Golden Basin

The Golden Basin is an area bordered by the Mistrals and the Petrov Rift, about fifty thousand square kilometers large. It, and the immediate surrounding give home to the only known civilization within the Mantle.

= Civilizations of the Golden Basin = The Basin’s population is lower than one would expect, partly because of the inhospitable and mostly deserted plains in the middle, and partly because the sustenance of the population and the standard of living can be kept high with the help of embers and pre-existing constructions, without civilization having to take its natural course.

There are four highly organized factions present in the Basin: the Duchy of Sterling, the Free City of Sahask, the United Holds of Vyrtan, and the Monastery of Ismar. Along with them live a loose alliance of marauders, and countless villages and hamlets that are not strongly aligned either way.

The Duchy of Sterling
The oldest current standing civilization in the Basin, Sterling controls the most fertile lands available, and has been considered the strongest faction up until their defeat against Sahask.

The Free City of Sahask
Sahask is a city formerly under the jurisdiction of Sterling. After a series of incidents, including multiple cases of failed and successful assassinations, sabotage, and dissent, a revolt lead to the Sixty Day War. With the help of mercenaries from the marauders, Sahask successfully declared its independence.

United Holds of Vyrtan
The main city of Vyrtan is based on the coldside, mostly expanded upon the ruins of The Observatory.

Monastery of Ismar
The most secluded of all civilizations, Ismar is located just outside the Basin, across the Petrov Rift. It was founded by people certain that they could gain the attention of Aleph, trying to master the secrets of Embers ever since.

The Marauders
The Marauders is a loose group of different collectives. They are mostly Outsiders who arrived without a marketable skill and chose adventure and occasional pillaging as their way of life, instead of tending to fields.

Landmarks
There are several places aside from the cities that deserve a mention:

Lothar’s Tower
An old guardtower and military camp, now an inn and a minor settlement, on the road leading from Sterling to Vyrtan, right at the edge of the woods. While it does pay protection money to the marauders, it's a fiercely independent settlement, which protects, houses, and feeds travelers in this important junction.

Amer
A fresh settlement, the first to be focused on an Anchorpost. Its people inhabit some old ruins, and study the workings of the outside connection in hopes of escaping one day. They sell their knowledge to Ismar, who looks down upon their savage ways, but appreciates their work, unhindered by laws or traditions.

Lost City of the Zodiac Readers
The home of a fourth era civilization, wiped out by drought or famine. There is evidence that shows that they were the first to discover the Cold Sun, but they never got as far as artifact creation. Now a marauder camp is right outside, but the city itself is superstitiously avoided. It is, however, the best defensible position around, and said to be the final stand of the marauders, should they ever come under attack.

Havaat
A halfway point to Ismar, heavily protected. They say it’s the point you have to reach to make it there as an escaping Sterling peasant. Its purpose is to welcome and help anyone willing to visit or join the community.

Sterling’s old wall
A holdover from a time where the settlement was new and paranoia was rampant, it’s now a mostly disused series of structures, and mostly wooden and earthen segments of overgrown walls. Some structures have been brought back from mothballing to guard the border segments against Sahask and the marauders.

The Swallow’s Teeth
A defensive line by Sterling to keep marauders out and emigration in check, as well as to claim new territory. Ongoing project. Resting place towards the Tower.

The Counterpoise
The convoluted magical device opens a hole in the dangerous wall of the Rift before Ismar. Also a resting place, guardpost, and marks the beginning of the Monastery’s lands.

Artifact Trading Post
The deepest many people are allowed to get into Vyrtan’s hair is this point. Here they can sell rare antiques at a reduced price, or, if welcome, can try their luck in the city. Recently it also has been a hub for Sahask trade as well, though prices are hiked due to the long and marauder-taxed route.

The Forlorn Sea
A dried up and cracked up, dead seabed east of Vyrtan, north of Havaat. Almost completely lifeless after the water spilled in the cataclysmic event. Some of its wide and meandering rivers extend through Marauder territory, and its salty flats are the source of the desolation to the south.

Platinum Mines (The Ditch)
Mines in the western, mountainous areas of Sterling, the source of the building materials for walls and houses. Despite the name, ores are only found in trace amounts here.

Language
Almost everyone in the known civilized lands speaks some dialect of Aurelian, in addition to the occasional imported tongues. Aurelian is a lingua franca that has been with easy pronunciation in mind, but changed over time, with many different variants spread across the Basin.

= Natural properties =

Climate
The Golden Basin has a pleasant, constant climate, balanced by the constant light of the Core with temperatures ranging from 16 to 24 °C. The Mistrals are somewhat colder, surrounding the temperate forests of Sterling. Sahask's vicinity is much more wet and marsh-like, while to the east salty residue creates a more barren wasteland, home of the Marauders. Further east, past the interference of the Rift Ismar lies in the midst of rocky, inhospitable terrain. Vyrtan to the north is somewhat colder, in a forest area acclimated to this.

Flora and fauna
The Basin's flora is not much unlike Earth's, on the inner side, even though it's not a complete carbon copy. Fauna is somewhat different, with either smaller animals capable of living off a single shard, or larger ones capable of traversing one. Leapers are the most common prey animal, able to hop across the more narrow steam-rivers. Predators include the now mostly extinct Dragons, huge flighted animals able to drag off just about anything they see, and the completely extinct Vaulting Cat, able to teleport short distances to ambush its prey. 'Smaller' birds of prey, still capable of dragging a child off, are still reasonably common. Domesticated animals are an exception, as they traded their ability to travel for better yields of meat, fur, and milk.