Frullahan

Northern Gdera is where Frullahan lies, between polar Chasland, Elnarland, Dannamar, Omarhan, and small Nalwar, and southern neighbour of cursed Grandrock. Politically, it's unimportant but influential at the same time - there are few alliances and trade partners, but the baseless, twitchy actions of Frullahan puzzle the neighbours frequently and have them take action. A long-dead mage king had led numerous campaigns to conquer surrounding territory, which leads to conflict to this day; since Frullahan makes no gestures of giving back any of it.

"Many have suspected the king sought for the Deep Archive in the expansions, but scouring the conquered lands hasn't turned it up either. Others think the Archive always belonged to the Frulla, and the contents made him take so much land."
— Zounana, historian

The Frulla - the country's largest tribe - are liberal and carefree, but laborious and perfectionistic, and often compared to goldfairies because of it. Their traditional attire supports the assumption that they're not quite right in the head; Frullahanians carelessly throw together colours, adding foreign patterns and accessoires in no apparent order. Typical are the belted long shirt with vertical stripes in various widths, and the jacket with shoulders quilted from triangular pieces.
Frullahan is known among historians and treasure-hunters as the home of the Deep Archive. What it contains is wildly debated and sprung many legends; it is said to be guarded by a fleeter, and while many thieves, robbers, and adventurers have tried to find it, none succeeded.

"Yeah, the capital has been restructured again. We voted on it, but less than half wanted to cover the river, so we built the aqueduct instead and use it for traffic now; but there's already debate if more towers wouldn't be better. With bells."
— Hetcheckran, Frullahanian

Artists' notes
These wonderful countries of which you've hardly ever heard, but that turn out to pretty exciting. With people that barely make sense at first, and secretive rationales to their actions. Frullahan, as so many countries, has more to offer than I admitted to here, so let's see where telling the Genius Loci story takes us.

Golbehls

A golbehl ist a Gderan animal that feels so unloved it's become a proverb. Golbehls are slender, long-legged animals with grey fur and red ears, the markings in the whiskered face make it always look sad. Golbehls quickly approach humans to become friends, but are so easily startled and so emotionally fragile that they just as quickly leave their would-be masters; only to try again with someone else days later. Only in the ninth year of being a pet do golbehls quite suddely evolve into loving, perceptive, and hard-working companions. Then they have unmatched qualities as guards, are smart and quick on the uptake, and can learn surprising tricks. Always do they need much love and appreciation. Golbehls are only kept by few, envied trainers, but many try training a golbehl.
Golbehls live in the lesser green forest and can become fourty years old in the wilderness, and much older in captivity.

"Golbehls are so hard to train it's always a suprise seeing somebody with one, and I've met them as companions of people from adolescents to elders and soldiers to housekeepers. Even the romantic raganaj have no advantage in training them; but a surprising amount of brownforesters are accompanied by golbehls."
— Kihpabe, traveller

Artists' notes
I've been typing 'til my fingers bled inventing animals and plants for all regions lately, and now it's high time to sketch some and make them public. Simple sketches will have to do for many, however.

The Waters of Lurekin

The Waters of Lurekin are an assembly of waterfalls, ponds, and rivers in Gderet. The delta is beautiful on its own, but the waters are also a place of power with some fame in the region. Numerous old battlefields in the vicinity mean lots of spirit collectors, who come here to cleanse themselves of the spirits trapped within them. Also, fleeters seem to have a liking for the spot and can often be met in and around the waters.

"By all rights the Waters should be within Nalsiir's borders. It's unfair they put down their oversized weight to rob us of our rights to possess such an important place. One day they'll learn they can't treat us this way."
— Bakaada Tsureen, Nalsiirian

The waters are a famous place to make the voiceless into speakers, granting formerly ordinary people the power to cast spells by channeling the Fifth Power. There is also a fairly large hall of voices here that manages to remain almost entirely invisible to the visitors unless actively sought, even if the place is teeming with listeners who also accompany the visitors to dangerous tasks if necessary.

