Nentsun AC 1000: The Inner Circle
by Giulio CarolettiArea: 366,500 sq km (143,164 sq. m)
Population: 1,076,000.
Language: Nentsunian, Rakastan (Lynxmen dialect), Ursinian.
Coinage: Sin (gp), Yai (sp), Chu (cp).
Description: The Inner Circle is the northern part of Nentsun. It is known also as the Nentsun Coast, as it stretches along the shores of the Sea of Simurgh (the name by which the Sea of Brun is known on this side of the ocean). About half of the Inner Circle's land is covered by forests (mostly ash and coniferous), while the other half is settled by human and rakastan farmers, who get along very well and are distributed equally in most of the kingdoms. The agricultural activities deal with potatoes and wheat, and they are quite productive, if we consider the latitude. This is a consequence of the power of the Unholy Devices, who keep the land a little warmer than it would otherwise be. The sea outside Nentsun is cold, and cold currents wash its shores; many small islands, cliffs and dangerous maelstroms are present all over the coast, and have always been an obstacle for the few fishermen who dare the dangerous waters. However, where the sea is calmer, it is possible to do good fishing (as an example, in Ursi). Fishing is not, however, a major activity in most of the Inner Circle.
There are eight kingdoms, here. From west, the first kingdom is Cholonis; then there is Selemy; south of Selemy is Zeshuita; east of both are Vixen (north), Einikushagi (centre) and Wolven (south); lastly, east of Einikushagi is Pakishagij and lastly, in the easternmost border of the Inner Circle is Ursi.
The People: The settlers of the Inner Circle call themselves collectively as Insunians (Nentsunians of the Inner Circle). They are all humans and rakastas, with few exceptions (like the orc enclave of Einikushagi).
Humans belong to the Nentsunian racial stock: they are descendants of the aboriginal settlers of the area, the Nasuuans, of mixed Thonian and Afridhi ethnicity. They are tall, of a sort of beige tan that is completely unique in Skothar, with white-blond or blue-black hair, and brown or green eyes. Blue or black eyes are very uncommon, but not impossible to find. Brown hair is also rare.
In Ursi, the common human population are the so-called Ursinians, descended from a peaceful race of mixed Afridhi and Tanagoro stock who arrived here 1,700 years ago. The Ursinians founded the cities of Ursi and Selemy, and while most of them mixed with the Nentsunians (providing the genes for the rare black or brown haired, and blue-eyed among them), in Ursi they remained quite similar to their ancestors, and they maintain a language that they pretend to call Ursinian, but that is just a Nentsunian dialect with a strong accent, and some old true-Ursinian words in it. However, in these cities, the people are generally of more slender built than the average Nentsunian, their skin is somewhat darker, and they have mostly dark brown and black hair, and brown or blue eyes.
Rakastas here belong to the Lynxmen stock. A small enclave of orcs called Ondonti live in Einikushagi [see below].
Flora and Fauna: Ash, coniferous, pastures, farmlands cover the region, depending on the humanoid presence and the Devices' influence. Deer, elks, bears, lynxes, wolves live in the forests. Lynxes and dogs are kept as domestic animals; cows, sheep and goats are among those farmed. No types of chicken seem to exist here, nor do pigs. Several species of small mammals, many different birds, and birds of prey (eagles, hawks), live in the region. The hilly regions of the Inner Circle are also home to a number of giant worms of different species, that sometimes pose a big threat to the smaller communities. Some of the animals are somewhat different from those of the Known World, being different varieties of the same species (ex. there are both the brown bear and the black bear, who is mostly unknown in the KW). Sometimes, a mammoth coming from the Outer Circle may be sighted.