A world age gazetteer of the races and places in the Drenai Saga.
Version 3.0
Gazetteer compiled by Dale E. Rippke
Adderbridge:--a small village that lies to the south of the Drenai capital of Drenan. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Angostin:--a northern nation of the Drenai continent. Angostin is a feudal empire wherein the noble houses continually vie for the crown. Assassination is the usual method of changing the nation's emperor. The Emperor will only hold power as long as his strength and guile hold out. The people of Angostin are descended from the same root race as the Drenai and share a similar language. (Hero in the Shadows)
Ax Ridge:--a feature of the western Skeln Mountains (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Azhtac:--a race of tall, bronze-skin men with straight black hair that live in a hot, humid jungle world that lies beyond the Gateway. The Azhtacs hated the Tattooed People to the point they eventually exterminated them. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Bel-azar:--a fortress of northern Gothir. Located about sixty miles east of New Gulgothir, Bel-azar is the site of the only battle Tenaka Khan ever lost in his bid to conquer the world. After his death, the bones of Tenaka Khan were secretly hidden here. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Blood Mountains:--a mountain range lying in the nation of Pelucid, on its border with Tantria. The mountains were composed of an iron-rich reddish stone, hence the name. (White Wolf)
Blood River:--a Chiatze watercourse. (Hero in the Shadows)
Bodacus:--a Gothir city, built of stone, that lay by the western sea. It lies far (24 days travel) to the west of Gulgothir. It is the site of the Bodacus Military Academy. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Cadia:--a nation of the Ventrian continent. It lies to the south, beyond the Great River and Ventria proper. Cadia has a varied assortment of terrain features. There are deserts and mountains near the Ventrian border, and beyond that lies jungles and rivers teeming with crocodiles. (Winter Warriors)
Capalis:--a Ventrian seaport. It is a city of four gates, sixteen towers, and a single forty-foot high wall that extends from the sea in the south in a curving half-circle to the cliffs in the north. It lies west of the Ventrian cities of Larian and Ectanis. There is a mountain range lying to the east of the city and the Ventrian Sea lies to the west. (The Demon in the Axe, The Chaos Warrior)
Caphis:--a Ventrian seaport. It lies to the south of Morec and to the west of the Carpos Mountains. It is the closest Ventrian port to the Drenai seaport of Dros Purdol. (Winter Warriors)
Captis:--a Ventrian farming village that lies a days travel from the capital at Usa. (Winter Warriors)
Carduil--one of the easternmost peaks of the Skoda Mountains. It rises in the second ring of the Skoda stone rose. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Carlis:--a port city of eastern Kydor. The city is site of the Duke's winter palace. Another palace of note, the White Palace, contains one of the most complete libraries on the Drenai continent, as well as a museum and an infirmary. (Hero in the Shadows)
Carlis, Bay of:--a beautiful blue bay that lies at the eastern edge of the duchy of Kydor. The port city of Carlis lies on the bay. (Hero in the Shadows)
Carpos Mountains:--a large range of rough mountains, lying parallel to the coast of the Ventrian Sea in northern Ventria. (Winter Warriors)
Carsis:--a city of Naashan. Carsis was the site of the battle where Skilgannon captured the Usurper King, Bokram. (White Wolf)
Castle Tenaka:--see the entry for Dros Delnoch.
Castran:--a Naashanite city. The city was near the site of one of the first battles in Naashan’s civil war. (White Wolf)
Cepharis, Lake of:--a body of water that lies on the Eiden Plain near the ruins of Kuan Hador in the duchy of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
Chasica Peak:--the highest peak in the Delnoch mountains. The Sathuli use it as a lookout, so that nobody can enter the mountains from the Sentran Plain without being observed. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Chiatze:--a rich, proud northern nation, fabled to be home of the legendary dragons. It lies to the northeast of Gothir, north of Ventria, and in the vicinity of Kiatze and Sechuin. The Chiatze are tall and slender, with golden skin, raven hair, and wide, almond-shaped eyes. They write in hieroglyphs. They are said to have a 10,000-year-old civilization. The foundation of Chiatze culture is the law governing the subjugation of self to the rigours of an iron etiquette. Intrigue and treachery were endemic to the Chiatze way of life, and among their nobility, loyalty always came at a price. Their method of warfare is apparently ritualistic. Many campaigns were conducted and won without bloodshed by armies maneuvering across battlefields until one side or the other conceded the advantage. The Chiatze fashion their buildings to have no angles. All the walls and even the doorways flow in perfect curves; ovals or circles, or circles upon ovals. (In the Realm of the Wolf, Hero in the Shadows, The Demon in the Axe, Legend of Deathwalker, Winter Warriors)
Chien-Po:--a city of the Chiatze nation. Oshikai Demon-bane razed it shortly before he fled over the mountains and founded the Nadir race. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Chu-Chien:--a plain that lies on the outer marches of Chiatze. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Chupianin:--a port-city of Lentria. (The Demon in the Axe)
Citadel:--an ancient Pelucid fortress placed to protect the crossroads of four major trade roads. The crumbling keep has been abandoned for several decades and is only used by brigands. (White Wolf)
Corialis:--a frontier town, presumably Vagrian. (Birth of a Legend)
Corn Road:--a tail that leads from Kasyra on the Sentran Plain to the Drenai capital of Drenan. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Corteswain:-- see the entry for Dros Corteswain.
Crescent, The:--an area of farms and towns that lies to the south of Carlis in the duchy of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
Datia:--a nation of the East. It is usually a vassal state of one of its large southern neighbors, Ventria or Naashan. Datia is renowned for the quality of its female slaves. (The Demon in the Axe, White Wolf)
Delian, Forest of:--woodland lying east of the city of Naashan. (White Wolf)
Delnoch:-- see the entry for Dros Delnoch.
