Mhirdrun | The Thradhel | Linothor | Sundering Isles | Sea of Calingwai |Gwathia | Sulgate | The Blasted Wastes
Of Aer Arnad
Aer Arnad is a loose country, low and rough except near where it meets Calingwai to the south, with fewer rivers than the rest of the continent, and less farmlands than can sate the empire's people, so much is drawn from the north and west by road and at cost, for it has but one port and it is shallow. Through it extend the Albaug mountains from Nuumalon, which terminate there. To its north is Grimgaud and the edge of the Blackwood, which rings around to the west of the empire, and hems it in from the waters of the Eol River. To the east is the salt sea of Ingbahl, and thereafter the barrens and mountains of Gwathia which together form its borders. To the south is Sulgate through which it cuts, as has been earlier said, and its border there is drawn always in contention, for the nomads of Sulgate resent greatly Aer Arnad's presence, and challenge it often.
Concerning the Fall of Aer Arnad
Once was the mighty empire of Aer Arnad large indeed, at its greatest height under the rulership of Emperor Aedar Arnad, and it encompassed all of Linothor, and much of Sulgate, ere its destruction came about many ages ago. But its destruction was not total, for an heir of Aedar yet remained to propagate his empire, and so the line continues to this day. But the shame felt by Elves yet remains as a pall over their race, and thus Saeldor, last heir of Aedar, and now named emperor, shrivels from ambition even in the victories wrought presently by his mighty generals, almost all of them Men. For Men are renewed with each generation, though they forsake the wisdom of the fathers in youth, they forsake also the fear and inhibition attendant to wisdom, and it is for this that Men of Aer Arnad flourish bravely, and forge mighty deeds under its banners, while the Elves they serve fall.
On Emperor Saeldor the Wise
Of Saeldor little is known, for he is seldom seen, and allows various lords and generals to do his bidding even in his own place, and some of these even without his consent, for he has little care anymore for the burden of rulership. It is known that he is an Avariel tall and frail, and it is said that his wings droop, and he looks always sad, and moves ponderously.
Draped upon him are the robes of his command, in the tradition of Elven emperors since the calamity above described, as those surviving of Aedar's line forswore armor and ornament in deference to the gods. The wife which Saeldor took for his queen departed him ages ago, and he has no heir, and these circumstances portend a troubled future for the empire when the light of Saeldor leaves this world, but what will follow can be glimpsed only in the hearts of those Elves and Men who descry in the dusk of Saeldor a dawning of their own design.
On the Peoples of Aer Arnad
Elves
The Elves in the ruling class of Aer Arnad are said to be closest to those of legend, being called Avariel and Sun and Moon, and with features which correspond to those legends. These dress in long pale gowns which flow as rivers of milk to the ground, and slippers so that they tread in silence, and in movement they drift alike to ghosts. The hair of their women is never bound, and never shorn, and so follows about their feet like trains ere they fall to age. Merchants and commoners form the bulk of Aer Arnad's Elves however, and they are more alike to Men, and often share in their blood where the races meet.
Men
The Men of Aer Arnad are varied in appearance, and some are beautiful and fair with blood from Nummalon, and some are dark and swarthy with blood from Sulgate, but they are nearly all drawn from other lands, and mongrels from exposure to the blood of fellow exiles and expatriates, and no longer call their former lands home, but call themselves Imperials. Many of them dress as from their homeland, but newly are they taken to dressing as the ruling Elves, and so without hair on their face, though with long coats rather than gowns, and high belts. The women of the cities have taken to wearing also high-waisted clothes, though these with pleated skirts bound above by ropes, and bright vests, and their sleeves are large, with much embroidery. Only one group of Men remains which consider themselves native, and they bear great pride in their history, for ere the Elves conquered them theirs was a great kingdom which spanned the continents. But in appearance today these are lesser among other Men, for they are short and bronze with dark hair, and roam the lands as lowly herders of cattle and sheep, and dress alike to them also, in brown frocks and dark breeches, oft barefoot.
Halflings
Halflings among Aer Arnad are most of them simple and handsome, for they mix little with the newcomers to the lands, and care less for the wares of merchants, and stay to the farms and hills for their purposes, spending much time in leisure, except those few called to adventuring. Their clothing is simple-spun in bright colors but worn well, and traditionally, as are their hairs, so that they look very unlike Aer Arnad's Men. Yet it is said that these lands are from whence Men and Halflings diverged by the designs of the Elves long ago.
