ACROSS THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS

Credits Special Thanks

Authors: Conor Anderson, Jacqueline Bryk, Adam James Huggins and Violet Green, for always being
Carbone, Dixie Cochran, Manda Collis, Roby Daquilante, ready to help.
Eric Minton, Elliott Freeman, Liz Grushcow, James
Huggins, Henrik Jäderkvist, John Matyus, MJ Monleón, Jay Szpilka, for her indispensable advice on portraying
Robyn Ostrokol, Neall Raemonn Price, Liz Rogers, gender and sex among the Tya.
Lauren Roy, Myranda Sarro, Marceline Donovan-Scott,
John Snead, Benjamin Sousa, Drew Stevens, Robert
Vance, Amber Underwood

Developers: Eric Minton, Lauren Roy, Robert Vance

Editor: Maria Cambone, Dixie Cochran

Artists: HIVE Studio, Studio Navela, Digital Art Chefs

Art Director: Mike Chaney and Maria Cabardo

Creative Director: Richard Thomas

© 2023 PARADOX INTERACTIVE AB.

All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written consent of the publisher is expressly for-
bidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be re-
produced for personal use only. Exalted and Exalted 3rd Edition are registered trademarks of
Paradox Interactive AB (publ). All rights reserved.

Visit World of Darkness online at [Link]

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 Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s

Introduction 9 Haslan Spirituality and Superstition 44

Government 44
This Book at a Glance 9 Wonders New and Old 45
Suggested Resources 10 Icehome 45
Fiction 10 Windcreche 46
Nonfiction 10 Other League Settlements 47
Television 11 Neighbors 47
Podcasts 11 Ascension 48
Chapter One: The North 14 Life in Ascension 48
Notch 49
Fortitude 14 Neighbors 51
History 14 Chapter Two: The Northeast 54
Culture 15
Social Structure 17 Fray 54
Governance 17 History 54
Religion and Philosophy 18 Geography 54
Locations 18 Culture 55
Prominent Figures 19 Prominent Figures 57
Neighbors 20 Neighbors 57
Whitewall 21 The Linowan 58
Life in Whitewall 21 History 58
Government 22 Settlements 59
Economy 23 Culture 60
The Nightwalkers’ Treaty 23 Clans and Leadership 61
Campaigns for Resettlement 24 Religion 62
Diplomacy 25 Rubylak 62
Prominent Figures 25 The War with Halta 62
Neighbors 25 Foreign Relations 63
The Bull of the North’s Empire 26 Neighbors 64
The Bull’s Circle 27 Republic of Halta 64
A Wounded Empire 27 The Fair Folk 65
Plenilune 28 Daily Life 66
The Saltspire League 33 Haltan Settlements 68
Other Noteworthy Imperial Holdings 33 Government 69
The Icewalkers 34 Chanta 69
Culture 34 War with the Linowan 70
Bands and Tribes 35 Neighbors 71
Religion 35 The Gathering Suns 71
Conflict and Trade 36 Daily Life 71
Noteworthy Icewalkers 36 Clans 73
Clovina 37 Leadership 75
Society 37 The Men of Gold 75
Worship 39 Fade, the Hilled City 76
Noteworthy Locales 39 Neighbors 76
Prominent Figures 40 Gapwood 77
Neighbors 41 History 77
The Haslanti League 41 Society 78
The Shattered Tower Convocation 42 Geography 79
Broadening the League 43 Gapwood’s Serjeants 79
Haslan Society and Culture 43 Other Prominent Figures 80

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Chapter Three: The Scavenger Lands 84 Aristocracy 121