Delnoch Mountains:--the gray-blue mountain range that marks the northern border of Drenai lands. The highest part of the range appears to lie between Dros Delnoch and Dros Corteswain. The western portion of the range does not lie far from the sea. The mountains are claimed to belong to the Sathuli tribesmen. The echo-haunted canyons of the Delnoch range are home to bears, wolves, and mountain lions. (In the Realm of the Wolf, Birth of a Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate)
Delnoch Pass:--the main route through the Delnoch Mountains. It connects the Sentran Plains with the Nadir Steppes to the north. The northern part of the pass slopes downward for over a mile in a series of treacherous scree-covered ledges. The fortress of Dros Delnoch is built at the top, across the pass. (Waylander, Legend)
Delving Forest:--a woodland area that lies southwest of Drenan. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Demon Smile Valley:--the lower of the two eastern entry points into the Skoda Mountain range. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Dospilis:--a nation of the East. It is bordered by Sherak to the north, Tantria to the west, Naashan to the south, and Datia to the east. Dospilis is a cultured land, though usually subservient to either Ventria or Naashan, depending on which empire is currently ascendant. (Birth of a Legend, White Wolf)
Drenai:--also called Drenan, the nation is the primary setting of the Drenai Saga. It lies on the southern end of its continent, with the nation of Vagria lying to the west across the Skoda Mountains and the peninsular land of Lentria lying to the southeast across an unnamed mountain range. East of the nation lies the vast Ventrian Sea. The land of Drenai is cut into two regions separated by the western portion of the Skeln mountain range. The southern part of Drenai is described as cut by eastern valleys; the northern part is comprised of the vast Sentran Plain, Skultik Forest, and the mountains of Delnoch. The people of Drenai have no distinguishing racial characteristic, other than their language. They tend to be a tall, white-skinned race, with dark hair predominating in the southern portions tending toward blondness the further north one travels. The people of Drenai are descended from the same root race as the Angostin Empire and share a similar language.They are viewed as being arrogant, and they tend to believe that the races of the nations around them are their inferiors. The nation of Drenai was founded by a race of warlike nomads with the founding of the capital at Drenan. The nation gradually expanded by conquering older, decaying nations. The conquered people became more prosperous and welcomed the rule of Drenai Law. The Drenai built schools, hospitals, roads, and encouraged trade with the kingdoms beyond its borders. The nation was nearly destroyed and absorbed into Vagria during the Chaos Wars, but was saved at the last hour by General Egel. Slightly over seven hundred years after its founding, the nation of Drenai was conquered by the Nadir hordes led by Tenaka Khan. A century later Drenai had freed itself from foreign control, and under the leadership of King Skanda, proceeded to conquer most of the world. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf, Hero in the Shadows, Birth of a Legend, Legend of Deathwalker, Druss the Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Quest For Lost Heroes, Winter Warriors)
Drenan:--the vast, white, capital city of the nation of Drenai. It appears to be either on a seacoast or a navigable river, since Vagrian ships trade there. The city is built on a cluster of at least six hills. East of the city lie a mountain range of blue peaks. Drenan is a pleasant city with many libraries. Drenan's gates were sundered during the First Vagrian War and all it's remaining inhabitants killed and buried in a mass grave east of the city. The city was rebuilt and became the greatest city of the realm. (Waylander, Birth of a Legend, Druss the Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Winter Warriors)
Drinn River:--a watercourse that drains the interior of Drenai. The estuary of the river lies in Lentria, two days hard ride from Graven Forest. (Legend)
Dros Corteswain:--a Drenai fortress that nestles in the shadows of the western Delnoch Mountains, near the borders of the lands claimed by the Sathuli tribesmen and the nation of Vagria. Early in the history of the Drenai, Orien of the Two Blades won a battle here. Presumably destroyed during the First Vagrian War, it was built up in the days of Egel, the First Earl of Bronze, as a defense against Vagrian invasion. Shortly before the First Nadir War, the Dros became the centerpoint of a series of Sathuli skirmishes that quickly ignited into a border war. The war ended when Gan Hogun routed the Sathuli at Corteswain. The fortress and the town that sprang up around it had been deserted more than 40 years, by the time of the Ceska Wars. Two hundred years later, Corteswain is once again inhabited, as a Docian monastery is now located there. Tenaka Khan once claimed that Dros Corteswain was the only Drenai fortress to not see a battle during its history, although this is certainly untrue. An interesting feature of the Dros is Egel's Stone. It was placed by the gate and it says that the Drenai Empire will fall when Corteswain is manned no more. Egel was certainly prescient, as the nation of Drenai fell to Tenaka Khan's Nadir ten years after the last soldier manning the fort died. Legend erroneously states that Dros Corteswain lies in the Delnoch Mountains to the east of Dros Delnoch. (In the Realm of the Wolf, The Demon in the Axe, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Winter Warriors)
Dros Delnoch:--the mightiest fortress in the world lies atop the Delnoch Mountains and sits astride the only trade route between the northlands and the vast Sentran Plain to the south. The fort completely spans the Delnoch Pass and surrounds the northern Drenai town of Delnoch. Egel, the first Earl of Bronze built Dros Delnoch, after he had a future vision of Nadir hordes besieging the town. "Egel's Folly" is famed for its six great walls, built by twenty thousand laborers, a thousand stonemasons, fifty architects, and hundreds of carpenters. Each wall carries a different name; Wall One is Eldibar (exultation), Two is Musif (despair), Three is Kania (renewed hope), Four is Sumitos (desperation), Five is Valteri (serenity), and the Sixth and last wall is Geddon (death). The walls are sixty feet high, twenty feet thick, with jutting towers every fifty paces. Each wall has a gate set behind an iron portcullis, and is built of layered bronze, iron, and oak. Beyond each gate are tunnels that narrow at the center before opening out into the level between the walls. Dros Delnoch was attacked shortly after its construction, presumably by the forces of Gothir. Its most legendary moment came over a hundred years later when Nadir forces under Ulric barely failed to take it. Tenaka Khan, a descendant of the Earl of Bronze and Ulric, conquered the fortress a century later and renamed it Castle Tenaka. (In the Realm of the Wolf, Legend of Deathwalker, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Quest For Lost Heroes)
Dros Purdol:--the Drenai "City by the Sea". Purdol is a Drenai port-fortress that lies at the foot of the eastern Delnoch Mountains. The city has silver-gray towers and a palace. The city's keep juts from the gray granite mountain like a broken tooth. Dros Purdol's most famous moment came during its siege by the armed forces of Vagria. Karnak One-Eye led the defenders of Purdol until the Drenai army under Egel relieved him and successfully broke the siege. Several years later the Ventrians attempted to attack Purdol, but were turned away by Drenai forces. Centuries later Ventria again besieged the Drenai at Purdol, but were ultimately defeated by King Skanda. "Legend" states at various times that Dros Purdol lies to the east AND to the west of Dros Delnoch. The other books of the saga place Delnoch firmly in the east. (Waylander, The Demon in the Axe, Legend, Winter Warriors)
Dros Segril:--a Vagrian fortress-city lying eighty miles west of Dros Delnoch, on the border of Drenai territory. Serbitar of the Thirty was born there. Originally the Vagrian citadel of Segril, Dros Segril was presumably conquered, occupied, and renamed by the Drenai in the aftermath of the first Vagrian War. The Vagrians later regained control of it, presumably during the third Vagrian War. (Waylander, Legend)
Druss, Shrine of:--lies on the plain north of Dros Delnoch, presumably near the site of Druss's funeral pyre. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Earis, River:--a watercourse that drains the interior of Drenai. Its source is in the Skeln Mountains, and its estuary is on the Ventrian Sea. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Ectanis:--a Ventrian city, it lies east of Capalis. (The Demon in the Axe, The Chaos Warrior)
Eiden Plains:--a grassland that lies to the west of the city of Carlis in Kydor. The ruins of Kuan Hador can be found there. (Hero in the Shadows)
