Mellovian: The Eastern Continent

Upper-portion of the Eastern continent.

Nations:

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The Successor Kingdoms/'Empires.'

Empire of Tania

Culture: Vietnamese/Chinese+Plus pockets of other asian cultures.

Primary civilized races: Humans, Beastfolk

Minor civilized races: Half-Elves, Goblins, smattering of all the races that were within the once expansive borders of the Empire.

History blurb: Heartland of the Tanian Empire containing many of the ancient capitals, palaces and institutions of the empire ruled by the descendants of An Bao largely in a puppet capacity as the power is truly in the hands of council of Imperial eunuchs and the restored hereditary nobility in a balance of power where the nobility has had the upper-hand from An Bao restoring their rights and privileges in her attempt to rally their support at the start of the Tian Empire's collapse against her relatives.

Rulership: Chinese bureaucracy + Feudalism by the restored Nobility

Religion: Pornified Taoism + Beastfolk Pantheon + Minor Religions

Diplomacy: Has at some point ruled over nearly every nation here except Kosecia, Rzhis, Storoir. In constant skirmishes with Ventium since the end of their last war 40 years ago as Ventium nips away at Tania. Friendly with the Dark Elf surface Realms, and neutral with Cai.

Average height for humans and many humanoids across the Eastern contient.

Male: 5’ 1’’-5’ 2’’

Female: 4’ 9’’

Empire of Rahia

Culture: Vietnamese/Chinese+Plus pockets of other Asian cultures.

Primary civilized races: Humans, Beastfolk

Minor civilized races: ‘Civilized’ Orcs, Hobgoblins, a number of pockets of uncivilized races integrated into civilization.

History blurb: Once the frontier military provinces they possessed a rich martial history and countless martial orders, religious and secular. Ruled by the descendants of Yen Thu, her successors haven’t had the military acumen of their ancestor and pushed back from the city of Fonticalimon and defensive position along the river to their current position.

Rulership: Chinese Imperial bureaucracy.

Religion: Pornified Taoism + Ancestor worship + Beastfolk Pantheon + Pornified Shinto

Diplomacy: Allied with Cai and Ventium, Ventium has been their longest ally of convience as Yen Thu deliberately sent envoys to stoke their already belligerent nation that had grown greater as the ensuing Emperors/Empresses negligence and fumbling over time has lead to land being lost, and the last two Empresses lost vast tracks of land in a embarrassing ‘war’.

Cai is similarly close however they stood out of the civil war, but hampered the Dark Elven Realms from aiding Tania by refusing to let their armies or Tania’s pass through their territory once they broke free.

Empire of Tam

Culture: Vietnamese/Chinese+Plus pockets of other asian cultures.

Primary civilized races: Humans, Beastfolk

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Dark Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Gnomes, high elves.

History blurb: What was once one of the thriving mercantile heart where the position of governor and especially of tax collector of the provinces were fought tooth and nail for, until an Empress long ago decreed it the governorship position would belong to the Tian empire's heir ending the struggles to possess the coin pouch of the Empire.

Tam holds a stranglehold monopoly over dwarven and dark elven goods from what were once the northern vassal states and grew fat and rich on its trade and fertile valleys. Unlike the other successor kingdoms, Huong Lien descendants have been ousted from power by a branch family though they still exist to perpetuate the legitimacy of Tam's claim to the imperial throne of the Tanian Empire.

Rulership: Chinese Imperial bureaucracy. + Merchant council's ruling many cities.

Religion: Pornified Taoism + Ancestor worship + Beastfolk Pantheon + Minor Religions/cults

Diplomacy: On amicable terms with most of the breakaway states especially the northern states from the empire as Tam protected the rights granted in Imperial largess to the lesser races(Anyone not Civilized Beastfolk or human) if only to uphold their support as Huong Lien rhetoric and diplomatic ability drew them in and by economic ties they’ve been held.

Tam tends to rely on mercenaries from the northern kingdoms over its levies or marshaled armies for its skirmishing, preferring to avoid committing its forces as it’s the smallest of the successor states in population.

The Eastern Elven Realms.

Cai

Culture: High-Elven + Wood Elven

Primary civilized races: High-Elves, Wood Elves, Half-Elves

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Humans, Orcs, Bee-people(Formerly elves.)