Commoners 123
Calin 84 Culture 123
History 84 Military 124
Politics: The Great Game 84 Divine Patrons 125
Noble Culture 88 Necharan Religion 125
The Noble Houses 89 Other Faiths 126
Religion and Ceremony 89 Prominent Figures 126
The Lot of the People 90 Neighbors 127
Port Calin 90
Marin Bay 92 Wolf’s Paw 127
Neighbors 93 History 128
Human Society 129
Gentian 93 Wolf Society 129
Fallen Intou 94 The City 130
The City of Gentian 94 Governance and Politics 131
Government and Politics 96 Religion 131
Prominent Figures 96 Prominent Figures 132
Neighbors 97
Land-Under-Robe 133
Nexus 98 History 133
A Geography of Injustice 98 Economics 133
Ungovernable Governance 100 Culture 134
Guild Influence 101 Religion 135
Society and Culture 102 Quiverch: A City as Everchanging as the Clouds135
Prominent Figures 103 The Storm Queen 136
Neighbors 104 The Tempest Court 137
Marita 104 Beyond Quiverch 138
The Docks and the Collective 105 Prominent Figures 139
Local Government 105 Neighbors 139
Cities Old and New 106 The Maremé Nation 140
The Confederation of Rivers 107 Wanikuya: Drums in the Forests 140
Prominent Figures 107 Di’in’mé: Protection Contracts 140
Neighbors 108 Social Divisions 141
The Hundred Kingdoms 108 Daily Life 142
History 109 Religion 143
Many Cultures 109 Prominent Figures 143
Politics 110 Saploth, the Crimson Lily Citadel 143
Military 110 The Ruins of Saploth 144
Home to Heroes 110 Descendants of a Forgotten Age 144
A Sample Principality: Rake 111 The Arena of Shadows 145
A Sample Republic: Theris 112 Neighbors 145
Creating Hundred Kingdoms Locales 113
Amaryllis 146
Vaneha 114 A Wyld-Touched City 146
Clans 114 The Sovereigns Eternal 148
Cities 115 Prominent Figures 148
Neighbors 116 Neighbors 149
Chapter Four: The Far East 120 Chapter Five: The Dreaming Sea 152
Nechara 120 Champoor, the Nighted City 152
History 120 Champoori Castes 153
Modern Nechara 121 Champoor’s Old Religion 154

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 Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s

The Court of Secrets 157 Chapter Six: The South 192

Geography 157
Crime and Cults 159 Ember 192
Prominent Figures 160 Flight from Prasad 192
Neighbors 160 Among Sacred Groves 192
Twins 193
Madara, City of a Thousand Wings 161 Governance 194
Survivor of Empires 161 Dancing Societies 195
Battleground of Ideas 161 Culture 196
Politics 161 The Final City 196
Culture 162 Prominent Figures 197
Religion 163 Beyond Ember 198
Familiars and Citizenship 164 Neighbors 198
A Madaran Living 165
In Prasad’s Grasp 165 The Varang City-States 200
Prominent Figures 166 Social Spheres 200
Neighbors 166 Culture 201
Governance 202
Volivat 167 Religion 202
Origins 168 Varang Cities 203
Culture 168 Yane 203
The Yennin 169 Other Noteworthy Varang City-States 204
Politics 170 Neighbors 205
Prominent Figures 171
Neighbors 172 Chiaroscuro 205
Yennin Traits 172 Geography 205
Life in Chiaroscuro 206
Ysyr 173 The Delzhan 208
Culture 174 Governance 209
Society 175 Prominent Figures 210
The Magocracy 175 Neighbors 211
By Stone and Spell 176
Visitors from Afar 176 Zephyr 211
Slavery: Dreams of Broken Chains 177 The Sky Prince 211
Ruling the Dreaming Sea 177 People of Zephyr 212
Territories: Gralon and Beyond 178 The Alluvion 213
Prominent Figures 178 Thousand Pillars 215
Neighbors 179 Neighbors 218
Secrets of Ys Sorcery 179 Origin, the City of Talking Lions 218
Terrestrial Circle Spell: 180 History 218
The Orchid Court 180 The City of Origin 219
The Wyld-Dark Sea 180 Religion 219
The Orchid’s Petals 181 Social Class 220
Government and Military 221
Dis 183 Prominent Figures 222
The Gigantes 183 The Amma Basin 222
Slaves and Soulgems 184 The Tsavo Cities 223
Commerce 184 Beyond the Tsavo Cities 224
Gigante 185
Dajaz 225
Tzakul 186 Jewel of the Burning Road 225
The Soul Game 187 Sinners, Saints, and Slaves 225
Prominent Figures 188 Life in Dajaz 226
Relict 188 The Benefactors 226

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 ACROSS THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS

