The world of Kaelara consists of a single continent surrounded on both sides by vast oceans. The continent is habitable around its edges, but a vast desert has been slowly spreading from its center for a long time. The land is divided into three portions: two poles and the central continent.
Names
The great desert at the heart of the continent is known by many names. In ancient tongues it was called Aru’eth Khal, “the land that remembers rain,” a title that survives mostly in old songs and temple records. Most people today simply call it the Wastes or the Sands, depending on where they were raised and how much fear or reverence they hold for it.
The frozen north carries both scholarly and regional names as well. Among the oldest surviving terms is Tirin’var Khal, meaning “the land that holds the sky,” a poetic reference to the endless pale horizon and towering curtains of light that sometimes fill the heavens there. In modern speech, however, it is more commonly known as High Averyn. The southern pole bears a darker reputation. Ancient peoples called it Sura’esh Khal, “the land where water flees,” reflecting its lowlands. Most modern maps instead label it Low Tharim.
The oceans surrounding the continent are collectively referred to by scholars as the Circumthal Sea, though sailors and coastal peoples rarely use the formal term. The eastern waters are called Tirin’ul Thal in the old language, “the sea that greets the sky,” but are more commonly known as the Dawn Sea because of the brilliant sunrises across its waters. To the west lies Tirin’qa Thal, “the sea that darkens the sky,” whose storms and black depths earned it the modern name of the Drowned Sea.
Though grouped together by scholars as the Desert Lakes, each of the great inland lakes carries its own history and title. Bjeder was once called Sura’eth whey Lir, “the lake that only remembers water,” a name tied to stories that it was far larger in ancient ages. Akush bears the old name Tirin’var Lir, “the lake that holds the sky,” reflecting its still, mirror-like waters. Silazi is known in ancient speech as Sura’ush Lir, “the lake where water rises,” named for the strange springs and seasonal flooding that feed it from beneath the desert floor.
Climate
Once, long ago, Kaelara was a volatile but caring world. For most of recorded memory, it operated on what scholars now call “the Long Pulse”. This was a cycle of approximately 10 years of drought followed by 1 or 2 years of near-continuous rain. The Wastes were covered in vast grasslands, with seasonal rivers that flooded catastrophically during the rainy years, and mountain icecaps at both poles. Back then, people built their lives around the rainy years, herding cultures and migration routes evolved to survive the dry decade and were built on the sound knowledge that the rain would eventually return.
That certainty is gone. It has been nearly a century since the last rain-year. The grasslands that supported millions of people in the central continent degraded into sand dunes. The mountain ice melted and drained with no replacement to flow into the Wastes. All that remains are the oceans, the Desert Lakes, and an unstable rotation of oases in the Wastes.
The Wastes
While those oldest of elders may still recall a time in which the Wastes were instead called Tharavael, the “wide middle”, its name died out with the seasons. Now, it is a great expanse that is as deadly as its inhabitants. Day winds strip moisture from the skin and leave you superheated, and cold fronts blow in once the sun is set and freeze the unprepared. While archosaurs and dinosaurs can survive on the dunes, mammalian mounts struggle to manage the unpredictable weather. But the Wastes are not unlivable.
Sporadic oases pop up from groundwater pockets that migrate under shifting dunes. They can last for months if lucky, but more often they only see the sky for days before drying out or being buried. Maps of wellsprings are impossible to keep current, and control of any oasis barely lasts long enough to build a capital building. Nonetheless, many outlaw wars have been fought over water that vanishes before the dead are buried. This makes the skill of Water Divining a vital, almost mystical profession that allows posses to locate the nearest oasis where they can make camp.
The Poles
The poles are still cool, but they are no longer cold. As the desert slowly spreads away from the equator, resources that had been found in surplus are slowly depleting. And with no snow or rainfall to keep the poles moist, it has placed a ticking clock on the shelf of each kingdom in High Averyn and Low Therim. Averon pushes out toward the south, eager to secure any extra resource before it is lost forever, while Haenryeong expands into its neighbors to ensure it will be the last man standing when the desert inevitably reaches them.
The Caravan System
Given the vastness of the Circumthal Sea, the only way nations have to send tithings, marriages, and alliance goods is down the coast or through the desert. Most nations cannot afford to send their goods along the coast, as they have to pass through enemy territory in order to make it to allies. The Wastes, for all its danger, is at least politically neutral ground (or as close as one can get). So, the main system of trade consists of wandering caravans passing through the dunes.
