Bellissaria the Unknown

In the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac” I, II and III^² Bellissaria receives a better treatment. There is an indication of its area, 1,295,215 square miles, and population, 455,000 inhabitants, and it is named as a continent. The Almanac says few monsters inhabit Bellissaria, with no mention of big predators. The population is mostly copper-skinned Alphatian with a minor proportion of wizards compared to the mainland, only just a little higher than in other countries. The Bellissarians again are noted as being close-mouthed and close-minded, with no love for strangers. That’s not much more, but the Almanac then has descriptions for the six individual kingdoms. Dawnrim is described as a nation of poor fishermen, cattlemen and shepherds, with only 25,000 inhabitants, 5,000 in Alinquin, and very few spellcasters, with a fighter, Teskilion, as king. Horken, with 30,000 inhabitants, 5,000 in the namesake capital, is described as a shipbuilding center, using timber mostly from Lagrius, with the major families involved in the trade having the real power behind king Villiun, a cleric. Lagrius is ruled by Queen Siaron Lagrius, has 150,000 inhabitants, 15,000 in Blueside, and its industries are timber and fishing in the central lake. Meriander is ruled by Queen Drulivia, has 100,000 inhabitants, 15,000 in Alchemos, and is noted for the University of Alchemos and agriculture. Notrion is described as an underpopulated nation with 50,000 inhabitants, 10,000 in Aaslin, with most people gathered on the northern side and involved in trade. King Lodrig III has become unpopular as the drop in trade following the sinking of Alphatia forced him to impose much more taxes. Surshield, ruled by Queen Gratia, with 100,000 inhabitants of which 30,000 in the capital of Spearpoint, is just a military city ruling only formally over an anarchist nation. Queen Gratia’s attempt to impose order in the interior will not be well received. In the “Poor Wizard’s Almanac” II and III the kingdoms’ description is under Bellissaria but no other details are added, however the map of the Alphatian sea in “Poor Wizard's Almanac III” gives names to several previously unnamed Bellissarian communities.

The Mystaran Almanacs from AC 1014 to 1019

The fan almanacs starting from AC 1014^³ summarized the situation in Bellissaria and from AC 1016 added individual descriptions of the Bellissarian nations, mentioning some hill giants in Horken, humanoid mercenaries in the interior of Notrion, tasloi, hill giants, cyclops and dragons in Surshield, and giving short updates about the current rulers. The year AC 1016 also saw the birth of three new Bellissarian kingdoms: Eirundrynn, meant to become a territory dominated by Shiye elves, in western Surshield, Turmoil, an anarchic territory, in the middle, and Veroth, founded by Randel’s refugees, in western Notrion. The AC 1018 Mystaran Almanac has more extensive descriptions of the Bellissarian kingdoms. Ogres, giants and dragons are mentioned in Horken, and a former military base inhabited by three dragons and humanoids in Surshield, also with tasloi in the forests. Humanoids, tasloi, hill giants, dragons and brigands are also described in Turmoil, and again more tasloi in Eirundrynn. The AC 1019 Mystaran Almanac has no further descriptions, but the new imperial capital of Vaisalian is founded in central Bellissaria and a new map^⁴ shows its location and the borders of the new kingdoms.

The AC 1010 Almanac and all the following ones also have events for Bellissaria. But before looking at them, one first annotation.

Three Very Unlikely Claims

Canon sources say that Bellissaria had no history before the Alphatians, that its density is just 0.35 people per square mile, that there are no ‘monsters’ living in it.
Such statements are so incredible I think they should all be challenged and maybe dismissed as ‘Alphatian propaganda.’

History

The idea that Bellissaria has no history before the Alphatians or that its history can be completely ignored is quite unbelievable. In the “Hollow World” boxed set^⁵ planetary maps Bellissaria is indicated as a peninsula attached to Skothar before the cataclysm, and the nearest people are an Oltec colony indicated in BC 3000, likely the ancestors of the Jennites. After the cataclysm only the Alphatian arrival is indicated in BC 1000. In DRAGON Magazine #247, Pardasta and Cloud Pardasta are noted as living in Bellissaria. Just these brief mentions can likely indicate Bellissaria has a complex history from before the Alphatians. We will examine it below along with the reasons why the Alphatians may have interest in dismissing the ancient history of the island continent.

People

The number of inhabitants in canon sources is quite unrealistic for a region which is in a temperate-warm area, is by canon very fertile to the point of being the bread-basket for the whole Alphatian Empire, and is well connected to trade routes. The density of just the human inhabitants should be at least three times higher, and there would still be room for plenty of non-human inhabitants. Unless the Alphatians are counting only one kind of inhabitant, the Alphatians, ignoring all the other ethnicities and races.

Monsters and races

By canon all the other lands around Bellissaria, including Alphatia, are inhabited by at least some elves, dwarves, lupins, humanoids and other races. In Bellissaria just humans and rakasta are mentioned. That’s not impossible but again it’s a bit unrealistic because at least some non-human immigrants from Alphatia will certainly be present among the population.

Almanac Events in Bellissaria

In AC 1010 there is a peasant revolt in Notrion (Yar. 8), with King Lodrig having to flee the capital and some troops deserting. The revolt is finally quelled and the leader executed (Fel. 2) but King Lodrig is eventually killed (Kal. 4). Spies from Lagrius attempt to kidnap Coltius Torion in Thyatis City but instead take Tredorian and let him go (Kla. 9). A civil war starts in Surshield when Queen Gratia tries to impose rule on the interior (Fyr. 8) until she finally gives up (Svi. 4). An acid golem is invented in Alchemos to help the Isle of Dawn against Thyatis (Amb. 5). An Alphatian skyship from the Hollow World visits Bellissaria, starting from Alinquin in Dawnrim (Eir. 20 – Kal. 20).

[Image: Skyships]

http://pandius.com/Senarch_Dungeons_and_Dragons_fantasy_magical_flying_17th_centur_d178f217-7316-42c1-9ecd-211db23e18d4.png
Caption: Skyships, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

In AC 1011 Zandor’s troops from Aquas invade Bridgeport in Dawnrim (Yar. 16) and Alinquin submits to him (Kla. 3). Notrion is divided between two competing wizards (Kla. 12) with civil war in Aaslin (Kla. 17) until Commander Broderick of Aquas takes the city and nominates an Alphatian fighter, Corydon, as governor (Kla. 18). King Villiun of Horken submits to Zandor (Kla. 26) and later all the other rulers as well (Fyr. 5). Zandor accepts their submissions (Amb. 9) but later decides to depose Queens Siaron, Drulivia and Gratia (Eir. 13). Queen Gratia refuses to abdicate (Kal. 8), so Commander Broderick prepares for war against Surshield, while Queen Siaron nominates a friend, Elenitsa, as queen, and Queen Drulivia retires to study and nominates Commander Hubertek as king.

