Arteria

The Last Light

• The Holy Kingdom of Lashira controls most of the territory west of the Emerald Mountains. King Byden Lashir leads his armies east to fight the Jonossi Confederacy in the Sapwoods; a forest that drips viscous and sticky sap from every branch. Haelish Vydrum, the 72 year old Justicar of Arshore, rules in his place.  The capitol, Arshore, was established in 507 A4 when Jonosi migrants found the Blinding Bay. The Shield of Art is the predominant religion in the region, and the light of the Blinding Bay is the church's most sacred place. The church is based at the tower of Serenity in Arshore.

• Lightguard Isle is a 300ft tall statue at the center of the Blinding Bay. In its left hand, it emits an ever present light that can be seen from over a hundred miles in every direction.  The Shield of Art believes that the statue depicts the god of light, Artereon. It is said that the light wards off the undead of the Still Forest in the east.

• The Jonossi Confederacy controls most territory east of the Emerald Mountains.  Its governing body resides in the city of Stoneshield.  It formed from a confederation of Stoneshield, Ciallo, and A'Balarr. It holds a military alliance with the Dobarri Empire The confederacy wages war against the Holy Kingdom of Lashira, which it believes rightly belongs under Jonossi rule. They are also aggressive toward the Dominion of Rhavia in the south, who were previously at war with the old Empire of Jonos.

• The Great Tree Nirradaisll sits at the heart of the kingdom of Nirra. These wood elves do not participate in the war between Lashira and Jonos, and armies are not permitted to pass through their forest.  In 587 A4, King Dirsil Osford of Lashira led his armies south to Nirradaisll. He believed the elves were withholding secretes about the Blinding Bay. After being denied audience with the elven King Cleadram, he threatened to "Chop down [their] precious tree and build a shrine on its stump." Moments later, he was killed with a single arrow through the mouth and his troops retreated 

• The Great Tree Ita is long dead. Its' pale husk stands as a reminder of a great war between giants and undead in the Second Age. Activity in the Still Forest has been increasing in recent years. 

• The Great Tree Shonnasai is the center of the Domain of Shonna.  These wood elves, once allied to the Jonossi Empire, have become reclusive in the years following the destruction of Jonos in 900 A4.

• A civil war rages between the dwarves of Hargen and Fargen. Founded by two brothers of the same name, these dwarven cities used to be united under their father, King Argen. After his death, greed and jealousy split the family and the kingdom apart. The war is ongoing, but the battles take place underground.

• Ciallo, in the east, is a conduit of trade between Arteria and the rest of the world. Ciallo’s wealthy ruling council allied early with Stoneshield and allow its military to occupy their city, but a rebel group of tortoise riders seek to free the city from the Jonossi confederacy 

• A’balarr is, as always, in open conflict.  The military hand of Stoneshield patrols its streets to extract tax money from its citizens but avoids the ongoing war that the Sandlords wage between their private armies. 

• The Quiet Tower sits at the northeastern corner of the continent. It was erected in the second age by High Elves who left the island of Dega'Is with the intention of studying forbidden subjects like necromancy. It is hypothesized that one of these elves brought about the plague of undeath that overtook the Great Tree Ita. 

• The Ruins of Jonos is a crater over 100mi wide. In the year 900 A4, a cataclysmic event destroyed the capitol of the Jonossi empire and destabilized the continent. This caused Lashira in the west to be free of the Empire's control. The people of the east banded together to form the Jonosi Confederacy. Citizens lucky enough to be away from the cataclysm settled in a lakeside town in Ro's Forest and renamed the town New Jonos.