The Watershed
Welcome to Ketal—a sprawling continent of harsh wildernesses scattered with the
skeletal remains of temples and monuments to long-forgotten gods, and a land with a long
history of tension between its varied peoples.
Stretching from the coast of the Kayless Sea in the west to the borders of the Gra-kal Desert in the east, the vast region of Gelland is littered with city-states whose various seats of power have changed hands numerous times over hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of war, marriage, and political scheming between the elites of the different cities. However, the region has experienced two centuries of unprecedented peace and stability since the Elvish nation of Ysalia closed its borders and retreated into the forest 300 years ago. While the United Confederacy of Human Lands that formed to address the elvish threat was dissolved shortly after its victory over Ysalia, its legacy lives on in a web of political agreements that amounts to a tenuous alliance between the various ruling powers of Gelland.
Life for the common people has become both safer and easier, as once-rival states now cooperate to guard the northern reaches of Gelland against the strange, nomadic tribes of wild men and marauding bands of orcs that inhabit the northern tundra, and the era of stability has allowed trade relationships to flourish, not only between human states, but also with the gnomes of the Gale Islands to the northwest and the legendary dwarven craftsmen of the Dur-Talek Mountains far to the south.
The peace has lasted so long now that the days of constant warring over land and power have faded into obscure history. But with a series of food shortages in recent years, tensions have begun to rise, and now there are whispers that the queen of a group of cities near the south-western coast has declared herself Empress of all human lands and begun to consolidate her power. What’s more, rumor has it that a strange structure—some say an entire city—has appeared deep within the western desert overnight, and bands of orcs have recently begun venturing farther and farther south of the tundra.
Still, all these concerns are far from the minds of the people of The Watershed. This region of winding rivers, sleepy farmland, and the occasional marsh is inhabited by simple folk who mostly live out their days working the land with little care for the faraway conflicts of foreign rulers and arcane powers. Here in the Watershed, in the heart of Gelland, you are well-protected from the threats of the faraway wastes by powerful allies on every side.
Stretching from the coast of the Kayless Sea in the west to the borders of the Gra-kal Desert in the east, the vast region of Gelland is littered with city-states whose various seats of power have changed hands numerous times over hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of war, marriage, and political scheming between the elites of the different cities. However, the region has experienced two centuries of unprecedented peace and stability since the Elvish nation of Ysalia closed its borders and retreated into the forest 300 years ago. While the United Confederacy of Human Lands that formed to address the elvish threat was dissolved shortly after its victory over Ysalia, its legacy lives on in a web of political agreements that amounts to a tenuous alliance between the various ruling powers of Gelland.
Life for the common people has become both safer and easier, as once-rival states now cooperate to guard the northern reaches of Gelland against the strange, nomadic tribes of wild men and marauding bands of orcs that inhabit the northern tundra, and the era of stability has allowed trade relationships to flourish, not only between human states, but also with the gnomes of the Gale Islands to the northwest and the legendary dwarven craftsmen of the Dur-Talek Mountains far to the south.
The peace has lasted so long now that the days of constant warring over land and power have faded into obscure history. But with a series of food shortages in recent years, tensions have begun to rise, and now there are whispers that the queen of a group of cities near the south-western coast has declared herself Empress of all human lands and begun to consolidate her power. What’s more, rumor has it that a strange structure—some say an entire city—has appeared deep within the western desert overnight, and bands of orcs have recently begun venturing farther and farther south of the tundra.
Still, all these concerns are far from the minds of the people of The Watershed. This region of winding rivers, sleepy farmland, and the occasional marsh is inhabited by simple folk who mostly live out their days working the land with little care for the faraway conflicts of foreign rulers and arcane powers. Here in the Watershed, in the heart of Gelland, you are well-protected from the threats of the faraway wastes by powerful allies on every side.
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