In AC 1012 Commander Broderick of Aquas sends spies to Spearpoint (Nuw. 4) and wins a naval battle against Surshield Navy, forcing it to retreat (Nuw. 9). Then Broderick convinces Queen Gratia to escape to Esterhold (Vat. 8 and 13. Tha. 1) and nominates King Rolando Rutherford (Tha. 6). Bellissarian pirates attack merchant vessels (Fla. 14). The Bellissarian vessel Sea Stalker captures Minaean pirate captain Firebrand and his ship Stormrider (Yar. 3). Pirates raid the village of Chemok in Surshield, taking prisoners and asking for the freedom of Firebrand (Yar. 19). Former queen Gratia of Surshield joins the rebellion in Skyfyr, Esterhold (Kla. 20, Fel. 8, 28). The New Alphatian Council forms after Zandor’s deposition and capture, and Queen Gratia returns to Surshield (Kal. 13).

In AC 1013 there are no events for Bellissaria in the “Joshuan’s Almanac” except for a note about the consolidation of the New Alphatian Confederate Empire (NACE^⁶). The Mystaran Almanac of the following year mentioned that King Hubertek of Meriander and King Corydon of Notrion put an end to the old Alphatian law that restricted nobility to spellcasters.

In AC 1014 there is a Hardball Tournament in Ionace (Fla. 1) ending with a final between the the Aquas Seahawks and the Coppertown Red Skins^⁷ of Dawnrim. After a long, disputed match, the Seahawks prevail. (Fla. 28). After NACE officially announces Alphatia still exists in the Hollow World, Queen Gratia of Surshield has a confrontation in parliament with Baron Norlan of Qeodhar (Svi. 9).

In AC 1015 the NACE Council discovers that the Sundsvall Maelstrom can be used to reach Alphatia in the Hollow World (Amb. 28) and sends diplomats (Eir. 15) who also meet the Karameikan Expedition to the Hollow World in Alphatia (Kal. 26).

In AC 1016 there is civil unrest in Notrion following the decision to diversify cultivations (Nuw. 10, 25) and construct new domes there for Aquas (Vat. 7). A yacht race in Lagrius (Nuw. 26, Tha. 8) leads to the discovery of Randel troops hidden in the interior of Notrion (Tha. 26) and the meeting of the Ionace Council (Kla. 8, Fel. 14). Raids from Surshield hit Dawnrim (Tha. 20), and Dubbo in Surshield is attacked by golems escaped from Gaity (Fyr. 14), leading to the division of Surshield into three dominions: Surshield proper in the east under Queen Gratia, Turmoil as an anarchy in the middle, and Eirundrynn in the east under the elf Jhedryll as governor (Kal. 21). Queen Elenitsa of Lagrius abdicates to Siaron Lagrius (Kla. 16). Magist Drulivia in Alchemos develops a new sealant for submersibles (Fyr. 2). The kingdom of Veroth is granted to Randel refugees in the west of Notrion’s territory under King Verothrics, former king of Randel (Fyr. 11), who later kills a former Glantrian spy in magic duel in Lagrius (Eir. 19). There are bombings in Alchemos, Meriander, by opposers to wizards’ nobility (Amb. 12), later arrested (Svi. 27). New forts are built between Dawnrim and Veroth (Svi. 3, Eir. 1).

In AC 1017 Karszamon the wizard becomes NACE Commander after possessing Broderick’s body (Nuw. 22). A shipwreck in Lagrius (Tha. 17). Annual regatta decided in Lagrius but canceled as NACE is plagued by underwater undead (Fel. 15, Amb. 7). Thieves’ Guild exposed in Notrion (Fyr. 23). Domes are completed in Notrion to be used for the new undersea settlement of Torenal in former Arogansa, but transport is delayed by undead problems in the undersea of former Alphatia (Nuw. 12, Kal. 2).

In AC 1018 the domes finally leave Notrion (Nuw. 10). The NACE Council struggles to cooperate (Nuw. 12). A carnival, Milos’s Exhibition of Wonders, with an Earthshaker, visits Crownhaven in Notrion (Tha. 15). Notrion has a budget problem (Tha. 17) and imposes new taxes (Fla. 6). Veroth sends mercenaries to help the Alphatians menaced by the Jennites in Esterhold (Fla. 11). Queen Gratia recruits sailors against Minaean piracy (Fyr. 16). Powerful wizards start to settle Turmoil, which becomes more and more the Blackheart of Bellissaria (Amb. 5). Governor Jhedryll of Eirundrynn invites Shiye elves to settle his territory (Svi. 6). Notrion is near default (Eir. 3) and the economic crisis also hits shipbuilding in Surshield (Eir. 21). King Verothrics of Veroth and Master Terari discuss the future of NACE (Eir. 25). Milos’s Exhibition of Wonders arrives in Lagrius (Kal. 3).

In AC 1019 the evil wizards problem worsens in Turmoil (Nuw. 25), also resulting in raids by bandits in Eirundrynn (Vat. 1). Economic crisis in glass factories in Alinquin, Dawnrim (Tha. 14), leading to a short rebellion (Tha. 19), while unemployment rises all over Bellissaria (Tha. 22). Veroth invites workers (Fla. 12). Notrion goes bankrupt (Yar. 9). Undead are spotted in the sea near Alinquin, Dawnrim (Yar. 21–26). Slow growth of elven presence in Eirundrynn (Kla. 10). A Naycese submersible battles undead off the coast of Dawnrim (Fel. 2–4). Riots due to unemployment in Alinquin, Spearpoint, Aaslin, and Blueside (Fel. 4). Village of zombies created by a necromancer in Turmoil (Fel. 7). The launch of the Seawarden, the prototype of a new, smaller class of submersible, results in disaster in Spearpoint (Fyr. 11). A gargantuan dusanu attacks Ionace causing the evacuation of the city (Fyr. 19). The elf Lathadras begins a forestation project in Eirundrynn (Amb. 22). New Imperial capital of Vaisalian founded in the center of Bellissaria (Svi. 4). The NACE project to increase farming has success only in Meriander but fails in Notrion, Surshield and Dawnrim (Svi. 18). The Silent Distribution, a thieves’ guild of South Harbor in Turmoil, discovered behind the increase of zzonga in Bellissaria (Svi. 19). The NACE Council decides an expansive investment policy to overcome the economic crisis (Svi. 26). After the collapse of the Aegos’s Pit and death of many workers (Eir. 8) a group of revolutionaries against the aristocracy forms in Notrion (Eir. 22). King Ericall of Norwold accepts to welcome unemployed commoners from Bellissaria (Kal. 11). Inhabitants of Turmoil attack wizards’ towers, attempting to remove them from their territory (Kal. 28). The revolutionaries calling themselves ‘The Collapse’ attack wizards on the day without magic, and an attempt on the life of Commander Karszamon ends with him losing a hand (Kal. 28).

