Evernight

These days my players want background info about the world they play in. At least, more info than what was in the Evernight Player’s Guide. To placate them, this is the information about the world I came up with, based on what was in the handout and spoiler-free parts of the GMs section. Use it if you like, all I ask in return is that people tell me what you think, even if it’s just to tell me that I’m a big stupid head who can’t write.   - sneezythesquid@yahoo.com

The Kingdoms of Tarth

Valusia 
Valusia is the main kingdom of Tarth. The Royal Court resides in the city of King's Port. There, King Kaden, and his Daughter Princess Rayna, rule the kingdom while administrating the capital city, dispense justice, and watch over the people. Since his wife, Queen Sandra died of illness three years ago, he has doted on his teenage daughter. So far he has not chosen a new queen, and no members of his court appear to have caught his attentions.
Ten Lords who either inherited their title, or had it granted to them by the Crown, rule each of the ten major cities in Valusia. Under the Lords, many Counts, Barons and their Knights administer at a local levels. Each noble maintains his own troops and is expected to provide them to the king and his generals in time of war. When disputes arise between nobles, the King's justice is invoked to resolve the question.
The land of Valusia has a pleasant and temperate climate. Most of its lands are rich and fertile, with farms spread across the countryside, growing wheat, barley, and a variety of fresh vegetables. Valusian farms tend to be tilled by hand or oxen. Central Valusia has many large forests, which become more dense in the mid to Eastern part of the kingdom. In fast, almost all South-Eastern Valusia is uninhabited forest.
On the East coast are the Dales, a small range of mountains that abut the sea. Here, men of Edin mine ore and gems while defending against a small amount of Orc and Goblin tribes. Harrik the Iron Wright, Lord of Endin is very independent due to being so far from the capital, and the city is one of the most self-reliant in Valusia. 
In the North, the Dread Mountains reach into the clouds. Orc tribes infest the Dread Mountains in greater numbers than in the Dales. These tribes threaten Valusia, the Dwarves and the barbarians of The White Towns. In Valusia they tend to raid the north stretch of the King's Road and the walled cities of Aragron and Stoutham. Brave men from these towns mine gold and ore from the south side of the Mountains, in land won from the Dwarves in the last great Race War. These brave souls test themselves against the mountains, harsh winters, bear-like Chinooks, gigantic Frost Lords, Orcs with their Dire Wolves, and the occasional Dragon. 
In the West, vast marshes and swamps dominate much of the coast. Most villages here devote a good amount of time to catching and drying fish or growing rice. There is also a thriving medicinal/herbal industry, which is highly valued outside the swamps. There are many small, brightly colored, villages hidden within the swamps, despite the creatures that tend to inhabit their deeper areas, like the vicious Troggs.  
The capital of Valusia is King's Port. This great walled city is prosperous and filled with many opportunities for young adventurers to test their mettle and see if they can become one of Tarth's great Heroes. Under the city, those brave enough can explore the King's Tunnels to face such dangers as Sea Trolls, or Gulpers, which can swallow a man whole. 
The King’s Tunnels are a warren of passages, and are put to different uses. The passages nearest the surface have been shaped into sewers, which lead to the sea allowing entrance for the Sea Trolls and smugglers.  Under the King’s Palace, a number of them are connected to the Great Catacombs, where the Royal Family and many of Valusia’s legendary heroes are laid to rest. These tombs are trapped against those who would dare rob from the dead, but some still try to acquire the treasures laid to rest with Valusia's deceased rulers and heroes. Connecting the sewers and the tombs, the deepest tunnels were formed by the Spiders during the Scourge and were used as their foul nests.
Due to being the main port of Valusia, folk from every land in Tarth come to King's Port for trade. In its markets almost anything can be found. From Elven bows to Dwarven armor, if you have the Suns to spend, almost anything can be bought there. It is even rumored that there is a Dwarven settlement deep under King's Port, connected by the King’s Tunnels, where the Dwarves forge weapons and armor using the very strength of Tarth itself. From King's Port, you can take the King's Road to each of the major cities of Valusia, avoiding the dangers of the wilderness. The King's elite Belled Cavalry patrols the road regularly to ensure its safety. The King's Road is also the safest land route to Kos, and is traveled by many caravans. Those seeking work can hire on to guard the caravans against raids from the Orcs or barbarians from the White Towns.

