Stirge
The land of Stirge is connected to its sister continent of Duwallen by a thin strip of nigh-impassible mountain and separated in all practical senses by the great Ranschwan Bay, a veritable ocean in and of itself. Although its rocky shores are frequently assaulted by violent storms whipped into being by the nearby Godspouts, the hardy, seafaring folk who live there consider their collective ability to weather the abuse a mark of national pride.
From the cliffside capital of Novidomov at the base of its southernmost peninsula to the lakes and rivers of the Spokoyst Crest in the north, Stirge is a relatively temperate place. Wide swaths of fertile grasslands and verdant forests cover more than half of its surface. The exceptions to this rule exist in the extreme east and west reaches of its borders.
To the west, Strige fractures into a collection of sizable islands that grow colder the farther out one travels. By the end of the island chain, the elevation and proximity to the planetary poles creates harsh, frozen landscapes. These regions remained largely uninhabited by land-bound intelligent life until human explorers - seemingly saddled with something to prove to their peers back on the mainland - carved out a living on the frozen shores and within the ice caves scattered throughout the isles. Though life in these settlements is rough, to say the least, the vast quantities of delicious fish, rare animal furs, and unique minerals and gemstones have made them quite rich indeed.
In the east, nestled within the arms of the same mountain range that ties Stirge to Duallwen, lies the Pylic desert. More an expanse of dry, cracked badlands than the dunes and sand most expect of deserts, the region has become popular with ranchers and farmers whose livestock and crops are well suited to the arid conditions. It has also become flooded with bandits and merchants alike since the founding of the city of Histlegrad through the joint efforts of Stirgan humans and Dwarven immigrants. Built into a hole blasted straight through the mountains from the desert to the open waters of the Ranschwan, the city is a marvel of engineering, as well as an incredibly convenient resupply point for ships attempting to cross the bay. So convenient, in fact, that the governments of both Stirge and Duwallen have seen fit to turn a blind eye to the very obvious illicit activities that occur within the city’s walls on a regular basis rather than risk alienating the peoples of such a useful port.
Fauna & Flora
Stirge is home to wide expanses of lush, fertile land. Wide plains, rolling hills - even some of its rocky highlands are still blanketed in a dense green carpet of grass and rich soil. This has allowed Stirge to become an absolute powerhouse of food and textile production. It’s not quite enough to unseat their leading reputation as shipwrights and sailors, but it does keep the people exceptionally well provided-for.
Crops like corn, amaranth, barley, and rye can be found across Stirge’s central and southern fields, while tubers such as potatoes and beets become more common as one travels west into colder climates. In the dusty badlands to the northeast, cotton and hay are the main breadwinners, steadily making way for cactus pears and hot peppers in the dry sands of the Pylic desert in the east. With these crops at their disposal, traditional Stirgan fare tends to be hearty and filling, with exciting flavors being more of a secondary characteristic.
A wide variety of animals are raised for their meat and other byproducts - cows, chickens, a domesticated form of the wild boars that plague the northern shores - but none are quite so favored as the mountain goat. There are a number of subspecies bred specifically for everything ranging from hides to wool to milk to even their horns, but no matter where one travels on the surface of Stirge, some form of goat will likely be raised there. In the mountains surrounding the capital of Novidomov, there is a particularly large, hardy, and sure-or-foot breed that has come to represent Stirgan human ideals to the point that it is featured prominently on national coinage. Stubbornness, endurance, courage in the face of unspeakable odds - in the mind of Stirge’s human population, these are the traits that have allowed them to carve a living into the rocky cliffs that met them on the day their ancestors first laid eyes on their homeland.
Natural Resources
Stirge is not particularly well known for having the largest forests in the world, but the forests it does have are densely populated and grow at a tremendous rate compared to those of other nations. It is believed that Stirge’s forests’ unique properties can be traced back to the presence of the Lesok - the long-lived species of tree-like peoples who live in symbiotic relationships with the heartier plantlife of the region. In the early days of humanity’s time on Stirge, while their empire was burgeoning and they still claimed a god-given dominion over the land, the Lesok were some of the staunchest resistance the humans faced. Logging camps would regularly be wiped off the face of the map and villages too near to forests would live in constant fear that one day, the treeline might suddenly move much closer.
Type
Continent
Related Ethnicities
Related Tradition (Primary)
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