Geography of Scandera
Scandera or Skandera is the continent in the furthers north eastern corner of Mystria and is the original continent of the region and the only one that did not appear due to shifts. Teritorially is it not bordered by any country but links up to the north pole thanks to the northern iceplains even if it is unknown where the continent ends and the ice of the polar capsule begins as most expeditions under the ice have failed and all hands have been lost even in modern submarines. The continent is however estimated to be around 21 000 000 Km^2 and can be divided into several regions that is often used in everyday speech even today.
Sundet, Innanhafet, utanhafet, Vedianska bergen, Karmanjaka passet, Norra isfällten, Flodmark, suderlandet, Eteisrannikko, Jarnarna, nordanträsken and Asterarna or in English; The Strait (the strait between Southern Imeriata and Eteisrannikko that separates the inner sea from the outer sea), the inner sea (the ocean surrounded by Imeriata proper and Eteisrannikko), the outer sea (The sea around Scandera), the Vedian mountain chain (the mountain chain that seperates the northern iceplains from the southern Scandera), The Karmanjakan pass (the area between the vedian mountain chain and the ancient moutains mountain), the northern iceplains(The large landmass north of Southern Scandera), the riverlands (the northern river rich lands of Imeriata), the southlands (the southern parts of Imeriata), Eteisrannikko (the land south of the vedian mountains and the norhtern swamps and west of the riverlands) , the iron islands (the southern islands), the Northern swamps (The small era between the vedian mountains and the outer sea, south of Karmanjaka and north of Eteirannikko) and the eastern islands (the islands east of Imeriata proper).
Physical geography
Ankea metsä
Ankea metsä, mörkerskag or the dark forest is a forest region between the riverlands and the fertile plains of Etelä-kentät. The name is one it shares with sfartmård in Erathian and they are often called the higher and the lower Dark forests in the tongue of the westerners.
The region itself is known for it's forest clad hills that starts at the base of the Vedian mountains and ends first at the coast of Innanhafet. However contrary to the mixed forest of the riverlands so is Ankea metsä dominated by large oaks and other kinds of leaf forests.
Despite it's vegetation and the lack of mobility for armies so have Ankea metsä been a region that has been invaded and defended over and over as it has been the historical battlefield between Imerians and Erathians and more than once have Vedians attacked this way as well which have left a large numbers of fortifications still open to the public there ranging from old trelleborgar up to fortresses from the 16th century and the end of the 200 years war after which the need for fortifications decreased. This was true up to the end of the civil war when the syndicalist government despite the regular coups and internal strife managed to start building a large and impressive defensive network in the region to fend off a future attack from the royalists. While the line was abandoned in the response to invasions from the sea and from the Karmanjakan pass so does still a large section of bunkers remain even to this day.
Asterarna
Asterarna or "the eastern islands" is the large island group south of Imeirata proper that stands out from the islands to the north and the southern islands due to the soil that is so rich in limestone that the islands are all but made of the white stone which have resulted in them being called "Viteröarna" or "the white islands" as well as Asterarna.
While the waters are not as shallow as in Sundet so are there still a lot of underwater cliffs in the region and the islands themselves are elevated above the ocean. The shores that one can find under the steep cliffs are often covered in rocks instead of sand. The mainland on the other hand is not known for much in the way of vegetation and one can almost only find bushes, wild flowers and grass growing there.
Economically have the region historically been well known for their limestone production, their well known "Astera sheep" that towers above ordinary sheep and finally fish and eel fished from their rich waters that have then been exported to the coastline of Vedian, the norhtern iceplains and eastern Imeriata by ship and even today is eel from the region known as a delicacy and wool from the large sheep is used all over the federation.
However relatively speaking so are all islands rather flat once the large steep cliff shores have been traversed and the average height above the ocean is just 10 meters while the highest point is at the main island or "Asterns silfer a" or "The east's silver island" that only rises 784 meters above the ocean at it's highest point.
