General Description

Valdesh is an island continent and scattered archipelago in the far south-west of Aradaea, cut off from Ravena and the northern powers by leagues of treacherous sea. It is a land where the veil between the mortal plane and the elemental realms runs thin, and it is home to the Elemari, Aradaea’s elemental folk. The main Valdesh page holds the region’s written lore.

The Land

The region falls into three parts, each with a map in the Interactive Atlas: North Valdesh, South Valdesh and the Valdesh Isles. Volcanic calderas, desert winds, shifting rivers and sharp mountain peaks give each part a different elemental character, and land that nurtures one affinity often punishes another. Kascanda, the Confluent City on the southern spine, is its political and spiritual heart; Akazaea, the frigid southernmost archipelago, is reached mainly by air.

The People

Elemari communities cluster by elemental affinity but depend on their neighbors for what they cannot provide alone. They are collectivist, guided by councils of consensus rather than single rulers, and cautious about change. Nearly three centuries have passed since the Fourfold Compact ended their last great war.

The Wider World

Ships seldom make the crossing, and news from the north arrives slowly. Foreign explorers and merchants occasionally make landfall, and the rare Elemari ventures outward.

A fuller overview of the region, its regions and daily life is yet to be written.