Alsa Eru
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Alsa Eru is the name of the continent on which Memory Fading takes place. Alsa Eru is the largest of four named continents on the planet Ord (though many scholars dispute whether or not Xardeth makes its own continent, when the much-larger Chulgeth is considered part of Alsa Eru), stretching for thousands of miles north-to-south from the Frostfells to the islands of the Chulgeth, as well as thousands of miles east-to-west from ancient Erim-has to the stretches of Balorand. The continent is composed of many kingdoms, empires, and nations, both ancient and new.
In the center of the continent (pictured near the northwest corner of the map) is Nalimoseo (which the Gaardans call Erdharte), the vast, ancient forest where most (if not all) of the sydhi of Alsa Eru now live. It stretches almost a thousand miles, and is largely composed of evergreens such as spruce, pine, and cypress. However, many Shaern travelers have mentioned that the forest is unusually warm and humid for as far north as it is, and they have seen many oaks, willows, and other deciduous trees. The sydhi have lived in Nalimoseo since before time-remembered, but not until recently did the great forest become their only home on Alsa Eru. Up until about five hundred years ago, the sydhi had never warred with the other sapient races of Alsa Eru, but that changed with the War of the Nine Sins. Since that time, they have secluded themselves in their forest, and have not come out much since then.
To the west of the Erdharte, there is a land of vast stretches of rock and clay, with little plant life, known simply as the Shaernlands. The land is known for terribly hot days and forbiddingly cold nights. The people who live there are known as the Shaern. They are clansmen, divided into eleven clans, and descendants of an ancient warrior named Shaern-Fo who led thousands of his people to safety during the formation of the Empire of Great Tlek. Recently, in the past hundred years or so, the Shaern have been allowed a trade route through Nalimoseo, to trade with Gaardans. They are excellent harvesters of silk and jewels, as well as proficient farmers of goats and sheep. They trade with the Gaardans for iron and cotton.
Beyond the Shaernlands (not seen on the map), on the westernmost shores of Alsa Eru, is Erim-has. It is a land of mistrust and deceit, where the emperor rules the land with an iron fist, and demons and devils walk the earth. Few from the east travel to Erim-has, and fewer still return. Little is known of the empire's history, other than the founders came from Laon-has - far to the south - many centuries ago. A little over fifty years ago, word came from the Shaern that Erim-has had built a huge wall around their entire empire, spanning thousands of miles, and being tall enough that only birds could reach the other side. What this means, few speculate on, and fewer know, but it doesn't seem to bode ill for the rest of the people of Alsa Eru...yet.
Riddesgaard is the first kingdom on the east side of Nalimoseo, and is home to the Gaardans, the first humans to arrive on Alsa Eru. It is a cold land of rugged mountains and tundras, and sits as a barrier or borderland between the Frostfells and the rest of Alsa Eru.
Directly east of Riddesgaard is Duarmenstor, an ancient kingdom of trakloks. It was founded after splitting of the clans of Brishkur, and has been the home of trakloks on Alsa Eru for several thousand years now. It consists of the Bhargrest Crest and Greyhelm mountain ranges, as well as the massive inland Bhaeron Sea.
South of Duarmenstor and Riddesgaard is Old Tlek, a land that nowadays is mostly composed of barbarians, nomads, and other wanderers. There is no unified government for the most part - instead, most communities are independent city-states.
After the events of the war, there is a new power emerging on the eastern edge of Old Tlek. The city-states of Karsus, Galwin, Jarenston, and Hapford have been merged into the Karsus Province. This fledgling nation doesn't seem to have much to offer the rest of the continent at the moment, being that it was formed from a seize of power, but the next years will be the most telling. They do have a healthy relationship with Duarmenstor, due to the aid from during the war.
To the far south is the mixing pot of Alsa Eru. It is a remnant of the Empire of Tlek, a land where Gaardans and Laons mixed and intermingled for hundreds of years, forming their own unique cultures and heritages. Collectively known as the United Kingdoms of Arudor, the three kingdoms here are named after the three children of Jaerom Arudor: Faeros, Wyndel, and Garriston.
Near the southern center of the continent is the kingdom of Khandia, the Fields of the Blue Lotus, a large sprawling nation whose people are descended from ancient Laons and Hiths. Khandia is known for being more technologically advanced than most of the other surrounding kingdoms - save for the sirish, themselves. The large Template:Lt lies north of Khandia, and east of the United Kingdoms, and many sirish make their home in the hot, humid sands. The sirish have a good relationship with Khandia.
To the east of Khandia is the Confederacy of Great Laon, also called the Eastern Lands, and the Lands of Sunrise. These lands stretch east and northward, all the way up the peninsula to meet with Balorand far to the east, and are composed of three smaller states: Laon, Marubon, and Tal Katar.
Finally, to the south is the Chulgeth, an archipelago of tropical jungles, mountains, volcanoes, and swamps. These mostly strange, balmy, and mostly unexplored lands are where the sirish originated many eons ago. Rumors abound of massive, island-spanning ruins of the ancient Hiths, as well as underwater ruins that existed in a time when more land was above water. Of course, these rumors are usually quelled as myths by scholars who say that the landscape of Ord has never changed.
