A continent ruled by the Iron Emperor,
His lands stretch from the Valleys of Morning in the great desert wastes of the Southlands to vast sprawl of mountain strongholds in the frozen north. The world groans beneath the might of the Iron Emperors rule. None dare stand before him who controls all in the broken land of Kartharka, where the great turning of the seasons itself have been rent asunder
"The caravans pass" is the only true law of Kartharka.
Food flows to the north and Iron flows to the south, as long as this law is upheld the Lords may war for what other resources they wish. The world of Kartharka is a land of city states, each lord commands as far as his army can march and no further. With the tides of time some may claim an entire valley, hundreds of miles of coastline, or a single road through the wastelands.
When the caravans pass North they take the emperors due, Sometimes it is gold, sometimes it is cattle, wood, food, whatever the emperor demands is given without question without fighting. When the Caravans pass south their is only one thing the emperor demands. Slaves.
Some are taken to build the mighty walls of the empire, to till the fields, to break the rocks. Others enter the black citadels of the Emperor and are never seen outside them again. The empire is built and run on the blood of slaves, but none can stand before the Iron emperor.
None know what truly happens after that but when the caravan passes on south there is not a stone left standing of the fortress and the dead are laid end to end for miles along the great road through what was once the lords land. The roads of a rebels country are paved with the bodies of their dead. So all pay the emperors price whatever it may be, whether it leaves them with nothing but a stone hut and barren fields they all pay, and build again.
In the wild warring world of Kartharka an adventurer with a strong sword arm may carve out a place for them self. Fighting in an army, plundering a lordling, hunting down rich outlaws, or searching out the lost treasures of the first men.
The gods have abandoned men but the Iron remains and is lusted for by all. Indeed even the currency of the world is the imperial Longshank, thin strips of iron stamped with the Imperial fist.
The continent of Kartharka is vast, terrible, and dangerous. All swear ultimate fealty to the emperor but as they say "the emperor is in the south" he cares not about the squabbles between the lords of Kartharka as they war amongst each other.
Most believe it to exist only in ancient stories. In the mountains all know that it is real, and it is taken very seriously
Never found in it's natural state, no platinum ore has ever been found. It is instead found only in the form of ancient coins or in even rarer cases as jewelry, rings, bracelets and even crowns have been found.The empire lusts for platinum like nothing else however, more valuable even than iron no one in all of Kartharka may posses it other than the emperor.
It is illegal to possess platinum anywhere in Kartharka and anyone found with it is killed instantly.However in the mountains it is sometimes found by the Miners. Mining law dictates it must be immediately taken to an Imperial refinery where it is exchanged for a great reward equal to 20 times it's weight in gold. Indeed many know of at least one poor miner who has retired after finding a cache of these coins in their travels. Indeed some even find enough to pay for passage on the caravan all the way to the imperial city and a life of excess and luxury.
All in Kartharka know and fear the Mountains of the great North.
Source of all Iron and Wealth but locked in an endless Ice Storm against which the Men of the Mountains fight to wrest the precious ore from it's frozen prison.
Hot springs dot the land sparsely. Living on top of there are those who keep the roads and passes free for the black caravans of the Emperor. But the springs are far too few to provide food and shelter to the hordes of Mountain men and tribesmen who work the slopes of these nightmare cliffs.
Food from the Empire:
Life is the Winterlands depends on the food the Empire provides, which flows to the North. The people who work the Mountains cluster in great sprawling shanty towns which surround the Imperial Refineries that dot the landscape.
But the proud people of the mountains are different from those of the steppes and plains of Kartharka. They do not pay the Southern Price. Their children are free from the slavers wagons. For they and they alone know the hiding places or Iron, and the ways of dragging it from the ground. They are the Iron men and they pay no tax. They instead buy food from the caravans with their Iron. A distinction that makes the Iron men a race apart in Kartharka.
The emperors food allow the Mountain men's cities to thrive and prosper, they rule themselves, and withing the mountain lands their rule is law. All the peoples of the mountains bow to Mining law which keeps the food flowing.
