The Outer Realms of the Hexarchy

The Outer Realms of The Hexarchy
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: The Gods Are Our Strength
Anthem: WIP
Map versions	???
Capital	various
Largest city	Lindsmouth Base (Ereshkigal Forest) Uruk (Great Plains)
Official language(s)	Draconian (official) Standard (most common)
Official religion(s)	Draconic Native folk religions
Demonym	(various)
- Adjective	(various)
Government	various
- N/A	N/A
- Hexarch/Governor	various
- Legislature	Parliament
Establishment	Lone Moon, 1685 AN
Area	NA
Population	6,839,374 (1685 AN)
Active population	NA
Currency	Guilder (£)
Calendar
Time zone(s)
Mains electricity
Driving side
Track gauge
National website
National forum
National animal	various
National food
National drink	Green Tea
National tree	Great Jungle Sequoia
Abbreviation	HEX

The Outer Realms of The Hexarchy are, simply put, nominally controlled territories without any sort of government of their own in The Hexarchy. There are several such massive regions that the people claim as their "heritage," but actual military control outside their borders is limited to the far eastern portion of the Great Forest to the south of the country. This is due to both the country's sparse population on the frontiers, the dangerous megafauna inhabiting much of their surroundings, and the sheer difficulty presented by clearing megaflora (especially the massive trees endemic to their jungles). However, where land is clear in the interior River Lands, the hilly terrain serves as a sharp dividing region between the rich (but narrow) rivers in the south of the country and the vast jungles of the deep Keltian interior.

The Ereshkigal Forest

The Great Forest is a vast jungle rainforest that is located on the country's southern interior. Divided from the River Lands by hilly terrain and shallow soil, the land is nonetheless abnormally fertile for being unable to host the vast trees endemic to the jungle itself. The small portion under nominal control is completely undefended except by surface-to-surface missile systems, in case the otherwise balanced ecology (as dangerous as it is) acts against the developing agricultural settlements on the River Lands to the north and east. For reasons unknown, almost none of the more vicious predators in the jungle ever move past the very well-defined tree line about forty to fifty kilometers from the River. Thus, agriculture has rapidly developed in recent times. Due to the extreme danger posed by enter, the portions under Hexarchy control have become known to local cartographers as Ereshkigal Forest -- aptly named after the Pyraxian goddess of death.

The Great Forest is mostly uninhabited due to the terrain and the dangerous fauna. For the latter, the wildlife is constantly added to, as the vast area serves as a convenient dumping ground for dangerous animals smuggled into the islands. Alternatively, the government has been known to experiment with sending certain animals such as the Jingdaoese valleytiger into the forest to see how it interacts with the other, much larger predators in the region. These constant activities also serve to deter any unwanted persons (mostly prisoners serving on the collective farms run by the Elamite government) from escaping into the forest. It also deters illegal immigrants and poachers from entering the forest except as a part of a specialized hunting expedition. And even then, those expeditions flying in from Pyrax tend to leave the jungles alone due to their vast trees hiding both prey and predator alike.

Thus, defensive responsibilities of the Great Forest fall to the collective military efforts of Elam and the Eventide Islands, along with their subordinate Realms and Districts. Despite the extremely dangerous terrain, control over the vast jungle has been partially exerted over a stretch of land surrounded by the Great River and Red River on two sides, and bounded by a coastal region under the firm control of the Eventide Islands' paramilitary forces. That portion nominally occupied jointly between these realms relies on the River Lands' districts for day-to-day governance, while overall authority is vested in the Council of Six (although, due to lack of permanent human activity, is moot). Although the forest itself cannot be defended due to the recent addition of wild dragons by the Pyraxians during failed expeditions, conquest has been rendered impossible. On the upside, neither can neighbors reasonably occupy the forest, due to the Hexarchy's control of the only civilized areas bordering it.

