November 2012 Entry: The Qalis Confederacy

[Diamond]

This entry represents a section of the known world that, up until a couple of centuries ago, was the seat of a mighty empire. Like all empires, it disintegrated. Civil war, natural disasters, goblin invasions, and sorcerous conflict tore the land apart. Hundreds of thousands died, cities fell, and much knowledge was lost. The former Zakurite Empire became a war-torn land carved up by dozens of competing noble houses, mercenary companies, trade guilds, and assassin brotherhoods. The eastern reaches, beyond the Ivory Sea, gradually became empty, haunted forests, while the west eventually stabilized (sort of) into a loose confederacy, established mainly to check the growing power of the Vendhyan Empire to the south.

Now that trade has resumed and the borders of the new Qalis Confederacy have opened, merchants and outlanders of all stripes have begun to trickle in. But outland memories of what lies in the interior do not exactly match current conditions...

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Here's the GM's map, nearing completion. Just need to finish up labeling everything. The Players' map is going to be more of an old-school icon map, not necessarily crude in style, but simpler, with inaccurate representations of distance and location.

### Latest WIP ###