Ekarlas:--a Drenai village located on the southern edge of the Delnoch range. (Waylander)
Elder Race:--also called the Elders and the Ancients. They were the race that ruled the earth in the world-age prior to the Fall. They knew everything and understood nothing. And they were destroyed for it. It was known to the Source priesthood that one of the Elder's religions offered strong men a hall of heroes, where warrior maidens sand songs of the deeds of the brave. Another promised peaceful paradise and an eternity of song and praise. Everything else known of the Elders speaks of corruption, lust, greed, fear, and hatred, enormous evil and terrible weapons. They raped the land and lived like kings while fouling the rivers and lakes, the forests - even the air they breathed. In their final days they created a technology that could meld and manipulate flesh. They use it to make half men/beasts called Joinings to fight their wars, creating areas of great desolation where once were mighty cities. Due to the nuclear winter caused by the presumed nuclear war, the ice at the poles began to expand rapidly, causing the earth to begin to wobble. The wobble alerted the Elders that a catastrophe was about to occur, and they attempted to prepare for it, leaving clues about themselves for future generations. Centrifugal forces caused the ice on the poles to begin migrating towards the equator; the world tipped, the oceans rose up and covered the land, and the ice spread to cover entire continents. The oceans drank the Elder's cities and their culture was all but lost. That is the Fall and is what destroyed the Elders. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf, Hero in the Shadows, The King Beyond the Gate)
Erekban:--a Drenai seaport, presumably located near the estuary of the River Earis. The city is the garrison for a company of infantry. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Estri:--a small Drenai village lying east of the town of Skarta in the Skultik Forest. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Five Rise Mountain:--a peak that lies to the east of the Drenai capital of Drenan. It is part of an unnamed range of blue mountains. (Winter Warriors)
Fort Town:--a stockade walled town of the Nadir that lies three weeks journey to the south of Gothir across the Mountains of the Moon and sixty days journey from Ulrickham. The town is the marketplace for the many slaves taken in raids by the Nadren. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Free Trading Ports:--a number of havens of the Corsair-Lords lie amid the Thousand Islands of the Ventrian Sea. (Birth of a Legend, The Demon in the Axe)
Gassima:--a Gothir city, and the site of a battle in one of Gothir's many civil wars. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Gathere:--a Drenai village lying high in the Skoda Mountains. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Gateway:--also called the Shrieking Gate, it is the entrance to either another world, or perhaps this world in a different time. Through the Gateway leads to the land of the Tattooed People, where it is hot and the beasts eat human flesh. One legend claims that the Tattooed People used sorcery to open a doorway between worlds, allowing them an escape route to a land of riches and plenty. Another maintained that the Gateway had been there from before the days of the ice fall, the last remnant of a once-proud civilization, and beyond it lay a mountain of gold. Twenty years prior to the story, a nobleman named Carsis led a small force into the valley; their shrunken heads were left on spears at the entrance. For ten years whenever a traveller would pass by, the heads would shriek warnings. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Ginava:--a city lying near the foothills of a northern mountain range in Drenan. Nogusta used to have an estate there. (Winter Warriors)
Gothir:--the great northern nation that lies to the north of Drenai and Vagria, to the west of Ventria, and southwest of Chiatze. For nearly its first seven hundred years, the nation of Gothir stretched from north of the Mountains of the Moon south across the Nadir Steppes and the Delnoch Mountains and into the Sentran plains. Its western edge was the ocean; its eastern edge was the desert of Namib. Shortly thereafter the expanding nation of Drenai defeated the Gothir and forced them off the Sentran Plains and north across the Delnoch Mountains. The average Gothir tends to be slender, with pale skin, blonde or light brown hair, and cold blue eyes. They worship a variety of gods, the most popular being Missael, the God of War. Originally a peaceful people living in the lush lands south of the Mountains of the Moon, the arrival of Oshikai Demon-Bane's Nadir changed them forever. After Oshikai's death the Nadir subjugated the peaceful southerners, raiding their villages, taking their women, and sowing the seeds of hatred for a millennia. The southerners fought back, becoming more organized. About the time the Nadir splintered into many tribes, the southerners became the nation of Gothir, founding their capital at Gulgothir. Their remembrances of past iniquities made them hate the Nadir, visiting upon them the terror of the killing raids. The Gothir used the Nadir race as a pool to draw slaves from for the gold mines scattered across the northern mountains and as prey in hunts arranged by Gothir nobles. For centuries the Gothir kings held the Nadir in thrall, sure in the knowledge that the Nadir hated each other more than they detested the Gothir. Then Ulric came, uniting the Nadir into an army numbering hundreds of thousands of fierce-eyed warriors. The Gothir empire was crushed, its king slain. Refugees of the Gothir lands fled northwest across the Mountains of the Moon to build a new home and capital at New Gulgothir. (In the Realm of the Wolf, The Demon in the Axe, Legend of Deathwalker, Legend, Quest For Lost Heroes)
Graven Forest:--an unhealthy forestland that lies in the southern part of Drenai, between Drenan and the border of Lentria. The vast forest is a place of evil legends, inhabited by cutthroats and brigands. It is five days ride to cross the tangled woodland. In the time of "Legend", a monastery founded by a group of Source warrior-priests called "The Thirty" was located on its southern margin. A hidden doorway beneath the forest opens into an ancient center of the "Elders", where machinery discovered there allowed Ceska to create the half-human/half-beast hybrids known as "Joinings". A mountain range lies to the east of the woodland. (Legend, The King Beyond the Gate)
Great River (Chiatze):--a major Chiatze watercourse. (Hero in the Shadows)
Great River (Ventria/Cadia):--a watercourse that lies between Ventria and the nation of Cadia. (Winter Warriors)
Guanador:--a corruption of the name Kuan Hador, used by some of the people of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
Gulgothir:--capital city of the Gothir nation. It lies 600 miles north of the Drenai capital of Drenan. At its height the city was a marvel of architecture. In the western part of the city was located the Palace of the God-King, a colossal edifice of white marble adorned with gold leaf, and surrounded by ornate gardens. It boasted the Great Arena, an amphitheater that could hold 15,000 people. Several miles northwest of the amphitheater lay the Hall of Antiquities. At the center of the city lay the Grand Park, with its hills and fountains. Immediately to its north lie a massive stadium used for chariot races. South of the park lay the center of Old Gulgothir, with its tightly packed jumble of houses, shops and workplaces. The old Keep Palace sat at the center of Old Gulgothir, being used as a granary. The Nadir warlord Ulric devastated the city after it refused to surrender, when he sacked the nations of the northern plains. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf, The Demon in the Axe, Legend of Deathwalker, Legend)
Gulgothir Plain:--the flat meadowlands surrounding the Gothir capital of Gulgothir. (Legend)
Gurunur:--a northern city of the Ventrian Empire. (The Demon in the Axe)
Hao-tzing:--the Supreme City, capital of the eastern nation of Kiatze. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Hargate:--a Drenai fortress-town that lie in the western Skoda Mountains. Even though it was captured during the First Vagrian War, Hargate is famed as the first "victory" attributed to Karnak. (Waylander)
High Valley:--a wooded vale nestled high up in the Mountains of the Moon, lying to the south of Talgithir. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Hill of the Men of Clay:--located in Kydor, the hill's interior is a vast domed hall that contains several hundred full-sized clay figures, each a Riaj-nor swordsman. The swordsmen are held in stasis, awaiting the time that the sorcerers of Kuan Hador return to the earth. (Hero in the Shadows)
