The climate is normally temperate, but the Age of Winter continues to grip the northern half of the island and there the climate is tundra to arctic. A particularly warm ocean current comes very close to shore in the mid-eastern section of the southern coast bringing a tropical climate to the land nearest the shore and several miles inland. The same current wraps around the island and keeps the ocean free of Ice near the northern tip of the subcontinent.
Alannis is very mountainous. There is one primary mountain chain, known as the Stone Bones, that traverses the central portion of the island, but ranges of hills or isolated peaks are common throughout. The four main ranges of the Stone Bones: the Sailor Peaks along the southern coast, the Condessas, the Godstooth Mountains and the Startouchers to the north. The Age of Winter continues to hold its grip on even the southernmost sections of the Stone Bones at elevations above 7000 feet.
The recent re-burgeoning of nature in Alannis has brought back many of the old forests and woods. The climate of Alannis is well suited to the growth of many different kinds of trees and both deciduous and coniferous species are common throughout the island.
Once a region of non-confederated city-states and unincorporated villages and settlements, most of the cities, towns and villages within a few weeks travel of the Ring have come under the domain of Ringston, some by choice but others less so. There are conflicting reports from this region, but it is known that the walled city of Thessamin was laid under siege by Ringston forces and forcibly brought into the domain by conquest. It is also known that some lands belonging to non-humans have been seized and many hundreds of non-humans have left the region. There are other reports of a new cult, calling itself "The Land", that is gaining influence in Ringston and in the area.
The most common form of settlement in this region is the village. There are quite a few towns and several cities, led by Ringston, which has become one of the larger cities on Alannis.
The region is populated by several races, but is primarily Human and those races that get along well with Humans. There are Wastern races here but not in great number and they are not a common threat.
The High Plains are sparsely populated. Water is important in this region, and most of the settlements and towns can be found near the rivers or springs. Winter comes fiercely here, not the Age of Winter but the regular winter season, bringing drifting snows and piercing winds.
The most common form of settlement is the isolated homestead containing one or two families. Villages are scattered, rarely within a day's travel of each other, and there are several towns and a handful of small cities.
Many races live on the High Plains, often nomadic and tribal, and not all of them get along, either with each other or with the more settled areas. The Wastern races are very common here and pose a constant threat.
Sometimes the wind uncovers bare stone and other times it uncovers patches of fertile soil. There is vegetation and animal-life in the desert, but it is infrequent and tends towards the type of life that can subsist with no water.
There are a surprisingly large number of people living in Abbolah, of several different races. But there is only one significant settlement, the famed Domed City of Faswah, a large city with a permanent water supply from a giant natural spring. There are several oases in the desert, which allows the Great East-West Road to pass the desert without desiccating its travelers, but the oases tend to host only small villages. Most of the inhabitants of the region are nomadic, following the game animals and vegetation as the wind blows.
Flora and fauna are both abundant here, though less so near the numerous cities. Much of the land in this region has been civilized, at least to some extent, and the more exotic wild beasts and creatures are uncommon here. Wild lands remain but they tend to be scattered and are easily avoided.
There are dozens of villages in the Heartsland, many towns, and seven main cities. Chief among the cities is Pendor but only in population, there is no hierarchy, each city is independent and in a land and time of such plenty, there is little to cause strife amongst them.
There is a smaller number of races here than in some of the other regions. The most common race is Human, but there are also large populations of Nearmen, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, and especially Halflings. The border areas of Heartsland are prone to incursions from Orcs and the like from the mountains, Toads and other bog creatures from the swamp, and several different races from Cintadja including feral humans, but for the most part, the Wastern races are generally not found in this region, and when an incursion occurs, it is fiercely repelled.
The Swamp formed when the Archon removed the mountain Polespar Peak. When the sea rushed in to fill the emptiness, a giant tidal wave swept inland for over 100 miles. When it swept out it took much of the land with it and where it had been, a new geology remained. The Ollawanda River delta moved fifty miles inland and now mud-choked, spread out over a large area of land. The resulting Swamp was not affected by the Ice and soon was filled with creatures and peoples that can live in the Swamp but cannot live in Winter.
There are several races in the Swamp but most are Wastern, such as the Toads that dominate some if the eastern areas and the Lizardfolk along the coast. The lone exceptions are the Diamondback Lizardmen, Wastern in origin but known throughout Alannis as honorable and noble. Their great city, Chaldee, has always been filled with populations of non-Lizardmen and many more were welcomed when Winter came and other places became uninhabitable.
There is no road access to Chaldee. Those who wish to travel there must either come by sea or take one of the many pole barges that travel the Ollawanda River from Pendor.