For the duration of a caravan’s journey, it exists outside national law and within something called Caravan Law. This is an unwritten code agreed upon by most Outlaws that decrees the following:
1. Caravans may be robbed, but total slaughter invites just retribution.
2. Water can be taken, but must be shared with survivors.
3. Caravan-kin, including guides, diviners, and healers, are protected roles and their slaughter invites just retribution.
Outlaw posses that break these rules do not last. The only exception are the Tengerai, who will often leave no survivors, regardless of status or heritage.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
In Kaelara, diplomacy tends to be best summarized with a single rule: curse thy neighbor. Your neighbors want your water, your resources, your trade routes. This creates a general diplomatic climate in which the only allies a nation seeks are those too far to directly occupy you.
Averon
Averon holds the most land, that of the northern pole, and keeps good relationships with all nations except the Orvali and Thara, with whom they have had long-lasting wars.
Haenryeong
The Empire is exactly as it sounds, and only keeps alliances with Averon, though it is friendly toward Ka’ani Vaeka, Thara, and Orval.
Ka'ani Vaeka
Occupying the western seaboard, the Ka’ani Vaeka keeps friendly relationships with both Haenryeong and Averon, as well as with Kharassa, Thara, and Surythara. They are actively fighting Namkhar, Minressa, and Orvali.
Kharassa
Kharassa is a trading nation that does not keep alliances with anyone. All are welcome within their walls, so long as your pocket can pay tax to pass goods through.
Minressa
Minressa has only one enemy: the Haenryeong. They always have an eye on the Ka’ani Vaeka, and are close allies of Averon and Surythara, but aside from that, they keep to themselves.
Namkhar
Namkhar is at active war with technically both Ka’ani Vaeka and Haenryeong, but they barely keep up a front for the former. They hold alliances with Averon and Surythara, and are friendly to all others.
Orval
The Orval are also at war with Averon, though they are also being attacked by Ka’ani Vaeka. They keep close relations with Thara and Haenryeong, and are friendly with all other nations.
Surythara
On the southeastern seaboard, Surythara has long since been feuding, though not outright fighting with Thara (to their north). More recently, they have been losing ground to Haenryeong, which has necessitated alliances with the rest of the nations.
Thara
Likewise, Thara has not attempted any attacks on their neighbor to the south, though they have been at war with Averon for a long time. They keep a friendly rivalry with Ka’ani Vaeka, and are close allies of the Orvali.
Languages
Language in Kaelara is deeply tied to culture. While trade and travel has forced a degree of linguistic flexibility, speech is still one of the clearest markers of where someone comes from. Each major culture possesses its own spoken language, but all Kaelari languages share a common written script. This unified script predates the drought and is one of the few remnants of a time where the continent was more unified. As a result, literacy often travels farther than fluency; it is common for people to read comfortably in languages they cannot speak.
Some languages exist on a dialect continuum. Most notably, Hallowick and Morrada dialects are mutually intelligible, sharing roots and vocabulary from a recent ancestor, and Saffir and Kharet are similar enough that speakers of one can understand the other, though nuance is harder to pick up on. Elsewhere, comprehension drops off more sharply.
Bilingualism and trilingualism are common, especially among outlaws and caravan-kin. Life in the desert demands communication across cultures, and those who cannot adapt linguistically rarely survive long. An informal cant exists in the Wastes, called Dustmark, that consists of borrowed phrases and hand-signs taken from different Outlaw languages. Dustmark is rarely taught outright, but anyone fluent in an Outlaw language can usually grasp its meaning with little effort. In contrast, more insular settled regions, particularly at the poles, tend to produce monolingual speakers with second languages only learned for trade or diplomacy. Among most settled cultures, this lingua franca is usually Averic Highspeech.
For player characters, language proficiency is determined by class rather than background or race. A character’s upbringing defines what languages they begin play knowing. Additional languages can be learned in play at the GM’s discretion.
| Language |
Primary Speakers |
| Averic Highspeech (commonly shortened to Averish) | Averon, Traders |
| Calderan | Hallowick, Morrada |
| Chanru | Chantara |
| Dustmark | Outlaws |
| Kailuun | Vaekalakai |
| Káresh | Nokáru |
| Kharet | Kharassa |
| Khörun | Tengerai |
| Lhakí | Lhakar |
| Minyr | Minyra |
| Orvalk | Orvali |
| Saffir | Saffekh |
| Seorai | Seorin |
| Velacín | Ravelo |
| Wayraqi | Sumaq |
| Zanathi | Zan'thara |