"Lurekin is a fascinating name. It's the name of a nearby city that now lies in ruins; three speakers of the name are known, but only two came through here; finally, there's an artifact called Lurekin's cap, which isn't a hat at all."
— Ma'apik, historian

Artists' notes
That mages aren't only born but can also be made is one of my most important decisions about Genius Loci, I think. It's also nice for the artistic side because, naturally, places where such a change can be accomplished will be mysterious, legendary, remarkable in many ways and therefore, fun to paint.

Art on deviantArt: Repaints, Nightly Traveller, Red Forest

I have recreated or rather expanded some older works for Genius Loci: the Yellow Forest Borderlands, Fog in the Ryaq, and the Salt Flats. Now they're much more grand and therefore closer to what I had wanted them to be. The Nightly Traveller from a recent blog post was also published on deviantArt, and finally, there's another landscape piece of the red forest.

Mainalhar II of Tsir

Mighty Tsir in northeastern Lozir is surrounded by the warlike Discordant Cities in the north (which it can easily hold at bay), the wastes to the west (which bring some distance to its more neurotic neighbours south), Urlakal (that has recently been turned into a tyranny by civil war), and Brunnavah (the neurotic neighbour, mortally afraid of speechcraft) to the south, and Starwatch to the east (its only quiet neighbour. Maybe too quiet).

"The proximity of Urlakal's renamed capital Uhlenburg to its Tsiranian border throws a dark shadow ahead. The new rulers claim part of Tsir used to belong to them - let us hope the Tsiranian army can hold its own in that far-flung corner of the map."
— Getnamir, Tsiranian parlamentarian

Mainalhar I was a weak and warlike ruler, under strong influence by his egotistical cabinet. When the much-beloved prince Mainalhar II recently took the throne, he began to change many things. The relatively young gar has so far managed to strike a good balance between a firm hand and diplomacy. If he can keep the country's interests unsabotaged by the Discordants, and make safe the border to Urlakal, Tsir's future is looking quite bright.
Mainalhar II is unmarried, and for the moment doesn't look like he takes any interest in partnership at all, instead investing all his strength into politics.


Artists' notes
I have quoted a stressed Mainalhar before, threatening the Discordants, but that was a rare moment. That corner of Lozir is slowly forming into an interesting place. 

Sabiré's Wall

Glaspia, a southern Gderan country, spent centuries pushing its border northwards. Its neighbours might have objected, if it hadn't been for the wall of Sabiré, growing in Glaspia's hinterlands for almost three millenia. During a speaker war in 3602EL, the spell relic was caused, and the wall that rose due to it didn't stop growing until two centuries ago. It is only a few hundred meters wide, but now over four thousand meters high and several hundred kilometers long. It influences local weather significantly and has created drylands on its western side.

"Ah, the mages around here never let you hear the end of it. A wizard appears, and they start whispering there's going to be another wall, as soon as we cast a spell. It might be interesting to the voiceless that most civilized regions were disrupted by mages' spell relics, not wizards'."
— Emketju, wizard

As all landmarks of importance, Sabirè's Height, as the wall is also called, is inhabited by a nature spirit. Ednini is very tall, and strange. He has not been at the wall for long, but his presence has caused local plantlife to improve greatly. Unlike other spirits, Ednini speaks a lot, is easily upset, and wants company. But since most people think the wall to be cursed, scary, or uncomfortable, he has little of it and jealously guards what few people he has.

"I almost pitied him, being so alone, if he hadn't been so creepy. There are almost no mid-sized spirits around the wall, only Ednini and the tiny ones in the plants he helps growing, and in some rocks. Maybe spirits, too, go mad when left alone?"
— Wenemmes, traveller

Artists' notes
This is one of those places where the things you hear about it are almost all wrong, over the top or way too harmless, and most things you can't learn at all. Nature spirits had personalities before, but with Ednini I discovered they could be influenced by supernatural affairs as well. 