Brytna ryggen
Brytnaryggen or the broken back is a island chain in the northern most parts of Utanhafet but is a very poor region that lives entirely on fishing for sustenance. The island is very rocky with the two northernmost islands are almost entirely covered only in grass and moss with shrubberies exists but they are rare. The southern island however is covered by thick forests.
The region is also known for the old ruins from a old civilisation of which not much is known, however so have similar ruins been found on the ocean floor around the islands. True to this so does old legends say that in days long since gone so did a old people with massive warriors of bronze live there but they went into battle with the Wharen and their lands were pressed down under the sea by dark magic.
This is a theory that is generally accepted by most people and scientists as the ocean floor do bear traces of not only habitation but also the remains of wildlife have been found there. And while the idea that it was the wharen that was responsible so is it accepted that some sort of advanced civilisation lived there and was destroyed when the region sunk into the ocean,
Eple Halvøyn
Eple Halvøyn, Apple halfan in Imerian, or the apple peninsula is a large peninsula to the east of the Vedian mountain that despite the cold climate is a very fertile land and have often been called "Vedians breadbasket". However contrary to what the name implies so are apple orchards not the only crops grown in the region as the large Vedian apples that the north is famous for is grown more in the mountains themselves where it is harder to keep proper farms working. Instead so is the peninsula the home of farms of all kinds of crops but wheat and potatoes are the most common crops grown there.
The terrain one can see is rather hilly however and if you manage to get a good vantage point so can you see a rolling landscape filled with farms, fields and large grasslands with a few forests spreading out all the way to the wild ocean in the east and the Vedian mountains in the west.
Historically so have the region been a very important one to the Vedian kingdom and it was from here the old kings of the mountains ruled, however so were the region also the most common region where battles between Imerians and Vedians were fought and one can find several old battlefields here that dates to pre-unification times. However so did the region lost power in the unification between Vedian and Imeriata proper even if it remained the most populated region in the Kingdom of Vedian and it is here the Nordberga house rules the province.
Etelä-kentät
Etelä-kentät or the southern fields or the Eteisrannikko south fields as they are translated to, to separate them from the southern Region of Imeriata proper with the same name. Just like their twin in Southern Imeriata so is the southern fields in Eteisrannikko large fertile plains covered in green grass, small collections of trees, bushes and recently large golden fields and it remains to this date an important part of Scanderan agriculture.
Just as the region on the other side of Sundet so is there little to no elevation but contrary to the Imerian Southern fields so are region flat through and through and does not surrounds mountains in it's centre. There is however an exception to this rule as the northern parts of teh region is a quite hilly area that seperates the fields in the south from the large mountains in the Vedian mountains, the dark forest and the pass that leads to Karmanjaka and then Sfartmård and the northern iceplains.
However despite the image of just large rolling fields so are there also a lot of animals living here as ratwolves, rabucks and deers are common sights in the wild while it is also one of the places where in winter the birds migrates to and during the winter months so can one see large colonies of birds mating and sitting out the winter in the milder climate the south is blessed with.
Flodmarkerna
Flodmarkerna or "the riverlands" is the heart of the kingdom of Imeriata and it was here that the high kings of the absolute royal federation's kingdom started as they originally claimed just the title as "Drottin auf floden" or "The Druhtinaz of the river" which referred to "Storflode" or the great river which is the largest river in Flodmarken and runs through most of the region.
The terrain of the region is rather flat and covered in a large number of rivers in various sizes ranging from the massive Storfloden that runs through the entire region to small nameless rivers. Between these rivers does thick forests of both pine and leaf grow and the wild is only broken by scattered remains of human habitation and farmland that quickly is swallowed up by the forest again when they ends.
Both in the modern world and historically so have the region been one of the greatest importance for Scandera as it is there the majority of the population of Imeriata proper lives and it is from the habited shores of the ocean and storfloden that the high kings have always drawn their strength. Economically so have lumbering and woodcutting always been part of life but in the modern era so have the large cities also grown to be the economical centre of the federation with several companies being based there and one can find massive factories producing everything from small tourist traps to massive complicated warships, airplanes and tanks.
