Aberon

Towards the center of the Grass Plains of Terris lies the city of Aberon, built atop the site of a great battle against the Horse-Lords. From this city flows water and oil from vast underground cavern systems it rests above and within. The River Magna and aqueducts from the Little Sea supplies the city with all the water it requires, though gems, ore, and other precious minerals are refined and sent for production elsewhere to the South. Those not in the mining industry work in herding and agricultural industries. The Plains host a wide expanse for farm animals to graze allowing for trade of animal-based goods in exchange for freshly caught lake-goods and more exotic farmed goods from Mareton and its Wine Belt.

In the years since the passage across the Maw there has been an increased demand for resources and boom in military projects - all of which have been squeezing the working class of Aberon to a critical point. The need to produce led several companies and firms to cut corners, extend production schedules, and aggressively push their operations into unexplored territory in the caverns below the city. Workers travelling to the city depart riches and others with warnings pleading others not to follow their path.

Credit to Arim al-Bayani for the write-up of Aberon.

Licht ob der Vind, Light-Upon-the-Vind

Licht ob der Vind, or Light Upon the Vind, is a city nestled in the shadow of the formidable First and Last Gate along the shores of the River Vind. No fortress can exist without the infrastructure to support it, all of which can be found here. Taverns, temples, and places of trade abound. It also houses one of the largest inland ports in the Empire, eclipsed only by the port in Mareton. 

Before the construction of the Waste Wall Lift, most residents were from the Imperial Legions or their wards of state; prisoners and deserters who chose to work off their sentences in the Maw at a ratio of one year of labor knocking of a decade in prison. The exceptions were for life or death sentences - to which crossing the Maw was mandatory. Once the Lift was established, residents of all kinds populated the settlement, drawn to it by rumors of the lands beyond. Official Imperial representatives in the commerce industry are foremost among these, drawn in by rumors of trade goods never before seen and untapped markets not yet encountered by Hadrian traders of any province.

Credit to Arim al-Bayani for the write-up of Licht ob der Vind.

Mareton, The Opal City

“Merry are those of Mareton!” is a common greeting and descriptor for the Opal City. Half on the mainland and half floating on the Little Sea's surface, Mareton stands as a place of opulence in Terris. Boats, ranging from canoe-homes to floating mansions, gather at the massive piers that branch away from the shoreside Maiortesta where the majority of nobles reside. As the main supplier for trade within the region on the Little Sea, Mareton’s wealth can be seen as bright as a beacon to neighboring smaller settlements along the sea’s edge. Surrounding the earthen side of the city perimeter is the beginnings of the Maretonian Winebelt, a sprawling bread basket that supplies the vast Empire.

Under the tapestries and terraces that tower over the pier are permanent shadows cast upon the poorer inhabitants of the city. Many believe in Mareton’s system that anyone can transform due to the pressure and become a gem - at least that is the story. The endless gambles of entrepreneurship have wedged a great divide between the city's social classes. For now, the city as a whole benefits from the bounty of recent years - with expansion into the March and vassalization of the West March serving as a pressure release.

Credit to Arim al-Bayani for the write-up of Mareton.

The Mistwood 

Surrounding Vallia’s Pass is a sprawling cloud forest known as The Mistwood. It is near perpetually shrouded in fog, and the trees within are so tall they seem to scratch the very sky. A number of these trees were felled and used to build the Waste Wall Lift.

Ormont Keep 

Formidable and ancient stands the sandstone walls of Ormont Keep. The place stands sentinel to the river’s edge facing inland and overlooking the impossible peaks of the southern Dragon Spine and the mouth of the River Ormont which opens to the ocean known as Trajan’s Deep. Naturally carved along a sloping cliffside, smaller houses and buildings cascade towards the water’s edge where a pier hosts ships off for trade.

Eastern Outpost

The Eastern Outpost is a research station nestled on the Maw-side shore of the River Ormont. Most of the housing in the outpost are tents and temporary buildings as few other complexes were built to stay. Efforts are under way to modernize the outpost and construct more permanent buildings.

Credit to Arim al-Bayani for the write-up of the Eastern Outpost.

The First and Last Gate 

The First and Last Gate, or more simply The Gate, lies at the most narrow point of the River Vind which flows from the Little Sea upon which Mareton and the Eastern Keep reside. As the last stop before entering the Maw and the March beyond, the Gate produces a mixed bag of emotions. For some Imperials, it is a place of respite and peace before entering the Empire after time in the March - the First Gate. For others, it is the last thing they see before entering a piece of hell itself - the Last Gate.  

For those of the March, though, the First and Last Gate is a fortress the likes of which they could not even imagine. Its defenses are myriad, bristling with heavy weapons, siege breaking defenses, and dedicated defenders. The portcullis and gate are built from the finest steel and hardiest of woods, said to be nigh impenetrable. The legionaries behind these defenses are known as Limitanei, or “soldiers on the riverbank.” Standing alongside them are the grizzled river-sailors of the Vind River Guard and the many Outriders who patrol the roads that lead to the Gate itself and the many highways that split off along the way.

With its complement the First and Last Gate watches over a great bridge, an engineering marvel of the same scale as the Lift on the other end of the Maw. It was built at the same time as the Gate, but remained unused until the ascension of the Empress. All who enter and exit the Empire into and out of the Maw must cross it. Its entire length is meticulously detailed in the Gate’s archives, with predetermined firing points for shoreside artillery prepared should any army - or beast - decide to cross.

The Maretonian Wine Belt 

The Maretonian Wine Belt is one of - if not the greatest - bread baskets of the Empire; here the rot and decay of the Maw is deposited onto the rolling hills along the the River Vind and shores of the Little Sea surrounding the city of Mareton, creating some of the most fertile soil in the known world. 

As a result the Empire's most renowned fields and vineyards take advantage of this unique geology, producing the finest grown goods and wines in the world according to many Imperial citizens. A portion of the excess is transported to the First and Last Gate and Licht ob der Vind to supply the garrison stationed there. 

Valia’s Pass

Carved through the mountains of Otho’s Embrace by the River Magna, Valia’s Pass is the only safe passage from the Inner Sea Basin to the provinces of Terris and Brigantia.