General Information
The world of Sandara is a typical world where the balance of good and evil must be kept. It is a world populated by Humans, Elves, Dragons, and Dwarves. The Elven Counsil is the most powerful of the four ruling Counsils. The Elven Counsil is presided over by the Elf wizard Azzlore; his base of operations is in the Land of the Three Rivers, at hte junction of the three great tributaries of hte Tethra River in the northern jungles.
In Sandara, Elves are not classified by skin-color or region of habitat. There are no Drow or Wood or High Elves. Instead there are two Courts within the Counsil: the Seelie Court or the Blessed Court, compromised of the benevolent Elves and ilk, and the Unseelie Court or the Unblessed Court, compromised of the malignant Elves and ilk.
The Humans are a rare bunch with the weakest of the Counsils. Most humans are either nomadic wanderers treading the Plains of Galeb Duhr and fighting amongst themselves, or farmers living in the fertile Cresent. The Dwarves are busy crafts-folk making many of the weapons of war and the tools that everyone uses. They have the second most powerful Counsil, situated in the Tamair Pass within the Shadow Mountains. The Dragon Counsil meets rarely because of the beings disinterest in creatures who cannot fly without the aid of magic. However when they do meet, they can bring about the greatest changes and upheavals in the population.
There are many subtle differences in the ways of Sandara. The people of this world do not worship god, goddesses or deities of any sort. The five elements, air, fire, earth, water, and spirit are the ruling factors of life, each in the rawest form.
Where many realms view mages and wizards as the same classification, on Sandara they are separate and unique. One cannot be a mage alone, for mages learn spells and magick that aid in battle. To use these magicks without the possession of a Mageweapon would be an act of transgression against the elements that give the powers, ie. fire for a fireball spell. If one possesses a Magesword, than one is a warrior-mage; if one possesses a Dreamstave, than one is a Dream-mage or a Prophet, the givers of destinies. Wizards are dedicated to furtherings magicks cause, researching and developing new spells, and devising new ways to use old spells. There are philanthropists, at least those in the Seelie Court. Only Elves and half-Elves may become mage or wizard.
Once every eighty years or so, the four Counsils gather together. The Dragon Counsil, of eight Charmed, or magickal, Dragons and eight Natural Dragons, sound the Bell of Calling, which brings together all the Counsils. The Human Counsil is elected from the individual settlements most often consisting of at least twelve members. The Dwarven Counsil is chosen by the Dwarven King with two representatives from each Clan, including the Kind and his heir, a total of fourteen members. The Elven Counsil is created from the eldest members of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, ten from each. Of the ten from each, two must be Prophets, two must be warrior-mages, and one must be a wizard.
GEOGRAPHY
The climate of Sandara varies from a cold tundra in the far south to a tropical rainforest in the north. The seasons are slow to change with very little variation the farther south one travels. The Southern Tundras are covered with a thick layer of snow which never melts. The ground here is permanently permafrosted. Nothing other than large animals, like elk and caribou, and trolls live in the inhospitable land.
As one travels north, one must cross the cold continental plains of Galeb Duhr, where winters are long and cold and the summers are short and cool.
Passing by these flat plains, one crosses the fertile bands of rolling hills and flat lowlands that comprise the Cresent. Here the springs are warm and moist, the summers long and humid, the falls short and cool, and the winters long and cold. This is where some Humans have settled down into farming communities.
Northward, the green grasses and sweet fertile ground gives way to the vast expanse of red, burning sands that form the Desert of the Ancestors. The desert is far from dead, however, for this is the main domain of the Unseelie Court.
Farther north, the Shadow Mountains rise high into the air, the legendary peak WorldsCap brushing the roof of the world. Her the Dwarves mine and craft their beautiful arms and arts. Here they live in peace, trading with both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts.
Over the Shadow Mountains, there is the Forest of Light. This is the domain of the Seelie Court, which lives in harmony with all benevolent creatures. Here the Elves sweep the trees and plants into beautiful are with magicks forgotten by many kindred folk. Through this rainforest, the Tethra River flows unhindered. At the junction of the Three Rivers into the Tethra, there is a sweeping city of wood and silver, the Counsil Seat.
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