Innahafsarna
Innanhafsarna or "the islands of the inner sea" are the islands that one can find just south of the Imerian coastline. While they are barely populated so have they been the home of various naval bases over the years but they are today mostly abandoned with the exception of old fishing villages that fish eels, wyrms, lobsters, shrimp, crabs and other animals that they can sell in the capital or the southern cities.
While the shorelines are rocky and sand beaches are rare so are they not cliffs there but instead so can one see large shores with bolders and large rocks as far the eye can see while the inland of the islands are covered in thin leaf forests where the trees grow far apart and the sun shines down through the leafs above in great abundance. However in more than one place so does these forests give way for large meadows and fields like those in Söderang with bushes, wild flowers and grass. However here so can one also find large herds of Shagarths, and a lot of wild rabbucks that according to old laws and tradition are there for everyone to enjoy rather than just the owner of the land as in other places.
On average so are the islands very poor and they lack much in form of a cultural identity of their own, however so does the nature lures quite a few tourists in the summers for longer trecks or horse riding for the richer.
Isberga
Isberga, Issfell or the ice mountains is a mountain chain in the northern iceplains and it serves as the north eastern border between Isfalten and Sfartmård and large glaciers runs between the mountains in the valleys before they meets up with the glaciers of the Artic in the far north. In summer and spring so does the lower sloops on the mountain melts that floods the steppes forcing the animals in the steppes to move southwards.
The mountains themselves are the largest in Scandera and it is here one can find the tallest mountains even if the Vedian mountains cover more ground. The mountains themselves are hardly covered by any vegetation and instead so are they covered in snow and ice while the valleys themselves are in most cases covered in tundra or glaciers. The few valleys with vegetation are mostly covered in shrubberies, moss, wild flowers and grass. Mostly so does only smaller rodents, birds and foxes live there but during short times during summer so does wild Shaggarth and mammoth herds march up the sloops of the mountains to feast on spring flowers.
The mountains have not been habited in large numbers but it has a large number of shrines and holy places used to worship the spirits even before the coming of the gods and the massive painted stone carvings found on the mountain walls are one of the most important sources of pre-gods era humans and even some insight to earlier forms of spirit worship and one of the few sources of information about the western forest tribes.
Isfalten
Isfalten, Nordan isen, isifalirrt, Isslette or the northern Iceplains are names used to describe the large expanses of steppe and tundra in the north of the Vedian mountains that were the cradle of human civilisation on Scandera and from which all major Human migrations have been launched from. They lies at the foothold of the Vedian mountains and are bordered by Mörkmård and isbergen to the west.
While most of Isfalten are flat with little to no mountains but a lot of hills rising and lowering themselves so can the region be divided into two biomes, in the south so is the land a steppe with grass in abundance while it in the north is first a tundra with grass and a little moss that grows on the cold permafrost before the land finally turns into an Arctic wasteland that is frozen the entire year and where the ground is constantly covered in thick ice that never melts.
Historically so have the region always been home to humans and it is from this region that humans invaded the rest of Scandera in waves and scientists are very interested in large runestones and cave paintings form this region as it is one of the few places where one can get an insight in pre-migration history. However so does there still live nomad tribes in the cold steps in the same ways they have lived for centuries and in a way somewhat similar to the first proto-scanderans lived.
Jarnarna
Jarnarna or the iron islands, also known as "landet auf vintersol" or "the land of winter sun" is the southernmost region in Scandera and consists of a series of limestone islands just south of the southern parts of the Imerian peninsula. The islands are known for it's warm temperatures compared to rest of Scandera and it is known for the fact that it is one of the few Scanderan regions that get sunshine in the winter which have given it, it's second name.