Hunting Woods:--A woodland area near the northern Gothir city of Talgithir. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Ice Mountains:--a frozen, high mountain range that lies to the west of the nation of Chiatze. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Illohir:--also called the "Windborn" are spirits of the air. They existed on the earth during what they termed as the Days of Ice and Fire, when ice encrusted the lands and volcanoes spewed ash into the skies. Around 5000 years prior to Winter Warriors, two Illohir deities decided to cast a spell that enabled the air-spirits to take on a physical form and interact with the inhabitants of the earth. Some Illohir landed in forest and became Dryads and wood nymphs, drawing their strength from the trees. Others drew strength from rocks and mountains; these were the High Trolls. Those appearing near living creatures became Shape-Shifters and were-beings. Those that landed in unclean places, such as graveyards and battlefields became blood-drinking vampires or Krayakin warriors, respectively. Regardless of what form the Illohir took, they could not take nourishment like the rest of the earth's creatures. They were forced instead to feed on the dark emotional energies and the life force of the earth's inhabitants. The humans began to regard them as demons and began a war with the Illohir that lasted for a thousand years. At the end of that time the Demon Wars began. This war was waged between two Demon-Lords, Emsharas and his brother, Anharat. Anharat desired the destruction of the human race; Emsharas set out to thwart him. At the Battle of the Four Valleys, Emsharas joined with the human armies of the Three Kings and the hosts of Kuan Hador, and defeated Anharat and dispelled his magic. The humans, with their enchanted Storm Swords and Kriaz-nor shock-troops, killed the Illohir by the thousands until only 200 Krayakin remained to flee the field. The days of Illohir dominance of the earth were over. In the weeks that followed, the remaining Krayakin were hunted down and killed, until only ten remained. Then Emsharas evoked the Great Spell, which resulted in the banishment of all the remaining creatures of the Illohir from the earth. (Hero in the Shadows, Winter Warriors)
Isbas:--a large Ventrian city that lies on the eastern end of the spice routes to and from the western nations. (Waylander)
Jian Sea:--a body of water that lies near the northern nation of Chiatze. (Hero in the Shadows)
Jiang-shin:--the "Mother of Mountains" is located near the northern land of Chiatze, possibly in the Ice Mountains. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Kall's Pool:--an oasis and the only source of water two days ride east of Gulgothir. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Kar-Barzac:--once a great center of the Elder Race, the ancient fortress lies within the Mountains of the Moon, seven days ride west of Gulgothir. The citadel has four twisted, leaning turrets and a portcullis gate set in an uneven wall. Ten millennia ago Kar-Barzac was a place of miracles. The secret was contained inside a giant crystal encased in gold shielding. The Elders learned how to merge flesh. People could regrow lost limbs and organs riddled with cancer could be replaced without the use of a knife. Bodies could be regenerated, rejuvenated. At this place lay the secret of immortality. It all came to an end with the Fall. Kar-Barzac fell into ruin, the magic locked inside the crystal for millennia. Fifty years ago, adventurers looted the ruins, removing the gold shielding the crystal. The magic of the Elders was still alive at Kar-Barzac, and radiated out into the valley beyond. Now nothing can live in the valley without being corrupted and twisted out of shape; there are deformed trees, carnivorous goats and fanged rabbits. East of Kar-Barzac lies a collapsed volcanic crater where the Nadir Wolfshead tribe camp for the winter. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Karnak:--a Drenai city with tall white spires that lies on the Sentran Plain, six day's walk south of Sousa. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Kasyra:--a large Drenai city of high towers that lies on the southeastern edge of the Sentran Plain near the Skeln Mountains. The city is a gathering point for the crops grown on the Plain, sending wagonloads of grain south to Drenan. A Priest's School is located in the city. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Kiatze:--an eastern land, known by its inhabitants as the "Middle Kingdom". Kiatze lies far to the east of the Nadir Steppes and can be most easily reach by ship. Its capital is the Supreme City of Hao-tzing. They are ruled by a Supreme Emperor that they consider to be divine. The Kiatze people are closely related to the Chiatze and Nadir races. They have developed elaborate rituals for nearly every public occasion and can communicate in a very intricate type of sign language. They are renowned for their cynicism. The warriors of the Kiatze wear lacquered leather armor and carry a unique type of curved double-handed sword called a chantanai. Their court magicians can make tiny golden machines that fly in the air, imitating birds. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Kishtay Pass:--a Ventrian mountain pass held by Druss and fifty other men against a full legion of Naashinite troops. (The Chaos Warrior)
Kolear:--a tribe of northeastern Naashan, related to the Nadir and the Chiatze. They believe that small furry mammals called marmots contains the souls of Kolear wise men. (White Wolf)
Kuan, Temple of:--the massive temple of Ustarte the Healer lies in the Blood Mountains of Pelucid. It is protected by spells and can only be seen when the moon is directly overhead. (White Wolf)
Kuan Hador:--one of the first city-states to arise after the "Fall", Kuan Hador was a city of mighty sorcerers. At its height over 200,000 people lived there. During the "Demon War" between Anharat and Emsharas, the city saw much horror and devastation. Emsharas aided the city by giving its lords the most arcane secrets of "meld magic". The ability to meld beasts and men into proved to be too much for the demonic forces of Anharat and they were expelled from the world. Kuan Hador was victorious, and its age of great enlightenment began. For a little while the world knew peace and tranquillity under the city's benevolent rule, but eventually the city began to ask for more and more support from its client nations. If one of these nations refused, Kuan Hador would send its Kraiz-nor (meld-legions) and have the nation plundered of its wealth. Benevolence rapidly became tyranny. Nations that rose against them were crushed for their treachery. It was in this way that the "Great War" began. Kuan Hador prevailed for a time, but the city-state could not muster the resources that the rebel nations had at their disposal. With help from the descendants of Emsharas, the rebels created their own legions--the Raj-nor and their swords of power. The "Great War" ended when the human army forced the surviving sorcerers and their half-human slaves to retreat through a magical gateway into another world. The city was destroyed by fire and the magical portal was sealed with a powerful enchantment that prevented the enemy from ever returning. The remains of the city fell to ruin and the dark mystery of Kuan Hador passed into legend. The ruins can be found lying on the Eiden Plains of Kydor. Legends claim that the portal spell will fade with the passage of time and that the world has not seen the last of Kuan Hador. (Hero in the Shadows)
Kydor:--although referred to as a land, Kydor is a separate duchy of the Angostin Empire and lies in the far northeastern part of the northern continent, 2000 miles from the nation of Gothir. The people of Kydor are offshoots of the Drenai and Angostin empires. While it is not stated what part Drenai took in the founding of Kydor, by the time of Waylander the duchy was firmly under Angostin rule. There are four major Angostin noble houses that vie for control of Kydor. They are House Bakard, House Kilraith, House Loras, and House Rishell. The name Kydor is thought to be a corruption of the name Kuan Hador, whose ruins lie in the land. (Hero in the Shadows)
The Lakes (of Naashan):--a beautiful area in the mountainous nation of Naashan where many of the nobles have built their estates. (The Chaos Warrior)
Lania:--a northern town of the Ventrian Empire. It lies in a large valley that runs amid a mountain range. There is a small village that lies 4 days east of the town. (The Chaos Warrior)
Larian:--a Ventrian city, it lies east of Capalis. (The Demon in the Axe)
Larness:--a beautiful Gothir city, its location is not known. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Lem:--a city of the Ventrian Empire that lies 200 miles to the south of the capital of Usa. It was said to be one of the greatest cities ever built. At its height, the ancient city was "a jewel, shimmering in the night with a 100,000 lights. The city was built around the wealth of nearby silver mines. 200 years prior to WW the silver mines played out and by WW it was only a ghost-city of abandoned ruins and lost memories. There is a temple dedicated to Anharat, the Demon-Lord in the city. (Winter Warriors)
