Innis Cabal
2007-04-08, 09:37 PM
To keep the original thread, the 100 states, small i will be breaking the major geographical areas into seperate threads so readers do not feel so overwhelmed by text.
The Hanging Empire
The Hanging Empire, any state that lies inside the Dragons maw, consists of the Land of the Waterfalls, Pk’ta, Yuktru, Mans’hee, and Shattered Peak. The general climate hangs above 80 degrees at the top during summer dropping to about 40 degrees in the winter, while the lower regions hold at about 50 degrees year round. Water is a fact of life for the Hanging Empire, either from the numerous waterfalls that have broken up from the winding dragon, to the rain that the Land of waterfalls summons daily to water the hanging crops of the many smaller states. The Maw is not perfectly flat all around and holds many large ledges and protrusions were much of the smaller states have built their empire. The constant rushing water has also created natural caves and strange vertical rivers that flow quick and cold through out the large chasm. Large bridges and vast stair ways are constants in the Hanging empire, and several large elevators have been built to make transportations of goods swifter and easier. All states have built into the walls behind them, making homes, barracks and even vast cavern gardens lit by magic daylight and watered by intricate spells and water moving technologies. Hanging vines and large areas of swampy vegetation are common sights in the Hanging Empire, and several of the more nature oriented states have created whole orchards that hang from constructed bridges and platforms. Technology of the hanging empire has evolved differently then the above land, focusing on diverting and controlling the flow of water by large wooden and stone tubes, the strange, rare hovering barges that go up and down the chasm from state to state and even into the depths of the darkness below and the odd natural globes of colored sun light that makes life in the lowest regions liveable and the constant new spells of weather magic. To an outside observer the whole Hanging Empire seems like a fevered dream of a mad man, with its hanging forests, vertical rivers and numerous spells that have no known name or practical application to the world outside the Hanging Empire.
Lands of the Empire: Unlike much of the other states, who trade and barter for what they can not create or mine, the Hanging Empire has created a system where each state focus’s on a single facet of life on the walls and gives the fruit of their labors to their brother states. This is not to say the hanging empire is self sufficient, or that they do not trade or contribute to their nation, but due to their geographic location they are out of the way of most of the above worlds going’s on and thus out of the above ground’s minds. While the Maw holds two of the strongest states of the nation, they are closed off from much of the needless politics of the above world, and they seem to be better off for it.
Pk’ta: The lowest state in the Maw, situated below the Land of the waterfalls and Mans’hee. This small country is a dank, near lightless maze owned by a powerful tribe of lizard folk and winged kobolds. They are close allies with the Land of Waterfalls and work hand in hand with them with the mapping projects they have undertaken. The people of Pk’ta act mainly as scouts and couriers for the rest of the empire, running many of the transport operations that do not require magic or heavy moving parts.
Land of the Waterfalls: One of the strongest states in the hanging empire, the Land of the Waterfalls is made up nearly of half elves, but the rare lizard folk and gnoll have been known to make their home here. The land is saturated with water at all times and the people are the most accomplished stone workers in the whole 100 states. The Land of the Waterfall grows the produce and harvests the meat that graces the table of the rest of the empire. They also head most of the building and mining projects of the empire, using their powerful magic’s to create water sources where they do not exist and to build buildings not only out of the surrounding rock but also to create outcroppings for the states that pay for such services.
Yuktru: Of all the states in the Hanging Empire, Yuktru is the most bizarre. Run by a powerful Emerald Dragon, Yuktru is almost entirely a network of caverns and tunnels with several landing cliffs for the dragon and its flying forces. Located above Mans’hee and near the top of the Land of the Waterfall, Yuktru seems not even to exist to those that do not know where it is. Humans, elves, and kobolds make up much of the populous but dwarves and gnomes also live in the cavern networks. Yuktru is the head of the mining operations for gems and rare metals, and it is widely accepted that at least 10% of all mined from the Hanging Empire is given to Yuktru for their lending of mining equipment and for the magical aid of finding rich deposits in the walls of the chasm
Mans’hee: Located close to the Land of the Waterfalls and above Pk’ta, Mans’hee is known as the land of bridges. Primarily human and cat folk, Man’shee is built mostly of wood and is the driest region of the Hanging Empire even with its proximity to the Land of the Waterfalls. The people of Mans’hee make up the major work force for anything that is not stone, creating the hover ships and large moving elevators that make moving around the empire easy and safe. The mages of Mans’hee also have created several powerful automations to guard the lower regions of the Empire so the standing army can easily move out of the Maw from the Shattered Peak.