The islands are however very flat with little to no elevation except the large steep cliffs that makes up the shorelines of the islands. Inland so are the islands covered entirely by a long impressive alvars and the main island is even named "Alvaret" from those large limestone fields that covers the islands. While there once were large lush forests inland that provided the base of Jarnarna's power and their fleet that despite it's small size was one of the most feared in Scandera for their lightning raids so are those forests long since gone and the last one was cut down in the 18th century even if they had all but vanished in the 17th which forced them to rely more and more on the mainland for imports.
In the modern era so are the islands poor and relies all but entirely on fishing, it's iron mines, it's steel forges and the larger ship manufactures in the larger cities. However despite this so does the old traditions of seaborn raiders still live true amongst those born on the islands and a very disproportionate part of the royal naval infantry consists of men from Jarnarna.
Karmanjakan pass
Karmnajaka, Drakmark or Karmark is the land of Karmänen that have through history been seen as one of the greatest warrior cultures in the Scanderan continent and the region that produced the finest dragonriders and dragons in the entire continent. Despite their fame on the field of battle so have the region always been small and poor despite sitting on the eastern trade route to the northern iceplains. Mostly because of the thick forest that laid on the other side of the pass made the road dangerous so most people preferred the eastern pass.
Despite the roads so did raiders from the iceplains often try to force their way through the pass and conflicts between Karmän and Ismän from the norhtern iceplains were common putting further strains on the already limited resources at the disposal of the people living there. The land itself rises up from the ocean in the same manners of steep cliffs that one can find on the west coast of Scandera with a few very rocky shores that is the home of various seals and seabirds while the large mountains in the east cuts the region off from the rest of the continent in the east.
The ground itself is rocky and only wildflowers and various kinds of bushes grows there making farming difficult so just as the tribes in the north so have Karmän been depending on fishing, hunting and herding to get by. Even today so is the region one of the poorest in the entire continent with little to no agriculture and industrialisation even if one can find a few textile factories amongst the larger cities.
lavlandet
lavlandet is a region in the middle of the vedian mountains and creates a large flat region that while hilly and even mountainous at places remains distinctly lower in height above the ocean than the rest of the vedian mountains. The region did however use to be the second most populated in the Vedian kingdom and only Eple Halvøyn and the regions bordering it featured a higher population both number wise and by population density.
What however separated the region from most of the mountains was the fertile land there and despite the hardships involved so were agriculture a large factor in the local economy but even sheep, shagrath and myskox herding was important for the local population.
The land of the region is extremely hilly and there is little to no forests in the region but instead so can one only find large plains and golden fields amongst the hills and cliffs of the region. However here and there can one find patches of leaf forests just as it is quite common to find lonely oak trees shattered around the region. The region is also the home of the rather unique lavlands rose that is known for it's blue colour which is a rather unique colour for rose which have given the region it's heraldry which is a blue rose on a grey background.
Länsisola
Länsisola, vasterpas, Södir lida or the western pass (Erathian, Imerian, Karmanjakan and English respectively though the Karmnajkan phrase means the southern pass rather than the western pass) is a region in northern Erathia or Eteisrannikko that borders with Karmanjaka in the north, southern Eteisrannikko in the south, the Vedian mountains in the east and utanhafet in the west. Historically so have the region served as a border with Karmanjaka and the tribal people living in the northern iceplains and it was called the northern marches as a result in the historical days the Erathian city states.
When the Karmanjakans invaded Eteisrannikko both for raiding and large scale incursions so was this the natural fighting ground and during the civil war so did several large scale battles take place here and the norhtern half was occupied by Karmanjaka that had remained loyal to the crown and the federation. The region have however always been a poor one and when the east coast of Ereisrannikko was known for it's large independent city states so were the east backwards and primitive and for a relative long time did the people of Länisola live as simple tibesmen and even today can one find people that still follows the old ways and lives in a tribal society.
Just as most of the western coast in Scandera so is the coast known for it's steep cliffs that at the largest spot offers a seventy meter drop. The inland is however known for it's large plains of grass where large herds were normally pushed ahead of the small tribes and villages of people that lived in the region.