Kos 
The kingdom of Kos is actually a group of semi-independent city-states that are currently allied to and dominated by Valusia. In theory, Emperor Eber rules Kos, supported by the Council of Patrons. In reality, he is beholden to King Kaden, and the noble family heads, known as Patrons, tend to soften, respond slowly, and do everything but ignore edicts from him that have passed the Council.
This situation stems back to the death of Emperor Carta over 100 years ago. Carta was the last truly powerful Emperor, having claimed the throne through guile, determination and sheer force of arms. He ruled for over fifteen years, with the goal of breaking the power of the noble houses, and uniting the city-states into a cohesive whole in his grip. Carta’s plans came to an abrupt end when he died after being thrown from his horse. 
Shortly after his death, his two eldest sons, leaders in the Golden Army, were poisoned. In the ensuing struggle for the throne, the Emperor’s seven-year-old nephew Andre was declared heir, with his mother Thera appointed Regent until he came of age. Regent Thera went to work quickly, starting the plans for the new Imperial Navy, the Wave Riders. She planned to make them the dominant force on Tarth’s oceans. With this being argued among the Lords and merchants, and using the pretext of seeing them to discuss this, Thera began gathering support for her true plans.
Thera believed in the sanctity of the positions of the Patrons, and feared that a powerful Emperor, like her brother had attempted to become, could easily become a despot. She also believed that those who rule should be politically deft, able to bring people under their leadership by skill with diplomacy, not force of arms. To this end, she created the Council of Patrons. The head of each major noble house sits on the council, and any decree by the Emperor had to be supported by a majority of this council, which is currently made up of nine major houses. 
The forty minor houses are constantly maneuvering to increase their power base in an effort to rise to the position of being declared a major house. Thirty years ago, in the Phoenix uprising, three minor houses banded together to take out one of the major houses. Their rise from the resultant ashes propelled them into the top three positions of the council, which they hold to this day.
Thera and her son were both very astute politically, but the Emperors that have followed them have not been. During the reign of the last five Emperors, the crown has been largely ineffectual, and controlling the council has been likened to herding cats. “Getting the council to agree” is becoming common slang for an impossible task. There are rumors that Emperor Eber has created a network of spies and assassins which he intends to use to change this situation.
A second council, made up of the heads of the local noble houses, administrates each of Kos’s cities. These noble houses compete with each other for the rank of Popolo, leader of the city. 
While open warfare is not allowed between the houses, duels, subtle assassinations and complicated political maneuverings are commonplace. This “Great Game” has ensnared many outlanders in their complex webs. Feuds between the noble houses can last for generations. At the city level, it is considered more prestigious and conveys more honor in the eyes of the Council of Patrons to rise by political machinations.
All Lords are expected to know swordplay, to defend themselves if a duel is challenged, but some will appoint or hire a professional Duelist to stand in for them. These professional swordsmen are among the best fighters in the world. They are expected to be both masters of the blade and masters of culture; able to defend the honor of those who hire them while being just as deft with their manners at courtly functions.
Almost as powerful as the nobility are the heads of the Merchant Guilds. These guild heads are among the wealthiest people in Kos, and they are beginning to demand a greater share in government. Some suspect that Emperor Eber may be making secret deals with them to gain another lever to use against the Council. Others believe it is the other way around.
Militarily, each of the city-states keeps a mixture of city guard controlled by the Popolo, and a militia under the control of each of the noble houses. In times of war, these militia are summoned together to form the Golden Army. However, it is this setup that led to Valusia’s current domination of Kos.
In the last Great Race War, the Elves had managed to siege many of Kos’s cities quickly, including the capital. With most cities unwilling to send its militia to the capital, choosing instead to keep them to defend their home cities alone, Emperor Eber was left with only a fraction of the Golden Army to place under his general’s command. Because of this, he was unable to mount a successful counter-attack or breakout. It looked as though Kos would fall to the Elves. 
King Kaden, seeing an opportunity, agreed to help lift the siege. He had just won a major victory against the Dwarves, forcing them to withdraw deeper into their kingdom, abandoning parts of it to Valusia. Kaden proposed to Eber to land a large portion of his Cavaliers in Kos by way of Kosian transport ships to flank the Elves.
Kaden’s Army, led by the elite Belled Cavaliers, landed in Kos behind the Elves and broke the sieges upon three cities at once. The combined forces of the Valusian Cavaliers and the Golden Army drove the Elves back into their Great Forest, ending the War.
In exchange for this aid, the current treaty between the kingdoms was sealed. Part of this treaty is that Kos’s formidable fleet is allowed to hire out to Valusia. In exchange, the Valusian army provides protection to Kos. Many nobles and wealthy merchants still feel gratitude towards Valusia. Gratitude for rescuing them from the Elves, and for relieving them of most of the financial burden of maintaining the militia.
The land of Kos is very sparse outside the Great Elvish Forest, and each city has their own wilderness preserves stocked with small game animals. These preserves, however, are reserved for the nobility. Most peasants have to make do with farming what they can from the relatively poor countryside, and collecting fish from the many rivers and harbors. Kos has many natural harbors and they allow a bounty of food to be collected from the rivers and ocean. From these harbors, small fleets of fishing vessels head out daily to catch a wide variety of fish, shrimp, crab and other delicacies of the sea. 
These natural harbors are what encouraged Kos to have its famously skilled navy of merchant and military vessels. Large amounts of gold flows into the kingdom’s coffers from these trading vessels, and the hiring out of the military ships to Valusia.
The culture is relatively advanced, with considerable scientific development under the auspices of the Kos Arcanum. The people of Kos tend to be very decadent, taking great pleasure in art, wine and physical pleasures. Most nobles judge each other on the amount of fine art, wines and other finery they can afford to display. They also tend to see people from the other lands of Tarth as well meaning, but lacking in true culture and refinement. 