So in the end the Almanacs added a lot of information on Bellissaria, bringing it a bit to life from the rather dull description of DotE. And then obviously there was more fan production on the island-continent.

Bellissaria in the Vaults

The Bellissaria section in the Vaults of Pandius^⁸ has a few interesting articles about the island. Starting from the oldest, “The History of Jamuga Khan and his Horde”^⁹ by Captain Ebenezum, which has a Lagrius wizard founding a nomadic horde in the steppes of Dawnrim, now led by his children Dasadas Khan and Ari-Ki Orkhan.
The same author also wrote a “Gazetteer of the Kingdom of Dawnrim”^¹⁰ connected to the history mentioned above, with Dawnrim founded by rancher barons. Rulers and hard-ball teams of Dawnrim are also described.
The “Bellissarian Economics” article by Bruce Heard^¹¹ is very important because it completely revises the population of the island-continent, bringing it to a much more realistic 9 million people! In my opinion such numbers make much more sense than those previously seen in canon. For example my calculation of a more realistic population density for the Known World^¹² suppose a population of about 48 million intelligent creatures, of which 18 million are humans. If we apply the same idea to Bellissaria, it would be fair to assume 9 million human inhabitants and possibly the same number of other intelligent creatures, if not more. Consider that such a number would mean a population density of less than 7 humans per square mile, which is still very low for agricultural areas.
“Expedition to the Great Southland” by Jamuga Khan^¹³ described the discovery and first settling of Bellissaria at the end of the first century AY. The article supposes the names of the Bellissarian capitals are those of the admirals and captains who first arrived on the land. But we’ll discuss the Bellissarian toponyms in more detail later.
“The Minaean Affair” by Jamuga Khan and Captain Ebenezum^¹⁴ describes how Alchemos was founded by Minaeans in AY 900, which leads to a series of wars ending in the fall of Alchemos in Alphatian hands in AY 924 and the founding of Spearpoint as a base against further Minaean incursions.
“The Order of the Lakes” by Jamuga Khan^¹⁵ is also relevant because it described a shipping company which also appears in the Mystaranan Almanac events by the same author.
“Monstrous Atlas: The Island of Bellissaria” by Sheldon Morris^¹⁶ is also quite interesting as the first source about non-human inhabitants of the island. It’s basically just a generic list for encounters, but let’s take it for granted and so imagine Bellissaria has the creatures listed there. This would mean there are pooka, drake, dragons, dwarves, elves, sidhe, brownies, redcaps, dryads, flitterlings and treants among the intelligent creatures, plus some giant animals, classic creatures like griffons and manticores, undead, gargoyles, worms and more, but no humanoids.
“Bahldaraat-Khor” by Geoff Gander^¹⁷ imagines a civilization in Bellissaria dated from before the Great Rain of Fire, inspired by ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians, which fell with the great disaster that also destroyed Blackmoor.
“MMOs on Alphatian Soil - A Step Too Far?” by Gordon McCormick^¹⁸ is a humorous article imagining the magical equivalent of GMOs, but it contains a lot of interesting ideas which could be used in Bellissaria, such as magical anomalies in the local terrain caused by dead dragons, buried tarrasque or ancient horrors, golem harvesters, nomadic and underground rebels and rakasta ecologists!
“Shadow Elves: Clan Nelymbryn (The Apostates)” by Rodger Burns^¹⁹ imagines a stranded group of shadow elves under the mountains of Bellissaria.
“Alphatia: Kingdoms Before Landfall” by Rodger Burns^²⁰ also introduces a nomadic culture of Bellissaria which was eventually defeated and assimilated by the Alphatians.
And finally an adventure, the “Lagrius adventure” by Gilles Leblanc^²¹ which puts the PCs against a Thonian vampire and his minions.

[Map: Bellissaria in 8mph]

http://pandius.com/bellissaria_real_by_ramelin_devvs9s.png
Caption: Bellissaria in 8mph, original map by Ignacio Ramos (Ramelin)

About maps, Thorfinn Tait obviously made a Replica map^²² of the Poor Wizard’s Almanac Alphatian Region, 72 miles per hex, which is the canon map with most details about Bellissaria. Beside him, the great mappers of Mystara were just three people. Thibault Sarlat drew four 72 and 24 mph maps of Bellissaria, of which the most important is certainly the last one made in 2004^²³, showing the new kingdoms and the new capital of Bellissaria and NACE.
LoZompatore in “Thoughts about Bellissarian maps” published in 2006 a beautiful 24 mph map of Bellissaria^²⁴ adding some terrain and several unnamed villages in all the kingdoms.
And finally Ignacio Ramos in 2018-2021 mapped the whole of Bellissaria at 8 mph^²⁵, adding a lot of details to the land, its terrains and communities, including placing some territories inhabited by hill giants and cyclops!

Bellissaria’s past in Threshold Magazine issue #11

One more fan source about Bellissaria is what I wrote in Threshold Magazine, in the article “Lost Civilizations of Thyatis and Alphatia”^²⁶. As I was not happy with the lack of canon information about the past of the region, I developed in the article a series of civilizations which lived and prospered in the Alphatian Sea before the Alphatians, using what little canon hints could be assumed from the migration maps of the “Hollow World” boxed set and what other fans have written over the years. And so from this we can start with the real History of Bellissaria, as I imagined it!

The Real History of Bellissaria

Alphatians pretend Bellissaria had no history before their coming. This is just one of the biggest lies ever written down in the history of the historical lies of Mystara and, as a historian, I can assure you dear reader that History is full of lies. Countries always try to defend their actions in the eyes of the contemporary and of the posterity and Empires do so even more because they are more powerful, and have more people whom they can devote to this task.
The main purpose of this big lie was originally to distance the Bellissarian native population from its original roots, which are, simplifying a bit, the same roots of us Minaeans, of the Thyatians and of the Thothians. As such roots come from the most ancient and powerful civilizations of Mystara, it’s not surprising that the Alphatians, as outer planar invaders, did their best to hide them. They arrived at the point to spread ridiculous population numbers, pretending the whole of Bellissaria was inhabited only by about half a million Alphatians, ignoring the very existence of 9 million native Bellissarian and probably as many native non-human inhabitants.
As a further irony, Bellissaria is clearly a Milenian name, which indeed comes from an ancient general^²⁷ of whom the average Alphatian, in their typical arrogance, knows nothing.
It should be noted that in previous centuries even the Minaeans and our ancestors, the Milenians, mostly ignored the history of Bellissaria before themselves. But this has changed now as I and others have studied extensively the ancient history of the great island, and I have spoken personally with one of its most ancient inhabitants, the sidhe.

