosystem, as regular rain and the local rivers keep the land alive. Should one roam south, they'd find themselves in extensive, dry highlands filled with valleys and mesas. At one point, gazing to the west they'd see an enormous mountain, towering above the surrounding landscape, Mount Ladakh, an enormous volcano that erupts every few hundred years, laying waste to the land and covering the skies with ash. And suddenly, beyond Ladakh, lush and temperate forests are found as the climate changes abruptly, essentially meaning the traveller had reached the lands of Ladakh, of bronze-skinned men.
On the contrary, to the extreme east, the deserts around Alluabid get progressively harsher, hotter and devoid of life. The sand goes from yellow to almost red and not the hardiest cactus manages to survive in there, a place called Desert of Souls. Countless people have gotten lost in this immense wasteland, which some say to only truly end as one reaches the Realm of the Dead.
