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Explore the world of conan

Discover the land of a barbarian

Hour of the Dragon

Settled on the mighty throne of Aquilonia, Conan finds himself contending with foes both in his court and without. As a shadowy plot brings about the resurrection of ancient sorcerer Xaltotun, Aquilonia is thrown into turmoil when Conan is believed slain, and the countryside is riven with infighting. After escaping captivity, Conan sets about to retrieve and destroy the source of Xaltotun’s power before mustering an army against those that would depose him – showing his foes the barbaric prowess and fury that ultimately named him a conqueror. 

Beyond the Black River

In the untamed Pictish Wilderness, the mighty Conan the Barbarian leads a band of Aquilonian soldiers against the primitive Picts. After his men are ambushed and slaughtered, Conan allies with young settler Balthus in escaping pursuit to warn the nearby fort of the Pict war machine – and the dread wizard Zogar Sag who leads them. As war spills out along the savage frontier, Conan and the Aquilonians drive their enemies back across the river but ultimately at great cost.

Red Nails

After spurning the advances of a Stygian soldier, the daring pirate warrior Valeria fled south across Stygia’s endless plains with Conan by her side. Their odyssey led them to the cursed city of Xuchotl, where Conan and Valeria soon found themselves caught in the crosshairs of two warring factions, each enslaved by an ancient sorceress wielding sinister magic. Though the inhabitants sought to entrap the warrior and steal Valeria’s lifeforce, the Cimmerian fights with the fury of a caged lion, breaking the sorceress’ spell, and taking flight through the meandering alleys of cursed Xuchotl with his beloved Valeria.

People of the Black Circle

Set amid the towering peaks of the Himelian Mountains, a diplomatic mission to rescue his men leads to Conan kidnapping the Vendhyan princess Yasmina and becoming embroiled in a struggle against the malevolent wizards of the Black Circle. Matching Conan’s strength and Yasmina’s wit, the pair form an unlikely alliance powerful enough to overcome both the evil sorcerers and the machinations of power-hungry politicians seeking their demise.

The Devil in Iron

The mighty Conan, backed by his band of brigands, sought to aid a princess in peril amidst the boiling waters of the inland Vilayet Sea. But lo, a foul plot had been weaved to lure the Cimmerian to the cursed island of Xapur, where death lurked at every turn and an ancient evil had been unwittingly unleashed. Undaunted, Conan wielded his ferocious might against inot only the dread mercenaries of his would-be captors, but of the dark monstrosities of Xapur’s mystic past.

Queen of the Black Coast

Amidst the roiling maelstroms and jagged cliffs of the Black Coast, Conan met the bewitching Bêlit – a woman whose pirate’s zeal and fierce nature were as enchanting and mysterious to Conan as the seas they sailed upon. Bound together by an insatiable love and lust, the pair braved the perils of the coast together – from navigating the razor-sharp reefs to battling rival pirates prowling the open waters. Yet soon after securing their legends as coastal reavers, rumors of fortune brought them deep into the jungle river of Zarkheba in search of a lost city. This trip would prove the last for the doomed lovers, where Bêlit would leave Conan on her final journey – to that one place where Conan could not follow.

The Tower of the Elephant

While prowling the treacherous labyrinth of Zamora, the City of Thieves, Conan heard tales of the Tower of the Elephant and the fabled fortune held within. After scaling the tower’s heights with panther-like ease and contending with its mysterious guards, Conan laid claim to a fabulous gemstone within – before meeting an unlikely ally from beyond this world. Empowered by his newfound friend’s unimaginable command over magic, Conan slew the powerful dark force that commanded the tower and carved a legacy for himself that would be remembered for eons.

Hither Came Conan

Conan hails from the harsh and gloomy mountain land of Cimmeria, claiming to be born on a battlefield. The son of a village blacksmith, he matured quickly as a youth, earning his place as a respected warrior by the age of fifteen by helping repel the incursion of a rival kingdom threatening his homeland. After, he was struck by the wandering spirit, needing to see and experience the wider world – and so began his adventures.

