An Introduction to the Lands of the Rim
"Scholars and cartographers of the Empire have known about the Rim since the times of the Foundation, and we have proof that the existance of this continent, hidden among the waves of the Eastern Ocean, was common knowledge among the sages of Jahen, our great land, long before the dawn of the Imperial Age.
But it was only in the year 186 a.F. (after Foundation) that His Imperial Majesty Josif Wilhelm the Third, praised be his name, with a public speech that astonished nobility and common folk alike, declared that an expedition party was to be sent across the seas, to finally reach the eastern land, and there to plant the imperial banner, the three-headed eagle, in order to make it a colony of the Empire.
When the exploration party returned and told of their findings, it is said that even the Emperor was shocked. Gentle rolling hills, green lush forests, and in the distance, great mountains towering in the sky: this is what the explorers saw. Thus, the first human settlement, simply named The Colony, today a great city on the western coast of The Rim, was founded. Soon, many other cities and villages sprung up, as thousands of pioneers and settlers traveled across the Ocean to find a new home.
It didn't take long for the humans to realize that they were not alone in this land. Although the land where they settled (now commonly known as New Jahen) was uninhabited, many other strange folks lived in the surrounding regions: most of them are now friends and trading partners of the Empire, but a few are still bitterly hostile to us and our glorious Empire.
Today, these lands are part of our august Empire, and for every day that passes, more and more pioneers set out into the unknown territories of The Rim, whose treasures are still waiting to be uncovered by the brave."
- Albrecht Jacob von Erenstein the Cartographer, from his work Geographia Orbis Cogniti
Human Settlements in the Rim
"The most important border in The Rim is the so-called Höller Line. This border for the most part coincides with the homonymous river: both have been named after the famous explorer Franzis Johan "the Wanderer" Höller. The Höller line has a very simple purpose: it is where the human domain in The Rim officially ends. All the lands east of the line are not subject to Imperial authority; viceversa, everything west of this line is to be considered, by all means, a part of the Empire of Jahen. This border should not be considered "fixed" (in fact, every single cartographer has placed it in a slightly different place in their maps) and should be taken merely as a "guideline". Plus, it is not guarded or defended at all: the only thing between the Empire and the untamed wild is the flow of the Höller.
I think you perfectly understand what that means. East of this line, you are completely free. No taxes to pay, no soldiers or agents putting their noses in your businesses and so on. On the other hand, west of the line you will enjoy the Empire's protection, while east you'll be on your own. Remember, also, that as humans settle deeper and deeper into The Rim, the line is advancing eastward by the day, and prievously untamed lands might be suddendly colonized.
Most of the human cities and population lies within the territory delimited by the Höller Line, known as New Jahen. The cities worth mentioning are all located on the coast; the ones you'll surely have heard of are King's Stone, in the Stonebay, Argo, on the shores of Alraün, Northlight, in the Rathìnael Archipelago, and of course the Colony. There are many more villages and towns both by the sea and in the outback, but they're small and of little importance (with the exception of Reìlin, on the shores of the Höller).
In theory, no man lives outside New Jahen. In practice, there are relatively few, but there are definitely some. The ones you need to know about are those who live in the southernmost region of The Rim, east of King's Stone, known as Barbary. In these lands, piracy runs rampant: however, most of these people are corsairs, employed by the Empire to attack the ships of the Forestlings, the indigenous people who live in the Redclaw Forest, openly hostile to humans. Corsairs or not, you should not risk approaching them: the routes they frequent are little traveled by humans, so hopefully you won't have to deal with them."
-Andreas Heifenwehl, merchant, from a letter to his brother
Natives of the Rim
"-Western Elves (Rhinnéeans): elves who mostly live in the Rhinnée plains, just east of the Höller. These are probably the native guys with the closest ties to us humans: they also look very similar to us. They're a little taller than us, their ears are a little pointy, and their eyes a little larger, but other than that they're just like us. Mostly they have hair of a vibrant brown and blue eyes. They are usually nomadic, roaming the plains, trading and stuff, but many of them have settled with us humans in Reìlin. Hell, I should know: I married one!