The greatest concentration of Mountain men lie within the valley of Fangs, a ledge carved from the mountains and completely surrounded on all sides by great broken peaks. This home of the first men is accessible only by two great highways running underground. One in the valleys east, leading to the foothills, through the treacherous autumn lands and to the empire. The second highway leads to the west, to the great Deadlands of the Fang Valleys sister, the Valley of Night.
Legend says these two valleys were both majestic city states of the gods, whose warring caused the great cataclysm which split the seasons asunder leaving the world of Kartharka the strange and broken place it is today. None travel to or from the Valley of Night. No legends speak of treasure in the Valley and no traveller ever returns from there to speak of what they have seen.Rumour and legends of the mountains speak of a terrible past and lingering evil in the hollows and passages of ancient mines and buried cities. Some say that evil sorcery still lingers in places throughout the mountains, atop towering peaks and in blasted hollows, bubbling to the surface to attack, defile and destroy.
Sages and scholars still gather and covet ancient relics said to contain great power in the time before, though they now serve no purpose, lying dormant and useless on their shelves, reminders only of when men could control great power with mystic rituals and powerful words.
It is said creatures still live deep within the earth, where rivers of sorcery still flow, bubbling up with these foul magics at times, out of mines and caves to wipe settlements of men off the map, or drag miners down into the world beneath Kartharka
Most adventurers start theire careers in Stroh-Branoch, city of the First Men.
Said to be the oldest of mans cities it is built upon layers of previous towns and mineworks.
Center of the mining industry of the Winterlands and home to the most powerful governing bodies of the north Stroh-Branoch is huge, bustling, wild and dangerous.
Here the heroes can make their home, stake their mining claims, hire on for any number of jobs for both the Winterlands groups and guilds as well as the Empire who has a large and imposing prescence in the most important city in the Winterlands, perhaps even in the World.
At long last! The Autumn lands and Summerlands are here!
The Autumn lands are home to some of the greatest cities of the Empire, bastions of Learning, commerce and industry. Supplied with food from the South and Iron from the North and a comfortable climate the peoples of this land live in the most physically comfortable part of the Empire.
But not all is bright for these people. Almost every city lies on the Black Road, with every city needing to pay it's quota of supplies and "workers" for the Empire.
These slave labourers are mostly criminals of the Autumnlands. In a place where a crime is paid with a seat on the Black Caravan the land is a mostly lawful place.
When there are not enough criminals to fill the quotas very often poor winterlanders will be rounded up to fill the numbers needed. Most feel that this is their due for coming to the autumnlands from a place free of the tax.
When all other methods fail it is down to a lottery which is taken part in by all the people of the settlement, though more often than not the names that are "drawn" are those of unpopular people, or those who stand in the way of the political power of the Empire.
For the most part the autumnlands are a peaceful and productive place where people can make a good life for themselves by following the rules.
However there are many new threats rising against the autumnlands. Strange rumours from the West speak of strange aquatic creatures raiding the coastal villages, and inland ancient stories of the Goblyns are being told again as remote miners and travellars begin to go missing again.
To the West people speak of war with the strange and trerrible creatures of the Hunzar Jungles.
The peaceful times of Empire are coming to a close in the Autumnlands but a time of adventure has just begun.
The summerlands! Ranging from Oppressive Jungle heat, to Breezy island kingdoms and the scorching deserts tot he South.
To the east lies the great sprawling Emperors fortress. Center of the government that squeezes the world of Kartharka in it's Iron grip. The great walls rise to the sky showing all the power of the Emperor. Surrounding the walls is the great wasteland, a desert gripped by winds and storms, dotted with forgotten ancient ruins and wandered by strange and terrible magics and spirits.
To the North lie the great fields and plains that feed the world of Kartharka.
To the west lie the Hunzar jungles, a deep impenetrable jungle where ancient and strange kingdoms fight each other for the Dominance of the great river that flows through it.
To the South are the Island Kingdoms. Though their swear loyalty to the Empire their remoteness means they are mostly autonomous. The most remote of these are wild and lawless places.
As long as the Islands continue to pay their tributes of workers and supplies to the Emperor they are left completely to their own devices.