Hyperborea

Hyperborea is a rugged and desolate country, similar in geography and terrain to Nordheim. With much of its territory adjacent to or north of the Arctic Circle, the earliest people in this land suffered hardship beyond comprehension. They were Hybori — the northern tribe of Bori — though they became Hyperboreans, distinct from the Hyborians that ventured southward and founded most of the Dreaming West. These early Hyperboreans were eventually sublimated or ousted by the horse nomads who settled into the land, using the primitive Hyperborean villages as an apparent springboard into rapid development of walled communities, among the first of the northern people to dwell in cities.

The land itself is barren, with sparse steppes wracked with snow and wind to the east, and rocky foothills and ice to the west, eventually giving way to nothing but icy sheets and uninhabitable land to the north. Hyperborea is alternately rocky, hilly, and sweeping, its western border defined by a light mountain range that separates it from Asgard, though, like the hyperborean wind that passes through these mountains, Hyperborean slave-takers cross this range freely when raiding. Here their cities and fortresses are stronger and older, more settled and sprawling, while to the east the cities and towns are more modest, though also fortified against raids from the Hyrkanian hordes that sweep across the cold steppes in search of plunder and slaves.

The folk of Hyperborea are a strange and fey lot, a surly and dangerous people despised by most in the North for their wanton slavery and habit of waging war upon those who share borders. Their land is as bleak and cold as Asgard, though the southern reaches of the land are more favorable. There, the Hyperboreans can farm and herd to the best of their abilities, with small farming-steads outside their cities. Long ago, though, the folk now inhabiting Hyperborea were once akin to the people of Hyrkania, likely departing that land and heading seaward from the east. These were a race of horsemen, great tribes of tent-dwellers, living beneath roofs of horsehide, traversing the land far and wide, following the seasons, hunting and living off the land.

From many captive foreign strains, the Hyperborean bloodline has become mixed, but they are still a distinct people, the tallest by far in the northern continent. Gigantic and blonde are the Hyperboreans, prone to gauntness and light eyes, and there is a crudeness to their appearance, a big-boned and rough-hewn sort of mien that is disquieting, as if they are a cruder sort of folk than those from other lands. As a people, they are oft taciturn and sullen, boastful and careless with their words. Suitably, their language is coarse and thick. They speak slowly, their voices generally deep and rumbling, and if any member of that race showed joy, it was a grim and mirthless sort of celebration.

Vanaheim

Vanaheim is much like Asgard but has something that Asgard does not: a coastline. The terrain is rugged with high snow-capped mountains into the north, great forests in the southern lowlands, and tundra between. The land supports a variety of creatures including musk ox, moose, foxes, bears, and mammoths. Separated from Asgard, Pictland, and even Cimmeria by a range of mountains, the Vanir largely hold to the coastal islands and fjords, but continue to raid across their entire country. To the north is their Arctic Circle, where their ancient forebears once migrated from and now is largely left alone.

A far-northern nation comprising the western reach of Nordheim, Vanaheim is home to the red-haired blue-eyed Vanir, a virile and rough-hewn race of warriors who fight by day and carouse by night. They are hunters and gatherers that relish battle but only to loot and pillage, not as a means of expanding their boarders especially against their hated foes, the people of Asgard.

The Vanir live in tribal units with no single king. Though each tribe has its own king who typically presides in a timber roofed great hall. Lacking interest in farming, their ships become the source of their wealth, trading all the way down the coastline to Zingara and even Argos, but that is how they behave when in civilized coastal waters. On the southern coast of Vanaheim, their dragon-prowed ships stalk their own shores, mostly preying upon one another with raids on their small sea-towns. Occasionally they brave the Pictish coastline, but there is not enough of worth there to warrant the trouble, and generally they are driven back whenever their trespasses grow too bold.

