Am'shere

Am'shere
Capital	None
Population	Unknown: Common: (sith'makar, nar'sektoth, ko'jadakh), Uncommon: (humans)
Government	Tribal
Religion	Many of the gods are given draconic guises. The Green Earth (druidic), Dana, Gilead, some Daeus/Maugrim, Tarien, Eluna, Kor, vaguely anti-Serriel
Imports	Weapons, armor, metal
Exports	Jewelery, ivory, exotic fruits and vegetables.
Alignment	Primarily Neutral
Affiliated Characters	Am'sheri

Am'shere is a massive jungle that lies east of the known world. It is inhabited by wild clans of humans as well as the Three Clans of the Children of the Flame: the Ko-jodakh or Troglodytes, the Nar-sektoth or Sahuagin and the Sith-makar the Lizardfolk, who are its primary inhabitants. Its landscape is dotted with ancient ziggurats, filled with dark and bloody jungle, raging rivers and smoking volcanos.

Life and Society

Life in Am'shere is dangerous. It is not uncommon for a predator to swoop by and snatch a crying child from its mother's arms. The mosquitoes and bugs are thick--so many of the native races have developed, or kept, thicker hides for their own protection. Great, prehistoric beasts roam the landscape.

The culture of its people is largely localized and tribal. The sith'makar are divided into a series of tribes, ruled by their Silver Empress and possess a ritualistic, tribal way of life that focuses on their survival--such as the practical burning of dead to prevent the approach of predators and protection of the young. Other reptilian clans may follow similar or different formats; the area is dangerous and largely unexplored. Some human tribes make their homes here.

Druids and the natural order possess strong sway amid the jungle. The older gods, however, are making their way known, and are often known locally under various and different guises. The Silver Dragon is almost universally respected as the savior of the Clans, though perhaps not by the human inhabitants. In the modern era, some believe her to have been an agent of Althea, though this is not universally shared either.

The Children of the Flame

As a whole, the Children of the Flame (also referred to in other texts as dragon kin) were a species formed from the manipulative attempts by the gods of evil at controlling dragon kind. During the middle and later years of the second age of the world, armies of the Children's forebearers were used to enslave humanity as the gods of evil worked their will through dragonkind.

Sith-makar hunter-caste

And yet, not all Dragon Kin were mindless slaves and some sought to be free themselves. Seeking freedom from their own masters, this group garnered the attention of a young and ambitious silver dragon by the name of Alumivoritax. She was able to convince a dozen other dragons to aid these Dragon Kin and protect them from the ravages of the Dark Powers. Unable to do more then this due to the curse and oath that had been laid over the good dragons, Alumivoritax was nevertheless able to spearhead the protection of these few.

Using magic, the Children were spirited to Am’shere, the jungles of the east. In time, The Highborn ascended to power in the West of the world. Their oath and curse broken, Alumivoritax and her fellows returned to the West to wage war against their evil cousins and to aid in the establishing of the balance of the Years of the Sun during the infancy of the Second Age. They left the newly christened Children of the Flame to live their lives out in isolation while the remaining Dragon Kin in the West were either destroyed through their alliances with the dark dragons, or gradually disappeared as years passed.

As the centuries passed, other humanoids such as tribes of men, began to eke out an existence within the deep vastness of Am'Shere. The human controlled lands of Mazatuoa rose to power in the northern regions of the great jungles, but the Children of the Flame lived out a life of mostly isolation and as the ages passed, they began to change and evolve. Pure dragon blooded Dragon-Kin began to diminish and three separate sub-groups came to be. The Ko-Jodakh or Troglodytes, the Nar-Sektoth or Sahuagin and the Sith-Makar the Lizardfolk. These three clans of the Children of the Flame began to take much of Am'Shere in the great south for themselves, eking out an existence based upon their natural tendencies and also, going to war with one another.

Sith-makar shaman over a shrine to the Dragonfather

For many years the three clans warred and lived in isolation. When they explored northwards, the human lands of Mazatuoa had fallen into disrepair and ruin but through here they discovered the existence of the ancient gods who, before then, had spoke to them through the wood and wild. Some of the clans adopted knowledge of the ancient gods through these ruins and shaped aspects of their cultures around what they discovered. The value of metal was made clear to them as well but the human race itself had long moved on and for many years, true contact with them was not had until the time of the Artificers.

