The Old Lands
The Birthplace of the Four Races
Before Umbria, there were the Old Lands. Stretching across vast seas and divided by mountains, forests, and harsh plains, the Old Lands were once the heart of civilisation in Uros. Multiple continents formed this ancient world, each home to distinct people, cultures, and histories shaped over centuries. Now, much of it stands in quiet decline beneath the slow advance of the Fading.
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Astrya
The largest and most politically complex of the Old Lands’ continents, Astrya was the heart of human civilisation. It was a land of:
  • Expansive kingdoms
  • Merchant republics
  • Coastal trade cities
  • Rural territories and fertile valleys
Within Astrya lay Merrinvale, homeland of the Merrin, as well as numerous Human kingdoms ranging from northern highland clans to southern coastal traders. Some border regions were shared with Elfin communities, fostering centuries of cautious cooperation and trade. Astrya was the first continent to organise a structured exodus to Umbria, led in part by House Headsted.
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Elyiore
A forest-bound continent, Elyiore was the ancestral homeland of the Elfin. Its lands are dense with ancient woods, sacred groves, and deep-rooted spiritual sites. The Elfin civilisation has woven into the land itself, and their cities often grew in harmony with the forests around them.
Though largely Elfin-dominated, Elyiore maintained limited border trade with Astrya. When the Fading reached its roots, the loss was deeply felt, not merely politically, but spiritually.
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Magra
The harsh and rugged homeland of the Turuk. Magra is a land of scorched plains, jagged ridges, and clan-held territories. Turuk society was built around Clanz, honour, and territorial strength. Settlements were crafted from wood, sandstone, and hardened earth rather than towering cities.
Isolationist by nature, Magra saw little foreign settlement. When the Fading began to weaken even its hardened soil and hunting grounds, Turuk Clanz looked outward for new opportunity rather than surrender.
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Dol’Barr
Mountainous and largely subterranean, Dol’Barr is the homeland of the Groken. Great cavern networks stretched beneath its peaks, carved over generations into structured halls and crystalline chambers. The Groken civilisation was rooted in stone, memory walls, and resonance traditions.
Few outsiders ever truly saw Dol’Barr’s inner cities. When the Fading began to affect even the stability of its stone, the Groken were forced to confront a truth they had long resisted, even mountains can falter.
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The Great Sea
Separating the Old Lands from Umbria lies a vast and dangerous ocean. For centuries it was considered impassable. Only when desperation grew did expeditions risk crossing it. What began as scouting voyages became migration fleets as word spread that Umbria remained untouched by the Fading.
Trade between the Old Lands and Alphos now exists, but cautiously... the sea is unpredictable, and many ships never return.
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The Old Lands are not dead, they are fading. Some kingdoms still endure, some cities continue to fight against decline and some Groken sealed their halls rather than abandon them, determined to survive whatever comes. But the future of the Old Lands is uncertain and whether they can ever be restored remains a question unanswered.