Shattered Peak: As the top state of the Maw the Shattered Peak is not only one of the most powerful states of the maw, tied only with the Land of Waterfalls, but also responsible for the interation between the Hanging Empire and the other states when not at the High Meet. The Shattered Peak is the major cosmopolitian region of the Maw, selling the many trade goods of the Empire to their brother states, and giving the money to the other states below. The Shattered Peak is also the largest state, spanning the whole 3 mile radius of the Maw, descending 4 miles down into the chasm and inside the rock for about 7 miles. The whole military might of the empire sits here, so that if the 100 states ever went to war
The Dark Below: Unknown to all but the most learned minds of the Hanging Empire, what lies 4000 miles below them is a warring region of darkness that thankfully knows just as little as the world above as the world knows about them. Here the Dark elves battle abominations of nature, like powerful mind flayer slave forces, Shadow Dragon raiding parties, other Dark Elven empires, and the dreaded powers of the shadow dwarves. What little contact the Dark Below has with the above ground world, and the Hanging Empire, comes from trade groups between the Land of the Waterfalls and their distant cousins, the Dark Elves of the Nalhavok region. Other’s close to their speices surprised the reclusive nation, that had exiled themselves from their brothers and sisters in the Dragon’s Spine that they have been increasing their trade routes to the above world.
Land of the Waterfalls
One of two of the largest and most powerful states in the Dragons Maw, the land of waterfalls is the most powerful half elven empires in the 100 states. While a powerful member of the nation, the state as a whole keeps to itself, building deeper and deeper into the Maw and searching ever deeper into the depths of the world below. The capital of the state, known as Bur’man, is built around a catch pool for one of the many waterfalls made by the Winding Dragon. The water is filtered many times and is allowed to continue its downward track to lower states in the maw. The minerals collected this way are taken and used to build arms and buildings and for digging equipment to create more room for the ever expanding state. Most of the half elves are of dark elven and northern human descent, with white, gray and deep brown hairs and deep tan to bronze skin with hues of deep red or deep purple at the jaw line and the corners of the eyes. Unlike their eastern kin the Half Elves of the Hanging empire have purple, black or vermillion colored eyes. Several other features make the hanging empire half elves stand out from their kin, with deep red/black lips and a single golden ring in the iris of the eye.
Climate and Environment
The land of the waterfalls is one of the more unique states in the whole nation, using magic and modern convenience to create a comfortable climate, which holds about 60 degrees year round, and keeps the moisture in the air from destroying many of their wooden homes and trees. As is with most things in the hanging empires, the environment varies greatly from what area you are looking at. Exterior buildings and large areas of land favor hanging plants, allowing their roots to hang down deep into the lower regions of the empire. Inside the holds and caves the ceilings are built to radical hights to allow the many elm and oak trees to grow to proportions that rival their above ground siblings. The trees are specially bred to be able to have their roots to bore into the hard rock, odd soil and metal veins while many special rivers are carved into the stone to allow the constant flow of rain water out to pour further down into the darkness and smaller states. Animals are kept inside these “garden caves” and range from chickadees and finch’s to elk, deer, and several large hunting animals.
Geography and Lands
Unlike much of the Hanging Empire, the land of water falls holds many ledges and stone outcroppings where many of the residential buildings and military colleges are held. These outcroppings are built on and in, creating natural buildings making stone look more like works of art then cities. The Half Elves of the Land of the waterfalls are master sculptors and stone workers, and many of their mages have learned to tap into the strength of the stone to better build and control their environment. While the outer areas of the state are more sculpture and hanging garden the inner workings of the state appear more like a vast hilly forest with numerous rivers, lakes and waterfalls with simple homes built into the sides of the caves. No building is built in the open inside the inner state, giving the inner state a honey combed feel, with tunnels and storage caves on the insides and bridges and tree platforms on the outside.