For the most part they remained blissfully ignorant of the outside world. Contact was made here and there but nothing that impacted the warring clans as a group until a century ago. Scouts from the empire of Charn encountered the clans and in a violent clash, set the precedent for years to come. Charn was using Am'Shere as harsh training grounds for their own elite troops in the war against Myrddion and in the process they were destroying the lands held by the Children of the Flame.

Briefly, the clans united together to deal with this threat and after a long and bloodied conflict, they drove the Charn out of their territories. Curiosity about the outside world had been triggered however and as time passed, some of the Sith-Makar began to spread out and seek places to dwell in amongst the lands of Arcania. Their counter part clans did the same but often did so for less then benevolent reasons. The Lizardfolk sought metal, trade and exploration. Several generations have passed since then and the Lizardfolk are making their presence known in scattered parts of the world though their evil cousins are likewise making their way and their own alliances.

Today, word of the old gods leaks into the jungle, and the clans do not always war as they once did. The Nar-Sektoth largely isolate themselves, and though the Ko-Jodakh and the Sith-makar still raise spear, they occasionally meet in fierce matches of competition--the swiftclaw races most notably. By and large, however, competition is as fierce as anywhere in Am'shere.

Major Geographical Features

Jammur: The continent of Jammur that Am'shere lies within is a vast untamed and unexplored land that lies east of Aeryth. It connects to Aeryth near its middle point by means of a long bridge where the city of Solienne is built. Small settlements and realms line its coast but deeper into its depths lie vast unexplored jungles that have swallowed up ancient empires, the tallest mountains in the world, and exotic kingdoms and lands that most people on Aeryth would never ever dream of. The heart of this continent is dominated by a great sweltering jungle known as Am'shere and within this jungle exist the tribes of the Children of the Flame, as well as some humans.

The Great Field: A large, cleared area in the midst of Am'shere. Considered a mostly neutral ground, the sith-makar and ko-jodakh meet here occasionally for racing. Keepers of Am'shere's various exotic riding breeds meet to trade, barter, and test the mettle of their beasts, as well as to mingle bloodlines. There are some hunting competitions as well. Angoron, beneath local guises, enjoys a resurgence here.

Rahm-Sha: A large set of naturally-occurring sulfur springs, sacred to the Children of the Flame. According to the tales of shamans, the springs were made when Alumavoratrix, the great silver who saved the Children so many centuries ago, battled and felled an ancient red dragon. The Silver, also go the stories, protected these jungles, and many dragons still feel Am'shere to be her domain. The shamans suggest that sith who properly utilize the springs are sometimes granted with visions. The entire place also smells of rotten eggs left out in the sun too long.

General Plot Information

Common Story Themes

Am'shere is known for its wilderness and its danger. An untamed land, it borrows elements from the real-world's mighty Amazon and other forgotten and hidden places. Dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, and river beasts abound.

• Survival
• Children of the Flame culture
• Tribal factions

Local Bestiary

• Jungle wildlife
• Anything carnivorous or dangerous
• Dragon-themed creatures and races
• Jungle-dwelling creatures

DM Descriptions

Entering Am'shere from Alexandros

There is a portal.

The portal is to the jungle land known as Am'shere.

Today, you've been hired to escort a merchant's caravan through that portal. This starts with reaching the fort that surrounds the portal in question once you've gotten your orders from the Guild.

The great fort is built around what appears to be a shimmering tear in the center of the fort. It shouldn't be, but is.

As you stand at the gate to the interior of the fort, a team of Sith-Makar on Swiftclaws emerge through the portal. More merchants, it seems, bringing goods from the far-away land of Am'shere to Alexandria.

You can see a team of merchants, clearly the ones you'll be escorting, with several wagons and swiftclaws of their own, ready to go through. They are no doubt waiting for you.

The guards look at you, then one asks, "State your names, one at a time, and you'll need remove all your clothes behind the modesty screen over there for decontamination. The druids on both ends insist that there be as little cross-contamination as possible."

Recent Events

See the Recent Events entry under sith-makar.