Anduras

Anduras

From the notes of <John Porter>, Gorotan trader and explorer. (which city? tribe?)

... My travels took me down the Fruit Coast starting out of Ilsdar. We stopped at Rankaga, one of the five grand ports of the Fruit Coast, and the one closet to Telneponne. It took me nearly a year to buy the right friends and propose the right deals but I finally obtained an invitation to the Wizards' Tower on that Sheltered Isle. Mostly I was there for the, oh, let's just say, "sancta furta", but I had many long and detailed discussions on the places and history of the Anduran continent. I will share some of that here.

I started my Anduran adventures in Ilsdar so I will start there, work my way down the Fruit Coast and to Telneponne before talking about the Kartei further south. Less well known to the people of the Vanduneez are the eastern shores of Anduras. I will cover these at the last, including that far empire of Talmeran.

Ilsdar:

Ilsdar is a large island off the west coast of the Anduran continent to the north. Ilsdar is the most diverse of the trading posts in Anduras. It takes its name from a <bad translation of?> a lost tribe from Kaludor from before the forgetting. At least three Gorotan houses or consortiums have a strong presence in Ilsdar as do the Dara. Every port along the Anduran Fruit COast is also represented as well as the West Kartei. There are also what might be an indigeneous people though they are far less interested in trade and tend to live on the northern and eastern parts of the island. These folks have long historical connections with light and dark <fey> from the northern mainland. Recently, refugees from the Talmeran area have been showing up in larger numbers due to social, religious and climate issues in Talmeran and its sphere of influence. And, lastly, a trading and pirating race of lizardmen called the Kaban, from somewhere east, have also been increasingly common. Their largest members are fearsome looking, something like the Boboru, but most are much smaller than a man, The things they can do on water suggest strong enchantments of water and air. They mostly deal in common trade but the Kartei contingent refer to them as pirates and blockade runners.

The five ports of the Fruit Coast:

While they are commonly referred to as "the five" there is no set numbers when folks get talking about the details, maybe only three or four qualify as important ports, but maybe as many as seven or eight.

Everyone agrees on the big three: Keltdraga in the north near to Ilsdat, Rankaga more southerly near to Telnepomme and Thormgama in the middle of these two. Borgama, Heltkaga and Talgara are also commonly mentioned, and some smaller ports that gain attention are Kareal, Badkittial and Rankaga.

Telneponne:

West Kartei:

original (under construction)

In the First Era Anduras is primarily populated by three human cultures, the most advanced of which are the Talmeran, who inhabit the Talmeran Peninsula in the far northeast of the continent and the western shore of the Talmeran Sea. At the time of the Forgetting this region is relatively lush and green, but over the first one thousand years of the First Era the climate begins to dry and become cooler, killing off most vegetation and leading to desertification while crippling the Talmeran Kingdom.

The Kartâ people are another advanced civilization at the start of the F.E., noted for their sailing, trading and exploration. The Kartâ live on the southern end of the continent below the Andurin Belt mountain chain, a region soaked by rains nearly year round. The Kartâ Kingdoms that form in the First Era remain mostly regional powers but do make contact with peoples from the world in their explorations.

The third indigenous humans on Anduras are the Andurin people, who were given this name by the Lûxuns based upon fragments of (admittedly inaccurate) charts when the continent was rediscovered by Lûxun sailers after the Forgetting. There was never a united Andurin people, but both the Telnepon and Ilsdar nations are populated by those called Andurin. Interestingly, Ilsdar is actually ruled by a Gorôtan family of the same name.

The formation and migration of a collection of peoples known as Nîdronderians, which literally means the “Followers of Nîdron”, is one of the major events of the First Era on Anduras. The Nîdronerians are not a single people, but are rather made up of dwarves, half-dwarves and gray-skinned humans. Nîdron is a powerful figure of enigmatic origin, but he manages to bring these peoples under his banner and lead them from the small Northeastern Mountains to the Anderac Mountains on the west coast, and founding what is known as the First Kingdom circa 265 F.E. The Dwarven clans then migrated northerly through the mountains to found the Second and Third Kingdoms by 1500 F.E. The human and half-dwarven Nîdronderians gradually spread east and by the end of the First Era have reached as far as the Talmeran Sea.

The far north of Anduras is untamed wilderness that is populated by dangerous beasts and unruly, primitive peoples. Few inroads are made into these territories during the First Era.

Also deserving of notice is the island of Kubon which comes to be the home to lizard-like humanoids soon after the Forgetting. The Kubanxê are known to be incredible sailors and work as pirates and blockade runners throughtout the waters around Anduras. Despite not having the largest compliment of ships they are a maritime power to be reckoned with throughout the Eras of Stability.