The Discordant Cities

"I don't care who thinks to be the first, greatest, or smartest. If I lose one more shipment of medicines because of their daft squabbling, I'll make them Tsiranian, and that will be that."
— Mainalhar II. of Tsir

The first of the Discordant Cities was Eligei, which was a rhu'khach city until they left, and returned to greatness some centuries later. Then the ruling families of Eligei began to quarrel all the time, until finally two of them left and founded new cities nearby. Then fighting started there too, citizens left, and founded their own cities. As they are located in the Tsiranian Gulf in Lozir, with rich fishing grounds and moderately fertile lands, new cities can survive easily. Today, they are twelve, and constantly fight among themselves. Pirates and mercenaries are set on each others' trade routes, cities are spied upon and sabotaged, embargoes enacted, and alliances are as short-lived as the morning dew.

"All the Oparikans have to do is acknowledge that Tassaar makes the better frigates, or we can just show them if they won't believe it. What do they take us for - Henassetans?!"
— Benengei, Tassaarian

On the other side of the gulf lies Lozir's largest kingdom, Tsir. The Tsiranian traders also fall victim to the dirty tricks of the Discordants, and the traditionally grumpy government grows impatient. Urlakal used to send diplomats, but since the Dimnerians invaded and the royal Urlakal family was exiled, it has been too unstable, and the Dimnerians are uncompassionate. Council city negotiators are still sent from Plokin, but the only solution - unification of the ridiculously likeminded cities - is openly attacked as an affront to the cities' sovereignty by all twelve.


Artists' notes
When I dotted city states onto the maps, a whole lot appeared around the Tsiranian Gulf, and I wondered how they got along. The more they became, the less they did, and now the "Streitende Städte" are a mischievous bunch of rascals. It spun away into the political situation of the entire region; Urlakal's civil war fitted perfectly. I love it when the open ends of my world connect seamlessly.

The mul'ahman

The mul'ahman, or diggers, are a species that is very quiet and barely ever noticed, and they're fine with that. A mul'ahman is a stocky person averaging 1,50m in height, covered in dark brown to black, velvety fur with small eyes and lots of white whiskers. Their shoulders and arms are very muscular, their clumsy fingers make shovels, and indeed diggers do dig surprisingly fast. Not being too good with colours, their clothes come in trademark earthen tones.

"They are gentle, well-mannered, peaceful, and value musical instruments over weapons. We wish we could convince more to come to us as sappeurs; still, Mul'geranan is probably our best neighbour. Sadly, it is also our shortest border."
— Diramanashka, Brightholder

The diggers' most known settlement is the state Mul'geranan in southern Sawa, where the underground dwellers live undisturbed; unlike other species, they show little interest in other folk. Because of their small numbers, they are left to their own devices, but enjoy company when given the chance.

"It has long been discussed if we should invite above-grounders to live with us, but we fear our love of slowness might be to our disadvantage, and so we keep discussing. Slowly."
— Nambi, mul'ahman

Artists' notes
These guys are just so nice. I don't even have anything planned for them yet. One might think such a calm people among all the rowdy neighbours of Brighthold would be in constant danger, but because of their peacefulness, Brighthold keeps them safe. I considered throwing them out several times, because they're so literally anthropomorphic, but I looked around my species and let it slide.
Now, this is probably really the last species in Genius Loci, although I won't promise there aren't any living in the far mountains or the deep south or wherever.

Council city Gamahan

"Seriously, there's only two species in your village? Odd."
— Kalimaik Gennidar, Gamahanian, to a traveller

Gamahan is Sawa's council city, and as such invites emissaries from all lands and tribes for talk and trade. Like all three council cities it's an own state, and may be the oldest city in the world; legend tells it stands where the spearbearer put down the spear Lefenned for the first time after the making of the world. The architecture is rich and diverse, and filled with primeval mechanics that are taken care of by the engineers from the neighbouring state Lebridge. Gamahan spreads over a cliff, with two thirds up above, and the rest down in the plains.

Gamahan means "circled land" in the old language Sorit, and the four city walls are perfect circles, spreading flawlessly over the cliffs. Each of the four boroughs is dedicated to one element and shows it proudly, with the western quarter (the Forest or Green Borough) being practically a forest, while craftsmen flock in the eastern quarter (the Earthen or Yellow Borough). The city's center is the Plaza of the Heavens, a gigantic open space surrounded by the world's supposedly most ancient structures, among them the famous Magician's School. Gamahan is infamous for its predatory paperwork - travellers may find themselves dutiable citizens sooner that they think.