Turan

Turan is vast, comprised of enormous deserts as well that stretch as far to the west as Khauran and Zamora and even beyond the Zaporaska River, which Turan barely recognizes as a border, down to Iranistan, and even up into the Hyrkanian-held steppes. Turan’s eastern coast is the Vilayet Sea and it claims much of that body of water, for the Hyrkanians do not sail and it is too far from Khitai to hold.

With rich and diverse lands and an enormous population, the country is wealthy and has much in the way of mineral wealth, marble, and is able to boast both a huge maritime and agricultural base. Mighty cities like Agraphur, the capital, are strewn along the Vilayet coast, with more regional capitals such as Shahpur, Sultanapur, and Xapur to the south.

It was not that long ago that Turan was largely made up of Hyrkanian riders who decided to cease the nomadic way of life and instead settle on the western shore of their inland sea. Khans among these former nomads quickly used the speed and ferocity of their mounted cavalry to overwhelm the native populaces along the Vilayet, the straggling tribes welded into a greater host and empire. They built magnificent cities and their culture thrived, becoming richer and more comfortable, yet driven still by the eagerness of expansion their horse nomad forefathers bequeathed to them.

Now, the fearsome cavalry of Turan races across the steppes in pursuit of their kingdom’s destiny. As a people, they are enamored with expansion, certain that their kingdom will dominate the West, a belief held especially by their King Yildiz and his son Yezdigerd. Their ambition is not merely land conquest, but Turan has made a vast navy and turned the Vilayet Sea into a so-called “Turanian lake”. Many are the wars fought against the Turanians as they expand, boldly, challenging their neighbors for territory and giving little back.

Cimmeria

There is little of worth in this land, as it is mostly a place of endless hills and low, rough mountains, of dusky, wooded valleys and dark scrub forests, steep gullies, and stony plains upon which little grows. A few mean rivers and streams run through the countryside, feeding bogs and ponds and isolated lakes. Cloud and fog shroud the land, forcing upon it a lonely and dismal mien, and wind wails through the hills like a banshee, a never-ending lament that shortens tempers and drives men to gloomy, monstrous thoughts.

There are no major cities, no great accomplishments of engineering, and few roads, with the only notable man-made structures being the few forts made by Aquilonian colonists and ruins dating to the time before the Cataclysm. Despite this, the Cimmerians cling to it fiercely, and few stray from their homeland, though the south — with its wantonness, wealth, and indolence — beckons always. To a Cimmerian, their homeland is their rightful place, though at times it can seem more a purgatory than a heaven.

Cimmerians are among the oldest races, descended from the Atlanteans from a land that long ago sunk beneath the waves and was lost to history, and they have scarcely changed in appearance, demeanor, or temperament. Like the Atlanteans, they are dark-haired and have eyes of gray, blue, or green. They are tall and rangy, with powerful builds, and their skulls are long. Unlike the Nordheimers, though, Cimmerians are generally darker-skinned, almost as much so as the Picts, a race they despise from a rivalry that has outlasted the very Cataclysm. And like the Picts, the Cimmerians are adept climbers, able to find purchase in any rock-face or tree and scale it quickly and without fear. In temperament, Cimmerians are a dour and moody lot, practical, yet proud, prone to both brooding and boastfulness, often maddened by the futility of life. Cimmerians only exult in the heat of battle, and the rest of the time their moods are black and occasionally morose.

To Cimmerians, family and kin are the strongest bonds, and clans spread across settlements and throughout the land, so that they might find kinfolk far and wide. It is a rare Cimmerian that is curious about the world beyond their village, much less showing an interest in anything outside their grim and bleak country. Their language is their own, and is not spoken outside their lands. It has little in common with the speech of other folk and has more to do with the Atlantean strain than any of the Hyborian tongues spoken by their neighbors to the south, or the language of the Nordheimer.

