The Martic League


 

The Martic league consists of three republics - although it would be more accurate to call them city-states, since each is dominated by one large city. They are the Republic of Irilian, with a population of about 50,000 and an area of about 50,00 square kilometres, the People's Republic of Ilthmar with a population of about 400,000, and an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometres, and the Serene Republic of Lacramar, the largest and wealthiest of the three, with a population of approximately 1.5 million and an area a little over 80,000 square kilometres. While officially allied into the poltical entity called the Martic League by the Concordat of Sael, all three cities compete fiercely over trade, and this breaks out into covert warfare from time to time. The total population is about 10 milion, of which some 20% is urbanised. The bulk of the population live in small villages on the coastal plains around the major cities.

The prevailing wind during most of the year in the Martic lands blows from the hot, dry plains of the east. As a result, the mountains which form the Martic lands' eastern border are waterless, grassless crags, and the few rivers which drain them are often no more than a series of barely connected waterholes for much of the year. Occasionally the prevailing wind changes, blowing in from the sea, and this often brings huge, angry storms, which shower lightning bolts, but little rain, on the plains. As a result, the extensive plains which stretch inland for hundreds of kilometers are dry grasslands, broken by occasional stands of scrub or hardy trees. They support relatively little in the way of population - mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic herdsmen. On the coast, the hot eastern winds of day give way to a cooler evening breeze, and most mornings are humid and misty. This regular mist allows the coastal regions to maintain some agricultural activity, to supplement the main business of fishing.

Below is a clickable image map of the lands of the Martic League.