David Arneil
The Geography: Stychia - Rohvana
Rohvana
East of the Goddess Spines Mountains are the lands of Rohvana. Rohvana spreads from the mountains to the sea, and ends in the north-west and the south with canyons. It is cut off from the rest of Rohvana by the mountains, connected only through three passages - all of which traverse difficult terrain. In the south and in the centre are mountain passes, while in the north is a canyon pass.
Rohvana is an arid land, warm in the south and cool in the north. The many rivers that flow through it provide some of the only fertile soil in the entire region while the lands closer to the mountains offer dense forests teeming with wildlife.
The region is divided into four geopolitical zones; White, Red, Green and Blue, all of which correlate to the historical homeland of a tribal confederation. This however does not follow the geography of the region which can be more accurately divided into eight subregions.
The furthest south reaches of Rohvana is a small partially forested region between the mountains and the sea and north of the canyon that divides Rohvana from Cetonnia. It is verdant with many small rivers and streams with a rocky coastline. Lesser Rohvana is bordered by the Mother’s River to the north which splits it from Greater Rohvana and which flows from the mountains and meets the sea in the region of Grand Anchorage. And it borders the Iron Snarl and Battery Point to the south - both of which border Cetonnia and block passage into and over the canyon there.
The Iron Snarl which sits upon the southern border of Rohvana, is an immense wetland named for the nearly endless amount of scrap metal and relics of the Sky Fall when a great battle was fought between the forces of the Dae and the Naak. Broken Naak still stand as rusted sentinels throughout the forests, and in the rainy seasons it floods. Scavengers and traders frequent the region in search of scrap and relics to sell.
Adjacent and to the west at the foot of the mountains is the region of Battery Point. It is a ruined city which watches over the approaches to the south and was made as a fortress to secure the passage into Rohvana. It sits upon a plateau overlooking the Iron Snarl, and is named for ancient machines of war that could be used to attack enemy armies. Though now completely alien to the local populations, they remain preserved as holy relics. Most importantly however, Battery Point is the location of a vault, sealed away in the underground tunnels and caverns where most of the populace lives.
North of Lesser Rohvana is Greater Rohvana, a region of wide open plains that stretch across the entire eastern half of the continent. Drier than the plains in Lesser Rohvana, the entire region subsists on ground water and the access to three major rivers; the Mother, the Daughter and the Lover. The Mother forms the border between Lesser and Greater Rohvana. The Daughter feeds into the Orange Groves to the north-east and the Lover cuts through the central plains and meets the sea. The settlements here are permanent, usually resting upon a river or within the shadows of a shrine-site - shrines constructed across the plains and maintained by wandering pilgrims and clergy. Each settlement however is formed of many hunting parties that leave the settlement to hunt, gather and fish. This is the traditional lifestyle of the Rohvanese, and the settlements are only full when the parties return to settle down for the rainy season.
On the mouth of the Mother is the Grand Anchorage, a port-city initially constructed on the coast and which has had the surrounding landscape carved away to form a man-made island. It is the second largest city in Rohvana, made of five terraces with the lowest of them comprised mostly of docks. It is joined to the mainland by two bridges, and a number of ferries. Both north and south of the Mother not far from the city are smaller towns which typically act as tradeposts for Rohvanese. The city, though designed with traffic in mind, has been redesigned to be easily quarantined, and as a place where traders from foreign lands may come without ever setting foot on the mainland. Indeed, many foreign traders are restricted to specific portions of the city, and have at times only been allowed to remain within a walled trading outpost - completely isolated from the rest of the city.
The north-eastern reaches of Rohvana are the Orange Groves, a forest of orange trees as the name implies. It is fertile and lush, fed water by the Lover, allowing the cultivation of crops which feed most of the population of Rohvana. The entire region is often regarded a single settlement, the land is plotted out into estates where individuals or groups of cultivators can be assigned for the season while in their time away from the estates the people often live in one of three hubs which are treated and act as a single city. To the south on the border of Greater Rohvana where the Daughter flows into Orange Groves, is the hub of Orange Hall. Orange Hall is a large town hall surrounded by plazas for selling and dwelling. To the north in the centre of the region is Market Hall, a large town hall where produce is brought and traded, then shipped across Rohvana. Last is Sea Watch, this is once more a large hall surrounded by plazas but also a port with docks. Its location in the south east makes it the northernmost trade port on the continent and one of the most crucial food ports for the Rohvanese people.
All of Rohvana is administered from a region in the centre of the plains of Greater Rohvana. Founded upon an aquifer and surrounded by reservoirs is the Great Tent City. It sits straddling two hills and is surrounded by wooden palisades that grow with the city. At all times it is filled with tents which are permanent fixtures within the walls and temporary when outside then. Founded as a refuge for those left behind by the conflicts of the early Rohvanese, it symbolises the plight of the people and remains as a tent city to test the resolve of those who will to live there. In the dry season it is hot and in the rainy season it is cold and wet. The only structures not made of tents are the hospital, the library and the food and water stores. It is common for the city to swell in size over the year, and at the very edges of the city are found the embassies of the five peoples of Rohvana. These embassies serve now as governmental offices, thr only one allowed fortification is the Black Rohvanese embassy and it is here the current ruler usually meets with the people. Community gardens are not uncommon, though it tends towards herbs or spice crops over sustenance or decoration. The growth of the city has also seen the growth of the reserviors, and the excavation of new aquifers. Smaller outgrowths of the town happen upon the highways leaving the city at each of the five points, four roads lead to the old capitals of the four peoples who took land while a fifth (the Black Road) leads to nowhere.