History blurb: A homeland of the High-Elves on the eastern continent for it’s the oldest nation with possibly the oldest cities on the Eastern continent as while greatly diminished they survived the last cataclysm. They co-existed with the wood elven clans of its forests as kinfolk. Cai had once during its long existence had under an expansionist Queen ruled over a large chunk of the Tanian heartlands, but faltered when a crusading horde of uncivilized races pushed them from there.

Cai has a center of magic learning and knowledge thanks to its institutions maintained by the long lived elves, it is often the destination for knowledge seekers on the continent. Institutions which have been copied or emulated by many other civilizations on the eastern continent.

Rulership: Matrilineal Queendom(Men inherit only if no immediate female heirs are available.)

Religion: Elven Pantheon.

Diplomacy: The high-elves of Cai hold an old grudge with Und and have had several wars over their existence, which are regular by elven standards, which means there’s centuries between each conflict and hold a begrudging lusty resentment at their humbled and subjugation by humans and Beastfolk of Tania and later freeing by Rahia.

Dark Elven Surface Realms.

Republic of Und

Culture: Dark Elves.

Primary civilized races: Dark Elves

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Humans, Beastfolk.

History blurb: Not a traditional republic by most measures, the Matriarcal Dark elf clan politics dominate it almost in its entirety, it swore vassalage to Tian when the third most powerful clan swore allegiance to Tania tilting the growing faction of Tanian influence into the majority, then used that oath to call in Tian to subjugate the other clans.

Rulership: Deliberately overly complicated Matriarchal Dark Elf Venetian republic.

Religion: Dark Elven

Diplomacy: Is in a constant state of border skirmishes that intermittently escalate to full wars with Fet, as the two Dark Elven nations dual for supremacy of their section of the north. Possess Fethe as a March and allied to Abre.

The Fethe March

Culture: Dark Elven

Primary civilized races: Beastfolk

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Humans, Dark Elves,

History blurb: A march formed to act as the bulwark against Und’s primary rival Fet since it stands at the surface bottleneck Fet has used several times to attack Und.

Rulership: Appointed King/Queen by Und.

Religion: Jack Frost/Winter Queen

Diplomacy: A March of Und, follows its surzerine’s lead and its locals have plenty of ire for Fet and Tritur as they’ve always been the first hit in any war.

Grand Duchy of Abre

Primary civilized races: Dark Elves

Minor civilized races: Humans, Yuuki Onna

History blurb: Allied Dark Elven kingdom to Und, before the conquest by the Tian Empire Abre was the third major player in the convoluted game of alliances and wars between the Dark Elven kingdoms. Their power and influence waned as Und and Fet undermined the Kingdom during the eras of Tian's rule, then once all of them slipped the reigns of Tian during the civil war, Abre has been performing a balancing act of switching alliance between Fet and Und to preserve itself and bide its time for when it can retake its place as a peer to its sisters.

Rulership: Hereditary Matrilineal Dukedom

Religion: Dark Elven, Jack Frost/Winter Queen

Kingdom of Fet

Culture: Chinese-Vietnamese Influenced Dark Elven

Primary civilized races: Dark Elves

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Beastfolk

History blurb: Of the Dark Elven Realms it was the first to fall to Tania, and the most influenced by its time under Tania its still fiercely proudly Dark elven. A schism in its society is the young Dark elves who have blended Tanian culture with Dark Elven culture.

Rulership: Matriarchal Feudalism

Religion: Dark Elven, Jack Frost/Winter Queen

Diplomacy: Two ages ago, or rather several generations ago in Elven terms the center of Dark elven surface empire which encompassed all of the realms, and feels entitled to possess it again leading to many wars with the other surface realms.

Triturian Grand Duchy/Tritur

Culture: Chinese-Vietnamese Influenced Dark Elven

Primary civilized races: Dark Elves

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Humans,

History blurb: One of Fet’s duchies which had been split off from it by Tania for administration, it has retained a degree of independence, though has become a vassal of Fet.

Rulership: Matriarchal Tanist Dukedom.

Religion: Dark Elven, Jack Frost/Winter Queen

Diplomacy: Fet’s vassal.

Dwarven Realms.

Khiz, Uzad, Zarudho, Khatharb, Arakzar

Culture: Dwarven

Primary civilized races: Dwarves

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Gnomes, Halflings, humans.

