Gruthe (gɹuð:)
The Central Continent of PÈRYL. Divided into six distinct regions all surrounding a central sea, Chaalai, called, perhaps unimaginatively, the Seven Regions. Clockwise: Llaohh, Thōurraidt, Suvata, Ys, Dhaoshee, and Qh'énnshaiyn, with Chaalai being the seventh. Thōurraidt (NE) is subdivided into the island regions, Thōur, derived from a Ptarshakkian word, thoh, meaning "troll lands" or "wilderness," and Raidt which encompasses all of Ptarshakk. Suvata (SE) is "the Throne (of Dragons)" and wilderness dominated by the largest mountains in the world and similarly massive mesas, including the titular Throne, the most massive. Here be dragons. Ys (S) is largely dominated by the Tzolgaryn Kingdom of Ys. Its people are ethnically called Yssians, politically, Tzolgarin.
Dhaoshee (SW) is a loose affiliation of city-bound oligarchs who carve up the surrounding lands in to fiefs awarded to magical academies, scholars, and wizards of all sorts. As almost all religio-magical training is done here, Dhaoshee is both politically neutral and militarily unassailable: no army would risk alienating the magic-users, lose access to their academies, or risk invoking the wrath of other nations who rely on Dhaoshee. So despite its very loose affliations, it is often the home of renegades, brigands, runaways, and all sorts of magi. Qh'énnshaiyn (NW) is vast plains and forest to the south after the barrier of the Northern Har. Beyond the Great Qh'énnish Plain is an escarpment that runs the length of the Qh'énnish peninsula. Llaohh (N) has three main divisions: the southern plain which abuts the walled nation Hœm, then the mountain range which constitutes the lands of the Blue Ice Dwarves--the Illaohhéin--and then beyond the northern tundra until it terminates in the Bhuvrischt sea.
Geography
From the tundra of northern Llaohh Region to the tropical jungles of southern Ys, Gruthe is a diverse landmass. Centuries of human empire-building has largely deforested the old growth in northern regions, although Qh'énnshaiyn has numerous forests still extant. This is attributed to the sacred forestry of the pre-Qh'énnish selttlers, the Mỳdrians. Ptarshakk has largely been desertified as a result of its early forest destruction when it was still a colony of its mother nation, Ptarshai far to the east of Gruthe. Both Dhaoshee and the northern half of Ys are relatively arid and mostly scrub, plains, grasslands. Southern Ys is dense jungle. The majority of Yssians are settled in a thin fertile strip that runs parallel to the coastline between the scrub and jungle where there is enough moisture for farmland but quite enough for jungle. All of Suvata remains wild as it is dominated by dragons and human settlers have never successfully colonized any part of the region.
Natural Resources
Baukire, gold, and silver.
Hexech in mines and coral growths along both coasts.
Fertile regions of the central highlands are ideal for wine, eiswein in particular.
History
The earliest inhabitants of Gruthe were the dragons.
Proto-Svor dwarves arrived and became dominant before fracturing into the various dwarven (and gnome) tribes extant.
Goblins were rendered extinct by disease and constant war—intratribally and with dwarven kingdoms—before the first century of the Qh'énnish Ascension. It is uncertain when the trolls of Thōur arrived or whether they originated somewhere on the continent.
The first humans on Gruthe were the Proto-Yssians who settled in what would bear their name, Ys, having crossed from southern islands. Proto-Yssians were a sea people. It is unclear whether the proto-Mỳdrians were a sub-group of Proto-Yssians or another group from the southern sea peoples.
The Kharnnes, Sarnish, and the Qhélssénnish were descent tribes from proto-Kiels and arrived across the narrow Kielischt sea. This is often considered heretical because the name of the cliffs that overlook Kielischt is "the End of the World," implying that its namers did not know about the Kiels their lands to west, or that they were descedents therefrom.