On the Country of Aer Arnad
Concerning Helmrast, the Capital and Refuge of the Elven Empire
While it is true that Elves in Aer Arnad hold power still, their rule is borne forward as if by the cooling light of dying embers, for Elves command in name but not in fact, and they reside nestled in a crater among the mountains, called by them Helmrast, and enthroned there is Saeldor the Wise, far removed from sight of his own lands. The city is lofty with many towers, and is as if an island inland, a shelf with high walls surrounded by water. The Elves rarely venture forth from Helmrast, and so depend greatly upon the work of Men and Halflings who people most densely through the empire, and travel to the corners of the world as their servants, through the tunnels of Grimgaud and the ports of Beleri and the merchant roads to Gwathia and Sulgate. By this means Men have assumed most of the functions of the empire, and hold every day greater esteem. And so Aer Arnad is a rare land where its capital vies not with the great cities, and is as a shadow fading from sight as the Elven masters withdraw to their lonely roosts.
Concerning Mairmithon, the City of Glass
Surging up with greatest haste in Aer Arnad to cast shadow over Helmrast, some distance to its southeast, is Mairmithon, the Splended City, which entertains freely as its own people from all the world, and would call them kin if they should stay, so long as they bring wealth in goods or knowledge. It spreads long against the Salt Marsh to the west and north, and along the sea of Ingbahl to its east, and separates into many fifes and burgs, which call themselves by its name though they stray widely. The towers of Mairmithon are diverse in style, and it is said that no two are alike, for much which the Elves left behind there became conjoined to the work of Men, but in different ages, and by hands with fathers in many different lands, and so from afar the city appears as a mass of glass tents and spires and bells on the horizon, but with great charm, as its shapes are whimsical and colored brightly.
Concerning the Salt Marshes and the Fall of Aer Arnad
At the center of Aer Arnad are the Salt Marshes, where once the greatest cities of all the empire stood, or indeed of any land of the world in its long history, and now nothing of them remains. No witness to this great calamity yet lives, and ere the present day its events were long lost to memory, though a tale has arisen and here bears mentioning. It is said that after the Dragonswar, Aedar Arnad IV, of the line from whom the empire takes its name, having conquered all the lands which were his wont, and driving out all of the dragons to the Blasted Wastes, and assuming the mantle of ruler of the world, saw fit to declare himself a god. The peoples of Aer Arnad, besotted overmuch in the victories of their emperor, followed willingly, though they knew not it would be to their doom, for the True Gods of the realms soon set forth many prophets and emissaries, seeking to dissuade Aedar, but he would not stay his lust for power, and slew every cleric who would speak against his ambition. And thus enraged, the gods of the realm challenged Aedar to a battle which would determine the fate of the world, gathering all of their might into a storm which hung darkly over the greatest cities of the empire, and summoned him forth. The emperor had long forsaken humility and so he responded in kind, and with him the host of his armies, all of them Elves and Men, who pledged their lives to him, and worshiped him. And after they gathered all of them into those lands, and over many days had called out to the skies, and looked up and beat their shields and mocked the gods for their cowardice in remaining aloft and out of reach, the gods struck forth from the heavens and smote them all as one, and the cities were rent, and their people slain, and the whole of them cast underground, and then that pit was filled over with a great flood, but of salt sea, so that none from it could gain any succor in thirst. And the sea was tainted, and seeded with many dread plants, so that growing they arrayed as a tangle impassible, and their boughs were barren, or poisoned, and the shade which fell from them was as ice on the skin, even in the summer months as Lathander sat highest in the sky. But these are the tales of common folk, and not to be hearkened to without scrutiny. Thus the Salt Marshes are anathema now, as they hold claim truly to all the qualities of dread here been said about them, disregarding the stories of from whence they arose.
Concerning the Port of Lolorn, the Lowly Port
Port Lolorn is little visited, for its waters are shallow, as are its extents across, but some trade passes across there to land, but in no volume comparable to the great ports of Nuumalon or Beleri.
Concerning the Trade Roads of Aer Arnad
Aer Arnad has one vessel by which it pursues a future, and that is trade. Thus its armies and labor have devoted nigh to all of their energies against the task of laying, patrolling, and fortifying a large network of roads. These stretch from the cities of Grimgaud to the ports of Beleri and down into Sulgate and the Dwarven Sanctuary of Gwathia, for wont of goods from the Far East.
Concerning Assorted other Structures
Many watchtowers and keeps gird the roads of Aer Arnad. Southernmost of these are arrayed as great citadels and fortresses which the armies of Aer Arnad hold against marauders of Sulgate.
Little else of note rises from the land of Aer Arnad, for much which the Elves built has fallen to ruin, and being no longer maintained by their magic these bear not even those who would seek to inhabit them. And thus the burden falls upon Men to build anew, and they do so slowly compared to other races, and manage now only scattered towns and lesser cities. But these are persistent, for the people of Aer Arnad benefit from the joining of many minds, and from thence muster great might from few means, and it is by this will and ingenuity which the empire has lately returned to strength and vied with its neighbors.