History blurb: A collection of Dwarven under-kingdoms that emerged and colonized the surface lands. Khiz was brought to heel first and the others except Khatharb and Arakzar who begrudgingly accepted vassalization by Tania rather than have their surface trade stifled by grueling seiges.

Rulership: Hereditary monarchy.

Religion: Dwarven Pantheon

Diplomacy: The Dwarves tend to their under-kingdoms from their mountain homes more than their surface kingdoms.

They’ve had a few wars with the Dark Elves who’ve tried pushing into their surface and under-kingdoms in century long wars that are grueling stalemates from the Elves often unable to breach the dwarven castles and underforts.

Notable states.

Ventium

Culture: Greco-Roman

Primary civilized races: Half-Elves, Humans

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Undecided.

History blurb: Once a kingdom that bordered Tania’s western provinces that held the important ports that brought goods from the western continent, it managed to fend off invasions from Tania though guile, trickery and incompetence on the governors selection of generals dispatched with the armies.

The kingdoms fortunes turned around when the civil war began, Yen Thu bloody victories drained the garrison forces that had kept Ventium’s ambitions in check that were further emboldened by Yen Thu’s envoys encouraging them to seize the chance to take the rich Tanian ports. Since then the new Empire has been ascending in power.

Rulership: Roman Senate/Roman Pater familias

Religion: Greek-Roman

Diplomacy: A rising power it heckles and nips at the Tanian heartland nibbling land away, though in the last century its attention has been to expand into its southern neighbors and raiders.

Choipia

Culture: Slightly generic European then mixed with mainly Germanian based Fantasy culture alongside Chinese+Vietnamese.

Primary civilized races: Undecided.

Notable Minor civilized race populations: Lizardfolk, Centaurs, Dwarves

History blurb: A rebellious piece Tania, then Tam, then Rahia which broke away during an extended period of famine and magical disaster during twilight days of the civil war by a group of local warlords. For a long time between Tanian rulers and the locals is differing cultures lands had always possessed a different culture than Tania which they've fiercely adhered to, though settlers from Tania have created areas of Tian culture which have been influenced by elements of the local Germanian culture.

Rulership: A complex mess of Princedoms/Holy Roman Empire with Asian influences.

Religion: Ancestor worship + Beastfolk Pantheon + Pornified Shinto

Diplomacy: No fan of Tania and hostile to its once overlord Rahia, Choipia has vassalized several minor nations on its borders as it sought to control as much of the trade on the great lake. It’s relations with Tam are lukewarm as they both strive to control the lake in its strategic control of trade.

Other nations:

Gerosia

A grand tribal confederation of uncivilized races and tribal civilized races that's only thought of as a coherent nation by popular misconception and map makers.

Kingdom of Saria

Indian princedom control by three separate princes descended from one central family that branched off. The western city of Argarse is of a more generic European fantasy culture.

Myia

Japanese culture Enclave, rulership is Daimyo based, with Samurai. Vassal of Choipia.

Loma

Korean culture Enclave, and once tributary to Tam. Currently a tributary of Choipia.

Stasia

English/European culture enclave influenced by asian cultures, elective monarchy(Dukes vote among themselves who becomes king).

Morb:

Orcish invasion that has been preoccupying Ventium from pursuing further conquest of Tian.

Chetria

Break away provinces from the Tian Empire, officially ruled by a Centaur Khaganate, in practice the Centaur clans that form the Khaganate are hand-off rulers that care mostly for their roaming rights and the collection of tribute and taxes from their settled civilized subjects.

Atixco

South-west of Kosecia, dense amazonian jungle, Aztec-inspired culture stemming from the strong amazon presence in the country and in Kosecia. Terrain is a dense jungle preventing any meaningful land-based traffic between the upper-portion and the bottom portion of continent.

The civilized culture of the kingdom is born from Half-Amazons(Half-amazons often are exiled back to civilization?) who largely co-exist with their maternal progenitors.

Unclaimed/White zones:

Inhabited, but otherwise no singular nation, or group holds enough meaningful power to have their claim on the territory recognized by anyone. These are wild and dangerous areas inhabited by pockets of civilized races, countless tribes of Uncivilized races and monsters. These areas are host to the adventurers lifestyle, where danger, treasure and all one could expect in that life are in abundance and numerous cities, towns and villages have roots in adventuring parties settling down or founding them.