The land of Temir is a lush river valley on the northern edge of the Lankaeran Sea, a part of the Madjan Krugtoje. Once the site of immense kingdoms which stretched beyond the mountains that frame the valley, and home to beautiful cathedrals and cities whose spires rose hopeful into the night sky, it has long been reclaimed by the forest, spires crumbled and kingdoms buried. At its heart stands the last city of the Madjan, called Tachros by outsiders, an ancient word which has long since lost its meaning, and called Jadoch, meaning sundered city, by those who dwell in Scything Crag. It is best known to its inhabitants as Chakja, from the Suraj words for First City. Long ago it was the centre of that great empire, a city which has stood for as long as anyone can remember, a hub of trade on the sea and a haven for travelers from all points on the compass.

Twenty years ago, the Prophets rose. Four chosen seers battled demons and mystics and shook the foundations of the Church. The Healer, the Keeper, the Justiciar and the Wayfarer. Demons rose as well, lending their power to warriors and mages and staining the land with plagues of fire, flesh, and nightmares. All prophecies are now ended. We make our own fates. 

It's been thirty years since the dead walked, an army of corpse warriors gathering in the northern wastes, led by an ancient evil that burned with hellfire.For the first time in a thousand years, the armies of Scything Crag and the Cities by the Sea were united against a common foe.  It has been thirty years since the Unraveling, a series of reality quakes that rocked the world and seem to have broken the magics that were once so common. The ancient magic remains, but the common magic, the little things, the casual artistry, the cups and tents and blades once crafted in the Aetherforge. 

Organizations:

Temir has many organizations and syndicates, some old, and some new, all with histories, rivalries, and their own agendas.

• The Taer’sulei, rangers of the frontier, have been given new life since the dead rose, but the woods are darker still. New orders have risen among them, the Guardians, who keep the roads safe and maintain a series of hostels, and the Witch Hunters, who travel the outlying forts and villages taking the fight to the creatures of the wilds. 
• The Camonna Tong, are an organization of somewhat criminal entrepreneurs. They have taken advantage of the Unraveling to strengthen their foothold in Temir, expanding outward from the Samarese City-States in the east. The slave trade has suffered since the fall of the Slavers' Moot a decade ago, but some say it has been rekindled in the back paths of the region. 
• The Rilador are orcish pirates who sail the Lankaeran sea and take special delight in raiding and pillaging Nirmalan traders. It is said that there are more than a few orcish merchantmen who keep the red sail of a Rilador tucked away in their hold, just in case business gets slow.
• The Aecha Ostai, called the Wizards on the Coast by those who fear to speak their name, are based in the town of Isard on the western edge of the Lankaeran sea. An ancient organizations of mages, their tower near Tachros was seiged and destroyed during the third war with Scything Crag, almost two hundred years ago. They are an order of magical scholars and seekers of truth, though some formidable warrior mages have emerged from their ranks when needed.
• The Therengrad Spellbinders’ Ring is located in the farming town of Therengrad, founded forty years ago by mercenary mages from Morghab, who ventured to Temir seeking treasure and glory. They won glory in the war with the dead and are currently hiring out as mercenaries once again, while delving for secret magics beyond the frontier. 
• The Saoshyar, Archpriest of the Temple of the Ivory Throne holds court in the town of Satu Mare. Venerating the god of law, the church has shrunk a great deal. The Inquisitors, their last templar order, are poised to lead the law into a dark future. 

Locations:

Several locations of note have come up, and deserve their own space.

• Scything Crag, the common antagonist of the cities by the sea, is an ancient fortress in the mountains to the northwest of the sea, surrounded by dangerous territory. It is ruled by the Four Lords, leaders of the races most in ascendance at the time, and home to many more races besides that. Illithid, dwarves, giants, some goblin tribes, gnolls, ogres, bugbears, and deep Imaskari are known to dwell there, enjoying shelter from the wilds without, but always wary of the beasts within.
• The 5 Lakes Tribes are three tribes of plainsrunners who dwell in the southeast, chiefly human, centaur, and minotaur, though the humans maintain most of the villages, slowly giving up their nomadic ways in the face of foreign trade.
• Isard, Therengrad, Satu Mare, Malkara and Volos are the Cities by the Sea, city-states that look to Tachros for protection. All but Therengrad are coastal towns, their outlying villages more exposed to the wilds than ever after the Unraveling.
• The border forts lie further out, barely within the purview of Tachros at the best of times. Each of them was founded privately, and is ruled in much the same way. Some of them are like small towns, and though better defended, they are the first lost to the beasts and raiders of the wilds.

Races of Temir:

There are too many races living in cosmopolitan Temir to list them all, but here is the perspective of some.

• Dwarves: Forgemasters of Scything Crag, the dwarves craft deadly blades and stalwart armor…For a price. Feared as merchants of death, the dwarves have proven themselves formidable warriors, securing a position in the Four Lords.
• Elves: Blood and honour are the marks of the elves, now the Ashkel, cast out of Scything Crag in shame after Jha’dur’s defeat. Mistrusted by all, sometimes traders and sometimes raiders, they wear their stories on their skin. Their Lirasi cousins from the West know little of this plight, instead enjoying the comfort of cities, their skin unmarked by history. 
• Gnomes: The gnomes of Temir were once travellers and exiles from their southern homeland, but over centuries have made their home anew in what they regard as a land rich with secrets and stories. 
• Halflings: The Shoal Halflings dwell in the town of Malkara, strong allies of Tachros since their war with the now banished Kuo-Toa. Primarily traders and merchants, they are best known for their great quarries beneath the sea.
• Goblins: The great Goblin Republic stands at the base of Scything Crag, proudly defending itself against the frontier while serving the smallest among it. The tribes of goblins outside the Republic are chiefly peaceful hunters, who want little more than to worship and thrive in the wastes. 
• Minotaurs: Sailors and pirates, the Nirmala have long sailed the Lankaeran Sea. They trade with the coastal towns, and are present in the warlike faction of Tachros, as well as having a longstanding relationship with their colony in the 5 lakes.
• Orcs: Pirates, fishermen, and pistoliers, the orcs dwell in Volos, far from Tachros. The orcs of Volos are renowned warriors, and their valiant defense of their town during the last war is the subject of many songs. 
• Kalashtari: Founders of Tachros, the Kalashtari are a broken race. Once there were millions of them living in comfort, but the mindplague whittled them down to barely a hundred, and many of those have emigrated to the Kalashtari lands in Nafaanra, far to the West. The dream of Tachros is over for the Kalashtari, but a few still remain, seeing it through to the bitter end.
• Deep Imaskari: The Deep Imaskari are a variety of humans who came east from Nafaanra a few centuries ago, quickly establishing their magical dominance in Scything Crag, and securing a position among the Four Lords from the sorcerers of the Ushemoi. No one knows why they came, but they seem to be here to stay.
• Goliaths: Oldest of the races of Tachros, the Goliath are ancient allies of the Kalashtari, slow to move, but hard to stop. Distant kin to the stone giants of Scything Crag, what few goliaths there are speak for the isolationist Delran faction. The world will attend to itself, after all.
• Humans: Humans are everywhere, as they breed like rabbits. Commonly found in the Tachros Navy, the humans maintain the Tachros Marines and hold a strong voice in the senate. Many of the towns on the frontier are also founded and run by humans, their expansionist zeal driving them to try and reclaim the ancient kingdoms to the north.

In this land of ancient ruins, feuds, mysteries, and opportunities, there’s plenty of room for an ambitious adventurer like yourself.