Increasingly more militarized and technologically advanced than the pastoral and itinerant proto-Mỳdrians, the Yssians drove them north and westward. Eventually, the people who became the Mỳdrians were settled and prospered in relative isolation across the plains, forests, and oceanside of Qh'énnshaiyn, with the Har barrier keeping Yssian encroachment for a couple of centuries. The Yssians split into two distinct kingdoms and set up colonies throughout Gruthe. The Northern Yssians, as they were called, were foundational in the establishment of Hœm—their descendents became the ethnic Hœmmé—and created the city-state of Callenriter.
To the north, the Qhélssénnish became the Qh'énns, the Kharnnes were dominated in their mountainous region by a dragon-wyrm, Bhvarius Kharnne, and the Sarnish colonized the straits islands and the westernmost shores of Llaohh. Conflict with dwarves ended the colonies on the mainland of Llaohh dispersing some of the Sarnish to Hœm and some to Mỳdrian held lands and back to the island that bears their name.
Qh'énnish weaponry and metalsmithing became the most advanced on the continent having found ancient dwarven forges, gear, equipment, and pictographs depicting the steps to make certain technologies. The ores of northern Qh'énnshaiyn were rich and abundant and of high-quality. It seems some early Qh'énnish mines were abandonded by Green Dwarves before their strange and aburpt dissappearance.
With their technological and metalurgical advances, the Qh'énns pushed the Kharnnes into their mountains and began to dominate all of the northern half of the peninsula. Eventually as they expanded, they came into conflict with the Northern Yssians. After a century of conflict, eventually a new empire was forged when powerful Yssian houses married tribal leaders of Qh'énnish clans. These new hybrid people were called the Callessai and this union became known as the period of the Qh'énnish Ascension and the new calendar was struck from the date when a Northern Yssian prince married a Qh'énnish yeath and daughter of the warlord Karreth/high king. From then on, the ruling families of the Cāllen'ter Empire were of mixed Qh'énnish and Northern Yssian—that is: Callessai—heritage. All the ruling kings took the title Emperor Karreth.
In the first century of the Qh'énnish Ascension, certain Qh'énnish tribal leaders, having been trained and raised in the civilized ways, powers, and privileges of Yssian nobles, became overly ambitious and rebelled. At first these rebellions were regional squabbles, squashed by Callessai. Later conflicts were wider and largely broke down along ethnic lines: Qh'énn against Yssian/Callessai. Although this was also nonsensical because of centuries of cohabitation and mixing, none of the either noble lines could claim to be free of the blood of the other. However, some chose to identify more with one heritage.
The First Qh'énnish Rebellion was a bloody affair that ended in the utter defeat of its anarchs. Qa, Lord Baron of Qhan, was executed and his immediate family were exiled. A cousin assumed the barony. However, with further assistance from better intelligence, larger armies, and greater support, the Second Qh'énnish Rebellion, lead by Qa's son Qh'en, supported by the armies of the majority of Qh'énnish barons, ended in the utter defeat of the Callessai and the dissolution of the empire. The ruling house was dead to a man. The entirety of the court was killed in battle or executed thereafter. However, Qh'en's rule was brief and by the end of his first year, having been abandoned by the Northern Qh'énns, he was dead and the southern half of Qh'énnshaiyn was depopulated.
Proto-Svor dwarves arrived and became dominant before fracturing into the various dwarven (and gnome) tribes extant.
Goblins were rendered extinct by disease and constant war—intratribally and with dwarven kingdoms—before the first century of the Qh'énnish Ascension. It is uncertain when the trolls of Thōur arrived or whether they originated somewhere on the continent.
The first humans on Gruthe were the Proto-Yssians who settled in what would bear their name, Ys, having crossed from southern islands. Proto-Yssians were a sea people. It is unclear whether the proto-Mỳdrians were a sub-group of Proto-Yssians or another group from the southern sea peoples.
