Map of the Known World

Overview of Known World

The world of Zalanthas is a vast planet which evidence suggest was widely explored sometime in the distant past. However, since the time of the Empire of Man, and possibly for many Ages before, the expanse of Zalanthas which has been known to demihumans has been called the Known World. While enormous in its own right, the Known World probably consists of no more than a small fraction of the total size of the world.

The Known World lies on the northern shore of a massive basin called the Sea of Eternal Dust (q.v.) and extends northward to the reaches of the Grey Forest (q.v.). Its eastern boundary is the Great Salt Flats (q.v.) and on the west lies a giant unnamed canyon. No known history records lands outside of these boundaries, or whether there might even be hospitable conditions for life in those outer reaches. The only being who is sure to have existed beyond the Known World is the Dragon himself.

Within the Known World are a large varitey of landscapes. A rock formation called the Shield Wall trisects the realm into three relatively equal portions: the southlands, the tablelands, and the scrub plain.

The Southlands are comprised of several large deserts and the actual shore of the Sea of Eternal Dust. Only a few of the deserts have been named over the ages. The North Road runs through the Southlands, as does the Road of Red Silt.

The Tablelands are a large realm of bone-dry deserts, winding canyons, stony barrens, and giant mesas. Despite the terrible conditions, the Tablelands do support several cultures. A number of old and broken roads pass through this land.

The Scrub Plain holds the largest percentage of plantlife in the Known World, bearing rolling stretches of a short brown scrub and even occasional clumps of greener foliage. The North Road passes through the Plain, as do several smaller trails.

The Grey Forest belongs to none of these three divisions, lying far north of the Shield Wall's long arms.

This region of land lies at the southeastern border of the Grey Forest (q.v.). It is a somewhat arable land, and a multitude of grains and fruits are grown on its soil. It is bordered by grasslands to the east, the scrub plain on the south, a vast chasm on the north, and the edges of the Grey Forest on the west.

This stretch of land reaches across the north border of the Known World (q.v.). It is a verdant realm of thick forests of trees and short scrub, having an overall colour of brown and dull grey. The Forest is obviously the broken remains of a once brilliant, vibrantly green place where water flowed freely and multitudes of flora and fauna thrived.

A deep chasm borders the Grey Forest on the north, the scrub plains on the south, unknown lands to the west (which are beyond the scope of the Known World), and Gol Krathu (q.v.) on the east. It should be noted that only the fringes of the Grey Forest have ever been explored, and rumours abound of savage halfling tribes which exist deep within the confines of the Forest.

Red Desert

This vast area of harsh sands lies northeast of Allanak and to the southwest of Tuluk. It is bordered by the Salt Flats (q.v.) on the south, unknown lands to the east, and by the Shield Wall (q.v.) on the north and west.

The Red Desert is known for its continual, relentless sandstorms. Even on the clearest days, any movement may kick up huge clouds of swirling red dust, gritty and moisture-stealing. At one point, the Old North Road passed through the Red Desert, but as the sands shifted the road became occluded and was no longer usable.

Salt Flats

Scrub Plains

The scrub plains are a vast area of rolling hills and rocky outcrops which are dotted by short, brown-green vegetation. These lands are used often by nomadic herdsmen to graze their animals.

Sea of Eternal Dust

The Sea of Dust is located at the southern rim of the Known World, forming a seemingly impassable border. The silt which composes this "sea" varies in depth from a few cords to several leagues (the actual maximum depth is uncertain, but in order to allow for the existence of such enormous silt horrors as have been sighted a depth of at least one league would be necessary).

Shield Wall

The Shield Wall is a rock formation which trisects the Known World into the Southlands, the Northlands, and the Tablelands. The elevation of the Southlands is considerably higher (as are all lands south of the Shield Wall and north of the Sea of Dust (q.v.)) than that of the Tablelands or Northlands. Much speculation has been done on the reasons for this, one of which being that the realms north of the Shield Wall were once in fact the bed of a large sea of water. However, one would expect that if one traveled north far enough, he should find the "opposite shore" of this dry sea, another Shield Wall to the far north. This has never been proven to exist, and so any such theories remain untested.

The Shield Wall tends to separate weather patterns somewhat, especially blocking the storms of the Red Desert (q.v.) from entering the Scrub Plains (q.v.). Several large cracks do exist, however, and so a certain "spillover" does occur.

Tablelands

The Tablelands, or Abi'li Pah (Ah-BEE-lee PAH) in Allundean, extending West and North from the Shield Wall, is a region of cracked, dry bedrock littered with stone ranging in size from sand to towering buttes.

In the heart of the Tablelands lies a gutted, canyon-crossed range of badlands. Little is known of this area, due in part to its distance from, or more aptly, its isolation from the city-states. There are two known roads that traverse the Tablelands: the Dol-Takar, which runs westward from the north road, and an older route, whose name has been lost to time, which cuts south and west through gith territory.

An area of plainsland is said to lie on the Southwestern corner of the Abi'li Pah, home to an ancient tribe of mantis, the Cai-Shyzn. The Tablelands are also home to wandering tribes of elves and humans as well as a strong force of gith.