[Image: Mountain Giant]

http://pandius.com/MountainGiant.png
Caption: Mountain Giant, Original drawing by Jeffrey Kosh (https://jeffreykosh.wixsite.com/jeffreykoshgraphics/home).

Of Fairy Folk, Giantkind, Dragonkind, and the Scaly Kingdoms

Before the humans, and even before the rakasta, Bellissaria was inhabited by the fairy folk, by giants and by dragons. This was in times so ancient it is difficult to measure them, hundreds of thousands of years before the time of man. These first inhabitants of Bellissaria sometimes lived in peace, and sometimes they fought among themselves. But what really started thousand years of wars was the arrival in Bellissaria of many reptilian races. The sidhe said they were called saurials, pterafolk, carnifex, lizardmen, troglodytes, gatormen, frogfolk, and more. Some are known to exist in modern times too, others have been extinct since many centuries.
Some of the dragons allied with the reptilian races against the giants, or even against the fairy folk, and so all these ancient races were weakened by so many wars, while the reptilian races rose in numbers and power.

Of Brutemen and Burrowers

But as for all things of the world, their time of power was not to last forever, as new races spread in the world. Those who are now called ‘brutemen’ and in modern times live only in the most remote lands or in caverns under the earth, and some sages speculate could be ancestors of modern men, once according to the sidhe were numerous and powerful in magic.
When they arrived in Bellissaria the struggle against the reptilian races was going badly for fairy folks and giants, but the brutemen changed the course of the wars and after some time the reptilian races were severely limited in numbers and territories.
The time of brutemen came to end too, however, when terrible, huge monsters called the Burrowers appeared in the world, destroying whole civilizations. The sidhe did not know if they were sent by some dark Immortal or called by some terrible and ancient magic, but in any case before they were defeated and returned deep down the earth from whence they came, many lands of Bellissaria were laid empty of life.

[Image: Caracasta fighting a lizardman]

http://pandius.com/Caracasta.png
Caption: Caracasta fighting a lizardman, original drawing by Jeffrey Kosh (https://jeffreykosh.wixsite.com/jeffreykoshgraphics/home).

Of the Arrival of the Rakasta

Here came the rakasta, or more precisely pardasta, cloud pardasta and caracasta, arriving from Skothar to live in the great plains, forests and mountains of Bellissaria. As the other races were much diminished in numbers they had much space to live and prosper.
The rakasta mostly lived in peace with fairy folk, giants and dragons, and with the remaining but dwindling brutemen, but occasionally warred with the reptilian people who still lived in no small numbers in Bellissaria.
They also had sometimes fluctuating relations with another minor migration which arrived in Bellissaria, the golden lupins^²⁸. Still the lupins were few and their numbers could not endanger the prominence of the rakasta.

[Image: Golden lupin]

http://pandius.com/GoldenLupin.png
Caption: Golden lupin, original drawing by Jeffrey Kosh (https://jeffreykosh.wixsite.com/jeffreykoshgraphics/home).

Of the High Carnifex Empire

Then, for a time and not for the last time, reptilian races returned to power in the Alphatian Sea, including Bellissaria, forcing other races to hide or retreat. The sidhe said that the carnifex, a reptilian people which does not exist anymore nowadays, unified all other reptilian races under their rule, and became so powerful they tried to defy the Immortals.
In that time, the climate in Bellissaria became hot and humid, favoring even more reptilian races over the rakasta and others. But in the end the carnifex were banished by the Immortals and with their end came the time of men.

Of Oltecs and Lhomarrians

It is a well known fact among sages that Neathar, Oltecs and Tanagoro were the first three main human races. While the Neathar spread slowly in northern Skothar and later in Brun, and the Tanagoro in southern Skothar, the Oltecs were the first ones to use navigation, and they spread from western Skothar, likely our present Minaea and Esterhold, to Bellissaria and the whole Alphatian Sea up to the far west of Brun and Davania. This happened according to the sidhe more than 10,000 years ago. Another human group, related to both the Oltecs and the Neathar, developed even better sailing skills, and spread from Minaea to Bellissaria and to Davania. These people called themselves the Lhomarrian, from their great island nation of Lhomarr^²⁹ in southern Davania, an island which does not exist anymore today.

[Image: Lizardfolk]

http://pandius.com/Lizardfolk.png
Caption: Lizardfolk, original drawing by Jeffrey Kosh (https://jeffreykosh.wixsite.com/jeffreykoshgraphics/home).

Of the Second Carnifex Empire and Lhomarr

A second carnifex empire rose in northwestern Davania, and rapidly spread over the world, almost touching even the Alphatian Sea. The sidhe said that the carnifex and Lhomarr destroyed one another in a long war fought with terrible magic. Bellissaria in the meantime was divided into many communities of Oltecs, Lhomarrians and rakasta.

Of Serpentines and Aztlan

After the fall of Lhomarr and the carnifex there was a power vacuum in the Alphatian Sea, which was soon filled by the Aztlan or Atlan Empire, created by some Oltecs who came back from the west, and local descendants of Lhomarrians. The Empire came to dominate most of Alphatia and Bellissaria, but eventually it ended when its capital was destroyed by a seaquake and subject territories rebelled. In the meantime a new reptilian empire was born in Davania, Arypt, dominated by the serpentines, which now maybe survive only in the southern continent. Their conquests however never reached Bellissaria.
Where was the capital of Atlan? No one knows for sure. The sidhe said it was where now there is Aaslin in Bellissaria, and then was later moved to the current location of Archport in Alphatia.

Of Blackmoor and the Great Rain of Fire

During the time of power of Blackmoor, Bellissaria was dominated by the Kingdom of Bahldaraat-Khor, formed by people related to the ancient Lhomarrians. It was destroyed by the same cataclysm that destroyed Blackmoor and all the kingdoms of the world, and for centuries thereafter Bellissaria like many other places was subject to harsh climate and repeated invasions of different peoples, including insect men called the hivebrood from the north.
Nevertheless in the end the Asidh people, descendants of the ancient Lhomarrians and Oltecs, and the pardasta, were able to resist and prosper.
The name ‘Baaldarat’ indicated the island continent of Bellissaria for many following centuries, until it was substituted by the current Milenian name.