Cimmerians as a people are independent and clannish, and are stubborn foes, holding fast in their hills, their valleys, and their bogs, resisting even the ancient Acheronians, who could gain no purchase against them, leaving the fierce hill-men to their own rocky abode. Many have tried to unite them, to no avail. Generally, the greatest of their leaders is little more than a glorified clan chief claiming to be king or queen, but such boasts are empty and meaningless when one’s own neighbors show little interest in respecting any claim of rule.

Stygia

Almost entirely desert-bound, the meager portion of bulk of Stygia’s fertile land hugs the river Styx, the longest in the known world, as it wends its way due east only to snake suddenly south toward the dark jungles of Punt and the Black Kingdoms. The greater of Stygia’s old cities also hug the banks of the life-giving Styx, though the waters are often only welcome to natives.

Stygia’s deserts are harsh and unforgiving, largely uninhabited, and are dotted with runs of dynasties of rulers long since forgotten or erased by their successors, as well as the remnants of what was the dread empire of Acheron. Most of Stygia’s food comes from trade with northern Shem or the southern lands, through they also do business with Argosseans who dare the pirate-infested waters for the wealth of this serpent-haunted kingdom.

More than a few merchants sell off their goods along the banks of the Styx itself, preferring to lose a sliver of profit than a pound of flesh. Distaste for outsiders is the worst in Khemi, where great serpents, Set’s own sons, roam the streets at night claiming what victims they wish. Only foolish outlanders venture onto the streets of Khemi after dark. Like Acheron before her, the coils of the Stygian empire are forged in sorcery and Set worship. Rule by King Ctesphon exists only at the largesse of Set’s priesthood, though they are so thoroughly corrupted by the Outer Dark that their ability to rule is effectively limited.

The Stygian army is powerful, largely made up of lowly slaves serving the highborn generals. Charioteers race across the hard-baked desert, raining arrows upon their foemen. Of late, Stygia has not cast its eye beyond the Styx, instead maintaining a defensive posture against encroaching Turan. However, the hieroglyphs of Set’s temples speak of long histories peppered with many periods of Stygian expansion. If the ancient empire does not now seek to conquer beyond its borders, it is only a matter of time before they do.

Shem

Shem is divided into broad regions: the western coastal areas are barely fertile and provide some meager agriculture, and the vast eastern expanse of desert, teeming to where the border is meaningless. To the north are the mountain ranges that separate it from Argos, and its southern border is made of the mighty Styx river, separating it from Stygia.

The center of Shem is largely grassy plains, and here are vast herds of sheep, goats, and as one goes to the east the land grows scarcer and less overgrown, until it is eventually nothing but desert as far as one rides, an immense expanse upon which are dotted independent cities and ancient ruins, still and empty, cloaked in mystery and horror.

The Shemitish people are largely divided into two groups: “meadow” and “desert” Shemites, with the meadow people on the more fertile western and central reaches and river coasts and the desert folk inhabiting the eastern desert teeming to where the border is meaningless.

Most Shemites — desert and meadow — are tribal in nature, with strong ties to family and dynastic rule of the few cities within the country. Though they are no more or less honest as a people than any other, they are famed for covetousness and duplicity, called liars and merciless killers by others. One of the most famous weapons of their people is the Shemite composite bow, with which they can kill at a range of five hundred yards. Shemite mercenaries are famed throughout the Hyborian lands, and command a high price for their services.

The desert Shemites are primarily nomadic, and travel in groups rather than constructing cities. In the deserts and plains of Shem, oases tend to be just as important as towns. However, as a major crossroads of landward trade, even the deserts of Shem boast several population centers to cater to merchants and caravans. Shem has been both empire and subject, once a vassal state to Stygia but no longer,

One of Shem’s most notable cities is Akbitana, southwest of Khoraja in the mountain ranges. This city’s famous smiths use volcanic ore to create the finest steel and weapons in all the Hyborian kingdoms.