Lentria:--the southeasternmost nation on the western continent, the peninsular nation lies to the south and east of Drenai across an unnamed mountain range. Lentria lies to the east and north of Mashrapur. The land is also referred to as the Lentrian Horn. Lentria is renowned for making the best red wine in the world. Pilgrims visit it. Eskodas considered it to be a place of ghosts and legends. Two of the most famous generals in Drenai history were Lentrian; General Ironlatch and Magnus Woundweaver. (Waylander, The Demon in the Axe, Legend of Deathwalker, Legend)
Lentrum:--a Drenai seaport, presumably located near Skeln Pass. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Lercis:--a Ventrian town that lies on the River Mendea. There is a bridge crossing the river at Lercis. (Winter Warriors)
Lincairn Pass:--site of a battle located in some unnamed Gothir mountain range. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Lisaia, Forest of:--a woodland area that lies in the foothills of the mountains south of the Ventrian capital of Usa. (Winter Warriors)
Magadon:--a high, eastern valley that accesses the center of the Skoda Mountain Range. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Manea:--an eastern sea-kingdom. The kingdom surrendered to Ulric and its king became his vassal. (Legend)
Maphistan:--a Naashanite town that lies two hour’s walk east of the Capital. It is the site of a famous temple said to contain the Chest of Relics. (White Wolf)
Marain:--a small Ventrian town that lies between Lem and the Ventrian seaport of Morec. (Winter Warriors)
Mashrapur:--an independent city-state, renowned for its infamous slave markets, that lies to the south of Drenai, nestled between the nations of Lentria and Vagria. The city, a haven for thieves and smugglers, is ruled by an exiled Ventrian prince. (Birth of a Legend, The Demon in the Axe, The King Beyond the Gate, Winter Warriors)
Masin:--a Drenai town that lies on the Sentran Plain near the Vagrian border. A fortress, destroyed during the First Vagrian War, protected the town. (Waylander)
Masyn:--the ducal capital of Kydor. The city is located across the mountains to the north of Carlis. (Hero in the Shadows)
Matapesh:--a land that lies far to the east of Naashan and north of the Opal Jungles. (The Chaos Warrior, White Wolf)
Medrax Ford:--a small Drenai town that lies to the south of Skeln Pass (Waylander)
Mellicane:--the capital and a port city of Tantria. It was here that the "Battle of the River" took place, when the Ventrian army lost to Drenai forces during a wintertime invasion at Mellicane. (White Wolf, Winter Warriors)
Mendea, River:--a watercourse that lies in the rough country between the Ventrian capital of Usa and the mountain range to the south. It is not fordable, and bridges cross it in only three places. (Winter Warriors)
Middle Peaks:--the highest part of the Mountains of the Moon. Raboas the Giant is presumably a part of the Middle Peaks. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Mithega:--a series of caves that are the site of a Gothir leper colony. (Waylander)
Morec:--a Ventrian seaport, it lies west of the capital of Usa on a bay in the Ventrian Sea. Bandits and rebel tribesmen constantly harassed merchants traveling to Morec. (Winter Warriors)
Mountains of the Moon (Gothir):--a range of jagged blue mountains that bisect the Nadir Steppes. At the center of the range is the tallest peak called Raboas, lying some 200 miles west of Gulgothir. The Nadir believe that the mountains house the souls of all the Nadir, past and future. There are areas that they tend to avoid, believing them to be demon-haunted. The land around the mountains would make for good, rich farmlands, if the Nadir had been farmers instead of hunter/warriors. Snow leopards can be found in the range. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf, Legend of Deathwalker, The King Beyond the Gate, Quest For Lost Heroes)
Mountains of the Moon (Opal):--a range of mountain highlands lying to the east of the jungles of Opal on the Ventrian continent. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Naashan (Capital):--the seat of Naashan's Empire is located in its mountainous highlands, far to the east of the Ventrian city of Resha. The realm’s inhabitants often choose to refer to it as simply “The Capital” in order to avoid confusion. (The Chaos Warrior, White Wolf)
Naashan (Nation):--a mountainous eastern kingdom that lies along the Ventrian Sea. It lies to the north and east of Ventria. The nation is famed for the quality of its horses. Naashan has imperial ambitions, absorbing many of the smaller realms that lie adjacent to it. The road to empire was brought to a standstill with an unsuccessful invasion of Ventria. Thirteen years later, Naashan was in turn invaded and absorbed into the Greater Ventrian Empire after a two year war. Naashan once again became an independent nation at the death of the Ventrian emperor Gorben and the realm’s subsequent civil war. (Birth of a Legend, The Demon in the Axe, The Chaos Warrior, White Wolf)
Nadir:--a race of dour, nomadic tribal people inhabiting the steppes between the Mountains of the Moon and the Delnoch Mountains. The Nadir are described as swarthy-skinned, with high cheekbones, slanted eyes and midnight hair. Oldest of the tent-people were the Wolfshead tribe (they live to the west of Gulgothir). Other tribes are Green Steppe, Long Monkeys (deceased), Spears (a western tribe, they live to the south of the Wolfshead), Northern Grey, Green Monkeys (also called "Pack Rats", because at one time they were deprived of their ponies and forced to carry their possessions on their backs), Stone Tigers, Fast Ponies, Lone Wolves, Sky Riders, Curved Horns (who live in the vicinity of Oshikai's Shrine), Tall Spears, Grave Mountains, Soul Stealers, Doublehair (they live far to the northeast), and the outcasts called Notas (no tribe). A group of Notas called the Chop-Backs live in the area east of Gulgothir. The Nadir are a brutal people, as harsh and unyielding as the steppes on which they live. Their warriors wear lacquered breastplates and fur-trimmed helms; most carry two swords and an assortment of knives. The men treat their women with casual cruelty, although they rarely mistreat their children. Most die in early adulthood because they exist in an almost constant state of war with each other, and also because of being hunted for sport by Gothir noblemen. The Nadir have no rights under Gothir law. Their tongue is guttural, with many sounds created in the back of the throat. It is difficult for people of the southern nations to speak. The name "Nadir" in the language of Chiatze means "the Crossroads of Death". The Nadir race was founded by a Chiatze renegade named Oshikai Demon-Bane. He was a reckless man, given to great rages. It was he who led the rebel tribes from the lands of the Chiatze, and fought his way toward the lands to the south. When Oshikai and his armies reached these lush, southlands, they found a peaceful people living there. After Oshikai's death the tribes roamed free, warring against each other and subjugating the southern people, raiding their villages and taking their women. The southerners fought back, organizing into the nation of Gothir. For centuries the Gothir kings held the Nadir in thrall, sure in the knowledge that the Nadir hated each other more than they detested the Gothir. Then Ulric came, uniting the Nadir into an army numbering hundreds of thousands of fierce-eyed warriors. The Gothir Empire was crushed, its king slain. Ulric proceeded to try to conquer the world. He failed in his attempt, but his half-Nadir great-grandson, Tenaka Khan, finally succeeded in the subjugation of the western continent. The fate of the Nadir Empire has not yet been recorded. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf, Legend of Deathwalker, Druss the Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Quest For Lost Heroes)
Nadir Steppes:--a desert wasteland that lies north of the Delnoch mountains, east of Gothir, and southwest of Chiatze. It is the homeland of a race of nomadic tribes called the Nadir. The Nadir steppes are beautiful in their starkness. Awesome mountains lie beneath a naked, burning sky, with endless prairies, hidden valleys, and deserts, where a man could ride for a year and never see another soul. (The Legend of Deathwalker, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Quest For Lost Heroes)
Nadren:--outlaws of the Nadir Steppes, consisting of Nadir outcasts and renegades from other nations. They raid villages for slaves to sell to the Nadir slave-markets. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Namib:--a small Gothir city lying across the Spice Route leading from the western nations to Ventria in the east. There are deep forests around the city. The city is famed for its marketplace. East of the city lies the great wasteland known as the Namib Desert. (In the Realm of the Wolf, Hero in the Shadows)
Namib, Desert of:--the great wasteland that separates Ventria from the lands of Gothir and Drenai in the west. While the southern part of the desert is mostly sandy and barren, the northern portion is a great salt waste. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