Of Humanoid Invasions

A thousand years before King Milen’s migration to Davania, the founding of Milenia and the arrival of the Alphatians, Bellissaria was inhabited by city-dwelling descendants of the previous civilizations in the north, nomadic herders in the middle and pardasta hunters in the southern mountain and forests. Tanagoro traders founded some small colonies in the south, and from the north came occasional hivebrood invaders, and from the east the Shumarians, a people which had a powerful nation from present day is Thonia. At the time in fact two land bridges, the sidhe said, connected Bellissaria to Esterhold and the Isle of Dawn. Beside that, it was a harsh time when piracy was widespread. But the worst for many human cultures of the region was yet to come, and it happened when the humanoids arrived from the north.
About 700 years before Milenia they stormed the area which is now presumptuously called the ‘Known World’ and through land bridges eventually they arrived in Alphatia, the Isle of Dawn, Ochalea and, later, also in Davania. Some groups even stole ships from the northern men and, using them themselves or forcing men to drive them, attacked northern Skothar and many other places. Some centuries later a group of orcs, the kara-kara, even started to build their own vessels to harass islands and ships all over the tropical seas. But despite all this, humanoids never settled Bellissaria. How is this possible?
The sidhe said it was the combination of two fortuitous events. Actually humanoids tried to invade Bellissaria twice, once coming from the Isle of Dawn and the other from Esterhold. In both cases however the land bridges were sinking at the time, and just a limited number of invaders could pass. The city states, the nomads and the pardasta were strong enough to dispatch or send running the rest of them.
In the following centuries the cultures inhabiting Bellissaria became even stronger, and smaller invasions by kara-kara or other humanoids with ships were thwarted. And so it is that Bellissaria remained one of the few regions of the world without relevant humanoid populations.

Of the Power of Thothia

Two thousand years ago, at the time when most of the ‘Known World’ was still occupied by humanoid hordes, the gnolls invaded Traladara, King Milen led our people to Davania and the Alphatians made landfall, Thothia^³⁰ had a great empire. The Thothians had founded colonies in many lands in the west, in the Alatians, in northern Davania and in Bellissaria.
If the Thothians came from the west, another people had come from the east, the Tarystians, who lived in the region which is now our country of Minaea. And another people of great seamanship skills, the Varellyans, had come from Davania. Neither of those people actually had hunger for territorial conquests. The Thothians founded many colonies, but they generally counted on their magical and trading superiority to control other peoples around them. The Tarystians were not united, but normally founded city states loosely allied among themselves. The Varellyans too were more interested in trading than in territorial conquests. Still in Bellissaria the most important cities in the west, the east and the south were mostly absorbed by one of these people, while the interior generally remained in the hands of the rakasta and the Tiref nomads.
But soon enough, two great empires had risen, both hungry for territorial conquests, and therefore destined to clash.

Of Alphatia and Milenia

As the empire of Thothia slowly decayed, Alphatia rose in power and finally in Milenian Year 500 absorbed the very territory of Thothia and several of its colonies, for example in the Alatians. But in those five centuries Milenia had not remained idle and had built a great empire in Davania, conquering many territories and powerful Varellyan cities, trading with Ochalea, the Pearl Islands and Tarystia, founding colonies in the Alatians, the Sea of Dawn and Bellissaria.
As the two rising empires came into contact, the clash was inevitable, and it certainly happened, each battle and war only intensifying the hatred and the determination of the contenders.
If the Alphatians had their superior magic and skyships, the Milenians had their alchemical fire, griffon riders and any other ally they could find. The Milenian Empire tried everything to contain the Alphatians. They sought alliances with or paid several factions in Ochalea and the Pearl Islands, and even their former enemies, such as the Thyatians and the Varellyans. Milenian envoys reached as far as the Jennites and the Thonians in Skothar, humanoids and Northmen in the Isle of Dawn, Alphatia and Brun, to harass and hinder the Alphatians from all possible sides. In Bellissaria, the Milenians established colonies and helped the local Tarystian cities, the Tiref nomads and the rakasta fight back against Alphatian encroachment.
Alphatian attempted to invade several times from Milenian Year 250 to 500, and especially after the fall of the Thothian Empire when Alphatia occupied Ochalea, the Alatians and the Isle of Dawn. Here came general Bellissarius, the Milenian hero who eventually gave his name to the island continent. He was sent to Bellissaria in Milenian/Alphatian Year 602, and defended it successfully against Alphatia with limited resources and men, rallying the local population against the invaders. He never went back to Milenia, eventually receiving permission from the emperor to stay in Bellissaria until his death in Milenian Year 654. The city of Prinkipapolis, now Princetown, was named Bellissariopolis in his honor, and soon all the island continent was known as Bellissaria, even by the Alphatians.
But as the Milenian Empire faltered and approached its end, resisting became more and more difficult. The Milenian colonies in the Isle of Dawn and Thyatis were the first to fall, and then the Alphatians could focus on Aegos and Bellissaria.
In the latter island, even if the regions of modern Alinquin and Aaslin had long been in the hands of the Alphatians, all the rest of Bellissaria stubbornly resisted, especially the east, the south and the interior, limiting the Alphatians to the northwestern territories.
It’s therefore completely false what’s written in several Alphatian chronicles, which say that Bellissaria was completely conquered by Alphatian/Milenian Year 924, even if it’s true that at the time that the Milenian Empire was meeting its end, the Milenian cities in Bellissaria were in great danger of being absorbed by the Alphatians.

How was it possible for Milenia to compete for so long with the Alphatian might? Well, easy to say. Alphatia has been rarely, if ever, a united empire. It’s more a collection of kingdoms, as the parts of the empire are indeed named, whose unity greatly depends on the strength or the power of persuasion of the ruling emperor or empress. Milenia on the other hand was for most of its history a very united empire, except for some minor periods of internal strife.
But then, we should ask ourselves why Alphatia lasted and Milenia fell. Most sages suspect that Alphatia indeed had some part in the fall of Milenia. Obviously the Milenians were trying the very same thing, for example by financing Thyatian rebels. But history favored the Alphatians. Maybe it could have gone the other way as well.

Of Minaea

In the Milenian Year 900, as Milenia was about to fall, Minaea was founded. Unlike Milenia, Minaea was never a unified empire. However Minaea often worked better as an informal alliance of city states than Alphatia did as an empire. This and the fact that in the west Thyatis rapidly became a thorn in the side of the powerful Alphatian Empire meant that Bellissaria was not going to be easily conquered by the Alphatians.
In the years of the crisis of Milenia, when the Minaean city states were still consolidating in new regional powers and the Thyatian Empire wasn’t born yet, the Alphatians gained some territories in the west of the island, and in fact Bridgeport and Blueside were conquered by the Alphatians by the Alphatian Year 924, Minaean Year 24, but the east and the south keep resisting, and soon enough received help from the Minaean cities. Those Alphatian conquests, and the example of the Thyatians in the west, persuaded Minaeans they had to fight back the Alphatians approaching their shores, or they would be overwhelmed.
Indeed we can say that from the Minaean Years 100 to 825, which correspond to Alphatian Years 1000 to 1725 and Thyatian Years 0 to 725, the cities of Crownhaven, Alchemos, Seahaven, Cairnport, Princetown, Horken, Spearpoint, South Harbor and Dubbo were all allied with Minaea, and later part of the Minaean League, and all bore Milenian names at the time, which were Stemmapolis, Alchemopolis, Thalassopolis, Soropolis, Bellissariopolis, Ormopolis, Doropolis, Notolimani. Dubbo is the only one which kept its name, as it was not Milenian but an ancient Tanagoro name. The Alphatians simply translated the Milenian names into their language, with the exceptions of Bellissariopolis and Ormopolis (‘city on the bay’ in Milenian), which became Princetown, from the original Milenian name Prinkipapolis it had before Bellissarius, and Horken, from the name of the Norwold general who led the final Alphatian conquest of Bellissaria. Because indeed the Bellissarian cities were conquered by the Alphatian during a dark time of Minaean history.