The Hanging Empire
The Hanging Empire, any state that lies inside the Dragons maw, consists of the Land of the Waterfalls, Pk’ta, Yuktru, Mans’hee, and Shattered Peak. The general climate hangs above 80 degrees at the top during summer dropping to about 40 degrees in the winter, while the lower regions hold at about 50 degrees year round. Water is a fact of life for the Hanging Empire, either from the numerous waterfalls that have broken up from the winding dragon, to the rain that the Land of waterfalls summons daily to water the hanging crops of the many smaller states. The Maw is not perfectly flat all around and holds many large ledges and protrusions were much of the smaller states have built their empire. The constant rushing water has also created natural caves and strange vertical rivers that flow quick and cold through out the large chasm. Large bridges and vast stair ways are constants in the Hanging empire, and several large elevators have been built to make transportations of goods swifter and easier. All states have built into the walls behind them, making homes, barracks and even vast cavern gardens lit by magic daylight and watered by intricate spells and water moving technologies. Hanging vines and large areas of swampy vegetation are common sights in the Hanging Empire, and several of the more nature oriented states have created whole orchards that hang from constructed bridges and platforms. Technology of the hanging empire has evolved differently then the above land, focusing on diverting and controlling the flow of water by large wooden and stone tubes, the strange, rare hovering barges that go up and down the chasm from state to state and even into the depths of the darkness below and the odd natural globes of colored sun light that makes life in the lowest regions liveable and the constant new spells of weather magic. To an outside observer the whole Hanging Empire seems like a fevered dream of a mad man, with its hanging forests, vertical rivers and numerous spells that have no known name or practical application to the world outside the Hanging Empire.
Lands of the Empire: Unlike much of the other states, who trade and barter for what they can not create or mine, the Hanging Empire has created a system where each state focus’s on a single facet of life on the walls and gives the fruit of their labors to their brother states. This is not to say the hanging empire is self sufficient, or that they do not trade or contribute to their nation, but due to their geographic location they are out of the way of most of the above worlds going’s on and thus out of the above ground’s minds. While the Maw holds two of the strongest states of the nation, they are closed off from much of the needless politics of the above world, and they seem to be better off for it.
Pk’ta: The lowest state in the Maw, situated below the Land of the waterfalls and Mans’hee. This small country is a dank, near lightless maze owned by a powerful tribe of lizard folk and winged kobolds. They are close allies with the Land of Waterfalls and work hand in hand with them with the mapping projects they have undertaken. The people of Pk’ta act mainly as scouts and couriers for the rest of the empire, running many of the transport operations that do not require magic or heavy moving parts.
Land of the Waterfalls: One of the strongest states in the hanging empire, the Land of the Waterfalls is made up nearly of half elves, but the rare lizard folk and gnoll have been known to make their home here. The land is saturated with water at all times and the people are the most accomplished stone workers in the whole 100 states. The Land of the Waterfall grows the produce and harvests the meat that graces the table of the rest of the empire. They also head most of the building and mining projects of the empire, using their powerful magic’s to create water sources where they do not exist and to build buildings not only out of the surrounding rock but also to create outcroppings for the states that pay for such services.
Yuktru: Of all the states in the Hanging Empire, Yuktru is the most bizarre. Run by a powerful Emerald Dragon, Yuktru is almost entirely a network of caverns and tunnels with several landing cliffs for the dragon and its flying forces. Located above Mans’hee and near the top of the Land of the Waterfall, Yuktru seems not even to exist to those that do not know where it is. Humans, elves, and kobolds make up much of the populous but dwarves and gnomes also live in the cavern networks. Yuktru is the head of the mining operations for gems and rare metals, and it is widely accepted that at least 10% of all mined from the Hanging Empire is given to Yuktru for their lending of mining equipment and for the magical aid of finding rich deposits in the walls of the chasm
Mans’hee: Located close to the Land of the Waterfalls and above Pk’ta, Mans’hee is known as the land of bridges. Primarily human and cat folk, Man’shee is built mostly of wood and is the driest region of the Hanging Empire even with its proximity to the Land of the Waterfalls. The people of Mans’hee make up the major work force for anything that is not stone, creating the hover ships and large moving elevators that make moving around the empire easy and safe. The mages of Mans’hee also have created several powerful automations to guard the lower regions of the Empire so the standing army can easily move out of the Maw from the Shattered Peak.
