LetsBuild5e:Gazetteer

Axalvo is a plateau which slopes down north-eastwards to the Inner Sea. It's covered with a huge range of tiny nations, the fragments of the lost empire of Kuhetzib the Conqueror. Wilderness punctuates the settlement here and there - areas that no nation can claim, or that no-one wants. The waystations of the old empire's courier network still survive, strung out along partially-maintained paved roads that criss-cross Axalvo. (Decision: [1]) This gazetteer describes the nations and places that we have described so far.

Shards of an Empire

The Badlands

The plateau is scored here and there by deep river gorges, as water takes a faster path down towards the Inner Sea. The mountain wind has scoured strange rock formations here and there, the largest and oddest of which, northeast of Gartihann, is known as Hawlzilt Hz'furgend - the Devil's Windfish. (Decision: [2])

Brugo

Brugo is an orc-dominated kingdom in the far south-western corner of Axalvo. It stretches from the dividing hills all the way to the high mountains of Sellumeverni, and controls the great waterfall of Firbpanar-Vlshval-Mawg overlooking the southern steppes. It is ruled in name by an orc who claims descent from one of Kuhetzib's generals, but in practice the various clans are almost entirely autonomous. Some clans have settled and live much like their northern neighbours, while others still treasure the semi-nomadic ways they followed before the Imperial Era. The principal language of Brugo is Orcish, but Old Imperial is widely understood here too. (Decision: [3]) Brugo generally exists at peace with its neighbours, but the clans are sufficiently autonomous that some of them can and do go to war on their own initiative.

Gartihann

Politics in Gartihann

Gartihann lies directly north of Brugo, and spans the dividing hills, although most settlements are to the west of them, along the River Balkavatz. Gartihann was once the cornerstone of Kuhetzib's empire, but those days are long gone. Until the present year, it was under the direct control of an international mage guild specialising in the schools of Abjuration and Evocation. The popular revolution which drove out the mages has not yet produced a stable government; the country is run mostly by ad hoc citizens' committees and local officials. (Decision: [4]) Gartihann's population is highly cosmopolitan, reflecting its imperial past, but is more strongly slanted towards half-orcs than elsewhere, with a corresponding cultural bias to the Old Imperial language and customs.

There is no formalised nobility in Gartihann, although some families and clans claim ancient heritage and influence. The main distinction is that formerly, only citizens could enter the mage guild, and thus attain public office. This distinction of citizenship was a hold-over from the Empire. In general, to assert that you are entitled to a clan name is to assert that you are a citizen. Among the revolutionaries, there are some who believe that all residents should be allowed to participate in formal politics, and that the old idea of citizenship should be abandoned.

Brugo and Gartihann haven't formally been at war since the fall of the Empire. However, there have been diplomatic spats over border disputes, and both unruly clan chiefs (on the Brugo side) and rebellious peasants (on the Gartihann side) have clashed from time to time. The generalised state of trade conflict (rather than armed conflict) between the various mage guilds has ensured relative peace since the mage guild took over Gartihann - a situation now open to sudden change.

The imperial road network survives in Gartihann more or less unchanged since the height of the empire, except in the areas closest to the mountains, where it is not well-repaired. The road running north-north-west from Vikreng parallel to the Balkavatz is called Immirk ag Retzadz - the Way of the Dukes.

Barrimp Durvatz

'Little Rock Ford' is the last usable ford across the Balkavatz; below it, only bridges can be used to cross the turbulent river. Before the imperial road network was established, the crossing was of vital strategic importance, and Kuhetzib won a crucial early victory here against a human-dwarf alliance. Now it is a remote spot, as other roads provide a more direct route to almost anywhere. The commemorative bridge that was built here late in Kuhetzib's reign fell down some time early in the magocracy and was never rebuilt.

Linnhyenkirk

This tiny market town is the formal northern end of Immirk ag Retzadz. Envisaged as a trade centre for dealing with the many dwarven nations of the Sellumeverni, it never took off. Gartihann's increasing centralisation means that the town is largely controlled by dwarven and human mercantile interests.

Vawtteng

This fortress is the northernmost extent of Gartihann's military power. Lying between the dividing hills and a major canyon, it sticks up out of the badlands like an upturned tack on a tavern floor. The soldiers here are loyal to whoever pays their wages; the revolution has passed practically unnoticed here.

Vikreng

Vikreng was Kuhetzib's first capital city, and is still the capital of Gartihann. The heart of the city is an ancient hillfort from which Kuhetzib began her conquests. The hillfort was re-fortified and occupied by the mages' guild, and is now entirely covered by their local headquarters. This sprawling building, part school and part capitol, has been taken over by the revolutionary government, who are slowly going through its archives and storehouses as they attempt to build a future for the nation.

