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| This page describes lands distant from the empire with which the empire has no direct
contact. Many are the source of exotic goods eventually traded to Tarantium. Others are
mere legend. In either case, little is known of these lands and nothing of what is known
is truly reliable.
Note: The names given here are those used in the Tarantine Empire and may not be the same as that used by the peoples in question.
Ardanica is a large island located far to the west of Tarantium. It was founded by the Gaelish tribes. They were fleeing from the expanding Teutons to the North and the Fledgling Tarantine Empire to the South. Eventually, they were driven to the coast and took to the sea and came to this island guided by their pagan priests. They were lost to history until word of the island reached Emperor Marcus VII, who dispatched a fleet to conquer them. Tarantine domination lasted until the plagues that marked the low point in the empire's decline. Plague ravaged legions and administrators could not hold the province and it was lost. There has been almost no contact with the island since, though there is talk of sending another fleet to reintegrate them into the empire. Ardanica, known to the Gaelish peoples as Tir Ardan, is a popular legend in Faldaer, among the tribes of the Blood Peaks and, to a lesser extent, in Gwynned. To them, Tir Ardan is a paradise populated by an idealized remnant of their noble ancestors. It is also a place safe from marauding monsters and strong enough to throw off the Tarantine yoke. To others, Tir Ardan is mostly a tantalizing prospect for adventure as the Gaelish vessles were rumored to be heavily laden with gold when they departed and the conquering legions never found these treasures.
Serica is a land far to the east. It is said to be the ultimate source of silk, porceline, some spices, and other luxury goods. Unfortunatly, only the merchants and rulers of the Empire of the Dwarves know the route to Serica and they vigorously protect this secret knowledge. They reap enormous profits from this trade and it has helped to make them wealthy beyond imagining. The result is that there are always those scheming to find a way to Serica and bring back the cargo that will allow them to live as kings for the rest of their lives. Most such schemes center on the idea that one can bypass the dwarves through the Caliphates of Stonefist or the Orc Wastes. Unfortunatly, the former route is extremely long and quite dangerous and the latter is incredibly dangerous. To date, no such expedition has succeded.
Numidicus is a land far to the south said to be the trade partners of the cities on the Gold Coast and the source of many of the goods they trade. It's primary exports are said to be ivory, tortoise shell, resins, frankincense, and myrrh.
A land beyond the Caliphates of Stonefist and with whom they trade. It is said to be a land of grand temples, exotic peoples, and valuable goods. Caravans cross the deserts of the Caliphates carrying such goods as exotic cloth (muslin and cotton, generally), strange spices, aromatics, drugs of various sortes, some gemstones, and ivory. No known route exists from the empire and most seeking to open new routes are more concerned with reaching Serica.
Lemuricus is reputed to be a lost nation far to the east that once reached unimagined pinnacles of technology, magic, and civilization. Lemuricus existed long before the return of Orus. According to legend, the Lemuricans fell to the worship of dark powers and they applied their arts to perfecting the practices required of them by their evil gods. They devoted themselves to finding new and ever more terrible ways of pleasing their dark patrons. Soon, there was no people more practiced in the ways of evil than the Lemuricans. Finally, something went awry and Lemuricus itself was destroyed. Lemurs, the evil sprits that stalk the land, are said to be the ghosts of the Lemuricans set to wandering Caenum forever. They are forsaken by their dark patrons, who used them and abandoned them when no longer useful as is the way of evil. When he returned, Orus is said to have decreed that their punishment for the unspeakable evils they unleashed on the world would be to wander as spirits knowing no rest until the advent of the Golden Age.
Last Updated:
Saturday, 26-Apr-2003 21:22:14 CDT
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