Beyond the City Gates 227 Randan 269

Prominent Figures 227 Of Wares and Wonders 269
Chapter Seven: The Southwest 230 Class and Caste 269
The Craft-Lodges 270
An-Teng 230 Society and Culture 272
History 230 Governance 272
A Land of Beauty 231 Religion 272
Culture 231 Prominent Figures 274
Religion 233 Neighbors 275
Governance 234 Manigal 275
Military 236
The Islanders 276
The Shore Lands 236
Tomil Teb 276
The Middle Lands 238
The Ancestor Peoples 278
The High Lands 239
Neighbors 280
Neighbors 240
Makelo 280
The Lintha 240
Social Structure 280
History 241
Culture 281
Family 241
Governance 281
Septs 242
Religion and Spirituality 282
Culture 244
Warfare 283
The Cult of Dukantha 245
Noteworthy Holdings 283
The Sword Princes 245
Prominent Figures 284
The City of Bluehaven 246
Neighbors 284
Prominent Individuals 248
Beyond the Gyre 248 The Azurite Empire 285
Nandao Danh Nhân 249
Government 285
Society and Culture 286
Society and Culture 249
Religion 288
Politics 249
The Azure Navy 289
Noteworthy City-States 250
The City Ascendant 289
Prominent Figures 252
Prominent Figures 290
Neighbors 252
The Coral Archipelago 290
The Dayfires 253 Neighbors 291
The Rise and Fall of Konthoi 253 The Tya 292
Society 253
Lifestyle 292
Culture 254
Religion 293
Raolai Damay 254
Gender Among the Tya 293
Dayfire Religion 255
Initiation 293
Prominent Figures 256
Noteworthy Tya Lodges 294
Neighbors 257
Prominent Tya 294
Decanthus 258
Chapter Nine: The Northwest 298
Noteworthy Locales 259
Uluiru 298
Chapter Eight: The West 262
Queen and Sovereign 298
The Wavecrest Archipelago 262 To Rule by Merit 299
Breadbasket of the West 262 The Empty Throne 299
The Shadow of Hamoji 263 Among Gods and God-Kings 299
A Hierarchy of Sacrifice 263 Architecture 301
Outside Influence 265 Food and Clothing 301
Kneeling With Straight Backs 266 Clans 302
The Dragons’ Tightening Grasp 266 The Mines 303
Noteworthy Lesser Isles 267 Neighbors 303

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 Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s

A Calamity of Princes 303 The Heavens 314

Flora and Fauna 315
The Silverswept Plains 304
Climate and Weather 315
People of the Plains 304
Beneath 305 The Mortal World 315
Noteworthy Clans 306 Society and Customs 315
The Visitor 306 States and Governance 316
Languages 316
The Lost Isles of Aiun 306
Demographics 316
Aiun’s Children 307
Measuring Time 317
Lesser Isles 309
Conveniences 317
The Spiral 310
Warfare 317
Beyond the Isles 311
Travel and Communication 318
Prominent Figures 311
The Guild 319
Atmu 312
The Supernatural World 320
Unsafe Harbor 313
Spirits 320
Expedition: Atmu 313
Magical People 321
Appendix: The World We Know 314 Places of Power 321

The Natural World 314

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8
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 Introduction
“At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn
all things, we require that all things be mysterious and un-
explorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsur-
veyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable.”