Of the Fall of Bellissaria into Alphatian Hands

In the seven centuries mentioned above the Alphatians tried to conquer the Milenian cities of Bellissaria multiple times. In Alphatian Year 1353, Minaean Year 453, the Alphatians conquered Leontion, in Minaea itself, and at the same time attacked several cities in Bellissaria. Dubbo, Stemmapolis and Notolimani fell into Alphatian hands and were never reconquered. But still the Alphatian plan eventually failed. The wizards of Leontion, individualistic Alphatians as usual, ended up betraying their homeland and joining the Minaean League. The south of Bellissaria was taken by Alphatia in name only, as continuous revolts made it impossible for the invaders to control it. However the Alphatians were not going to give up. They tried again in Minaean Years 545 and 638, Alphatian Years 1445 and 1538, when the Minaean League was at war with the Skotharian kingdoms of Tangor and Hastwr, and managed to conquer Bellissariopolis. In the year 546 the Minaean reaction took the city back, but in the year 640 the attempt failed and the Alphatians kept the city, a great shame for the other Milenian cities of Bellissaria, as the city named after the eponymous hero was considered the de-facto capital of their people.
Finally in the Minaean Year 821, Alphatian Year 1721, the final assault began. In that year the green orcs of Skothar were threatening the whole Minaean League. The cities of Erech and Sinbay were sacked and there was chaos in Minaea for six more years. The Milenian cities of Bellissaria were alone, and this time the Alphatians, in a rare moment of unity, threw their full might against them. General Horken from Norwold was an intelligent tactician and between Minaean Year 821 and 825 he captured all the free Milenian cities, first Ormopolis/Horken in Minaean Year 821, then all the minor cities on the eastern coast, with Alchemopolis and Doropolis/Spearpoint the last to fall in the years 824 and 825.
Then panic struck Minaea. Bellissaria had fallen. The Alphatians were just a few miles off our coasts. In the Year 830 Captain Arkali ousted the corrupt government of Minaeapolis and pushed for the creation of a true confederate kingdom, as it happened in the Year 838.
In the same year and multiple times until the Year 841, Arkali attacked Alchemopolis, Doropolis and Bellissariopolis, but the attempts to take back the Milenian cities of Bellissaria always failed. Soon enough a new strategy was decided in Minaea to contain the Alphatians.

Of Minaean ‘piracy’

The Alphatians are too arrogant to admit that Minaea is strong enough to challenge them, and therefore call our actions of war ‘simple piracy.’ This claim is outrageous but has an element of truth. The Confederacy of Minaea in fact, realizing it was not going to take back Bellissaria by direct military action, focused on systematically disrupting Alphatian trade routes and fomenting internal rebellions against wizards in general and Alphatians in particular. It worked relatively well as Alphatia was never able to obtain a full control over Bellissarian kingdoms and, combined with the many setbacks the empire suffered in the west in the last two centuries, Alphatia was forced to accept that Bellissaria was always going to be partially independent and uncontrollable.
It indeed became safer for Minaean ships to navigate the Bellissarian Sea and the Inner Sea of Ormopolis, as we still call Horken, than it was for Alphatian ships. We kept trading freely with eastern and southern Bellissaria, while the Alphatians accepted the fact that the island for them was mainly just an easy source of grains and other basic products, but was not going to become a reliable military stronghold, except for Spearpoint.
Then the Great War came, and Alphatia was greatly damaged by it, to the great gain of Minaea.

Of the future of Bellissaria

What will be of Bellissaria? Will it remain in Alphatian hands or return to Minaea? After the Great War in the west the Alphatians have made several attempts to gain more control of the island continent, with mixed results. Which of the two peoples will have less difficulties and will have to fight less enemies will probably be able to gain the upper hand in Bellissaria. The east and the south would gladly return to Minaea, while the west and the north are probably more firmly aligned with Alphatia. Only time will tell what will happen in the future of the great island continent.

The Kingdoms and the true people of Bellissaria

As I will use Ramelin’s map to illustrate each kingdom, I’ve asked him to describe each one as he originally intended them when making his maps. Following his description, the other chapters for each kingdom are my ideas to update them, also using the Mystaran Almanacs and other fans’ contributions.

Notrion

Rulers^³¹

[Image: Lodrig III]

http://pandius.com/Senarch_King_Lodrig_III_of_Notrion_spoiled_argumentative_male_w_a29e8f6c-71d6-4936-84e9-9884f860269b.png
Caption: Lodrig III, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

King Lodrig III of Notrion (dies AC 1010). Male wizard 9, about 20 years old, pale skin, blue eyes, black hair, tall, lean, height 6'4''. Spoiled and argumentative.

[Image: Corydon]

http://pandius.com/Senarch_King_Corydon_of_Notrion_male_fighter_lean_copper_skin_l_18207671-89f9-451f-be7a-a29dd8d884ed.png
Caption: Corydon, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

King Corydon of Notrion (successor in AC 1011). Male fighter 14, lean, copper skin, long brown hair, blue eyes, elegant, about 40 years old.

[Image: Verothrics]

http://pandius.com/Verothrics2.png
Caption: Verothrics, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

King Verothrics of Veroth (rules the west from AC 1016). Male wizard 18, black hair, black eyes, pale skin, looking about 40 years old, muscular.

Description, by Ramelin

Notrion is a “breadbasket nation,” the dominions are plantations known as sitabolons^³². Of course, only the sitabolons are more or less civilized, the rest of the nation is quite wild. As with Earth’s plantations, workers are slaves who live wretched backbreaking lives. The plantation owners are almost omnipotent inside their fiefs. The only free towns are the capital and a few larger ports. The sitabolons are highly productive, so the king, the nobility, and metropolitan Alphatia have no interest of bettering the standard of living of the slave class. Slaves are very close-mouthed and outsiders (adventuring parties) are not welcome in the sitabolons. Nevertheless local lords do have monster problems from the surrounding wildlands and are in occasional need of “monster specialists” (the PCs).

