Known also as the Sundered Lands, Mara is a broken continent consisting of three major islands and a sea of glaciers and archipelagos between. Above, the floating isles of Zu are comprised of innumerable city-states, four of which stand out as the greatest and most influential. When the Third Age dawned, rampant magical energies broke Mara apart, ravaging the land and twisting its native inhabitants into strange, beautiful, and terrible forms. The Elves who called this land home were transformed into the Ciraquendi, a race of scholars and magi gifted with a natural connection to Mana. Most of Mara’s other inhabitants were not so fortunate; their exposure to the maelstrom of magical energy transformed most into terrible, other-worldly creatures with a hunger to consume any magic they come into contact with. These wretched creatures roam the lands below, preying upon those unfortunate enough to cross their paths.

Regions & Nations

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At the center of Mara lies a maelstrom of glaciers and scattered islands known as Va Ademus, “the broken heart”. These land masses are constantly on the move, churning through the wild waters of Mara’s core at a slow, but steady pace. Each year, the islands move about a hundred miles in every direction, guided by some unknown geo-magical force. Their paths are completely unpredictable and utterly chaotic; it is not uncommon for islands to slam into one another, creating great tectonic upheavals which ripple throughout Va Ademus and the rest of Mara. Few creatures live on the isles as life there is simply too turbulent for even magically altered beings to survive for long. Only the most vicious, resilient creatures can survive in the tumultuous lands and seas of Va Ademus. There is little in this volatile region worth traversing the dangers for. Few ever go to Va Ademus for anything but research purposes.

In the south lies the smallest of Mara’s three great islands, Va Camlas (“the broken”) a land of relentless snows and empty badlands. The terrain of Va Camlas is incredibly dangerous to tread; year-round snows cover the ground in an even sheet of white, masking the many pits, rifts, and canyons beneath the snowy veneer. Many a traveler has stepped onto what looked to be solid ground, only to fall into a snowy grave, never to be heard from again. When the snows finally relent in the heights of summer, the land is revealed for what it is; a twisting labyrinth of crags, tunnels, caves, and canyons. Creatures which hibernated during the long winter roam these passes, eager to slake their hunger and build up fatty stores for next winter. There is virtually no safe time to pass through Va Camlas; either one treads slow and light through heavy snows across dangerous ground or attempts to navigate the maze of canyons filled with deadly, starving predators. The hazards of this land far outweigh the rewards of traveling it, and so it is that few ever cross the veiled badlands of Va Camlas.

Mara’s northernmost isle is known as Va Nareth (“the wretched” in Navas) and has perhaps the greatest concentration of chaotic magical energy sweeping across its barren plains. The creatures here are far more wicked, vicious, and twisted than elsewhere on Mara. Legends whisper of mad dragons that sleep beneath the ice, sky demons who visit the earth in thunderbolts, and slithering ice worms whose acidic venom can cook a man from the inside out. Yet the dangers of this land are not enough to deter adventurers and explorers who brave the wasteland regularly in search of the Willing Well, a mythical font of power which can reshape the world according to the will of one strong enough to master it. None are truly sure if the Willing Well exists, though many ancient sources, both reliable and apocryphal, seem to confirm its existence. Some scholars believe the Willing Well may simply be a metaphor or philosophical idea conceived by ancient writers. This does little to dissuade the curious, the power-hungry, and the foolhardy from braving Va Nareth in search of the legendary site.

Further south of Va Camlas is a series of archipelagos known as Va Sorna (“the tail”) the chaotic magic at work throughout Mara takes a strange turn in Va Sorna. Rather than the frozen tundra which characterizes the rest of Mara, Va Sorna is quite tropical, it’s topography dominated by dense jungles. The multitude of creatures which dwell in this jungle are diverse and bizarre, warped as all living things are by the unbridled magical energies of Mara. From flying monkeys to birds which leave rainbows in their wake to predators which can become truly invisible, there is a rich diversity of beautiful and dangerous life within the jungle. Va Sorna is also rich in herbs and magical reagents not found elsewhere on Arcadia. Traders, explorers, and hunters make regular journeys to Va Sorna from all over Arcadia in hopes of plucking a sliver of the jungle’s wealth from beneath its sleeping paws. But the beast is easily stirred and few who journey deep into the wilds of Va Sorna ever return with their lives or sanity intact.

To the northeast the great island of Va Thyre (translated from Navas, this means “the wasteful”), largest of Mara’s three land masses, dominates the icy sea around it. For the most part, Va Thyre consists of frozen salt-flats populated by magically twisted aberrations. A great inland salt sea known as Lake Furiga sits almost at the center of the continent, stretching for miles and miles in every direction. Great sea monsters, insane elementals, and tribes of fishmen call its vast murky depths home. Across the southeast and towards the coast stretches a jagged range of mountains and active volcanoes. The tallest peaks on Arcadia are found within this range, appropriately named the Peaks of Unrelenting Flame (Va Cassa Aldruem). Highest of these is the great Mount Kalebos which stretches so high into the heavens that the inhabitants of nearby Zuvian isles fear one day crashing into the side of the great mountain.