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* '''Queáten''' [kweˈaːten] (Chl.: ''naleiyutei lanāye'' "Eastern Islands") lies mostly in the northern hemisphere, between Púríton and Márusúturon, but it is not a single continental landmass, being a large island with lots of smaller ones around it. | * '''Queáten''' [kweˈaːten] (Chl.: ''naleiyutei lanāye'' "Eastern Islands") lies mostly in the northern hemisphere, between Púríton and Márusúturon, but it is not a single continental landmass, being a large island with lots of smaller ones around it. | ||
* '''Gurdugal''' (Cer. ''Gúrodogáro'' [guːrodoˈgaːro]; Chl. ''Gudarghāla'') lies mostly on the same continental plate as Evandor/Márusúturon, from which it is divided by skerry-filled straits, but it is usually considered a different continent first of all for its sheer size - even if more than half of it is tundra or, most commonly, ice cap - and also because it is the only "continent" which is not mainly populated by humans (apart from really small settlements on some coasts) but by orcs. Its northern coast is also the northernmost land on the planet, reaching over 84ºN. | * '''Gurdugal''' (Cer. ''Gúrodogáro'' [guːrodoˈgaːro]; Chl. ''Gudarghāla'') lies mostly on the same continental plate as Evandor/Márusúturon, from which it is divided by skerry-filled straits, but it is usually considered a different continent first of all for its sheer size - even if more than half of it is tundra or, most commonly, ice cap - and also because it is the only "continent" which is not mainly populated by humans (apart from really small settlements on some coasts) but by orcs. Its northern coast is also the northernmost land on the planet, reaching over 84ºN. | ||
===Brief continental outlines=== | |||
====Evandor==== | |||
'''Evandor''' is the continent where Western Calemerian civilization developed; its eastern border with Márusúturon does not have a commonly accepted definition, but the historically Evandorian cultural space is the area west of the Síluren mountains - Evandor's definition according to countries such as Ceria, Nordulik, and Holenagika. Its population is mostly concentrated in the northern temperate zone, where most of the continent lies (the whole of Gathurani and Hyxyn, as well as most of Holenagika are north enough to be considered subpolar and not temperate - though especially Gathurani and Hyxyn are considerably warmer than other subpolar areas at the same latitudes. | |||
Evandor is divided in about 50 countries, the majority being fairly small (two of them, Helinetian-speaking Vuntálica and [[Cerian]]-speaking Noméde Ínéma, are small enough to be considered city states), with the notable exceptions of Ceria, Nordulik (two of the superpowers of the Western bloc), Kalo, and the two countries of Gathurani and Holenagika, which, however, are mostly uninhabited tundra, taiga, or high mountains. Holenagika is also by far Calémere's largest island. | |||
After the colonization era, Evandorian cultures spread throughout the planet and political and economical structures in most of Calémere have been developed following Evandorian models. Cerian, and in some contexts also Nordûlaki (their roles have reversed in the last 150 years), are the two main working languages in most of Calémere. | |||
====Márusúturon and Gurdugal==== | |||
'''Márusúturon''' is the common name for the part of the largest Calemerian continental landmass which is not defined as either Evandor or Védren. It is, according to climate and biomes, the most varied continent, containing every single major biome type. At the present day, Evandorian anthropologists define it as being mostly divided in four large cultural space: the Chlouvānem one - whose [[Verse:Chlouvānem Inquisition|Inquisition]] covers a third or even half of the continent depending on definition, Greater Skyrdagor, the Nähärosphere (in the part of Márusúturon that is considered to be part of Evandor by countries such as Nivaren or Kalo), and the Dabuke cultural area straddling the geographical border with Védren. The steppe countries between the two inland seas are sometimes considered to be a distinct area, which, however, has historically had major influences first by the Nähärins, then by the Skyrdegans, and finally by the Chlouvānem. | |||
Márusúturon is the continent that has been impacted the least by Evandorian colonization, with only a few areas that have been actual colonies (many, however, have been protectorates, in the late modern era). | |||
'''Gurdugal''', on the other hand, is still today relatively untouched by humans; its main civilization is orcish. Human settlements are only found on the coasts closest to Evandor or Márusúturon. | |||
====Védren==== | |||
'''Védren''' is a large continent, south of Evandor and west of Márusúturon, by which it is divided by the (mostly mountainous) isthmus of Tabal. It is mostly situated between the two tropics, and includes large tracts of deserts (in the northeast), rainforests (in the southeast), and savannah. Its largest and most important country today is Spocius in the north, which has historically been the largest Védrenian civilization; the Spocianosphere is a commonly recognized cultural area that includes most of northern Védren. | |||
Modern Védren has had more Evandorian influence than Márusúturon, but not to the extent that for example Africa has suffered European colonization. Actual Evandorian control of Védrenian lands has been more limited to coastal lands and not in the whole continent, and Evandorian innovations like in most of the rest of Calémere have been later adopted by local rulers. This has contributed to form the current Védrenian political map, which is divided into more than a hundred of countries, most of which quite small and - in many cases - densely populated. | |||