[Map: Notrion in 8mph]

http://pandius.com/bellisarian_kingdom_of_notrion_by_ramelin_dc54vzd.png
Caption: Notrion in 8mph, original map by Ignacio Ramos (Ramelin)

More about Notrion, by me and others

As we saw in the events above, Notrion is quite a turbulent kingdom, where a king was killed and the new one decided to abolish wizardly nobility, but still had to face discontent and economic crisis. It’s also one of the main exporters of grain thanks not just to the land but more to the conditions on the sitabolons. The maps by LoZompatore, Thibault and Ramelin referenced above all have different communities in the interior and the coast. The more detailed 8 mph map by Ramelin is used as the basic reference for this article.

History after Landfall

The Alphatians arrived in Aaslin the first time in AY 102. The city was named Asydhan at the time and was inhabited by a native people allied with the Thothians. Peaceful trade relations were established immediately, and when Thothia fell the city was absorbed by the Alphatians. Soon enough the whole northwestern coast of Notrion entered the Alphatian Empire, and slowly the plantations were created. However all attempts by the government or individual wizards to establish footholds in the interior were met with strong resistance and ultimate disaster for the invaders. Likewise the whole eastern coast of Notrion, and the city of Stemmapolis (later Crownhaven), successfully resisted any attempt of conquest. When Bellisarius arrived in Milenian/Alphatian Year 602, he saved Stemmapolis, which was about to fall, and organized the east, the center and the south of the island to resist Alphatian encroaching for some more centuries. However in Milenian/Alphatian Year 924 the Alphatians reached the region of Blueside Lake and founded the namesake city, yet the interior of Notrion remained de-facto independent and the eastern coast firmly in Milenian, and later Minaean, hands.
Only in Alphatian Year 1353, Minaean Year 453, was Crownhaven conquered by the Alphatians, yet the eastern coast remained in Minaean hands until the conquest of Princetown in Minaean Year 638, Alphatian Year 1538. Raids by the Minaeans continued for two centuries more, then the situation stabilized and Notrion’s kings only had to worry about ‘piracy.’ The truth is they had zero control on the interior, very little on the plantations, and de-facto ruled only the coastal cities.

[Image: Aaslin]

http://pandius.com/Aaslin.png
Caption: Aaslin, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Notrion after AC 1014

If you want to use the events of the Mystaran Almanacs summarized above, this means the new Kingdom of Veroth was founded in western Notrion by Randel’s refugees. Its border should run, in Ramelin’s map, along the Halfwood Waters and the Nikolos River. Its capital, Stalwart, should have been built over the Barren Plateau, a defensible position which fits perfectly with the militaristic mentality of Randel. The later development of Randel done by Bruce Heard in his blog, which includes dragonriders, also fits with the idea that the dragons of Bellissaria may have granted them permission to settle in the region. In the Almanacs Bridgeport would also become part of the new Kingdom of Veroth.
Later, in AC 1109, the NACE Council built a new capital, Vaisalian, which is meant to become the capital of the new empire. It should be placed on Blueside Lake, in the forest hex in the middle of the Northbank Marshes. This could also lead to settlements in the High Prairies, and resulting tensions with the local inhabitants.
The Almanacs also describe a new Thieves’ Guild taking hold and a widespread sentiment of rebellion against the aristocracy, which could well encompass other kingdoms of Bellissaria.

People and communities

Notrion has about 2.2 million official inhabitants, the ones living along the coast and in a heavily farmed territory about 100 miles from the coast. It is estimated that one million more unofficial inhabitants live in the interior of the country. The true Alphatians number just 60,000, of which 10,000 are in Aaslin. The capital has a population of about 60,000 people, and around the same number of people live in the many other cities along the coast^³³. However, most of the farming population lives in the great plantations, which are still owned by powerful wizard families.
The plantations do not produce and export only grain, fruit, and oil, but also meat, especially beef and pork.
The coastal cities of northern Notrion have a long and proud history dating back to millenia ago, but most of them are now reduced to small and quiet places, hardly remembering their glorious past if not for the fact they still often refer to Bellissaria with its ancient name, Baaldarat.
Crownhaven and the eastern cities instead remember their Milenian identity very well and would gladly join the Confederacy of Minaea rather than remain under the Alphatians. Except for Crownhaven, which has about 15,000 inhabitants, none of the other cities has more than 5,000.
The Alphatians of Notrion live predominantly in the cities, but many of them are commoners. Among them there is also a certain number of elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings and humanoids of Alphatian origin, who generally have immigrated over the centuries and work as specialized artisans, traders, laborers or servants.
The humans of Alphatian origin are mostly of Cypric descent and are generally not distinguishable from the true natives who, like them, have copper skin. The only difference is that natives generally have black to brown hair while the Alphatians red to brown. ‘True Alphatians’ with black hair and pale skin are a rare sight.
The farmers of the plantations are mostly native humans, i.e. non-Alphatians. Most of them are commoners, not slaves. In fact the Alphatians in the past had trouble introducing large-scale slavery in Bellissaria, due to frequent rebellions, and in Notrion on average the slaves are treated better than in mainland Alphatia. They can choose their own spouse and have a house, a small pay and some free time. Occasionally they can also obtain permission to leave the plantation for a few days. The free farmers instead typically do not own the land but rent a plot from the landlord. The difference between a free farmer and a slave is mainly the fact the free farmer can leave when they want to, even if normally this just means changing plantation, and they have on average a better paycheck. Due to the fact that Notrion has been in Alphatian hands for centuries, and over the centuries many slaves have been freed or gained freedom, today just a third of the farming population of 2 million people consists of slaves. It’s still the highest percentage of all Bellissarian kingdoms.
However several plantation owners tried to import slaves at different times in the past. This did not work very well, as many of them escaped to the interior of Notrion.
Fairy folk, brutemen, reptilian races, giants, lupins and rakasta are the native inhabitants of the great vast interior of Notrion. Over the centuries they have accepted a relevant number of humans, descendants of Oltecs, Thothians and of Alphatian slaves, and also a certain number of humanoids, which also were imported as slaves from mainland Alphatia and escaped.

The Land and its other inhabitants

The forests of Notrion are firmly fairy folk lands, where only druids and a few more humans who are proven friends of the fairies dare to go. All fairy races from pixies to treants live in the forests, except for the centaurs who normally prefer to roam the great plains. The forests are also guarded by the tasloi, a creature which looks like the cross between a goblin and a gremlin. Legends say they were created by the sidhe to fight ancient reptilian races. They are greatly feared by humans as they are masters in ambushes, jumping down from trees with nets and javelins.

[Image: Tasloi]
http://pandius.com/TasloiJK.png

Caption: Tasloi, original drawing by Jeffrey Kosh (https://jeffreykosh.wixsite.com/jeffreykoshgraphics/home).