Many features of the city reflect its turbulent history. The largest structure after the government building is an amphitheater, intended for sporting contests and funeral games, but now being used for citizens' assemblies. The old bard colleges were used student wizard accommodation after the bards were expelled, and now stand empty, awaiting new tenants. Former military barracks, originally of imperial construction, were recently reused by the mage guild's mercenaries before being abandoned again. Close to the city wall stands the Tower of the Shield, the last unopened Mage Guild property, sealed by a magic bubble since the revolution. A final tragic landmark on the edge of town is a burnt-out tithe barn where many militia were burned to death early in the revolution. It is currently a generalised charnel house, but awaiting possible redevelopment. Rumour about increased undead activity lend urgency to these decisions.

The city also possesses an open-air market, and inns and taverns in all districts. There is an industrial district, originally home to the imperial armourers, but now much more diversified. Close by stand empty warehouses, intended for the movement of guild raw materials and other bulk goods. Part of the warehouse district has been converted into a walled district by dragonborn for self-defence. Scattered throughout the city is workers' housing, mostly in six-story apartment blocks around small courtyards. Some has been disused or underused for many years, as Vikreng is not the city it was during the empire. Another legacy of the empire is an aqueduct, now badly in need of repair. The mages also provided a scriptorium, with the associated facilities for making ink and parchment, and a warehouse for imported papyri. Supplies are currently running very low after the guild's contract was voided. (Decision: [5])

The city stands on a cap of gritstone overlying a limestone bed. In the pre-imperial era, it was common to 'bury' mortal remains by throwing them into sinkholes exposed by gaps in the gritstone. This practice eventually caused long-term contamination of the aquifers, and early in the Empire the city was furnished with an aqueduct which sources water from a reservoir above the nearest cataract of the river. At the same time, catacombs were begun to store the dead more hygenically, and a sewer system was dug for the expanding city's needs. The aqueduct was in use until the revolution, when it was damaged by a magic battle; it is now under repair. The sewers still function, but are poorly maintained. And the catacombs filled up early in the magocracy, and were closed. A former parade ground, the Field of Glory, was appropriated for use as a cemetery, which continues to this day. The mages also did some digging of their own; in the oldest parts of town, secret passages dug by the wealthy of the Empire run close to vaults which the mages prepared for some unspecified emergency. The mages also dug downward, below the catacombs, in search of a legendary dwarven passage which could be used to escape the chaos of the Turning of the World - no-one knows if they succeeded. (Decision: [6])

Further Afield

The Great Steppe

Below the southern edge of Axalvo stretches the Great Steppe, which reaches from the Sellumeverni mountains eastward almost to the distant ocean. There are no formal nations here, and even Kuhetzib the Conqueror had only a limited hold on parts of the Steppe. Tribes of horse-riders follow the game and the grazing patterns of their herds across a huge, windswept plain. Hills and small mountains dot the landscape, and some of them hold cloisters where dark elves teach monastic traditions. The River Varrsnatr runs the length of the Steppe, and drains most of it eastward. The Balkavatz, the principal river of Gartihann and Brugo, is known as Firbpav between Khamawg Falls and the Varrsnatr.

Giel-Tanierolla

Between Axalvo and the Desert of Sphinxes lies the land of Giel-Tanierolla, whose inhabitants are predominantly elves and humans. The people here see themselves as the inheritors of the traditions and culture of the lost elven empire on the far side of the world. These days, they mainly export diplomats to other nations, and trade extensively. One of their principal cities consists mainly of scores of ships bound together in a lagoon at the mouth of a great river flowing into the Inner Sea.

Along the Mountains

In the foothills of the Sellumeverni mountains, where the plateau curves upward to form part of the spine of the continent, are many small independent dwarven nations. These countries, many of them barely more than city-states, are generally content to remain separate from the wider world, only engaging in limited trade to acquire rare goods and better food. (Decision: [7])

East of the Sea

On the southeastern side of the Inner Sea, far from Axalvo, is a nation where the primary language is Wáyéhì. This is the home of the greatest bardic colleges in the known world, and along with the elves, one of the great seafaring powers. The travelling kenku who sometimes reach Axalvo tell that this is a land where even the monsters are different - asuras, rakshasas and nagas feature prominently. The lands between there and the steppe are little known, although there is out of date information from the imperial era, bolstered by occasional travellers' tales.

The Encircling Ocean

Maritime trade is relatively limited. Many nations employ riverine and inshore shipping, but the only two nations with any kind of blue-water navy are the elves and the Wáyéhì-speakers. Even their capacity is small; they have visited many nations around the Inner Sea, but not further afield. It is believed that the elves have some kind of secret plan to sail right to the edge of the world in an emergency, but it has not been attempted within living memory - even that of elves. (Decision: [8])

The Far North

North of the warm, fertile lands of Tanierolla lies the Desert of Sphinxes, stretching between the Sellumeverni mountains and the Inner Sea. Beyond it the lands are mostly unknown, although persistent tales tell of a hot, swampy river estuary populated by a nation of vicious serpent people. (Decision: [9])

Geography and Cosmology
Demographics and Society
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