====Púríton==== | |||
'''Púríton''' lies west of Védren and Evandor, but geographically isolated enough from them and latitudinally-extended enough to have prevented the development of civilizations as advanced as the Evandorian/Védrenian/Márusúturonian ones. The historical significance of this is that Púríton was the first continent to be colonized by Evandorian countries, especially in its temperate areas. It extends from roughly 18ºS and barely touches the northern polar circle at its northern end. | |||
Púríton's countries are culturally mostly Evandorian, even though there are some countries which are more creolized between native Púrítonians and Evandorian colonizers. Unlike the example of North America on Earth, modern day Púríton does not have a single superpower the way the US are - instead we find a few important countries such as the Cerian-speaking Résunten Federation or Nérentíno, the Auralian-speaking Republic of Zoegen, and Nordûlaki-speaking Lleħar, none of them more influential culturally or politically than the others, or than their ancestral motherlands across the ocean. | |||
====Queáten==== | |||
'''Queáten''' may be described as a (smaller) Calemerian sister to Oceania, though its ancestral inhabitants mostly came from Púríton to the east, with much more limited settlement from Márusúturon to the west. ''Ecáréton'', Calémere's second-largest island, is Queáten's largest landmass and where most of its population and countries lie. Located on the far side of Púríton from an Evandorian prospective, it was colonized more recently and despite the still important Evandorian influence, unlike most of Púríton its cultures are still more markedly native, as well as native Queátenian languages being more dominant in domestic contexts than Cerian or Nordûlaki. | |||
====Ceránento==== | |||
'''Ceránento''' is the smallest Calémerian continent and, despite the later colonization, its history and current status is not that different from Púríton. The temperate northern area of the continent, divided into various countries of different languages (but mostly Evandorian ones) is today a growing economic center and this area may overtake Evandor in cultural and economic importance in the coming hundred years. The city of Uny Gurmoit [uɲ gurˈmɔtʃ], capital of the former Nordulik colony of Ħerxá, is the largest city of the Western bloc and the fifth-largest worldwide<ref>After the Chlouvānem cities of Līlasuṃghāṇa, Ilėnimarta, and Līlta, and Mangarhazy in the eastern Védrenian country of Nuhengorj.</ref>. | |||
The remaining two thirds of Ceránento still see more influences of native cultures and more creolized societies, with native cultures and environments having seen less exploitment the farther south one goes. The "Lower North" and the center see more grasslands and (in the east) steppes; south of the 45th parallel, southern Ceránento is mostly covered by taiga, with tundra in the far southeast. | |||
====Fárásen==== | |||
'''Fárásen''', Ceránento's eastern almost-twin, has had a quite different history, with stronger native civilizations and delayed colonization. It is currently the Calémerian continent with the poorest economy as many parts of it - with the most striking exception being the chain of the Ísenuóte islands in the northeast - have largely preindustrial economies.<br/> | |||
Despite the use of Cerian, Nordûlaki, and to lesser extents Auralian and Besagren as international languages, Fárásenian rural societies are still largely devoid of major Evandorian influences. Fárásenian countries are somewhat larger than the average Védrenian or Evandorian ones, but have more arbitrary borders, relics of colonization times, despite them being societies with different characteristics than Ceránento or Púríton that also have this kind of borders. | |||
As for climate zones, Fárásen is similar to Ceránento: a temperate north, grasslands in the central band and taiga and then tundra to the south. Except for the northern part, Fárásenian geography is characterized by a series of endorheic plateaus that are mostly cold deserts. | |||
====Ogúviutón==== | |||
'''Ogúviutón''', at least on the northern side of the continent, historically had some civilizations developed to a much greater level than on Ceránento, Fárásen, and Púríton, but still less than on Evandor or Márusúturon because of the greater fragmentation of the land. Climates of biomes of the continent are fairly equally divided by the mountains that divide it into a northern, temperate side, and a southern, subpolar one. | |||
Modern day Ogúviutón is not unlike Ceránento or Púríton, with many fairly developed countries with a strong colonial past; however, there is a much larger influence of local customs and languages. Auralian is the main lingua franca in the eastern part of the continent and in many subpolar whaling communities; the western side has had more varied colonizers. Parts of modern-day Ésínenda and various other communities in the area were in colonies of various Chlouvānem countries, the only actual ones outside of Márusúturon (excluding the minor settlements in Holenagika as well as the current Inquisition-held stations, which were all mostly on uninhabited land, often remote non-continental islands). | |||
==Humans and other sentient species== | ==Humans and other sentient species== | ||