Pictish Wilderness

The Pictish Wilderness is perhaps the most unmarked expanse of land in all of the continent and perhaps the world. It has survived eons, once a mighty island in the Thurian Age and now part of the mainland in the Hyborian Age, and though the Pictish people have flourished and foundered over the tens of thousands of years, they have never built cities of stone or cleared significant portions of the forests for wood.

There are marshes and vast dense forests that stretch for days. Some legendary beasts survive there: saber-tooth tigers, dire wolves, giant white ghost snakes, forest-demons known as Chakan, and worse. It is said that the lands of the Picts are rife with game and teeming with fish, a hunter’s paradise, and for this reason the Picts have never developed animal husbandry or agriculture, though the coastal Picts have practiced fishing.

The surviving people of the Pictish isles that sank during the calamity, the Picts are a primitive and barbaric people who are short, broad shouldered and deep chested with black eyes and hair. They live in clans named after animal totems and are extremely hostile to outside contact, they seem to be frozen in time, with no technological or cultural advancements. They are also often feuding or in outright war with other Pict tribes. They build tents of hides or live in crude huts, sometimes in walled villages. They are extremely skilled hunter-gatherers and few tribes practice any sort of agriculture.

They are an ancient people, one of the oldest in the world, having thrived in the ages before the Cataclysm. They are enigmatic and unlike most of the Hyborian people, and have a hatred for the Cimmerians that goes back to that age, forged against the ancient ancestors of the Cimmerians, the Atlanteans.

Zingara

Zingara would be a prosperous country, given that its lands are rich and bountiful, it has ample coast for trade, it is bisected by many great rivers that feed its farmlands, and it has great forests for building and mineral wealth for exploiting, and the Zingg Valley for which the country takes its name is a veritable garden.

And yet, it is a country whose people are beset by hardship, as greedy nobles clutch land and resources to their breasts and force the poor to suffer. Vast plantations force countless slaves and near-slaves to toil laboriously in the arid sun while their owners bask in wealth and comfort and dwell on vendettas and rivalries and encourage their king to embark on petty wars with their neighboring countries.

Dark haired, dark eyed, with slightly swarthy skin, Zingarans are a mix of Hyborian stock with that of the people of Zingg, far older than even the Hyborians, as well as some Stygian ancestry. Zingara as a country is exactly as is its people, hot-blooded and quick to provoke, fanciful and passionate, as liable to weep at a poetry as to call for a duel to the death.

They have a complex and rich history and culture, and are perhaps even more refined than are the Aquilonians, and their navy is among the best in the world, though if they had anything other than their current king, Zingara might be more of a threat. Instead, its nobles brood and nurse grievances and plot against one another, turning allies into enemies and partners into rivals. Intrigue, backstabbing, and skullduggery keep the country as a flashpoint and a constant threat, yet the self-directed nature of this conspiring makes it its own greatest enemy.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Zingara is its apparent tolerance for the pirate nation on the Baracha Islands, which, despite superior numbers and tactics, the Zingaran navy has yet to make any efforts at containing or controlling.

Zamora

Despite the fearsome climate — dry and arid, rimmed with foreboding mountains and cliffs — the kingdom of Zamora is moderately populated. Most of the people dwell in or around two major cities: Zamora the Accursed and Shadizar the Wicked. A third city, Yezud, is much smaller in comparison but steeped in mystery and rumor.

Between these cities are many small villages and farms that serve as rest stops for the travelers, pilgrims, and merchants that crisscross Zamora on their way to better fortunes and nicer climes in the west, or stop on their way before plunging further east, and Shadizar the Wicked serves as a gateway to those distant lands.

Zamorans are a short, dark-skinned race with dark eyes, jet-black hair, and narrow features, descendants of a folk called the Zhemri. Over centuries, they have earned a reputation for cruelty, disloyalty, and greed, and do not seem overly concerned that this is how their neighbors view them. Zamoran attitudes reflect self-interest rather than the (conveniently ignored) ideals of the Mitra-worshipping Hyborians. The people are insular, although the increased trade along the Road of Kings has done much to increase Zamoran contact with the Hyborians and Turanians.

