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LITHIRE
A land of cold stony deserts and infrequent water sources, there are sparse populations of hardy people who have made that place their home, named Lithians, who survive in village clusters upon the descending plains between hard mountains. The harsh landscape supports uncomfortable extremes of hot summer days and frozen winter nights, and despite the general lack of water the region can suffer flash floods when storms hit the mountain ranges, the run off collecting upon the great salt plains to create vast salt lakes.
Importantly however, Lithire is host to a series of important trade routes, not least between peoples as diverse as the Corianths, Eptemians, Aremians, and even Phenos tribal groups.
A particularly important and famous market is the Aniphiya, a place upon the edge of a series of salt plains, where the buildings are each raised upon sturdy stilts as a precaution against periodic flooding. During the summer caravans travel on foot about the lower stalls, but in the floods of winter trade is necessitated upon boats, moving from pilot launches at designated areas to travel within the loud markets of the Aniphiya itself.
Lithire, despite its trade advantage, has no real resources to speak of. There are disparate mines run by slave gangs set within various mountains, but frequent shifts of power in the various petty kingdoms mean that mining work is not necessarily continuous.
It has no real coinage to speak of, excepting the laughable Lithian Nunnet and Taloc, which are basically melted down and seriously debased versions of similar currencies, such as those of the Corianth Empire and Eptemia.
There is no native written form in Lithire, the people preferring the oral tradition, and using foreign script where needed in their various trade ventures. |