-Northern Dwarves (Mountainfolk): best bros ever. Once, when I was still a young adventurer, I was travelling just north of Reìlin, and got lost. It was winter, and I was freezing, and I passed out from the cold and exhaustion, convinced that my time had come. When I woke up, I was in a tavern surrounded by short, muscular dudes who cheered when I woke up and offered me so much to drink that I passed out again shortly after! Seriously though, they're probably our best buds together with the West Elves; they live mostly underground, in large cities carved in rock. They have a huge capital city, Hlidernün.
-Teitanians: these guys creep me out a little. They're always cloaked in their robes and capes, and they show their faces very rarely. However, when I traveled to Teitania once, I managed to see one without his robe, and I could swear by all the demons of Hell, he was made of stone! His eyes glew of a slight blue, and his face was made of living rock! However, they're still trading partners of ours, although they're so mysterious.
-Eastern Elves (Fiélnaians): elves who live east of the Hilìr river, in the forest of Fiél-Näi. They're taller than the other elves and have pointier ears, and have been much more reclutant in opening up with us humans. They live in the deep of the woods, so we know little about them. I'm not sure we should trust them.
-Southern Dwarves: dwarves who live in the hills of At-Hàinn, south of the Dwarven Mountains. They mostly live in villages on the slopes of the hills, living of agriculture and sheep-farming. Pretty chill guys if you ask me.
-Blashyrkyìn (Winterdemons): my friend Jens is such a coward. Once we were traveling along the Erén Way, and we were in the Gray Plains just south-east of Teitania, and one night he came to me all scared and said that he saw something moving in the dark! Surely it was just a shadow! Right? ...right?
-Kamis: uhm, these guys are weird. I've only seen one of them: it was this strange horned dude, looking at us standing in the middle of the bushes while we were traversing the forest they live in, north of At-Hàinn. Perhaps I had drunk a little too much that evening, but I could swear it turned into an animal and ran away! Must have been just me.
-Candlefolk: there's no way these guys exist. Come on, living candles? Seriously? My friend Jens swears he totally saw them, but you know him.
-Forestlings: screw these guys, seriously. They live in the Redclaw Forest, east of Barbary, and they kill every single human they manage to find. I hope pirates kill them to last one."
-From the diary of an unnamed explorer
Welcome to The Rim, adventurers!
After this brief introduction, I'd like you to give me an idea of your characters, after answering any possible question of yours.
"Scholars and cartographers of the Empire have known about the Rim since the times of the Foundation, and we have proof that the existance of this continent, hidden among the waves of the Eastern Ocean, was common knowledge among the sages of Jahen, our great land, long before the dawn of the Imperial Age.
But it was only in the year 186 a.F. (after Foundation) that His Imperial Majesty Josif Wilhelm the Third, praised be his name, with a public speech that astonished nobility and common folk alike, declared that an expedition party was to be sent across the seas, to finally reach the eastern land, and there to plant the imperial banner, the three-headed eagle, in order to make it a colony of the Empire.
When the exploration party returned and told of their findings, it is said that even the Emperor was shocked. Gentle rolling hills, green lush forests, and in the distance, great mountains towering in the sky: this is what the explorers saw. Thus, the first human settlement, simply named The Colony, today a great city on the western coast of The Rim, was founded. Soon, many other cities and villages sprung up, as thousands of pioneers and settlers traveled across the Ocean to find a new home.
It didn't take long for the humans to realize that they were not alone in this land. Although the land where they settled (now commonly known as New Jahen) was uninhabited, many other strange folks lived in the surrounding regions: most of them are now friends and trading partners of the Empire, but a few are still bitterly hostile to us and our glorious Empire.
Today, these lands are part of our august Empire, and for every day that passes, more and more pioneers set out into the unknown territories of The Rim, whose treasures are still waiting to be uncovered by the brave."
- Albrecht Jacob von Erenstein the Cartographer, from his work Geographia Orbis Cogniti
Human Settlements in the Rim
"The most important border in The Rim is the so-called Höller Line. This border for the most part coincides with the homonymous river: both have been named after the famous explorer Franzis Johan "the Wanderer" Höller. The Höller line has a very simple purpose: it is where the human domain in The Rim officially ends. All the lands east of the line are not subject to Imperial authority; viceversa, everything west of this line is to be considered, by all means, a part of the Empire of Jahen. This border should not be considered "fixed" (in fact, every single cartographer has placed it in a slightly different place in their maps) and should be taken merely as a "guideline". Plus, it is not guarded or defended at all: the only thing between the Empire and the untamed wild is the flow of the Höller.