The kingdom itself is named after the accursed city, so infamous are its colorful residents. Zamora is an ancient city, once a shining example of civilization and piety for the kingdom. But that was ages ago, and now many of the massive temples that once were the hallmark of the city have been torn down or repurposed. All the gilt has long since been scraped off the tall, fluted columns by thieves’ knives, and all the precious stones pried out of their settings around the high-domed roofs by eager and desperate hands. Anything that can be bought or sold is done so in Zamora’s streets, markets, and back-alleys, and its cosmopolitan veneer overlays a deep depravity of which the entire country suffers.

Kush

Shumballa, also known as Meroe, the capital of Kush, stands in the midst of a great plain of rolling savannas which stretch towards the horizon, broken only by occasional low hills. A narrow deep river, meandering across the savanna, touches the straggling edges of the city. A vast flat grassland stretches across Kush to the east, hosting grazing herds of zebra, antelope, buffalo, and lions where an occasional dwarf tree rises above the plains.

Northernmost and best known of the black kingdoms, the nation of Kush has given its name to the entire southern portion of the continent, most likely because the Kushites were the first black men with whom the Hyborians made contact when the Barachan pirates began to raid and trade along the Black Coast in the Western Ocean. This trade soon grew into a major source of materials for the Kushites who eagerly exchanged gold, silver, ivory, silks, sugar, and much more.

Kush is ruled by an aristocratic class who descended from Stygian adventurers who once pushed southward to establish the city of Meroe, the now capital of the kingdom. These nobles live behind thick walls where they dwell in lavish palaces of teakwood and mahogany worshipping Set. In the outer city, the native casts despised being subjugated by the aristocracy. They have grown even more restless with the yoke of servitude and the threat of major uprising may yet spell doom for the ruling caste. The brawny men and statuesque women of Kush live in thatched mud huts and their economy is mostly supported by trade.

To the east, nomadic hunters and herders drift through the thick grass of the savanna. To the west, along the ocean shore, dwell several slaver tribes that raid inland to sell their native captives to offshore merchant ships. Much of this land, though, is dotted with green stone ruins of ancient cities of a precursor race, not human as we would know them, and all Kushites — nomads and city dwellers alike — know to stay away from them, for some of these places are yet still inhabited by these strange people and their gods, or were settled later by others who fell to madness and depravity.

Koth

Koth is an extensive kingdom of rich uplands, mountains, and rivers. Separated almost entirely from the north, west, and south by converging mountain ranges, its is primarily open to the east, and by Khoraja to the southeast. Many of the major settlements in Koth are within the foothills of its mountain ranges, and the interior is primarily grassy foothills and swathes of arable land, upon which feudal lords hold sway.

Kothians are a Hyborian race with a strong Stygian strain. They are usually of a lean strong frame, medium in height, and dark haired, with darker skin and eyes than most Hyborians but not nearly as much as the folk of Stygia or to the east. Much like the rest of the Hyborians, they are warlike and devote much to their military and campaigning, sharpened against threat of invasion from the ambitious Turanian kings. Kothians seem to be more urbanized than most Hyborians. They are more prone to trade and their encounters with other peoples which has introduced them to a wide variety of cultures and religions. Like Corinthia, they are strongly tied to east/west trade and prosper from the ever-constant merchant caravans.

It has been said that Koth might rival Aquilonia if it could keep itself unified. Kothians claim to be the direct heirs to old Acheron and their rightful place in this age. It is, they assert, their destiny to rule the lesser and more distaff Hyborian peoples. Plagued by internecine warfare, the king must constantly put down rebellions from varying city-states. Even then, Koth is a power to be reckoned with, and the king strives to acquire and sustain control so that he might indeed challenge Aquilonia’s position as the most powerful of the Hyborian nations. For now, that is not to be, and thus Koth is a constant source of employment for varying mercenary companies. Whether one fights for the king or an upstart, ambition and coin are plentiful for a reputable sell-sword.

