Shalannan (SHAL-a-nan), Y’hserin (Yee-sear-I-en), and Verndane (VERN-day-en) are neighboring lands found in the southern-most tip of Hyebrenia (HI-bren-yi-a). Several small isles surround this peninsular region.
Y’hserin, the northern forest, is both the forest realm and the capital home of a multitude of elven societies. Elven societies have found homes in the woods, near and on the water, and among the southern hills. Curious halflings may also be found wandering these realms while the occasional son of man may be found engrossed in arcane studies.
Shalannan, to the south, is a region of plains and forest bounded by the mountains and the sea with two large isles off the coast to the east. It is the home of men, elves, and dwarves; as well as the offspring of the conjoining of these races. The capital city, Shalannan, sits on the eastern coast and provides the governance and military might for this southern land.
Verndane, to the west, is a dense forest surrounded by mountains, but the elves of Y’hserin sense disease, foulness, and death here. It was many ages ago when the Men of Shalannan and the Elves of Y’hserin fought back the evil that came to arise in this wood.
But now, in these recent times, orcs are again pillaging from the mountain border of Y’hserin and Shalannan, strange storms are intensifying in the southern straights, and a sickness seems to be encroaching from Verndane. Are these events related? Can you find a common thread, a common foe, and a band of compatriots to help you challenge these new dangers?
Inhabitants and Brief History
In a time before time, thousands of ages ago, the Elves of Y’hserin settled upon the northern shores and found the massive forest much to their liking. Not caring to explore, the elves were content to know nothing more of the continent than the forest their home. The elves have always loved nature and the forest is filled with flora and fauna of all varieties, vermin, animals, and fey alike. The elves setup a port where traders of the elves, dwarves, and halflings made land for exports and trading. There is a well-tended cart path that leads from this port through the forest to the elven city, as the elves detest stone roads.
The elves have sectioned their forest home into four regions; The Shore to the east where the port can be found, The Little Wood to the north and west to the sea, The Home where the city is located, and to the south is the Watch Wood.
Some halflings with a common love of the forest, or on a quest for knowledge, would find their way to stay with the elves during these times.
The ships of men eventually found the shores of the Shalannan. Traders had always sailed the seas to and from the Southern Lands and Northern Lands, but this continent of Hyebrenia was totally unknown until explorers, sent to determine if there was anything beyond the shipping lanes, saw the mountain peaks well over two days before they saw the cusp of land.
Being adventurers, these men sailed the shores of the southern continent and found the port and the road to the elven city of Y’hserin. The elves were dignified, and cordial, but clearly expressed their displeasure with this disturbance. They requested that the mean leave their wood alone. The men begrudgingly obliged, realizing the financial gains that could be made in the foresting of such a region.
The men sailed the entirety of the continent and found that only in the Southern Plains could they make safe landing. They charted several islands around the continent, but not many have travelled to the far shores of the continent since.
In the next few ages, the port they had created on the eastern shore of the Southern Plains allowed thousands of other humans to arrive and explore their fortune in this new land. The City of Volland was founded in this period, providing the humans a settlement further inland. The farms in the central plains were also founded and the bounty, both lake and field harvest, began to flow down river to the port and the City of Shalannan. Settlements were attempted around the lands of Shalannan, and met with varied degrees of success but all save the settlements on the Southern Plains failed and were left to degrees of decay.
A dozen ages ago, dwarven immigrants began arriving at the port of Shalannan and made their way north through the plains to found a city in the foothills of the mountain range. During this same time, humans pushed further west towards the mountain range, founding a city and finding an enormous forest beyond the Pass of Verndane. Having given their word to the elves to not touch the Forest of Y’hserin they were overjoyed at the potential riches this forest could afford.
As the reports of the riches of the mountain range to the north and the forest to the west arrived and were carried abroad by traders, the original port began to grow and coin began to amass. The port evolved over the next few ages into the walled city it is today and has become a bustling trade hub.
Today, the Southern Plains have become divided into political regions, defined by the settlements that men have created. The regions are recounted here in order of founding: the Capital City of Shalannan, the Floating City of Volland on the Lake Vollous, the Farming Commune of Beadale, the Mining Outpost of Otian, and the Forestry Center of Greyn. Kylead is a martial center for men and dwarves who thirst for horse, steel, and the glory of combat, whereas Kafathals is a serene center for men and elves who wish to know nature more closely.
The elves of Y’hserin have always been somewhat wary of the new humans. As such, they sent an envoy to live in the city to serve as consul as much as to ensure that the men would continue to honor their pledge. These envoys reside apart from the humans of the city and most days they keep to themselves in their enclave. Not entirely recluse, the elves do intermingle with the city population in order to keep tabs on the general activities.
Shalannan City
Legends and Lore
Creatures of Southern Hyebrenia
