Karkosa

Karkosa is a region on the southern coast of the continent Ehlonna. It is bordered to the north by the wild-lands of the interior of Ehlonna, and to the east by Balthusia. To the south is the Karkosa Sea, and the west is the rugged Craglands, bisected by the Xeroine Straits. It is predominately scrubby steppe-land, with a single, wide river flowing through it, the Ramohnok, from the Diamondzeal Infrafom. It is a land of large carnivorous felines, roving bands of small primates, and hulking elephants. The higher elevations are arid and dusty, and the lowlands are warm and wet.

Karkosa was the second region to be conquered by the Malthusians, shortly after Balthusia, and with the elephants traded to the Malthusians, and by a Karkosa-born general, Xero the Tusk. Before the Malthusians, Karkosa was ruled by a cabal of conjurers, who prioritized scholarship over military strength, because they could command hordes of powerful creatures and entities, and so developed a sophisticated culture. During the Malthusian era, the Yellow Wizards of Karkosa acted as viziers to the Firsts of the empire, and to the emperor himself, and constructed magical academies throughout their region. When the empire collapsed, the Yellow King rose as the head of the southern coast, and generations of Yellow Kings have followed, ruling out of the city-state Aldebaran. The other major city is Demhe, a large shallow-water port nearly one hundred miles inland, in a vast cenote.

In Northward, the trading goods from Karkosa are mostly ritual goods bound for magicians, but the famed wealth of Karkosan silks are the most prized items a Chamberlain or king could own. Karkosan coins are rarely found, but they are unmistakable electrum triangles, stamped with elephants. The few Karkosan natives in Northward are usually found in the Wizard's Port in the ruins of Wheatfield-on-Deeprun, but there are small clusters of Karkosan bloodlines found throughout the land, mostly derived from Karkosan slaves from ages past.