"I'm supposed to pay taxes for what now?"
— Taqil Horan, new citizen

Most places have a traditional costume, but Gamahanians dress eclectically, only striving for a simple elegance. Common clothes are straight trousers and short-sleeved pullover shirt. In the third circle, nobody wears a hat; otherwise, clothes are combined freely.


Artists' notes
I made an ambitious street plan of Gamahan early on which had to be discarded because of its many mistakes; but the general structure, and some of the deep secrets have never changed. Although almost everything else about the council cities' role has - the geographic location, population, inner workings...
I don't dare call the image a matte painting, but it's drawn over a photo. I use this technique for concepts sometimes.

This article was sponsored by Samuel Ruggieri ( CEO http://voyagergames.com ) via my Patreon account ( http://www.patreon.com/JenniferLange )

Art on deviantArt: Gubra and the Great forest caravan

Two new artworks are now published on deviantArt with new quotes: A concept of the gubra, and a caravan trekking through the mid-level of the Great Green forest. Both have their own articles in the blog as well, which the gubras share with their Lord Gahatenge, while the forest has more room to itself.

Agorisai

"How hard can it be?"
— Agorisan motto

Agorisai in the Vernan Bay of northern Lozir is a widely visible landmark and is considered the oldest city after the council cities. It was built by the rhu'khach, evident by the ending -ai; every new building is erected on the ruins of an older one, and so the city is growing towards the sky. Streets are named after people, tribes, cities, events, and the number of the floor, for example, Ganronian Seventh Street.
Agorisans are good craftsmen, optimistic, and think they can do everything themselves, from cooking jam to drawing protective circles. They're aware of their city's political and economical power and are generous, if not entirely above a small self-serving deal here and there.

"We were thrown out of our own house by the goldfairies, and re-invited nine days later when the construction work was done, keeping the floor above from caving in. They could have just told us so. Or their human staff, for that matter."
— Rahimbe, Agorisan

Agorisans wear at least four layers of clothing, rich in traditional patterns, and colourfully dyed, with sandals and painted feet, and the hair knotted high on the head.
Foreigners love the beautiful clothes, but barely understand the heraldic meanings.

The city's creative architecture and old buildings are left from the Diamond Age when the rhu'khach ruled, their palaces and official buildings are spread over the city's rock spires. Being so old, Agorisai is also littered with relics left by spells and Area travellers. For example, one can't see the opposite side of the street of Telfur's Ninth Road; Gald's Tree changes the floor every year, and it's custom to donate its sweet fruit to the voice hall.


Artists' notes
When it became clear to me that the rhu'khach of old had an empire, they had to have left some ruins or such, but then I thought, why ruins? People of Earth still live on the same sites today than thousands of years ago, so why not keep the cities of the rhu'khach thriving as well.
Now that I've arrived at inventing cities, there is a whole new world of detail open to consider. I want them to be at least slightly real - while I loved the depiction of Minas Tirith in the LotR movies, and agree that for the purpose of storytelling I didn't care where it gets its food, with no apparent farmland for miles around, I do want to take care that my cities can be supplied. People have always been creative about making their living place work, so I don't worry about every tiny detail, just the general needs - water, farmland, trade routes and so forth.

Art on deviantArt: Broken Jaw Rocks, Area Gate, and Insanity

I need reasons to post images in this blog, so when I paint something that's not immediately related to an article, they may lie around for a while. But of course I do a lot of sketches and speedpaintings for Genius Loci, and have decided they might as well be posted on deviantArt. For now, there are the illustrations for the Broken Jaw Rocks (already published here), Insanity (also blogged), and Area Gate, a surreal piece for Genius Loci's mindscape.

Why do I tell you this? Because the quotes are never the same, and you might just learn something new about Genius Loci.

