The Varethi Wilds

“The Heartlands of Many Faces”

The Varethi Wilds is a vast and varied landscape encompassing sweeping grasslands, ancient forests, scattered mountain ranges, and river valleys. It is one of the most culturally and ecologically diverse regions on the continent. Unlike the more centralized empires elsewhere, the Varethi Wilds is a mosaic of city-states, tribal confederacies, and roaming clans, inhabited by humans, Lyrians, and Oni settlers.

Geographical Features:

The Tharnor Vale: A massive central grassland dotted with ancient stone circles, some still humming with forgotten magic. Home to many semi-nomadic Lyrian herding cultures and independent farming villages.

The Eldrowen Forests: Lush woodlands in the northeast, home to reclusive Lyrian enclaves and ancient beastkin spirits. Some areas are "sentient"—trees move subtly, paths rearrange, and trespassers vanish without a trace.

The Redfang Peaks: A rugged mountain range in the west, said to have been the original crossing point for Oni settlers fleeing a long-lost homeland. The mountains are mineral-rich and riddled with hot springs, tunnels, and gargantuan hunting beasts.

The Mirrorflow River: A great river that runs north to south, connecting much of the Wilds and serving as the main trade artery. Named for its unnatural clarity, it is believed to be partially enchanted.

The Stormwheat Fields: To the east lie these rolling golden plains, where the wind always seems charged with static. The wheat glows faintly at night. Some suspect latent ley lines beneath.

Cultures & Peoples:

1. Human Freeholds

Scattered fortified towns and rural baronies, mostly independent but sometimes forming short-lived alliances or leagues.

Each Freehold is ruled by a Warden, elected or inherited, and maintains militias known as the Fieldguard.

Most are agricultural, with some known for horsebreeding or mercenary training (notably in Harthwin Vale).

2. Lyrian Clans

Tend to settle in forest and river regions, though some (especially Equine Lyrians) roam the plains.

Strong traditions of tribal storytelling, nature magic, and beast communion.

Notable clan-groups include:

Clan Drevhan: Wolf-descended guardians of the Eldrowen edge.

The Riverborn Kin: Aquatic Lyrians who live along the Mirrorflow and are known for watercraft and flood magic.

Clan Myraeth: Feline Lyrians who trade in enchanted herbs and maintain hidden libraries in living trees.

3. Oni Clans

Mostly reside in the Redfang Peaks and its foothills.

These Oni are often exiles, explorers, or descendants of a lost western Oni empire.

Many form strongholds carved into mountain cliffs or semi-migratory camps that follow sacred beast herds.

Known for their metalworking, shamanic rites, and beast-magic bonds.

Clan Examples:

The Ashbone Kin: A reclusive group of mystics who guard volcanic springs.

The Irontooth Banner: A martial clan that trains wyvern-mounted scouts and sells protection services.

Notable Locations:

Vaelor's Hearth: A neutral trade city at the confluence of three rivers, inhabited by all three races. It is ruled by a Triarch Council of a human steward, Lyrian druid, and Oni chieftain. Vaelor is a place of diplomacy and arcane research.

The Shardstones: Monolithic, glowing stones in the center of the plains. They are remnants of an ancient magical disaster or divine conflict, surrounded by mysterious phenomena like reversed gravity, time dilation, and arcane mutations.

Tor Khadan: A ruined Oni citadel buried under a mountain. Its sealed vaults may contain artifacts or something far more dangerous. Many say it was abandoned after a god-beast was awoken there.

Politics & Conflicts:

No unifying government exists, but some Freeholds and tribes form temporary alliances (e.g., the Green Horn Pact, a recent defense league against wyvern migration).

Tensions exist between expansionist human lords and Lyrian sanctuaries, especially over sacred land claims.

Bandit tribes, sky-raiders, and ancient horrors in the Redfang depths pose continual threats.

Some speculate that an Oni Warlord known only as Ruthar the Red Chain is trying to unite several clans under a single banner to “reclaim the ancestral west.”

History:

Once believed to be the heartland of an ancient, pan-racial alliance called the First Accord, which fell during the War of Falling Stars (an age when the skies rained fire, possibly from arcane engines in orbit).

Many ruins dot the region—collapsed star-priest towers, broken sky-bridges, and buried leyline conduits.

The Lyrians consider the region semi-sacred, filled with “Awakened Lands” that sleep and breathe magic, while the Oni view it as a proving ground, a land meant to test and forge.