I think you perfectly understand what that means. East of this line, you are completely free. No taxes to pay, no soldiers or agents putting their noses in your businesses and so on. On the other hand, west of the line you will enjoy the Empire's protection, while east you'll be on your own. Remember, also, that as humans settle deeper and deeper into The Rim, the line is advancing eastward by the day, and prievously untamed lands might be suddendly colonized.
Most of the human cities and population lies within the territory delimited by the Höller Line, known as New Jahen. The cities worth mentioning are all located on the coast; the ones you'll surely have heard of are King's Stone, in the Stonebay, Argo, on the shores of Alraün, Northlight, in the Rathìnael Archipelago, and of course the Colony. There are many more villages and towns both by the sea and in the outback, but they're small and of little importance (with the exception of Reìlin, on the shores of the Höller).
In theory, no man lives outside New Jahen. In practice, there are relatively few, but there are definitely some. The ones you need to know about are those who live in the southernmost region of The Rim, east of King's Stone, known as Barbary. In these lands, piracy runs rampant: however, most of these people are corsairs, employed by the Empire to attack the ships of the Forestlings, the indigenous people who live in the Redclaw Forest, openly hostile to humans. Corsairs or not, you should not risk approaching them: the routes they frequent are little traveled by humans, so hopefully you won't have to deal with them."
-Andreas Heifenwehl, merchant, from a letter to his brother
Natives of the Rim
"-Western Elves (Rhinnéeans): elves who mostly live in the Rhinnée plains, just east of the Höller. These are probably the native guys with the closest ties to us humans: they also look very similar to us. They're a little taller than us, their ears are a little pointy, and their eyes a little larger, but other than that they're just like us. Mostly they have hair of a vibrant brown and blue eyes. They are usually nomadic, roaming the plains, trading and stuff, but many of them have settled with us humans in Reìlin. Hell, I should know: I married one!
-Northern Dwarves (Mountainfolk): best bros ever. Once, when I was still a young adventurer, I was travelling just north of Reìlin, and got lost. It was winter, and I was freezing, and I passed out from the cold and exhaustion, convinced that my time had come. When I woke up, I was in a tavern surrounded by short, muscular dudes who cheered when I woke up and offered me so much to drink that I passed out again shortly after! Seriously though, they're probably our best buds together with the West Elves; they live mostly underground, in large cities carved in rock. They have a huge capital city, Hlidernün.
-Teitanians: these guys creep me out a little. They're always cloaked in their robes and capes, and they show their faces very rarely. However, when I traveled to Teitania once, I managed to see one without his robe, and I could swear by all the demons of Hell, he was made of stone! His eyes glew of a slight blue, and his face was made of living rock! However, they're still trading partners of ours, although they're so mysterious.
-Eastern Elves (Fiélnaians): elves who live east of the Hilìr river, in the forest of Fiél-Näi. They're taller than the other elves and have pointier ears, and have been much more reclutant in opening up with us humans. They live in the deep of the woods, so we know little about them. I'm not sure we should trust them.
-Southern Dwarves: dwarves who live in the hills of At-Hàinn, south of the Dwarven Mountains. They mostly live in villages on the slopes of the hills, living of agriculture and sheep-farming. Pretty chill guys if you ask me.
-Blashyrkyìn (Winterdemons): my friend Jens is such a coward. Once we were traveling along the Erén Way, and we were in the Gray Plains just south-east of Teitania, and one night he came to me all scared and said that he saw something moving in the dark! Surely it was just a shadow! Right? ...right?
-Kamis: uhm, these guys are weird. I've only seen one of them: it was this strange horned dude, looking at us standing in the middle of the bushes while we were traversing the forest they live in, north of At-Hàinn. Perhaps I had drunk a little too much that evening, but I could swear it turned into an animal and ran away! Must have been just me.
-Candlefolk: there's no way these guys exist. Come on, living candles? Seriously? My friend Jens swears he totally saw them, but you know him.
-Forestlings: screw these guys, seriously. They live in the Redclaw Forest, east of Barbary, and they kill every single human they manage to find. I hope pirates kill them to last one."
-From the diary of an unnamed explorer
Welcome to The Rim, adventurers!
After this brief introduction, I'd like you to give me an idea of your characters, after answering any possible question of yours.