Vendhya

The Ruby of the South, Vendhya crouches in the jungles and coastal rivers deltas like a purring panther, beautiful and powerful, a magnificent civilization of ancient mysticism and pent vibrancy. Its villages are uncountable, its cities crowded and bustling. The hot sun and monsoon rains make it a steaming, mist-shrouded land of tropical splendor, decorated with squawking, colorful birds, indigo butterflies, and hauntingly enormous flowers draped in rich, dense foliage.

Like Turan to the north, it is a land-wealthy country, with vast stretches ripe for agricultural exploration as well as deserts, steppes, and mountainous regions. Rivers cross it everywhere, and despite the tropical heat in southern Vendhya, it is a flourishing, rich and cosmopolitan country, taking influences from Khitai to the east and Iranistan and Ghulistan to the west.

Vendhyans are dark-skinned people of unmatched beauty, often adorning themselves in garlands and jewels, unashamed and unafraid to celebrate their country’s enormous bounty. Even the most common of Vendhyan peasants are wealthy by Hyborian standards, and the country’s ample bounty ensures that few go hungry. The ruins of many long-forgotten cities lie between the villages, their stones toppled, and overgrown, and stained idols of unnamed gods stand as silent sentinels over quiet crypts where the wary fear to tread.

Though they are largely worshippers of Asura and Hanuman, there are countless gods in Vendhya, and the cultures of the land are as diverse as the land is large. Westerners tell tales of opulent cities where monkeys run freely in the streets, and enormous elephants are harnessed like oxen or adorned with tapestries and jeweled howdahs. A thousand spices waft through the markets to mingle with perfumes and the aromas of street food simmering everywhere, and Vendhya does trade with Khitai and other lands further east, unknown or only thought legendary in the West.

Khitai

One can march from great deserts to snowbound permafrost and yet remain in the borders of Khitai. Jungles vaster than any save those in the Black Kingdoms contain lotus of every variety.

The title “Jungles of Khitai” is something of a misnomer embraced by outsiders and native Khitans alike. These jungles are in fact kingdoms, fallen or otherwise, under the thumb of the Great Celestial Emperor. The further south one ventures from Khitai proper, the warmer it gets, and temperate land becomes tropical and dense with flora. There may be one extant kingdom beyond this border or a dozen, only the imperial scribes claim to know for sure, and even they haven’t ventured all the way south to where the jungle breaks upon silver beaches and an unnamed sea awaits.

Khitans consider themselves at the apex of culture, philosophy, spirituality, and sorcery, and in many ways this is true. Khitai’s military is unrivaled from her western border to the Vilayet and possibly beyond. Khitan art has gone through more phases and cycles than all the Hyborian nations combined. It is a huge country with outsized ambitions. Even Khitan snakes are larger than their Western counterparts.

Khitan culture is deeply codified under the idea of duty and fealty. Age equals veneration in Khitai. Wisdom comes with age and is never dismissed out of hand. Sorcery is accepted in Khitai where it is rejected elsewhere, though Khitan sorcery relies more on mesmerism than summoning.

The Outer Dark is not the plentiful source of sorcerous power in Khitai as it is elsewhere. Though black magic finds much use in Khitai, alchemy and hypnotism are more common. However, those Khitan sorcerers who do practice the black arts are as puissant as their counterparts west of the Vilayet. It is said the Emperor keeps a court of such wizards at his disposal. Much of Khitan sorcery was learned at the feet of the Yaggites, elephant-headed alien gods who landed upon Earth millennia ago and were worshipped. They taught humankind sorcery, and for that they were betrayed and murdered. It is unknown if any of these being still exist in Khitai, and if so, they are likely so few as to be essentially extinct.

Vast wealth moves through the country as well as into it. Trade is bountiful, but somehow Khitai remains largely unaffected by other cultures.