Sfartmård
Sfartmård or blackwood is a dark cold place north of the Vedian mountains. It is said that the place is cursed and it is home to countless dangerous animals, the living dead and evil spirits. This means that the region that once were the home of the mighty forest tribes that have all vanished leaving only the Erathians as their legacy are now empty of people and the few men that have tried to live there have faced quick and brutal ends or just vanished if they were not corrupted by it's influence.
The land itself is cold and covered in thick old leaf forest with dark leaves and with boggy and wet ground between them that ends first at the steep cliffs of the western coast while it in the east thins out before turning into the large steppe of the northern Iceplains. Just as in the east so does the forest also thin out in first a forested thundra and then finally a pure cold thundra with little to no trace of the forest that grows south of it.
The land itself have a history to be cursed, it was from here the steppe tribes raided the southland and legends tells of a old race of men called the forest tribes that once lived there but what happened to them is not known. People have been trying to colonise it several times ranging from Vedians and then karmän that tried to defend the western pass from raids and then finally Imerian nobles before people started to explore the world around Scandera. Expeditions to the north ended when the dark lord Erik auf sfartmård rised a large undead army in the 12th century and marched south to attack the land of the living and claim it as his own but he were in the end defeated by a large alliance of southern kings and lords from all the realms.
Sundet
Sundet is a region of great economical importance in Scandera as all trade reaching Central Scandera by ship needs to pass through it and have almost been controlled by the Stjärnkhrone family and served as a source of wealth for them since the earliest days of human habitation of the lands south of the Vedian mountains. Thanks to the taxation of trade through Sundet to Innanhafet so have the Stjänkhrone family grown rich and powerful.
The region itself consists of shallow waters with the exception of the man made "Mellan kannalen" which is a large trench through utanhafet into innanhafet which allows even the largest ships to pass through without complications. One can also find several islands of various sizes and while there are big ones so are most of those islands of a smaller size. The region is also very rocky and large cliffs can be noticed competing with bushes, wildflowers, bushes and grass for space on the small islands that dots the landscape.
Military is the region also of great importance as it is the home of several fortifications ranging from old Trelleborgar built in the days of the river kingdom to large fortresses built in Eröfringstiden and modern bunkers and coastal batteries built by the modern crown. This have not only the benefit of defending the region from enemy attacks but also protects the important central land in Scandera.
Despite the rising cliffs so is the region still relatively flat and with the exception of the main islands that has mountains reaching heights of 5321 meters so can one not notice any area rising above two kilometres above sea levels.
Sydvedian
Crammed in between the high mountains of the vedian mountain chain and the lush green lands of the river lands so can one find syndvedian. A land of large hills where the forest gradually gives way and one can find large patches of grass, wild flowers and shruberies between the looser and looser cluster of trees that grows over the rolling landscape where steeper and steeper hills starts to penetrate the landscape.
Historically so have the land been the frontier between Vedian and Imeriata and a lot of the wars between the two states were fought in the hilly lands of Sydvedian and the land changed hands several times before the region was annexed finally into Imeriata when the two nations entered a personal union. Historically however so were the region populated by Vedians but cultural assimilation and Imerian colonialism meant that the scares population living there today is mostly Imerian and the good old tongue is spoken as the mother tongue in most of the region.
Due to the hilly terrain so have the region not seen much in the way of agriculture and instead so have the families there lived as shepherders and have produced good cavalrymen and even today is the tradition of mounted combat strong amongst the small shattered villages living there.
Söderang
Söderang or Söderanga is the Imerian name for the region around Söderberga in the southern parts of the Imerian peninsula and it is translated roughly to "the southern fields" or "the southern meadows". In Scandera so is it known for it's warm summers and mild winters as well as being a very fertile land where a lot of Scanderan agriculture is located. It is also the home of large herds of cattle, sheep, goats and shagraths that are herded and kept for their fur and meat.