The River Lands

Simply put, the River Lands are a strip of agriculturally fertile land, mostly forty to fifty kilometer strip of abnormally fertile land to either side Red River that flows from the northwest. Forming the effective heartland of the country, this region nominally falls under the jurisdiction of the Realm of Elam. The region under Elamite control is separated into two Districts: The South Bank, and the far more populous North Bank. Although each of these territories is administered under their own district authorities, they are not considered fully a part of the Realm of Elam due to the fact that there are (officially) no cities on the North Bank, and only ruins of one on the South Bank. Additionally, the territories under Elam's jurisdiction lack civilian governments entirely, and as the South Bank (fully under military control) lacks a formal border (or any provincial distinction at all) with the Eventide Islands' Realm of Eridu, as of 1686.

The North Bank is the most closely integrated district in the entirety of the Outer Realms. Thanks to the otherwise peaceful, hospitable conditions on the North Bank, the population density in this area is very high. However, no incorporated cities exist, as the population here is spread out and concentrated very close to the River, due to its unique topography. (The most fertile area is closest to the river, and the tall grasses grow ever thicker as one moves farther to the north.) Although the region is prosperous, most foreign trade bypasses the region entirely, usually in favor of the rapidly developing community at the area near the mouth of the Red River. This is, itself opposite of the ruins of Lindsmouth, there a massive military complex is likewise forming to keep the population in the south from causing the northerners any trouble. Most of the finances that go into developing these communities come from the profits made from the ferrying business from this same trade.

The South Bank is easily the most heavily militarized region in the entire country -- even counting the lands in Pyrax that play host to their natives, who possess an extreme sense of self-contained aggression. The civilian government is externally administered by the neighboring territory along the Great River, the Realm of Eridu -- one of the Eventide Island's three Realms (with Uruk being farther to the south and Kobol on the islands proper). The military government is headquartered at the ruins of the old city of Lindsmouth, which flourished many years before the ruins' re-occupation as a de facto military base (mostly to manage both traffic east and west, prison workers to the south, and the well-being of the lands to the north). The land is characterized by shallow but very fertile soil fueled by the Red River's flow into the Great River to the south. At its widest, the South Bank encompasses the military government centered on the ruins of an old city that thrived in times before the Hexarchy settled the region (or conquered it from other native tribes). Most of the region's gainful economy is centered on the protection of ships that move along the Rivers between Azul'an in Pyrax and Kobol in the Eventides.

On both sides of the Red River, the lands are concentrated on agrarian economies, but the difference lies in their inhabitants. The South Bank is mostly populated either by the Army, by prisoners, or by serfs who sold years of service to the Hexarchy (or their respective Realm) in exchange for commutation and/or pardon of a sentence, judgement, debt, and the like -- be their restitution owed to an individual or the state. rough-and-tumble workers (mostly immigrants and those of low social status) attempting to make a good living by working in dangerous areas near the Ereshkigal Forest. The North, while populated by a great number of small-time farmers along the river banks (away from the large settlements), has a large number of plantations across from both the island city of Kanaloa on the Rivers' intersection, and likewise near the mouth of the Red River, where farmers and related workers have gathered the past few years.

The Great Plains

Situated to the north of Elam's territory, the Great Plains (known to locals as the Utu plains, after the Pyraxian sun god) start not far off the North Bank region of the Red River. Although the north bank is heavily populated (far more so than the south, due to the jungles pressing so close to any inhabited land), the population lives on a very thin strip of land between the fertile river and the vast, savanna-like climate to the north. Just as in the jungles to the south, rain is plentiful, but the Plains proper rapidly slope up to a plateau (steppe) region that nonetheless support herbivorous megafauna that roam the wide, empty spaces.

Expeditions rarely go there from Pyrax, as the megafauna are strangely docile for their size (with the natives strongly preferring prey with a tendency to fight back). However, smaller predators released as tracking beasts during Pyraxian hunting expeditions elsewhere have made settlement a very questionable affair. Between the growing restlessness of the megafauna, the growing ubiquity of predatory, man-eating animals in the elephant grass that characterizes the region, and the lack of willingness for affluent Elamites to move out of the island city they call home, permanent settlement has proven dicey at best. Additionally, the River Lands are sufficiently fertile to feed even the growing population supported by immigrants from abroad and high fertility rates in the rest of the country, although future projections point to food shortages if nothing decisive is done about it. Additionally, concerns about uncivilized peoples in The Green (particularly those from the former lands of Stormark) have led to armed patrols regularly being commissioned into the vast, empty wilderness to assess the possibilities.