One of the prominent features of the Swamp is White Plume Mountain, so named for the wisp of steam that always emanates from its summit. Lizardmen who have journeyed there report the presence of a gargantuan undead crab.
Like the Swamp, there are no civilized settlements in Cintadja. There are rumored to be numerous Wastern peoples here though, and several tribes of feral humans.
Occasionally, colossal creatures come out of Cintadja. Some kind of reptiles, they weigh many tons, doing great damage to crops or livestock and occasionally to villages before they can be overcome.
Before the Time of the Dead, the Mainlands hosted many ancient Elven civilizations. All were driven onto Alannis. And most chose to settle in the Deepwood due to its remaining virgin stands and the relative isolation from the centers of. Humanity. Wood Elf, Gray Elf, High Elf and the rest all together in one area forming a loose confederation and working their magics to protect the wood from Winter, and try to restore their surroundings to something approaching the beauty of their former lands
As Winter deepened and the Ice began marching, other forest denizens found their way into Deepwood as well, some fey, some benevolent, some maleficent but all fleeing the onset of Ice. The Elven magics were strong enough to keep out Winter but not to keep out some of the less desirable forest creatures, and the Elves themselves too few to effectively patrol.
Today the region remains a dense forest, dark and full of danger as well as beauty. There are few Humans in the region, but many Elves and three large Elven cities. Other races can occasionally be found as well but usually at the invitation of the Elves and none of the other civilized races have made settlements in the forest.
The summers here are hot and the winters cool but rarely cold. The climate is humid and many different varieties of plant and animal are found here. But the soil is too alkaline for many food crops and the region's inhabitants have recently taken to importing grain from the Heartsland to keep up with their burgeoning population.
There are a few Wasterns here, but they tend to be isolated and appear in small numbers. There are none of the Orcs or Goblins or others that appear in massive numbers. Occasionally creatures wander in from the neighboring jungle or the Deepwood but this too is not common and when it occurs is aggressively dealt with
Humans are by far the most common race in this area, but there are also Nearman and Halflings in some numbers. Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes are uncommon though not unheard of.
There are many villages, each belonging to one of the five city-states, but no towns. All of the urban areas in Morehead are contained in the five cities.
The cities of the region are famous for their philosophers and artists. Each of the five cities specializes in a form of art and one or more crafts and look down on the others for their primitive efforts. All of the cities look down on the rest of Alannis as uncivilized barbarians.
The court of the archon is ancient, and as such things often are, byzantine in its manner and constant plotting for the attention and favor of the ruler. Most of the rest of the island considers Alannis city to be decadent and undesirable. Naturally, the city denizens consider the rest of the island to be barbaric and crude. This is a great source of frustration for the current archon, Puissant, who has worked to reunite the island but finds the differing attitudes of it's people an insurmountable obstacle.
The climate is hot and dry in the summer, and winter brings the monsoons that rapidly churn the dust of the grasslands into an unpassable muddy morass.
By far the dominant race in the area is Human. Since the Time of the Dead, all of the archons have striven to welcome the non-Human races and make amends for Humanity's past behavior, but most of the other races are long-lived and many remain alive that remember firsthand the persecution of the Second Age of Man. They remain somewhat skittish, and are exceedingly distrustful of Puissant's attempts to reform the nation. Other races can be found in the region, especially in the villages and towns, but rarely in Alannis city and none have established their own settlements.
Wasterns, on the other hand, are common and are a constant source of danger to the outlying inhabitants. In particular, there are several clans of kobolds who have resisted all efforts to rid the area of their presence. Rumors speak of a mystical and brilliant kobold leader who can cloak his raiders in darkness and spirit his charges away from enemies with magic.
There are three wild tribes of Nearmen that call the Plateau home: The Old Women (a matriarchy of warriors), the Tagalo (nomadic herdsmen) and the Bonadi (animist nature preservers).
Some of the mines and settlements along the southern edge are back in operation and trappers, rangers, and other hardy outdoors types can be found throughout the mesa. Scattered homesteads of many races are infrequent but do exist. Trade with the mountain dwarves helps to sustain two small towns along the southeast where the mines are plentiful.
The types of Man and creature that make the mountains home are also the type that is less affected by the cold of Winter. While most of Alannis was struggling to survive the Ice, the Mountains filled with populations of differing life, intelligent and not, civilized and less so. And they warred amongst each other and segregated by choice and by type and carved the mountains and built their cities.
Indeed, it is said that the largest city in Alannis is the Dwarven city of Korken'Darr, deep under the Godstooth range in an area that is otherwise still covered in Ice.
Although most of the mountain races can be found anywhere in the Stone Bones, a few specifics are worth noting:
But primarily the Ice is glaciers and crevasses and moraines and extremely hostile to Man and Beast.