New Gulgothir:-- this northern Gothir capital is located on the shore of the Western Sea, north of the city of Talgithir. The city was founded by refugees fleeing Ulric's destruction of Gulgothir and other Gothir cities. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Nicolan:--a city that lies in the western reaches of the duchy of Kydor. It contains a Source monastery. (Hero in the Shadows)
Nine Oaks:--a small Gothir village. (Hero in the Shadows)
Northern Sea:--the ocean that lies to the north of the Nadir steppes. (Legend)
Nusa:--an early capital of Ventria. Nusa was glistening city of white marble built by the Ventrian God-King (Gorben's father) on a hill overlooking a verdant valley. It was the first city to fall in the Ventrian's war with the Naashanites. (The Demon in the Axe)
Opal:--a land of humid jungles lying south of the nations of Matapesh and Panthia. A huge mountain range lies between Opal and Ventria to the west. Southeast of the teeming jungles lies a fabled range called the Mountains of the Moon. A backwater, barbaric land, Opal is famed for its diamonds and other precious gems. (Waylander, The Demon in the Axe, The Chaos Warrior, White Wolf, Winter Warriors)
Opal Creek:--a watercourse that flows from the Delnoch mountains through Skultik Forest. (Waylander)
Opal Mountains:--a high range that lies between the Ventrian Empire and the junglelands of Opal. The range is considered to be a rare and beautiful vista in the wintertime, as viewed from Ventria. (Waylander)
Oshikai's Shrine:--the tomb of Oshikai Demon-bane. It is located in the Valley of Shul-sen's Tears, five days ride east-northeast of Gulgothir. Once a temple, the shrine is thought to be the oldest building in all the Gothir lands. It was at this place that Oshikai died after being mortally wounded in the Battle of the Five Armies. The Gothir built a white stone wall around the shrine and its three deep wells, turning it into a supply fortress; they later abandoned it. It is now a sacred holy site for the Nadir, and considered a great honour to be chosen to guard it. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Ostry:--a Drenai village that lies on the Sentran plain north of the Skoda Mountains. (Waylander)
Padia:--a Drenai city, location of a garrison. It lies 4 days walk, two days ride north from the mountains of Skoda. (Birth of a Legend)
Panthia:--a land lying east of Matapesh and north of Opal. This half-legendary land is thought to be poor and undeveloped by the nations of the West. Being the natural terminus of the trade-routes coming north out of Opal, Matapesh is actually one of the richest lands of the East. Its black-skinned warriors arm themselves with stabbing spears and wicker shields. (Druss the Legend, White Wolf)
Parsha-noor:--a city-state of 78,000 people located on another world that was conquered by the forces of Kuan Hador. (Hero in the Shadows)
Parsitas Rocks:--a towering cliff-face located in the mountains to the west of the city of Carlis in the duchy of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
Pashturan:--a city of the nation of Naashan. It lies along a river. (White Wolf)
Pechuin:--a city of the Chiatze. It is famed for its fabulous White Palace. It is the place where Oshikai and Shul-sen were married. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Pelucid:--a nation lying to the west of Tantria and Sherak. It is an arid land, lying between the mountains and an arm of the Ventrian Sea. Pelucid is an ancient realm, containing many mysteries and many perils. There are places where all the natural laws are twisted and bent. An Elder text, called the Pellucidian Chronicles was written there. In Druss’s time its mountains are reportedly haunted by a werebeast. (Druss the Legend, White Wolf)
Penrac Bay:--a location on the Ventrian Sea 5 days hard ride south of Skeln Pass. It lies 300 miles from Drenan and the countryside between the two is flat as a lake. (Druss the Legend)
Perapolis:--a Naashanite city that lies to the southeast of the Ventrian capital of Usa. One of Naashan’s largest cities, the nation’s foreign embassies are located there. Perapolis was sacked and all the inhabitants killed during the Naashan Insurrection by Skilgannon the Damned. It is probably identical to the Naashanite city of Pieropolis. Three hundred years later, the city was part of Ventria. (White Wolf, Winter Warriors)
Phocia:--a black nation, lying near the lands of Opal in the eastern Ventrian continent. Its people are famed as seafarers. Nogusta's ancestors were from Phocia. (White Wolf, Winter Warriors)
Pieropolis:--a city of the country of Naashan. After its absorption into the Ventrian Empire, the city was presumably renamed Perapolis. (The Chaos Warrior)
Plettii:--the site of a legendary battle in Drenai history. Apparently a warrior by the name of Nazredas made a mistake that cost him the battle. Its location is unknown. (Legend)
Porchia:--a city of the Ventrian Empire. A mountain range lies to the north of the city. (The Demon in the Axe)
Preafa:--a Drenai town located within Skultik Forest. (Waylander)
Purdol:-- see the entry for Dros Purdol.
Purdol Pass:--a pass through the Delnoch Mountains to the desert beyond. The pass runs to the east, along a cliff-path. (Waylander)
Pusha:--a southern city of the Ventrian Empire. (The Chaos Warrior)
Qumtar:--a city that lies on the southeastern border of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
Raboas:--the tallest peak that lies at the center of the Mountains of the Moon, two hundred miles west of Gulgothir. The name Raboas means Sacred Giant in the Nadir tongue, and is one of their most holy places. Orien of the Two Blades hid the Armor of Bronze in the heart of the dark mountain. (Waylander)
Rank of Giants:--a row of parallel mountain ranges separated by the Valley of the Tomb. They are located in Wolfshead's area of the Nadir steppes, and are presumably parts of the larger range known as the Mountains of the Moon. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Resha:--a northern city of the Ventrian Empire. The city lies to the north of Capalis, near a lake. It is famed for its theatres, the arena, and the gardens. Resha lies to the east, across the mountains, from the town of Lania. (The Demon in the Axe, The Chaos Warrior)
Resurrectionists, Temple of the:--a place that is reputed to be able to bring the dead back to life by using the “code of life” locked in bone and hair. Its location is unknown, although it’s thought to be deep within the Nadir steppes or beyond the old lands of Kydor. (White Wolf)
Ri-ashon:--a city of the northern nation of Chiatze. The city is renowned for its temple where the famous Rajnee swords are forged. (Hero in the Shadows)
Rostrias:--the Nadir "River of the Dead". It flows from its source in the Mountains of the Moon and continues eastward to empty into the sea a hundred miles north of Purdol. (Waylander)
Sardia:--a Drenai city. There is a Source temple located there. (Waylander)
Sathuli:--a race of fiercely independent, semi-nomadic mountain and desert people that live primarily in the Delnoch Mountains. The men of the Sathuli tend to be swarthy, hawk-faced, and bearded, and prefer to wear white robes. Although they fight with tulwars, they are untutored in the skill of the sword, preferring the strength of number to wear down their foes. The Sathuli live their lives in isolation from the civilizations of both the Gothir and Drenai. They swear by the soul of their ancient prophet, Mehmet. Originally the Sathuli lived in the deserts of Ventria, but were persecuted for their religious beliefs, so they crossed the Ventrian Sea and settled in Delnoch. For many centuries the Sathuli have fought the Drenai over the rights to the Delnoch ranges. They claim them as their territory and have settlements in the foothills to the south of them. These villages are the bases for raids into the Sentran Plain. They have conducted raids on both Skarta and Corteswain. During the First Nadir war the Earl of Bronze gave the Delnoch mountains to the Sathuli in thanks for their aid. A century later Ceska revoked the original treaty and the skirmishes between the Sathuli and Drenai began anew. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf, Birth of a Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate)
Sathuli:--a city of a thousand white stone buildings filling the bowl of a hidden valley high in the heart of the Delnoch Mountains. The Palace of Sathuli is the only building higher than a single story. The city is difficult to reach; few Drenai have ever set foot in it. (In the Realm of the Wolf, The King Beyond the Gate)
Saurab Mountains:--a lush, green range that lies in the Ventrian Empire. (The Demon in the Axe)
Sea of Souls:--the great ocean of water that lies to the east of the Ventrian continent. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Sealac Hollow:--an area of the northern mountains of Drenan. (Winter Warriors)
Sechuin:--a northern nation that lies near Chiatze lands. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Segril:-- see the entry for Dros Segril.