Volcanism in Sawa and elsewhere

"Some think the lands of fire must be hot. Parts of it are; mostly it's northern and cold, but the Sawan houses are always warm. And so, the seemingly aggressive nature comforts its denizens."
— Gergadi, merchant 

The continent of fire is covered in evidence of its restless underground. There are proper volcanoes, but also geysirs abound, lava lakes, boiling mud, and fields of tiny smoking craters; rivers or lakes may be acidic due to the volcanic soil. Much of the land is covered in cold lava or ash, has lava tunnels, covered thinly with glasslike stone, and other dangers to travellers.
However, the Sawans have learned ages ago to use fire to their advantage. They reroute hot springs into their homes and bath houses, use hot air vents for drying and heating, and are very clever in building means to guide lava around what should not go up in flames. Greenworkers know the best plants to seed on ash-covered fields to break up the hardened lava.

"I know eruptions can't be predicted precisely, but I was promised it would go off sometime this week - without fresh lava I don't know how to keep the schedule!"
— Fenagi Tahar, entrepeneur

Sawa is not the only land to feature volcanoes. There are two belts around the world as well as some single or grouped volcanoes. Notably the Thrower mountains in northeast Lozir, and the Burning Islands of the Ryaq have large volcanoes.


Artists' notes
Volcanoes are so cool. I particularly love pyroclastic clouds and the lightning inside ash clouds during eruptions, and still I'm glad not to live around any active ones. I had to pull a bit of fantasy green thumbs, though, as new volcanic soil isn't nearly as fertile as "rich in minerals" sounds. It does make for beautiful geysirs though, with colourful minerals layering on their rims.

The Stairs of Grandrock

Gdera's northernmost country Grandrock is hard to reach because of its position high up its plateau, a series of cliffs and steep rocks making up its southern border, encompassing the entire land. This is not natural, however. Long ago, a placespirit - whose reason for existence is wildly debated - caused the plateau to rise, effectively cutting off Grandrock from the southern lands. Ages later, another placespirit enslaved anyone nearby to erect an elephantine staircase up the sheer cliffs. When the stairs were done, the remaining workers threw themselves off the cliff. Needless to say, the natives dislike the cliffs very much and won't even lead their flocks near it. To the unaware traveller though, the stairs are a blessing; their rise is perfect, and there are even niches to rest in on the long way up.

"Yes, we're safe from invasion. We were safe from Frullahan's insane expansions. Nobody enters the lands unnoticed, the cliffs are all but impossible to climb. As captain of the guard, I praise the stairs. As a being with a heart, I despise its memory."
— Quarin Tolmor, the queen's guard

The plateau is the most widespread relic known to remain of a placespirit, whose powers are normally restricted to their direct domain, which can still be very large, but not usually along an entire country's border. This has given rise to the belief the spirit was the result of a speaker exhausting herself to death with a spell, although there's no proof of that.
If the staircase itself is cursed is debated as well. There is an unusual amount of dead spirits around and on it, and the majority of those who die here become spirits. The Grandrockers take no chances and, while money doesn't stink, they much prefer traders arriving by boat or by Area over those that took the stairs.

"We have no friends. Our neighbours are scared, travellers are few, allies are too hard to reach because of the plateau. I hear some pity us, but they don't call either. We are quite alone."
— Penaka Ultor, citizen

Artists' notes
Every decent fantasy setting needs some monumental landmarks, doesn't it? There are a few in Genius Loci, but the stairs are among the useful ones, which I discovered while telling their story is worse to the natives than an entirely useless one. It's like employing knowledge gained through torture - you can't ignore it, but you feel dirty using it.

Cities and settlements

Most of Kitas is rural, many peoples are nomads, and have settlements they only use half the year or even only tents. Notable cities are the three council cities for one - Gamahan in central Sawa, Plokin on Lozir's western coast, and Clom Vah in the Gderan Mahal Bay - gigantic cities dating back to the dawn of time, each over a million inhabitants large with uncounted visitors. It's here that all countries of the continent gather for talk and trade, and the council cities regard themselves not as power players but mitigators.
Secondly, the rhu'khach cities are the next oldest and therefore largest settlements. Recognizable by the ending -ei or -ai (like Agorisai or Eligei), their architecture is unmistakable, and their infrastructure is well-planned.

 "The architecture of Akosh and Ukosh is quite pleasant, even if the denizens are weird, but I like Nalvar's Isuanda best. It's beautiful at every time of year, and not as crowded as the council cities."