The Kharnnes, Sarnish, and the Qhélssénnish were descent tribes from proto-Kiels and arrived across the narrow Kielischt sea. This is often considered heretical because the name of the cliffs that overlook Kielischt is "the End of the World," implying that its namers did not know about the Kiels their lands to west, or that they were descedents therefrom.
Increasingly more militarized and technologically advanced than the pastoral and itinerant proto-Mỳdrians, the Yssians drove them north and westward. Eventually, the people who became the Mỳdrians were settled and prospered in relative isolation across the plains, forests, and oceanside of Qh'énnshaiyn, with the Har barrier keeping Yssian encroachment for a couple of centuries. The Yssians split into two distinct kingdoms and set up colonies throughout Gruthe. The Northern Yssians, as they were called, were foundational in the establishment of Hœm—their descendents became the ethnic Hœmmé—and created the city-state of Callenriter.
To the north, the Qhélssénnish became the Qh'énns, the Kharnnes were dominated in their mountainous region by a dragon-wyrm, Bhvarius Kharnne, and the Sarnish colonized the straits islands and the westernmost shores of Llaohh. Conflict with dwarves ended the colonies on the mainland of Llaohh dispersing some of the Sarnish to Hœm and some to Mỳdrian held lands and back to the island that bears their name.
Qh'énnish weaponry and metalsmithing became the most advanced on the continent having found ancient dwarven forges, gear, equipment, and pictographs depicting the steps to make certain technologies. The ores of northern Qh'énnshaiyn were rich and abundant and of high-quality. It seems some early Qh'énnish mines were abandonded by Green Dwarves before their strange and aburpt dissappearance.
With their technological and metalurgical advances, the Qh'énns pushed the Kharnnes into their mountains and began to dominate all of the northern half of the peninsula. Eventually as they expanded, they came into conflict with the Northern Yssians. After a century of conflict, eventually a new empire was forged when powerful Yssian houses married tribal leaders of Qh'énnish clans. These new hybrid people were called the Callessai and this union became known as the period of the Qh'énnish Ascension and the new calendar was struck from the date when a Northern Yssian prince married a Qh'énnish yeath and daughter of the warlord Karreth/high king. From then on, the ruling families of the Cāllen'ter Empire were of mixed Qh'énnish and Northern Yssian—that is: Callessai—heritage. All the ruling kings took the title Emperor Karreth.
In the first century of the Qh'énnish Ascension, certain Qh'énnish tribal leaders, having been trained and raised in the civilized ways, powers, and privileges of Yssian nobles, became overly ambitious and rebelled. At first these rebellions were regional squabbles, squashed by Callessai. Later conflicts were wider and largely broke down along ethnic lines: Qh'énn against Yssian/Callessai. Although this was also nonsensical because of centuries of cohabitation and mixing, none of the either noble lines could claim to be free of the blood of the other. However, some chose to identify more with one heritage.
The First Qh'énnish Rebellion was a bloody affair that ended in the utter defeat of its anarchs. Qa, Lord Baron of Qhan, was executed and his immediate family were exiled. A cousin assumed the barony. However, with further assistance from better intelligence, larger armies, and greater support, the Second Qh'énnish Rebellion, lead by Qa's son Qh'en, supported by the armies of the majority of Qh'énnish barons, ended in the utter defeat of the Callessai and the dissolution of the empire. The ruling house was dead to a man. The entirety of the court was killed in battle or executed thereafter. However, Qh'en's rule was brief and by the end of his first year, having been abandoned by the Northern Qh'énns, he was dead and the southern half of Qh'énnshaiyn was depopulated.
Maps
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The Nation of Hœm
Composed of a federation of thirty self-governing, autonomous city-states, Hœm is the most ethnically, religiously, culturally, and linguistically diverse nation in the known world.
Alternative Name(s)
The Seven Realms; the Seven Regions
Type
Continent
Location under
Included Locations
Related Ethnicities
Related Tradition (Primary)
Inhabiting Species
Comments