Geography

Note: All translations will generally be in Lobbol, the dialect of the Ashirai empire. Hobbol, the dialect of the mountain peoples, is very similar though significant difference may arise. The glutteral language of the southern peoples is called Unglak by them and usually called Ungrek in Lobbol. The most accurate meaning of what Unglak means in Unglak is generally considered 'given speech.' Lobbol simply adopted the word as a phonetic entitiy, and there is no true translation in Lobbol.

Appendix 1

Geography of the Ashirai Empire and the impact thereof

The Ashirai Empire was situated on the north west corner of the Erhot (literally: 'the land') continent of Pallas. Looking back on the layout of the terrain during the height of the Ashirai Empire, some mention must be made of the tectonic activity. Erhot itself is a middle aged continent that moves north east at approximately one half inch per year. Ocean spreading in the Basay (lit: Western Sea) is considered the origin of that land mass. Active spreading areas were some thousand to three thousand miles from the western coast of Erhot, with a median distance of one thousand seven hundred miles from the Ashirai seacoast. Erhot itself is roughly twelve million square miles in area, with a maximum width of three thousand miles.

The other primary tectonic player in that part of the world was the Doon subcontinent. Approximately one tenth the size of Erhot itself, the Doon plate moves perpendicular to Erhot, due south. Between them lies the Doonesai (no literal translation available) Subduction Zone, where in Erhot is pulled beneath the Doon. The result is the Antedom Mountains, of which the Doon, the Croad, the Shey Avail, and Arynt are the largest subsidiary ranges, mentioned in loose south to north order. Referred to collectively, the Antedom Mts and the Doon Plateau are functionally synonymous, and with apologies to any historical geologists to whom they are not, the use of the latter will be extended to cover the former as well.

North of Doon and Erhot is nothing but the Fhysay (lit: Cold Sea), the great northern ocean which extends some five thousand miles north across unbroken waters to the arctic north. No land north of Doon was discovered, save several small and generally considered insignificant isles, until long after the Doom of Ashirak. The Fhysay has some of the deepest regions in any known stretch of sea, on par and possibly exceeding the Celephais Abyss. The same difficulties that bar proper soundings of the CA apply to the Fhysay Depths, and as of this writing, have not been overcome for either.

The prevailing winds blow from the northwest during the warmer months, resulting in the western seaboard being far more well settled than the eastern interior. As the temperature drops in the fall, a critical point is reached wherein the prevailing winds shift to coming out of the north. This causes the winter storms of which Ashirai history makes such mention. That they were called the Ojyer, (lit: final defense) should relate their stance in Ashirai folklore while their name in Unglak, Jetkressatch (Unglak lit: killing snows) provides a fascinating comparison. These storms form over thousands of miles of uninterrupted open water, and were notorious for landing with 'the frozen wrath of all the gods.' Deeper Erhot was protected from them by the Doon Plateau much as it was rain which shaped the climate.

Of the Ashirai Empire, only Ashirak itself could be properly considered to lay on the Doon subcontinent, according to modern geographical conventions. It was situated in a rift in the Shey Avail escarpment some nine miles deep where the river Lyrn dropped from its mountainous origins to the lowlands. The Shey Avail ran from the Eyrimae east to where Ashirak once stood, and then further east upwards into the Doon Plateau. One notable mountain in the Shey Avail, Syr, stands opposed to Fyr, a prominence of the Arynt, and mark the access path to the Palm.

Dylath-Leen rested in the lee of the Eyrimae range, protected from the northern storms to the point of being habitable. These brutal winters are considered the likely cause of stone architecture being prevalent all through the history of the Ashirai Empire, even as wooden buildings became more common in the south. Another fascinating glimpse into how culture was shaped by geography is the effects of the active geological zone, the Doonesai Subduction Region, on theology. South of Dylath-Leen all lowland was on the Erhot plate. As the two land masses ground over each other, Erhot was being continuously pressed down. This is likely the cause for the constant sinking into the sea Ashirai histories and myth cycles speak of, and may explain some of the prevalent pessimism. While the Doon Plateau was perpetually rising, such motion would not have been as perceptible. Only in the northernmost reaches of the Arynt would the rise of landmasses over eons be noticeable. As these regions were scarcely populated until very late in recent history, this remained undiscovered until within the last century.

The bulk of the Ashirai Empire occupies a diamond shaped expanse of lowland between Dylath-Leen and the Vai Narrows. Modern historians suspect Hysterat, on the western edge of the Doon Mts, and Torlamy, on the eastern edge of the Surwin Bay, were no more than one hundred miles apart for much of their histories. The fortified city of Van lay some miles south of the shortest route between them, but likely no more than one seventy miles from either.

The Lyrn River flowed across the breadth of the empire. The annual flood came towards midsummer, and fertilized the land. It was tradition that two crops of wheat could be harvested a year, with the tightly controlled summer flood providing a month long hiatus in the farming season. This staggering concupiscence of fertility explained the incredible population of the Ashirai Empire. While few other cities of the time were above ten thousand people, Dylath-Leen was likely to have reached its peak at ten times that, with Ashirak, Van, and Torlamy all being over twenty thousand strong.

South of Van lay the great port of Tyr, of which so much bloody history was written. Controlled at varying times by itself, the empire, or the southern consequences, it was the most heavily fortified point on the continent barring only Ashirak, but scene of three times the number of sieges and great battles. The fortress of Tyr stands on a plinth of basalt between one half and one quarter mile in diameter, with a flat top some seven hundred feet above the waves. Added to that were the fabulous black walls that General Baroon reports, 'Stood between fifty and seventy feet high. The city stood so far from the shore that the greatest catapults strained to assail it. The four soaring drawbridges remain in perfect working order now, a hundred years since their construction, and are still raised and lowered no less than once a month each to inspect their operation. It is impossible that this city will never again fall.' Sadly, later events would prove the error of his words.

South of Tyr is a wide stretch of land claimed by both the empire and varying southern consequences. It is mostly rolling moors inland, with steep hills standing between the open ground and the Basay. These hills, called most commonly the Mutger Krik, (Unglak: the bad place) were notable for their steepness. At one point a civilization dwelt there, but of them Ashirak had but fragmentary records. It is likely that society fell before the establishment of the Ungale to the east, either by natural causes or, more likely, the inexorable hunger of the Ungale slave trade.