— Drasam Murish, traveller

There are many other notable towns and cities; there is some debate however, dating back millenia, if the likemindedness of city dwellers doesn't attract placespirits too easily, and thus, growth of settlements should be discouraged altogether. The inhumanity of seeing this through stops doubters from acting - usually - but the debate remains, and indeed, some peoples believe it firmly enough to not gather in settlements larger than small villages.

"The Discordant Cities have irked Zir again with a newly hired pirate fleet that Grimoga set on Henasset, but that attacked Ziranian traders, too. I don't think Zir will be forgiving about their idiotic politics much longer."
— Wekanar Hissomirr, Lozirian

Other famous cities are the powerful Nalsiir in eastern Gdera and Elisacett in its far south; the Tritowns Nini, Oryor, and Drani; Brighthold's capital Sokarnon; and the engineering school's home, Bargassa.


Artists' notes
Cities are such fun to invent and so painful to paint. Given that I arrived at a world pretty much littered with relics and ongoing spells like autumn leaves covering the forest floor, it might well be safer in the woods than in the cities, concerning otherworldly entanglements, where much fewer people have come through who could have left trouble behind.

The Broken Jaw Rocks

Deep in the yellow forest lie the Broken Jaw Rocks. They are a large, roughly circularly arranged mass of sharply jagged rocks, in a swamp whose permanent mist enhances the mysterious atmosphere, making the entire region unusually inhospitable for the yellow forest. Many researchers tried to learn what might be inside the rocks, but none have succeeded so far - although some claim it, and others have gone insane, building up a legend of the rocks possibly being cursed, or inhabited by unspeakable things.

"The stone isn't from the region, the mist makes it impossible to peek in, there are inscriptions but only half can be reached. The Broken Jaw Rocks are surely among the most frustrating sites there are."
— Mehanid Kopahr, mage

The mage Ralgonkin Lair and his guide have been lost in the rocks many years ago; recently, Ralgonkin was found some distance away, babbling incoherently, and so far has not been able to explain where he was.
Clues have been found that skirmishes of the war against Sii-uri Darkheart have taken place here, most apparent by the inscriptions on the rocks themselves by those who dared venture close. Gold fairies have hinted at the rocks being encircled by protective marks, although it seems unlikely that a circle of such magnitude would have been forgotten, and evidence has yet to be found.

"Seritamifah, who is a friend to fleeters, asked one to go into the rocks, but he refused. She returned from him puzzled and frightened - apparently he gave a reason, but she never said which."
— Prasimur Ohalmar, traveller

Artists' notes
One of those places that came from a painting. It became more mysterious and finally almost hostile as I watched and built it, until finally, it became a taboo place that only the most daring adventurers will go into. That's okay.

Art on deviantArt: The White Night

A new piece of art can be found on deviantArt, showing the white forest: The White Night.
You can also find out more about the white forest here in the blog, here: http://starmakersgaze.blogspot.de/2013/11/the-white-forest.html

The Empty Lands

When Lozirians mean to say something's lost for good, then "it's gone to the Empty Lands". Most of Lozir is dry to say the least, but the Lozirians consider only the inner lands to really be a desert, with no known water sources or inland seas like Sawa and Gdera have. It is notoriously difficult to map and so, unknown indeed.

"A map of the Empty Lands would be either very useful or very useless. If it turns out you can't go there anyway the effort is wasted; so for now it's in our best interest to leave news of inner Lozir to the Areal travellers."
— Gramegar, Mappers' Guild spokesman

Some orders deliberately placed their strongholds or secret headquarters in the Empty Lands. That way their secrets are well protected, and they can always be sure that visitors are serious when it's so hard to reach their bases.

"The Knights of the East have their stronghold in the Empty Lands, but one can hardly ever see anyone come and go, and they remain silent when asked if they travel by Area. I wonder."
— Nelre dun Ruikin, citizen

Several tribes have vanished after crossing the imaginary border where the desert begins, the most famous being the rhu'khach after leaving the thrones of the Diamond Age - or so scholars assume.
Stone giants and plasmats roam the lands, and it's said the plasmats had a city, built of metals and precious stones they burned inside themselves, that's a sight to behold, and where no humans are welcome. It is one of the more colourful legends; many stories tell of the slow death, of halluzinations and mirages, and of travels that only happenend in the mind. Lost travellers are found clutching at air, holding their ears shut and having died screaming, many have died eating sand until choking on it.