Tasloi as a BECMI race
The tasloi is a chaotic evil AD&D creature living in jungles, with no canon connection to fairy folks. However their similarity to Mystaran gremlins and the fact that other fans had already placed them in Bellissaria made them perfect as guardians of the forests. For their stats I’ve ‘mixed’ the original tasloi with the BECMI gremlin. The Mystaran tasloi could have been brought here with planar magic by the fairy folk of Bellissaria or they could be a unique creation of sidhe magic, as the DM prefers.

Tasloi (BECMI)
Armor class: 5
Hit Dice: 1*
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: 2
Damage: 1d3 or by weapon type
No. Appearing: 10d10
Save As: Elf 1
Morale: 11
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: 9
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 20
Tasloi are 3–4' feet high, have green skin with some black hair, and golden eyes which can see in the dark. They have 90' infravision but suffer a -1 penalty in full daylight, if not protected by deep foliage. They are extremely nimble on trees and opponents suffer a -4 penalty on their surprise rolls. They can also hide in shadows as thieves with a 75% effectiveness.
Spells sent against them have always a 50% chance of failure.
They are very quick and prefer to use javelins and nets, using ambushes and attacks followed by rapid retreats, in very numerous warbands. They eat anything they find in the forest, including fallen enemies.
Their villages are built on trees and usually also host trained giant spiders and giant wasps, which can be brought in battle. The outskirts of their villages are typically full of nasty traps, often poisoned. Each village usually numbers at least 100 individuals, and has a chief with up to 5 hit dice, and a shaman. Half the inhabitants of the village are normally younglings who do not fight, but females fight as savagely as males.
They respect fairy folks and never attack them. Sidhe, pookas, drakes or treants may be present to help a tasloi village if it has been attacked by monsters or outsiders.

Reptilian races nowadays are relatively rare in the forests and the hills, with only small clans living underground, but there are sizable communities in the marshes along the eastern rivers and coast, around Athakos Lake and in the Northbank Marshes of Blueside Lake.
The Billhook Hills, the Wrinkelmazes and the Barren Plateau are mainly inhabited by brutemen, generally living in caves or underground, hill giants, and sarabi lupins. The Sarabi are a massive breed of lupins, greatly appreciated as guards in the plantations and coastal cities, where some of them have come to live. A much smaller breed of lupin, the kokoni, is of Milenian origin and normally lives in the eastern cities, where most of them work as servants, traders or artisans.
The only rakasta of Notrion are the caracasta who live in the Skeith Hills in the south and at the outskirts of the Grand Harrow Forest and the Wiffletree Woods.

[Image: Sarabi lupin]

The High Prairies of Notrion are centaur lands, but are also inhabited by some clans of nomadic humans, the Asydh, who claim to be the native inhabitants of Notrion, and mixed clans of humans and humanoids, who claim to be escaped slaves. These three types of prairie clans normally get along relatively well, but the stealing of horses, cows or goats is common, as are small clashes and rivalries between the clans.
There are no ‘traditional’ humanoid tribes in Notrion, as the humanoids live mixed with humans and so there is not a specific rivalry among humanoid races and neither between the nomadic humans and the humanoids.
Has the strength of all these people been enough to keep the Alphatians out of the interior of Notrion? Well, not just them. The interior lands have dragons. Many dragons. And dragons, with some exceptions, do not like Alphatian wizards.
Beside them, the typical fauna of Notrion in the forests include the pale leopard, a variety common in Notrion and Dawnrim; in the hills and mountains the light brown bear, a straw-colored bear typical of Bellissaria, the Bellissarian tur, a local goat-antelope; and in the prairies the Bellissarian tiger, which survives only here. In the High Prairies there are also several species of wild goats and gazelles, the Bellissarian ostrich and the Bellissarian bison, plus jackals, wolves and caracals.

Intrigues and adventures

Notrion has plenty of intrigue and a lot of opportunities for adventurers. The cities on the eastern coast are thick with Minaean spies and agents, and there is a growing tension there between the plantation owners of the interior and the cities’ authorities. The same also happens in the north and west, where the local cities, even if they would not want to join Minaea, suffer the excessive political power of the plantation owners. The inhabitants of the interior will obviously violently oppose any attempt to impose Alphatian control over them.
After the Wrath of the Immortals things get worse as the king is killed and the new one has many economic problems. They could probably be overcome with better taxation on plantation owners, but that poses a not insignificant political problem, as the king comes from the same bunch.
The founding of Veroth and eventually Vaisalian could well be the end of Notrion. Both places could quickly become more organized and unified and completely absorb the current country. But the Minaeans will likely not be happy to have the militaristic Randelians or the capital of NACE so near their coasts, and could decide to do something about it.

Dawnrim

[Image: Teskilion]

http://pandius.com/Senarch_King_Teskilion_of_Dawnrim_friendly_male_fighter_with_br_0cf0cb54-dcfe-4061-b831-15eff0ae759d.png
Caption: Teskilion, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Ruler

King Teskilion of Dawnrim. Male fighter 13, brown eyes, tanned skin, blond hair, beard and mustache, height 6'. Looks about 45 years old, fit, lean, wears plate mail, generally friendly.

Description, by Ramelin

Dawnrim may well be the cause of the perceived lack of magic-users on the Bellissarian island continent. While on the rest of Bellissaria, magic-users are not very common, in the Dawnrim territories, they are in very short supply, and even wizards migrating from elsewhere find their power and craft diminished while in Dawnrim.
(I suggest a few game mechanics. All spells studied while in Dawnrim are treated as if one level higher, and level advancement suffers a 20% XP penalty. This way, magic-users have more difficulty advancing in level, and also operating in daily life.)
The cause of this phenomenon is not known. It could be a curse not unlike the Red Curse of the Savage Coast. Maybe it is an Immortal artifact like the Pearl of Oblivion hidden in Ylaruam. It could be a magic-draining monster buried under the land, a little like the Burrowers of the Hollow World.
Settlements in Dawnrim are few and far between. The land, especially inland, is dry. The only civilized settlements that survive here are cattle ranches in the huge prairies of the south. The other sizable settlements are on the coast or in the Twin River Valley, which is fairly fertile.
Dawnrim is therefore a setting for magicless swashbuckling in a frontier setting. The magic-draining effect may or may not be reversible, but it is the task for very high level adventurers. Maybe the magic of the land has not been drained, but accumulated, and lifting the curse could make Dawnrim a magic-rich land, where magic is even easier to learn and cast than in other lands.

[Map: Dawnrim in 8mph]

http://pandius.com/bellisarian_territories_of_dawnrim_by_ramelin_dc54vu8.png
Caption: Dawnrim in 8mph, original map by Ignacio Ramos (Ramelin)