Thousand Cities:South
The South
- Rocky coastlines mark the southern shore of the Central Sea. Atop the cliffs sprawls the city of Rakandra - birthplace of metalwork in the Thousand Cities. The southern lands are unstable, quickly falling away into the element of Fire. Great oceans of magma flow in the distant south, and the air itself glows with heat.
Elemental Pole of Fire
- The Elemental Pole of Fire lies relatively close to the southern shoreline. Only a few hundred miles south of Rakandra's walls, the barren land melts away into a sea of unending flame. Narrow slivers of rock reach out into the sea, and rivers of molten metal flow towards the north. Beyond these shores, the air itself burns away and there is only searing light.
The Great Plains
- To the Southeast lie vast plains, settled by nomadic horse tribes. From these windswept plains arose Farrow, the red-maned horse-goddess. The tribes hunt across the savannah, moving constantly to follow the antelope and buffalo herds. Each year they return to the coast during Ascending Fire, when the southern sky grows too hot to range beyond sight of the sand dunes. The summer cities trade horn, bone and leather with the Central Islands.
- The most prized commodity of the Plainsfolk are their red-maned horses. These horses are never sold, for the creatures have an equal placing with the humans of the Great Plains. To take such a creature away from the Southeast requires the payment of a dowry to the tribe's elders - the contract is considered a marriage, as the horse becomes part of the owner's family. The Plainsfolk will not trade their horses through third parties, insisting that all members of the tribe must meet and approve of the rider.
- Humans outside the Southeast consider these cultures eccentric, but they strictly adhere to them knowing that Farrow's eye is always upon her children. Many of Creation's finest bloodlines can trace their lineage directly to Farrow's descendants.
Rakandra
- When Vanar left the city of Thousand_Cities:Centre#Yilgarn, he travelled to the southern shores of the Central Sea. Here, he founded a great city of his own: Rakandra, home to the finest metalsmiths in Creation. The city draws on the vast mineral wealth of the South.
- Rakandra is ruled by a Queen, Chosen of Vanar himself. Ten Great Clans trade metal and artisans with all of Creation, buying the city great wealth and influence in the politics of the Central Islands. The richest of the Thousand Cities boast a Master Smith from Rakandra to oversee their metalworks. In exchange for unrivalled craftsmanship in weaponry and tools, the hosting city must sign an exclusive contract to purchase raw metals from the Master Smith's home clan.
- Rakandra's great wealth has lured many of the Central nations, but no raiding force has ever penetrated its iron gates. The Rakandran armies are superbly trained and equipped, and the city benefits from both steep cliffs and a inhospitable atmosphere filled with the ash of ten thousand forges.