Shattered Peak: As the top state of the Maw the Shattered Peak is not only one of the most powerful states of the maw, tied only with the Land of Waterfalls, but also responsible for the interation between the Hanging Empire and the other states when not at the High Meet. The Shattered Peak is the major cosmopolitian region of the Maw, selling the many trade goods of the Empire to their brother states, and giving the money to the other states below. The Shattered Peak is also the largest state, spanning the whole 3 mile radius of the Maw, descending 4 miles down into the chasm and inside the rock for about 7 miles. The whole military might of the empire sits here, so that if the 100 states ever went to war
The Dark Below: Unknown to all but the most learned minds of the Hanging Empire, what lies 4000 miles below them is a warring region of darkness that thankfully knows just as little as the world above as the world knows about them. Here the Dark elves battle abominations of nature, like powerful mind flayer slave forces, Shadow Dragon raiding parties, other Dark Elven empires, and the dreaded powers of the shadow dwarves. What little contact the Dark Below has with the above ground world, and the Hanging Empire, comes from trade groups between the Land of the Waterfalls and their distant cousins, the Dark Elves of the Nalhavok region. Other’s close to their speices surprised the reclusive nation, that had exiled themselves from their brothers and sisters in the Dragon’s Spine that they have been increasing their trade routes to the above world.
Land of the Waterfalls
One of two of the largest and most powerful states in the Dragons Maw, the land of waterfalls is the most powerful half elven empires in the 100 states. While a powerful member of the nation, the state as a whole keeps to itself, building deeper and deeper into the Maw and searching ever deeper into the depths of the world below. The capital of the state, known as Bur’man, is built around a catch pool for one of the many waterfalls made by the Winding Dragon. The water is filtered many times and is allowed to continue its downward track to lower states in the maw. The minerals collected this way are taken and used to build arms and buildings and for digging equipment to create more room for the ever expanding state. Most of the half elves are of dark elven and northern human descent, with white, gray and deep brown hairs and deep tan to bronze skin with hues of deep red or deep purple at the jaw line and the corners of the eyes. Unlike their eastern kin the Half Elves of the Hanging empire have purple, black or vermillion colored eyes. Several other features make the hanging empire half elves stand out from their kin, with deep red/black lips and a single golden ring in the iris of the eye.
Climate and Environment
The land of the waterfalls is one of the more unique states in the whole nation, using magic and modern convenience to create a comfortable climate, which holds about 60 degrees year round, and keeps the moisture in the air from destroying many of their wooden homes and trees. As is with most things in the hanging empires, the environment varies greatly from what area you are looking at. Exterior buildings and large areas of land favor hanging plants, allowing their roots to hang down deep into the lower regions of the empire. Inside the holds and caves the ceilings are built to radical hights to allow the many elm and oak trees to grow to proportions that rival their above ground siblings. The trees are specially bred to be able to have their roots to bore into the hard rock, odd soil and metal veins while many special rivers are carved into the stone to allow the constant flow of rain water out to pour further down into the darkness and smaller states. Animals are kept inside these “garden caves” and range from chickadees and finch’s to elk, deer, and several large hunting animals.
Geography and Lands
Unlike much of the Hanging Empire, the land of water falls holds many ledges and stone outcroppings where many of the residential buildings and military colleges are held. These outcroppings are built on and in, creating natural buildings making stone look more like works of art then cities. The Half Elves of the Land of the waterfalls are master sculptors and stone workers, and many of their mages have learned to tap into the strength of the stone to better build and control their environment. While the outer areas of the state are more sculpture and hanging garden the inner workings of the state appear more like a vast hilly forest with numerous rivers, lakes and waterfalls with simple homes built into the sides of the caves. No building is built in the open inside the inner state, giving the inner state a honey combed feel, with tunnels and storage caves on the insides and bridges and tree platforms on the outside.