Gazetteer

Introduction

There are two cities within a land, and people move fairly freely between them. In many ways, their fortunes and demeanors are opposite. But their fates are intertwined, and one cannot survive without the other.

The leaders of these two cities are aware of this relationship and have taken precautions to ensure that any military tensions between them are resolved on the lands between them, and not in the cities themselves. For if one city were to conquer the other, it would ensure its own destruction in the process.

That’s what the ancient tales say. The modern leaders may not necessarily believe them.

Cities Diametrically Opposed

The Duchy of Raskot and the Vrothian Republic are more than just neighbors that share a border with each other. Despite their bonds of trade and diplomacy, they are engaged in a protracted and subtle struggle for regional dominance. Their respective capital cities, Raskot and Milashur, are not very far apart, and both nations allow people to move freely between them.

Aspect	Raskot	Milashur
geography	fertile coastal plain	inland, foothills of significant mountains
economy and food system	local agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture; some trade	manufacturing, industry, hunting, herding, ranching, and extensive trade
population dynamics	most people born here live their lives here	many immigrants come here, and many emigrants go elsewhere
culture	homogeneous, passed down orally	heterogeneous polyglot, extensive written records
attitudes towards foreigners	shunned if they do not assimilate	many significant cultural and religious conclaves, sometimes in tension
government	hereditary monarchy, with varying degrees of benevolence	constitutional parliamentary republic, with varying degrees of stability and corruption
diet	fish, water-intensive crops	mammals, hardier crops that can be stored
military	conscripted by nobles	part volunteer, part criminals serving sentences, part mercenary
socioeconomic structure	noble families, feudalism	mostly unfettered capitalism, favoring the well-connected
social mobility	very little	based on money and connection
cultural dynamism	traditions are valued and preserved for their own sake	innovation born from naked ambition is commonplace
languages	one high-status language with dialects/accents of varying status	one official language of government and commerce, others used when practical
water	year-round abundant fresh water from local rivers	captured rainwater and snowmelt, with extensive storage and transport
climate	humid year round; mild winters and hot summers	warm, dry summers with occasional thunderstorms; cold, dry winters with regular snow
natural disasters	floods, hurricanes, severe rainstorms	blizzards, avalanches, mudslides, lightning strikes, wildfires
art	performing arts and experiences, song, dance, theater, cuisine	written and tangible works, painting, sculpture, textiles, architecture
spiritual life	worship dictated and promoted by monarch and advisers	secular; tolerates worship that does not directly harm others
intellectual life	directed by nobility; primarily religious scholarship	secular scholarship and research, with vigorous debate and oratory

The smaller Kingdom of Nashab borders both the Duchy of Raskot and the Vrothian Republic, friend to both but ally of neither.

Glossary

Beiro

crow-folk (Kenku)

Benara

rabbitfolk or hare-folk (Harengon)

Fedetz

turtlefolk or tortoise-folk (Tortle)

Ha’at’l

Lizardfolk

Irash

lionfolk (Leonin)

Kadakh

tuskenfolk (Loxodon)

Niinat

caimanfolk or gatorfolk (Troglodyte)

Promised

a longer-lived person touched by the divine

Rakab

oxenfolk (Minotaur)

Reiman

tigerfolk or leopardfolk (Tabaxi)

Shakhan

snake-folk or serpentfolk (Yuan-ti)

Veiz

wolf-folk

Vodshi

bear-folk

Maps

Map of the region

Map of settlements along the Tasza-rzeka/River Tazieu

Inspiration

The inspiration for this setting comes from The William Davidson Talmud (Koren - Steinsaltz), Tractate Megillah 6a:16.