Populations and Trade

This is not a story. This is, most likely, Math. If you're interested in the nitty-gritty details of building cities, then by all means, keep reading! If, however, you are only here to read stories and look and cool maps, you might want to give this a skip. Don't say I didn't warn you!

The Adventurer, Conqueror, King System has very straight-forward rules about empires, kingdoms, all the way down to itty-bitty villages. That said, it can get quite complicated quite quickly; I'm not entirely sure how someone could create an entire world with fully-populated urban areas without that being their full-time job. That said, I took some shortcuts. Short-ish, anyway.

The Great Wall of Mareten

The Mareten Wall is a staggering feat of engineering. During the Second Age, the Seer-King Brennus Aedan began it as his life's work - his life, and the lives of his children. From the First Age, the mountains reached past Wallace to the edge of the forest itself, where they continued as a long ridge of craggy foothills, through Annhoradwy Woods, all the way to the mountains in the south, against the sea. Under the direction of King Brennus, countless laborers carved stone from the mountains and moved it to fill gaps in the hills. At its conclusion, the wall was 25 feet tall and 100 feet thick, made of solid stone carved from the mountains. Earth was dug away to lay the stones on bedrock, and each stone was crafted to fit seamlessly against the others. Though the first wall was completed in his lifetime, King Brennus knew it would not be enough to stop the coming cataclysm. On his deathbed, he begged his children to strengthen the wall.

The Seven Towers

Near the beginning of the world, during the Age of Elves, seven towers were built, pinnacles of magic. They were set at important locations: The White Tower, of the north-west; the Air Tower, of the north-east; Meindwr, or the Spire, of the center; the Mareten Tower, of the east; the Wild Tower (Pointless Tower) of the south-east; the Earth's Finger (Toprac Igne), of the south-west; and the Jungle Tower, of the west.

Language and Religion

The religions of Mor-Thir vary about a theme: a benevolent god, a trickster, and a serpentine god of chaos. Most Men of Mareten worship Alehim, and none other, though some men do follow the gods of other cultures. The men of the southern deserts worship Kai-ra, the sky god; Aladeen, a cunning opportunist; or Erklik, evil god of the underworld. The Northern Tribe worship the gods of Beasts. Dwarves serve Thor, god of thunder and earth; Loki, god of tricks; or Jormungan, the evil snake, destined to eat Thor. The gnomes and the descendants of the True Elves serve Danu, mother of gods; Manannán, god of boats and pranks; or Balor, a suspiciously serpentine one-legged, one-eyed giant whose gaze destroys all life. The Fae and their ilk serve (rarely) Lleu, uplifted king; Gwydion, trickster and prankster; or Ysbaddaden, a terrible serpent. The beasts and other tribal creatures worship the Bear, kind yet strong; Coyote, spirited trickster; or Serpent, the two-tongued creature that smells of death. The creatures of chaos serve a number of demons and dark gods, too many to list here, and there exist numerous minor gods and goddesses, worshiped or served by various peoples.

The Ages of Mor-Thir

Long ago, remembered only as a distant myth, was the First Age, the Age of Elves. The ageless, beautiful elves kept the peace through magic and wisdom, ruling with benevolence and grace. Nature flourished; it was a time of tranquility, a well-tended garden with little turmoil or trouble. The first Men that landed on the shores of Mor-Thir were treated with kindness and hospitality; they too flourished under the watchful eyes of the True Elves. But as the men explored and built, the elves intermingled with Men, or withdrew to their ancient halls; eventually, there were no True Elves to be found. The end of the first age came with a shaky sigh, the last breaths of an old man. The age of Elves was ended.

How Mor-Thir Was Formed

At the beginning of the world, before time, the continent of Mor-Thir was born of ice and fire. On it lived a great snake, an evil, chaotic being. It saw that Mor-Thir was barren and desolate, and smiled. It twisted in the dust as it prowled the land, god of its domain. However, the great god Alehim was saddened by the desolation, and spoke with the wyrm: "I will give you soft moss upon which to tread, and gentle birds to sing you to sleep."

Cities of Mareten and Beyond

Mareten is home to nearly 6 million people; within its walls are men, dwarves, gnomes, decedents of the True Elves, even lizardmen and other strange creatures. The list that follows is a list of every city in Mareten and beyond; the number in parenthesis are the coordinates of the city, either on the map of Mareten, or the map of Mor-Thir. Populations are by family; for a rough headcount, multiply the number by 5, give or take. Market class determines what spells are available, and how much of various goods - lower is better.

Mareten

The nation of Mareten is the oldest surviving nation, apart from the Dwarves; even the Dwarven cities were hard-pressed during the Age of the Beastmen. But how best to explain this ancient nation? A map, of course!

Calendars and Time

Time is a difficult thing to keep track of. Oh, sure, you can say that every time a party stops to rest, it's night time, and it takes a week to travel a hex, but does anyone actually keep track of those dates and times? I sure don't. In my Savage Worlds campaign, it's set in space, so I don't have to worry about any of that. I just make something up - "Oh, it's been about a week. Sure, that sounds right."

Making Mor-Tir

The continent of Mor-Tir is home to humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, lizardmen, and various other creatures both pleasant and foul; I have a lovely map of the area, but it didn't start in nearly such a beautiful way.

Introduction

Welcome to the land of Mareten, set in a custom world created by yours truly, using guidelines set up in the Adventurer, Conqueror, King System (aka ACKS). But before I introduce you to this wondrous land I've created, I would like to introduce myself!