Artists' notes
One of my favourite books ever was a gigantic, lushly illustrated two-part edition of the Tales of 1001 Nights that I had as a child - when stacked they were big enough to serve as a coffee table - and of course bits of that went into building Lozir. Other continents are not actually safer or easier to travel, but the meme of the mysterious desert remains alive in my imagination. I think part of that fascination is that an open desert invokes the feeling of being alone, while the forests of old have an air of beng watchful, and both are intriguing to have in a fantasy world.

Brighthold

The vast majority of political, financial, and social positions lies with women in the highly militarized Sawan country Brighthold, weapons-related professions being closed to men. So, men stay at home during their wifes' long war tours, and take care of the large families and fort-like homes.
Brighthold has the world's largest and best-led army, and keeps the many bickering tribes and nations around in order. Their heroines are known far and wide, their skills undisputed and admired, their honour unquestionable. At home, Brightholders enjoy the simple life, social gatherings with bards, and their families. The Crowned is chosen by the Nobles' Assembly, and has never yet been cruel or unskilled.

"We just left the west, and we have to go back already and settle down the neighbours we just defended? Why can't the world stay saved for a day or two?"
— Unedirokar, soldier

Although Brighthold lies in the south, as a plateau it is windy and rather cool in temperature.
The Brighthold wear consists of leathers and pelts, exquisitely worked and adorned with animal tails, rims, pearlwork, and embroidery; woven fabrics are rare and expensive. The notable "underwear" is a leather suit covered with the typical, irregular metal plates. Brightholder civilians are proverbially "better armoured than other armies' skirmishers". Men's and women's clothing differs only slightly in elaboration and practicality.

"Ah, whenever my wife is home she disrupts our routines, leaves messes, and frightens the children with her challenges and loud behaviour. Still, we love her; I wish she'd stay longer so we could have another child - but alas, some tribe in the north is sure to rattle their spears and she'll leave sooner than we think."
— Halakamiron, husband

Artists' notes
I can't remember how Brighthold ("Lichtfeste") became a matriarchy, but it stuck and now I have all kinds of plot lines around it. It's not a feminist statement, though, I believe the only way to live in peace is if we agree genders aren't different. Brighthold was one of the earliest and because of its extremes most notable countries I invented; the costume is inspired by the Native Americans' and always fun to come up with.

The Lower Green forest

Mostly called the Lower forest, this is the most "average" forest of Gdera. However, when called "the forest with no tricks" by outlanders, the natives laugh. The Lower forest is infamous with its inhabitants for its cunning beasts, fast overgrowth, and devious predators. No other forest is as skilled in illusionary art; abandoned settlements are quickly covered up, and so, many secrets lie beneath the thick blanket of moss. The Lower forest isn't picky about climate and is the first to reclaim devastated lands, and holds the soil the best. Minerals colour the wood of many tree species, which sell well and sometimes name the country, like Whitewood.

"When Gal was founded, they found ruins in the building sites. When digging deeper, there were layers of them; eventually an elder mapmaker discovered there had been five villages on the same spot before. Why they were abandoned, nobody knows. Or if."
— Nirr Molgenkan, villager

The natives take pride in being generalists - they may not be as specialised as other forests' inhabitants, but they know something of everything. The many changes throughout the year encourage adaptability and cunning; the natives are admired teachers and engineers, and feared generals and politicians.

"That a nureewing should be smarter than a person is only funny until one distracts you, while a gang of perwons steals your foodpack and you find them sharing the loot in the trees."
— Hrenno, traveller

Artists' notes
Wow, an actually nice forest - how did I ever come up with this one. Animals here are much closer to what we know. No plants eat you, there's nowhere to fall to your death. Like the European or Native American forest of the legend age, anything can happen in here and no-one will be the wiser; you go around a hill and vanish. There might even be an affinity towards the Area...
With this, all types of forest on Gdera have been described.