Contrary to the large mountains that rises up in the centre of the peninsula so is söderang almost entirely flat and while one can find hills so are they few and far between. However so are there still a lot of so called barrows or grave hills from the days of the free ponies and haflings before the comming of the holy chronically and the modern cremation traditions.
Despite it's peaceful nature so have however Söderang been the home of several conflicts as it was for a long time split between Suderland and Imeriata proper and the smaller regional power often did battle with it's larger neighbour over the region. As recent as in the 200 years war so did Suderland fight for the Erathians which forced the Imerians to put severe efforts into putting down their attacks. While the front died down quickly and allowed the Imerians to engage the Erathians with their full power which left the westerners all alone so did it serve as a very bloody battlefield between large formations of pikemen in the beginning stages of the war.
Söderberga
The large mountain chain one can find in the middle of Söderang is where forests takes over the rolling hills and fields as tall mountains rises up into the skies and breaks the otherwise flat countryside and have historically been the home of bandits, rebels and savage tribe peoples. The name is just as söderang is translated to the southern fields so is söderberga translated to "the southern mountains" which comes from it's position as the most southern of the three Skanderan mountain chains.
Even after the defeat of the ponies and haflings that lived in the south by the exalted march so did the remaining pegasus kings flee up here and continued their fight from there and it took almost a century before they were entirely defeated.
While the region have historically been the home of barbaric tribes so have they not lacked in their own agriculture as the tribes living there grew large apple orchards in the valleys where the stony ground made it hard to grow crops just as were done on the Vedian mountains which grave rise to a great tradition of billhookmen from both mountain chains, Unrelated to their orchards so have they also produced high quality skii soldiers. More so did they often build houses up on the top of the mountains above the tree line where they took their herds of cattle, shaggaths, sheep and goats to graze in summer before they took them into their houses as normal people during winter.
The mountains does however serve a very important function as they produces a lot of the water used in Söderang that each spring pours down in large rivers or gathers in the large underground water collections from where the people in the fields gathers their drinking water.
VasterArna
Vasterarna, Vaistirarna, Vaisteröa and länsisari are a small group of islands in the northern parts of the continent to the west of sfartmård and isfalten. The islands are scarcely populated by humans even if a few people can be found here. Most of the population is ismän by origin and traces their linage to Seatraveling tribes in the northern iceplains that settled here. However contrary to the people that settled on Jarnarna in the south so did the few men living in Vasterarna rise to fame as raiders as the hostile cliffs of the west coast of Scandera proved little opportunity to do so and for most of their life did the islands swear fealty to Karmanjaka and their dragonlords but during the unification of Scandera were the islands handed over to the northern iceplains under direct control of the high kings.
The islands coast is rocky and often covered with grass and shrubberies with large shores covered by rocky shores. However would one travel further inland so will the rocks give way to dark forests like those found in Sfartmård and several animals living in those cursed forests of the mainland can also be found on the islands even if they often suffers from island dwarfism.
Vedian mountains
Vedianfjelle, Vedianska bergen, Visi vuori, Vedian Berrigen are a few names that is used by the large mountain chain that stretches from coast to coast and seperates the northern iceplains from the southern realms. The mountains are also highly important for the lands bellow them as most of the Rivers in the Riverlands or Flodmarkerna as they are known as in the good old tongue originates in the Vedian mountains.
While it is hard to grow things in the stony mountains so are they still covered in thick lush forests and the Vedians living amongst them have taken too growing large apple orchards amongst the valleys of the mountain chain and keep large herds of animals on the mountains above the tree line. However the main resource of the mountains have historically been the coal and iron mines that have covers most of the mountains and large amounts of steel is made in these regions for export as well as for their own use.
One can also find a lot of historical fortifications in the region ranging from renaissance star fortresses and all the way back to medieval castles and even the remains of old ring fortress and hillforts from the old days before the Imerian migration designed to fend off Wharen attacks.
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