We were on something a “staycation” through most of July, and August was kind of weird. It’s been too long since I’ve written here. I figured I’d get back to writing right where I left off: Descriptions of fictional landmasses!
This time I’ll describe the homelands of Essin’s goblins and orcs; Yist and Suttari, respectively.
Since the two are fairly small and connected, I felt one image was plenty.
Yist is the mucky, marshy homeland of the goblins. It’s divided (quite loosely) into Droilf, the Haifmoors, and the Maïr Badlands.
Droilf (pronounced like “droy-ilf” but as one syllable; the goblin language is weird.) is by far the most hospitable region of Yist, but even that’s not saying much. For a real-life comparison, think of the Florida everglades, but with some small mountains breaking up the muck. These swamps aren’t the murkiest around, and some of the more solid patches of land are home to great trade cities like Bhayk (pronounced just like “bake”).
The Haifmoors, (rhymes with “strafe” and “doors”) are more comparable to the eerie swamps of Louisiana, with very few hills or mountains to break the all-encompassing canopy of dense trees. Alluded to by the region’s name—taken from the goblin goddess of darkness, Haif—very little light touches the ground within the Haifmoors. There is little civilization here, though there are tribes of goblins who revel in the darkness and call these haunted lands home.
Differing greatly from the other regions of Yist, the Maïr Badlands (“Maïr” is pronounced like “mire”) are an odd blend of swampish wetlands and arid savannah. sharing the border-isthmus with Suttari, the northern reaches of the badlands are quite dry and sunny, with patches of swampy soil as one heads further south and west. There aren’t many real-life equivalents… in North America. Looking through pictures of the Persian Gulf will give some idea of what these badlands resemble. Though few live in the open badlands, the technologically advanced city of Vhyne sits on the goblin-orc border and takes advantage of trade which passes through.
Just north are the dry lands of Suttari. The orcish lands are divided into three large principalities, though these borders aren’t very important to the orcs that dwell within.
The Artoah and Gahriah Principalities are not too different from one another, and their distinction is largely owed to the influential city-states which sit at opposite ends of the landmass. Ancient Orc history tells of countless wars between these two nations, most seemingly fought for petty reasons. It seems the two never really tired of testing each other in combat. After the Second Age of Strife and the subsequent unification of orcish principalities under Grahnum rule, a titanic colosseum was built on the border between Artoah and Gahriah. Every year the most proficient warriors from all over Essin gather in the Mahksadrome (sounds like “Mocks-a-drome”) to test their skills against one another.
In terms of landscape, there’s not much to describe. It’s a scorched land of arid rock formations. It’s often very beautiful, much like Monument Valley, but spending time there, at least for non-orcs, can be very painful indeed.
Grahnumogg is not much different, climate-wise, and is much smaller than any other orcish region. In fact, it’s among the smallest regions in Essin, as far as political borders are concerned. However, among the orcs, tieflings, and even the goblins, Grahnumogg is perhaps the most influential city-state. Most of this broad peninsula’s livable landmass is taken up by one sprawling fortress-city, also called Grahnumogg.
Orcish history teaches that this fortress was the seat of power for the immensely influential Grahnum family, who once ruled over the lands which now bear their name. The reign of Sun-King Pahn Grahnum II saw the construction of the palatial Pahn Pyramids, and for many generations the Grahnum Dynasty reigned over Grahnum, Suttari, and even Khapses.
I could write more about orc history, Grahnum’ exile from the ancient desert, and the reclamation of the throne by the bastard child Tahrn Turuth, but then this would turn into a post about orcs exclusively, and I’ll have to save that one for later.
Tune in next time for a look at the elven lands of Alara. There’s so much to talk about there, so it’ll just have to be its own post! Hopefully I won’t dillydally and manage to get something out in a timely fashion.