Senac Pass:--one of the high mountain passes that crosses the Delnoch Mountains. It is treacherous and seldom used by travelers. (In the Realm of the Wolf)
Sentran Plain:--a thousand square miles of flat, rich grasslands that lies from between the Skoda/Skeln mountain range northward to Skultik Forest and the Delnoch Mountains. Nearly all the food for Drenan and a great amount of the food for Vagria are grown on farms on the plain. In the summer, the whole of the Sentran Plain is golden with corn. The plain is famed for its dairies. The plain has been the site of much warfare. Early in Drenai's history, Sentran was taken by force from the kingdom of Gothir. It was fought over by the Vagrians and later the Ventrians in the Chaos Wars. (Waylander, Druss the Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate, Winter Warriors)
Shala Falls:--a cataract of the Shala River in the northern mountains of Drenan. (Winter Warriors)
Shala River:--a watercourse that flows from high in the northern mountains of Drenan. (Winter Warriors)
Shemak:--an area lying near the Namib Desert and the Nadir Steppes. It is most likely a typo for Sherak, a country that lies in exactly the same place. Shemak is also the name of a Naashanite/Ventrian demon-god. (White Wolf)
Sherak:--a kingdom of the East. An arid nation, most of its major cities lie in a strip along its northern sea-coast. Sherak is famed for its incense. (Birth of a Legend, White Wolf)
Shul-sen's Tears, Valley of:--a place in the Nadir steppe five days ride east-northeast of Gulgothir. The Shrine of Oshikai Demon-bane, a sacred site to the Nadir, is located there. It is at this place that Oshikai died of wounds received at the Battle of the Five Armies. His wife, Shul-sen was with him when he died, hence the name of the valley. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Siccus:--a Gothir city, and site of the God-King's Winter Palace. It presumably lies in the southern regions of Gothir. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Skarta:--a large Drenai town sprawled across a clearing between two hills in the southwest of Skultik Forest. The mostly single-story dwellings were made of white stone hewn from the Delnoch Mountains to the north. The town is built around an old fort villa that became Egel's headquarters during the First Vagrian War. Several years later, the priests of the Thirty built a monastery on one of the hills overlooking the town. (Waylander, In the Realm of the Wolf)
Skathia:--a nation that was conquered by King Skanda's army and absorbed into the Drenai empire. It lies to the west of Vagria. (Winter Warriors)
Skeln Pass:--this narrow mountain pass is considered to be the eastern gateway to the Sentran Plain. West of the pass lies a steep, rocky slope. The pass itself is nearly a mile long, narrowing in the center to only about 50 paces. Eastward from this point, the pass widens into a gently rolling slope that drops into a stream-fed valley that angles toward the sea. It ends at a bay on the Ventrian Sea some 3 miles away. Skeln Pass connects the city of Lentrum with the rest of the Drenai lands. The pass was held for a short time by a Ventrian invasion that was summarily repulsed by Karnak. The most famous event in the history of the pass came a century later when Druss and a couple of hundred Drenai soldiers kept an entire Ventrian army from gaining access to it and the plain beyond. (In the Realm of the Wolf, Druss the Legend, White Wolf, Legend)
Skeln Mountains:--a range of gray granite mountains that lies six days hard ride east of the Skoda Mountains. These jagged peaks lie to the east of the Sentran Plain and run parallel to the Ventrian Sea. The mountains are lush, green, and are considered exceptionally beautiful. (Druss the Legend)
Skepthia:--a Tantrian town. Skepthia lies in the southern foothills of a mountain range in eastern Tantria. It is famed for Cobalsin’s castle, which has been converted into a monastery. (White Wolf)
Skoda Mountains:--the mountains where Druss makes his home, lies 6 days hard ride west of the Skeln peaks. The snow-covered peaks lies due south of the Sentran Plains, on the frontier with Vagria. For the most part, the glittering cities of the Drenai lie to the southeast of Skoda. The mountain range is somewhat circular, and from the air has the appearance of a stone rose. The outer ring of mountains conceals nine valleys large enough for an army to march, plus a score of other narrow passes. The second ring of mountains has only four main valleys, but three treacherous passes thread their way to the open pastures and woodlands beyond. At the center of the stone rose rise mountains bunched together with only two access points from the east: the valleys known as Tarsk and Magadon. There are peaks in Skoda which have never been climbed; they are bathed in mist for nine months of the year. The Skoda valley bottoms are good country, sheltered and peaceful. The ground is not as rich as the Sentran Plains, but when treated with care, the farms prosper and the cattle grow fat on the wild grasses of the timberland. Raiders, cattle thieves, slavers, robbers, and outlaws roam the mountains. The lands to the south and east of Skoda are considered to be more "civilized". The mountains are patrolled by one troop of Drenai cavalry. (Waylander, Birth of a Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate)
Skultik Forest:--a large tangled woodland that lies on the foothills to the south of the Delnoch Mountains. The forest is immense, thousands of square miles of trees, clearings, hills and valleys. In Karnak's time, only three towns had been built within the forest, Tonis, Preafa, and Skarta. It is only ten miles from the forest's northwestern edge to Dros Delnoch. The forest is a hiding place for outlaws of all types. The forest was the last redoubt of Egel during the first Vagrian War. Centuries later Skultik was the location of the barracks and training ground of the Dragon, an elite regiment of Drenai warriors. (Waylander, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate)
Sousa:--a Drenai "corn city" that lies on the edge of Skultik Forest, just off the Sentran Plain. It is five days walk from the Dragon's barracks south to Sousa. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Southern Sea:--the ocean that lies to the south of the Drenai lands. (Legend)
Stone Hawk Peak:--a mountain peak in the northern range called the "Mountains of the Moon". Nadir shamen use it for initiation purposes. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Symilia:--a northern kingdom, whose king owns a silver mirror discovered in the ruins of Kuan Hador. (Hero in the Shadows)
Talgithir:--a northern Gothir city that lies within sight of the Mountains of the Moon. Talgithir lies south of the capital of New Gulgothir and northwest of the nation of Vagria. It was originally a keep built to guard the northern toll road, but when Ulric's great horde destroyed the capital at Gulgothir, the refugees streamed north across the mountains and settled around the keep. Over the centuries the lonely keep has grown into a bustling metropolis. Talgithir is now considered to be the southernmost point of the Gothir nation. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Tantria:--a fertile nation of the East. It is usually dominated by its large southern neighbors, either Ventria or Naashan, although for a time it was subservient to Dospilis and Datia. The realm’s armed forces seem somewhat antiquated, since its archers attack in gleaming bronze chariots with serrated sickles attached to the wheels, at a time when its neighbors use cavalry tactics. By the time of King Skanda, Tantria was part of Ventria. (Druss the Legend, White Wolf)
Tarsk:--a high, eastern valley that accesses the center of the Skoda Mountain Range. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Tattooed People:-- a mysterious race of short people that call themselves "The People of the World's Dream". Their entire bodies, including their faces, are covered in blue tattoos. Legends tell that they were once of our world, forced back by the migration of nations ten centuries before. They used the Gateway to escape into a land of hot, humid jungle, where beasts eat human flesh. The Tattooed People collect heads and shrink them down by magic. The greatest enemy in their new home was tribe called the Azhtacs, who eventually exterminated them. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Tavern Town:--a Gothir settlement that lies in the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon, south of Talgithir. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Temple Stone:--a towering red-rock butte located deep in the heart of the Nadir Steppe. The butte lies amid a series of jagged slopes; a narrow trail passes alongside it. It was carved into the shape of a giant bell by the long-forgotten sea that used to cover this vast land. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Tertullus:--a city of the nation of Sherak. Tertullus is famed for its Ventrian university, and is presumably located in the arid region closest to the Nadir steppes. (Legend)
Thousand Islands:--a large island chain on the Ventrian Sea. The Free Trading Ports of the Corsair-Lords are located there. (The Demon in the Axe)
Tigren River:--a watercourse lying 30 miles south of Druss's village in the Skoda Mountains. A small village lies 20 miles to the south. Mashrapur lies three days ride beyond the village. (Birth of a Legend)
Tonis:--a Drenai town located deep in Skultik Forest. (Waylander)
Towers of the Damned:--are twin pinnacles of black volcanic rock located three days journey east of Gulgothir. The Towers have a evil and sinister reputation for being haunted by demons. Nadir legends say that an evil sorcerer was entombed there. The entombed sorcerer turned out to be Shul-sen, Oshikai Demon-bane's wife. Oshikai's Shrine lies two days ride to the northeast. (Legend of Deathwalker)