Dragon Isles 
These islands to the southwest of Valusia are a series of volcanic jungle islands. Upon the peaks live fierce drakes, cousins to the mighty dragons of the mainland. 
The people, who regard themselves as children of the drakes, live here in relative splendor and beauty living off the exotic fruits, animals and the bounty of the sea. Most settlements are near the coasts, dotting across the island. The various villages are ruled by chiefs, who all pledge allegiance to King Motta. A circle of elders and a shaman, seen as a hedge wizard by most of Valusian mages, advises the King.
The shamans here are considered to be highly skilled and very wise, but still lacking in the abilities of a trained mage. The shamans are also rumored to be able to call and control the island’s drakes.
The people here have a strong oral tradition, recanting their stories and legends. These long, flowing stories are a mix of tales, songs and dance that can last for hours, sometimes told by several performers at a time. 
The drakes are highly valued by the people of the Isles, seen both as symbols of luck and good fortune. They are believed by the Islanders to be true embodiments of nature; powerful, fickle, but able to be co-existed with if treated with the proper respect.
The seamen of the Isles are among the most skilled, rivaling the fleets of Kos in skill. Most feared are their fire ships, nimble vessels with a fire-breathing drake’s head at the prow of their ships. With these vessels, the warriors of the Dragon Isles raid the coast of Valusia and the merchant vessels traveling between Kos and Valusia. These tattooed raiders are some of the most feared fighters on the ocean. Only the superior size and number of Kosian vessels keeps these raiders at bay. 
When the flame ships capture a merchant vessel, they gather all the booty on the main deck to determine which treasure is “worthy.” All unworthy treasure, including spices, fabrics, consumables, dyes and furnishings are thrown overboard to the dismay of many a merchant. All weapons are confiscated, sealed in a specially carved chest and returned to the hold of the vessel, unless of course, they are deemed “worthy.”
These tattooed raiders, identified as either Drakeson or Drakesdott depending on their gender, are some of the most feared fighters on the ocean.

White Towns 
The White Towns cover a large area of land northwest of the Dread Mountains. In the East, the land consists of grassy steppes before running into the Elven Forest. In the West, there are fertile hills and valleys leading into the mountains, right up to the Dwarven Kingdom. Living across the whole area between them are the Clans of the White Towns. 
Scattered along the steppes, plains and hidden in the valleys are the few real permanent settlements. These are mainly used for trade, clan gatherings, appointing clan Chiefs, and festivals. These towns are considered neutral ground, and are the only place where the various tribes can gather without combat breaking out. It is here that stories can be told, marriages arranged, and alliances forged. The old, crippled and Wise Ones are the main residents of these towns, with the main bulk of the people living as nomads on horseback in tribes. 
These barbarian tribes wander the land upon horseback with their livestock. They disdain those of the other kingdoms who they see as soft, needing their walled cities and towns for safety. 
Horsemanship is the most valued skill among the barbarians. A man unable to ride is a cripple in their eyes. A chief unable to ride will lose his position, and usually commits suicide.
The horsemen spend their time wandering the steppes, grazing their animals, sleeping in tents, and hunting for food. Anything else they need they get from raiding the other tribes, the Dwarves, caravans to Kos and the occasional Elf. They also tend to raid each other for sport and prestige. Gold and jewelry are highly prized by the nomads, and the more one has, the higher their prestige. 
Family relations are tracked through the mother’s side, but it is the clan that is paramount to the nomads. The various clans feud with each other almost constantly, but direct relations do not attack each other. In this way, neutral parties between each tribe can meet to pass on news or make agreements. This is usually done at the various settlements.
Raids and combat, however, are still the main ways most clans interact, and is used to settle most disputes. However an Honor Contest is called to settle serious conflicts. The two clans gather at a neutral town where Honor Bearers are selected from each clan. Carrying the Honor of their tribe, they compete in challenges, overseen by Wise Ones, to determine which clan is in the right. Serious disputes between the clan members are also settled this way, where it is expected that the on in the right will be the victor. Any dispute settled by an Honor Contest is considered finished, and to bring up the dispute again is a serious breach of protocol.
The chiefs of each tribe can be a male or female. After the current chief’s death, anyone can claim the right to be selected the new chief. Those who would lead then go to the tribe’s town. Those that survive the journey compete against each other in various trials, similar to Honor Trials, to judge their fitness to lead. The last trial is conducted by the Wise Ones, who make the final determination of who is worthy to be chief.
Sometimes one of these barbarians will get the urge to wander into “civilized” lands to explore and gain riches, but most often they have either left after loosing an honor contest or have been banished by their tribe for some reason. They tend to hire themselves out as mercenaries, and are quickly hired and placed into cavalry units whenever possible.

Dread Mountains 
The Dwarves are mostly covered in the handout, living and mining under the Dread Mountains. They still bristle about the areas they had to surrender to Valusia at the end of the last Race War, and would like to reacquire the lands.
They also really do have a settlement under King’s Port where they forge weapons and armor for sale in the human lands, but only the Dwarves know the entrance.

Elf Woods
The Elves of the Great Woods are mostly covered in the handout, and their home borders both Kos and The White towns. Their cites are built in the trees, light with Elf magic and designed for beauty, elegance and function. Basically, it’s Lothlorien.