Asgard

The terrain of Asgard is rugged with high snow-capped mountains into the north, glaciers, great forests in the southern lowlands, and tundra between. The land supports a variety of creatures including musk ox, moose, foxes, bears, and mammoths. Bitterly cold and often entirely snow-bound, life is hard and bleak.

A far-northern nation comprising the eastern portion of Nordheim, Asgard is home to the blond-haired blue-eyed Æsir, a virile and rough-hewn race of warriors who fight by day and carouse by night. They are hunters and gatherers who relish battle but only to loot and pillage, not as a means of expanding their borders. Given their lack of agricultural knowledge and their disdain for even the herding of animals, they wouldn’t know what to do with conquered land even if they had it.

The Æsir live in tribal units with no single king, though each tribe has its own leader who typically presides in a timber-roofed great hall. The many tribes of Asgard have formed an informal alliance with Cimmeria to the south, but Vanaheim to the west and Hyperborea to the east remain the Æsir’s most hated and ancient foes.

The history of the Æsir is that of nomadic tribal folk, migrating from the north, driven by unfathomable instinct, even passing fertile lands. Along the way they fought the Picts, who had survived the Cataclysm yet reverted to a savage way of life. Led by a warrior named Niord, the Æsir encountered the Valley of the Worm, where Niord lost his life slaying the titanic creature who gave the valley its name. His sacrifice was remembered and the lands of his people later bore the name Nordheim, for him.

Aquilonia

In glorious Aquilonia, Conan the Barbarian strode forth as a conqueror, deposing and usurping the corrupt king with indomitable might. But, as shadows of treachery and betrayal loom large and political enemies conspire against him at every turn the mighty Cimmerian longed for the days of when his trusty blade could solve any and every problem. For though he ruled over the greatest power of the Hyborian Age, Conan knows his enemies will stop at nothing to see him fall.

The westernmost and foremost Hyborian kingdom, Aquilonia reigns supreme in the western world as a commercial and military, lacking only, perhaps, the richer cultural diversity of its major rival, Nemedia. Its people are proud and of varied complexion and part of Aquilonia’s strength comes from its diversity and its strong military tradition.

A martially proud, wealthy, and technologically advanced people, their army is renowned for its armored knights clad, hardy frontiers folk, and the deadly Bossonian archers.
Aquilonia is known for its fertile cropland and many forests, as agriculturally rich as it is beautiful. Multiple rivers that run directly through it make it a perfect land for civilization, allowing trade and irrigation throughout the country.

Tarantia is the walled capital of Aquilonia and the largest city of the realm, ancient enough to have catacombs beneath its streets that have long since been forgotten. Renowned as a commercial and cultural center, they city’s markets demonstrate its prosperity, and the elaborate royal palace with its blue and gold towers dominates the city.

Poitain is the southernmost region, dotted with rich sunny meadowlands, rolling plains, rose gardens, orange groves, and palm trees, and holds to traditional feudal values, perhaps more than even Tarantia.
To the west, the province called the Bossonian Marches lies between the Black River and the Thunder River. Thickly forested and rich with timber, this prized land is constantly at stake between Aquilonia and the wild tribes who inhabit the Pictish Wilderness. For a brief time, Aquilonia pushed past the Thunder River and annexed the land beyond, calling it Conajohora, but they were rebuffed and it has since withdrawn.

The region called the Westermarck, made up of the provinces Oriskonie, Conawaga, and Schohira, is to the east of the Thunder River, and is home to many frontier settlements. May adventurers and mercenaries looking for wealth or opportunities make the journey into the western lands. Tullian’s Creek forms the boundary between Schohira and the Pictish lands.

Gunderland, to the north, is a hilly region known for its wild inhabitants, and is separated from the rest of Aquilonia by woodlands that teem with wildlife. The Gundermen barely regard themselves as Aquilonians, holding to their regional identity more than their national one.

The bread basket of Aquilonia is the Tauran, a county that lies to the west of the Shirki River, place of open groves and pastures whose people dwell in thatched cottages and hunt wildlife.