Claimed Lands

The Claimed Lands have the longest history of insurrections for a realm in the continent since its founding and hold the record for the most overthrown rulers in the continent. The realm has changed names so many times no one can remember its original name or even the many names down the line. It has been simply known since as the Claimed Lands because someone was always claiming them.

One of the most avoided kingdoms in Rythalion, the Claimed Lands are in a poor current state. It has detoriated throughout the years and it no longer resembles an organised state, realm or kingdom but a laweless mess where all the cities have become smaller towns and villages, with their people just getting by. The ruler of these lands, the mysterious Masked King, is running the place with an iron fist. He conquered the realm ten years ago and has held power since. This warlord commands bandits and other brigands and has brought fear to the people living here. Security in the land is terrible and the Masked King 's muscle are running the roads asking for tolls to pass and selling protection to the towns and villages. Anyone who refuses becomes fair game of plundering for the king's forces and attacks of various monsters roaming the lands. Therefore, every town and village are paying the Masked King and his forces for this supposed protection if only to avoid being targeted by the King. Of course, the king's men do as they please in these protected areas and what they say is pretty much the law. Thankfully the king' s marauders all live in Cloud's Top, the capital of the land, and only visit the towns for some days.

For all these reasons people of other lands don’t prefer travelling through the Claimed Lands and will often prefer an alternate routes via the sea to reach their destination. Even trade routes have been jeopardized and traders also prefer the sea routes rather than crossing the Claimed Lands. Even the Big Bridge has kept its gates closed for the past eight years, only letting through a handful of special cases of people. It has been nine years since the last organized resistance against the Masked King and it had such tremendous repercussions that no one else tried in their fear and discouragement. In the minds of the various people living in these lands the Mad King is unbeatable, unkillable and terrifying.

The capital of these claimed lands where the Masked King resides is a large city atop a big plateau, is the afore mentioned Cloud's Top. It is very different than the small towns and villages that the civilians live; its built entirely of finely cut stone, has walls and towers and is essentially built to withstand assaults. Of course, it is nothing compared to what it was; years of war and battle have left it scarred and damaged. However, it still stands. Cloud's Top was there for millennia; it was originally built by an ancient queen and was part of the Neryl Empire, an ancient and magically advanced human empire that has been lost to the ages and gone extinct. No one really knows about that ancient queen, or what the original name of Cloud's Top was or even what the ruined mechanisms under the city do.

The Claimed Lands also have many other less well preserved places, ruins really, left behind by the Neryl Empire. The ancient ruined cities and sites are a thing to behold in awe but also to fear as their ancient magical defense mechanisms still work and are as deadly as they were then. Plus, many creatures that saw fit to claim these ruins for themselves now call them home and will also claim the lives of any unbidden visitors. Many would-be adventurers and treasure hunters have lost their lives in these ruins.

People in the Claimed Lands speak mostly Common. Whatever language was used in the past of these lands has been long lost to history.