Ulalia:--a Lentrian seaport. Its location is not recorded. Ulalia is possibly the unnamed Drinn River seaport. (Legend)
Ulric, Tomb of:--the burial ground of the great Nadir warlord, Ulric Khan. It lies on Wolfshead land between two mountain ranges known as the Ranks of Giants in the Valley of the Tomb. The Tomb is built of sandstone covered with marble. Forty thousand slaves died building this monolith, shaped like the crown Ulric never wore. Six pointed towers ring the white dome, and all the available surfaces are carved with runes proclaiming his greatness and that fact that he is entombed here. After his death, Tenaka Khan's bones were reputedly interred at this site. In the mountainsides above the Tomb are caves where the Nadir shamen hold council. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Ulrickham:--the capital of the Nadir Empire. Tenaka Khan built it on a broad plain one week's journey north of the Mountains of the Moon and one day's ride east of the Gothir fortress at Bel-azar. Ulrickham is a city of single-story dwellings of mud-dried brick and stone. Inside each dwelling are the tent hangings that meant home to the Nadir. A palace of six square towers lies at the city's center. The city contains both a school and a hospital. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Usa:--the Ventrian capital city. The city was Gorben's capital. The city was thought to be older than time and is mentioned in the earliest known historical records. In myth it had been a home for gods, one who is said to have built the royal palace in a single night. The city contains a barracks built to house the Immortals, Emperor Gorben's élite regiment. At the time of its construction it was thought to be one of the Wonders of the World. There is a snow-crested mountain range that lies to the south of the capital. (Winter Warriors)
Vagria:--a land that lies adjacent to the Sentran Plain, south and west of the Skoda Mountains and Drenai lands. The land of Vagria is mostly rolling plains dotted with small forests. There are mountains in eastern Vagria that contain gold and silver mines. The men of the nation tend to be tall and slender, with dark features. The men of their army wear black horned helms. Vagria is famed for its white wine. The nation also exports sugar and oranges. Vagria has waged at least three wars with Drenai. It stayed neutral in Drenai's war against Ulric's Nadir. (Waylander, Hero in the Shadows, Birth of a Legend, Legend, The King Beyond the Gate)
Vagrian Plains:--an area of eastern Vagria consisting of rolling plains dotted with small forests. It is connected to the Sentran Plain northwest of the Skoda Mountains. The defense of the Vagrian Plains is centered at the fortress of Segril. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Valia:--a Ventrian fortress that lies in the mountains between Lania and Capalis. Outlaws and renegades inhabit it. (The Chaos Warrior)
Valley of Angels:--a place of great beauty on the Nadir Steppes. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Valley of the Dawn:--the higher of the two eastern entry points into the Skoda Mountain range. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Valley of the Gateway:--also called the Valley of the Shrieking Gateway, it is an alpine vale high up in the Mountains of the Moon, southeast of Talgithir. The valley is the locations of the Gateway, a portal to a different world. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Valley of the Tomb:--lies on the Nadir steppe between two mountain ranges known as the Rank of Giants. The burial tomb of the great Nadir warlord, Ulric Khan is located here. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Varnii:--a nomadic tribe of men distantly related to the Chiatze. They have shamen and celebrate season feasts. (Hero in the Shadows)
Varsipis:--a city of the Ventrian Empire. (The Demon in the Axe)
Ventria:--a huge empire that lies east of the Drenai lands, across the Ventrian Sea. At the time of Druss's birth, the Ventrian Empire was 214,969 square miles, with an estimated population of fifteen and a half million people. The people are described as tall, with brown skin and dark hair worn in braids. It boasted a university in every city, and there were schools, hospitals and a road system second to none. The climate of Ventria is usually hot and dry. Ventria is an ancient realm as the Battle of the Four Valleys was fought in the vicinity of the city of Usa. In modern times, Ventria began its march toward Empire with the crowning of its first battle monarch (Cyrios the Lord of Battle?). After he died in battle with the Drenai, Ventria suffered civil war and became more and more insular. Decades later, Ventria’s God-king devotes his country to building public works and universities. A revolt by the more militant elements of Ventria’s nobility throws the realm into another civil war. Prince Gorben arose from the ashes of this second civil war and began the drive toward Empire. His handpicked honour guard was an elite regiment called "The Immortals". By the time of his invasion at Skeln Pass, Emperor Gorben had conquered the lands of Naashan, Tantria, Datia, Dospilis, Sherak, Matapesh, Panthia, Cadia and parts of Opal. His empire did not survive his death, since all of the vassal states immediately threw off Ventrian rule. Ventria itself plunged into a civil war lasting nearly a decade. Some three hundred years later, the Drenai army led by King Skanda conquered the Empire of Ventria. (Waylander, Birth of a Legend, The Demon in the Axe, The Chaos Warrior, White Wolf, The King Beyond the Gate, Winter Warriors)
Ventrian Continent:--a large landmass lying east of the Ventrian Sea. The continent is huge, with over 300 large cities and thousands upon thousands of small towns and villages. (The Demon in the Axe, White Wolf, The King Beyond the Gate)
Ventrian Sea:--a large body of saltwater that lies between the eastern kingdoms and the lands of the Drenai. The sea is the home of the "Free Traders" a group of pirates. (The Demon in the Axe)
Virinis:--a Naashanite sea-port that trades with Lentria. (The Demon in the Axe)
Visha:--a city near Mashrapur where the rich have palaces. (The Demon in the Axe)
Western Ocean:--the sea that lies to the west of the Drenai lands. (Hero in the Shadows)
White Gold Bay:--a harbor that lies in the far eastern part of the Ventrian continent. There are many legends concerning the people of the bay and the gold mines they work. The mines have been long worked out, the people now grow maize and corn. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Wildlands:--any part of the countryside outside of the sight of a city in the northern area of the nation of Gothir. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Willow Lake:--a beautiful lake the lies just outside of the city of Carlis in the duchy of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
Zharn:--a race of tribal people living near the duchy of Kydor. (Hero in the Shadows)
***Places of Mystery***
There are a number of locations in the Drenai Saga that, while mentioned and sometimes described, have been given no official name. What follows is a short list of some of them.
Drinn River Seaport:--a Lentrian harbor located on the estuary of the Drinn River. Rek, Virae, and the "Thirty" boarded a ship at this port for the voyage to Dros Purdol. This unnamed seaport is possibly the Lentrian port of Ulalia. (Legend)
Druss's home village:--located on a broad valley in the eastern part of the Skoda Mountains. It was the location of a gigantic, sacred tree called "The Great Oak". The village was destroyed by a band of slavers when Druss was seventeen. It is not know if it was ever rebuilt. (Birth of a Legend, Legend)
Lentria's Capital:--the principle city of Lentria, it's palaces and villas lie along the sea-coast. The city is located a thousand miles to the south of the Gothir capital of Gulgothir. There is a renowned iron-works located here. (In the Realm of the Wolf, Legend)
Nadir Seaports:--several unnamed ports that lie far to the east of the Nadir capital at Ulrikham. The ports are seasonal and are sometimes closed in the winter due to the weather. (Quest For Lost Heroes)
Northern Kingdoms, The:--a number of nations that lie to the north of Gothir that were conquered by Ulric's Nadir before he turned his attention toward the land of Drenai. Ulric built his empire on the conquered remains of a dozen lands and five score cities. These consisted of all the northern and several of the eastern lands adjacent to the Nadir Steppes. The northern nations that are named besides Gothir are Chiatze, Kiatze, Sechuin, Angostin, and Symilia. It seems reasonable to assume that at least two other lands not named are included in the list of the Northern Kingdoms. (Legend)
Sieben's Town:--a small Drenai town located to the southeast of the Skoda Mountains. (Birth of a Legend)
Tenaka Khan's Ventrian estate:--part of an unnamed Ventrian city that lay in the Desert of Namib to the south of the Spice Route, most likely in the realm of Pelucid. The marbled-edificed city lies 200 miles from the nearest Drenai city, presumably Dros Purdol. The city lies close to a source of ice. (The King Beyond the Gate)
Vagria's Capital:--located several days' journey west of the city-state of Mashrapur. It was here that Waylander assassinated General Kaem's only son. (Waylander, The Demon in the Axe)
Ventrian Island Village:--in southern Ventria an entire community lives on a volcanic island. Every ten years or so the mountain erupts, spewing ash, dust, and burning rock, killing hundreds. Every time the eruption ends, the people return, convinced that the worse is over. (The King Beyond the Gate)
The people and places in the Drenai Saga are copyrighted by David Gemmell
Page Copyright 2003-2016 Dale Rippke
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