Geography
The Erlish Plains, as they have come to be known, are a wide, untamed swath of land that runs roughly between the kingdoms of Ashendar and Valan-Tir. Simultaneously known as the Freeland, the Plains of Tirin Usil, and the Sea of Grass, the Plains are a wild area, fraught with mystery and danger. Many races can be found crossing the Plains, which are typically regarded as nothing more than a tedious corridor connecting the eastern and western kingdoms. In the last century Erlish humans settled the plains, and their villages dot the countryside. Their great fortress city of Harraman Tor is the center of Erlish culture and is a welcome way-station for travelers crossing the perilous, rock-strewn plains.
History
The Erlish Plains are riddled with reminders of its Imperial past. Ruined towers and abandoned cities flock the countryside. Old straight roads are still in use today, and magical trinkets are turned up quite often. One of the most unnerving sites in the plain is the Valley of the Sphinx. Here one can find the enormous, broken heads of countless statues – human and otherwise – staring out into the empty distance. These are themselves eclipsed by the Sphinx herself. Standing against the foothills of the Lower Sanavaar, the Sphinx is an awesome sight. Poised as if abut to strike – crouched low, wings spread wide, unblinking eyes on each feather tip, the Sphinx seems to command the defeated statues at her feet. She remains an indignant testimony of Imperial might that has endured centuries after the Fall.
Population
The Erlish are not the only race one may encounter in the plains. Romani bands traverse the Freeland in endless caravans. To them the plains reflect the free and untamed spirit of their culture, and just about every Romani troupe migrates into the plains at least once every year. The Manari’khu is the most dominant non-human race. Almost a full third of the plains’ inhabitants are nomadic Manari’khu who make annual pilgrimages between it and the eastern deserts of the Maj. Rumor suggests that the Khunari have built cities in the Plain but this has never been adequately proven. The Erlish, however, insist that they have visited cities of splendor where the Manari’khu have amassed all the varied treasures of their endless wandering.