The Silent Kingdoms
The Silent Kingdoms are ten small fiefdoms which occupy the land west of the mountains bordering Skeld and east of the Unclaimed Marches and the Amity Ocean.
Their names are Umt, Omt, Imt, Pfynn, Delk, Gulk, North and South Quilx and North and South Kloon.
The painting at the head of the article shows the northern aspect of Allwall, a fortified town in North Quilx on a low ridge of hills where the borders of North Quilx, Pfynn and Delk meet. Although it has sometimes been the site of skirmishes between the soldiers of the three realms, its mossy and ivy clad stone walls are more often left to the peace of the clouds and the crows.
Localized Phenomena
The Silent Kingdoms occupy the site of an ancient magical conflict, which has left a long standing and strange effect on their lands. From north to south and west to east, there is a powerful sound dampening curse which completely mutes any noises, whether they be of natural or human origin. This state of affairs has been true for many ages. It has resulted in a region where all animals and humans are effectively rendered deaf. Only on passing out of the zone, do the sounds of wind and water gradually assert themselves again.
As a result of the curse of silence being in place for so long, some local fauna have evolved with atrophied or no ears. This only applies to the more slow moving or sedentary creatures, since for birds and beasts crossing in and out of the zone, there is still a need to retain a sense of hearing. Humans who live here need to ensure that they spend some time in the wider world on occasion, or they risk losing their ability to mentally process sound and to produce speech. Not all of them do so
What happens to the sounds that should be heard here? It is understood that the arcane curse which apparently swallows them, steals them away to a location on the opposite side of the world known as the Throat of the World, on Vox Island off the coast of Utterland. There, they emerge in a great wall of deafening concentrated noise, known as the Voice of the World.
History
It is thought that at one time, in a distant age, a single unified country ruled over the entire region which was the heart of an empire with interests all over the world. The current kingdoms were most likely no more than internal administrative districts of this country, whose very name is now forgotten. Most likely, the ancient capital spanned the River Whisper, linking the contemporary cities of north and south Quilx. The curse of silence which now afflicts the area is believed to have resulted from a great magical weapon deployed by their enemies at the end of the war that ruined the old empire.
In current times, the squabbling rulers of these tiny domains are very often at war within one another, technically or in practice, but the wars are typically listless and half hearted affairs in which very little happens and territory is seldom lost or gained. They have been described as lichen slow, more of an exercise in diplomatic scheming and petty trade disputes than out and out conflict.
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