— Henry David Thoreau, Walden

The world of Exalted is full of larger-than-life heroes,

whose adventures run the gamut of sword-and-sorcery, This Book at a Glance
courtly intrigue, gritty survival stories, epic romances,
Chapter One: The North describes lands where win-
and thrilling heists. Circles and Sworn Kinships un-
ter — growing longer and colder toward Creation’s
dertake eerie expeditions into ghost-filled ruins and
edge — makes famine, disease, raiding, and war com-
set sail on swashbuckling adventures. They bargain
monplace. Refugees of war and conquest brave not only
with worldly kings, fallen gods, and the sinister courts
hunger and blizzards as they seek safe haven, but also
of the Fair Folk. Creation is full of such settings, and
ghosts and other horrors that haunt the snows.
more besides — lands scarred by ancient wars between
the Exalted and the gods, islands raised by sorcerous
Chapter Two: The Northeast depicts a lightly set-
means, empires only a few decades old, and cities that
tled region still recovering from the so-called Second
have stood for millennia.
Contagion centuries ago, which ravaged the region’s
cities and conquering Realm alike. Its native peoples
Across the Eight Directions revisits familiar loca-
now struggle against resurgent foreign intrusion into
tions from previous editions and expands on new ones
their ancestral lands.
introduced in Exalted Third Edition. This volume is
the spiritual successor to Scavenger Sons, the premier
Chapter Three: The Scavenger Lands covers this
setting book for Exalted First Edition. It provides a
longstanding center of civilization, its many rivers
smorgasbord of locations and peoples of interest —
home to countless quarreling principalities under the
both old and new — across the entire Threshold, while
watchful, greedy eyes of Lookshyan and Guild hege-
in no way presenting its contents as exhaustive. These
mony, loosely united at best under the auspices of the
subjects don’t comprise the entirety of Creation, but in-
Confederation of Rivers.
stead offer glimpses of a larger whole that Storytellers
and players can expand upon at their tables. Chapter Four: The Far East offers a glimpse into
the deep forests extending out from the Pole of Wood,
Here, you’ll visit the underground prison-fortress of
home to societies largely isolated from the rest of the
Fortitude, whose hereditary gangs ride out to ravage the
world and from one another, and to ancient ruins con-
surrounding countryside; the wintry Haslanti League,
cealed from scavengers’ eyes.
its scattered city-states united in scavenging the ruins
of a fallen empire; Gentian’s shadow houses, where the Chapter Five: The Dreaming Sea addresses the
ghosts of heretical Dragon-Blooded aristocrats over- mighty supernatural empires and prehuman civiliza-
shadow their living descendants; Chiaroscuro of the tions that struggle for dominance in the far Southeast,
broken glass towers, that rich, cosmopolitan entrepôt from Ysyr’s sorcerer-princes to the body-swapping rel-
laboring under the Delzahn steppe nomads’ heel; the icts of timeless Tzakul.
sacred library-islets of Tomil Teb, where scribes and
scholars study ancient texts among the bones of the Chapter Six: The South ranges from the warm Inland
dead; and many more. Sea coast to the deep desert, where command of wa-
ter, wealth, and trade concentrates urban power in

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 ACROSS THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS

Chapter Nine: The Northwest unveils the weird

SAFETY RULES occult powers at work in this chill, isolated region.
Everything here is touched by supernatural horror,
Exalted«s setting often deals with unpleasant — and from the dying ancient beneath the Silverswept Plains
sometimes problematic — topics, such as slavery, to the twisting spiral magic that veils the Lost Isles of
discrimination, prejudice, poverty, and more. Before Aiun.
beginning the chronicle, Storytellers and players
should discuss whether any of the setting’s elements Appendix: The World We Know touches briefly on a
or themes might be upsetting or triggering, and how variety of topics relevant to Creation as a whole, such
best to avoid distress. as the heavens, timekeeping, languages, and wildlife.
The form this takes will vary from table to table; some
players might prefer not to deal with these topics di-
rectly in-game, others may ask that scenes involving
Suggested Resources
them fade to black and the plot picks up afterwards. A Below are some resources that may help you get a feel
player might not be aware a setting element is upset- for Creation’s themes or supplement your story with
ting to them until it comes up in play. It’s also possible real-world historical and cultural information.
that what’s okay for a participant one session might
not be the next: current events, a stressful week, and
other outside factors can affect one’s capacity or will- Fiction
ingness to engage with these topics.
The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel’s Saga, by Jack
At any time, we encourage Storytellers and players to Vance: These books cover all sorts of weird, scattershot
change or ignore setting elements so everyone at the locations with their own distinct issues, often with id-
table can feel safe and enjoy the game. Remember to iosyncratic ancient magical goings-on that don’t always
check in with one another from time to time, and en- fit neatly with the reader’s — or, in the case of Exalted,
courage each other to speak up if someone needs to
the player’s — understanding of how things work.
pause the action, end a scene, or backtrack and make
changes to their characters’ actions.
The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red
If your group unanimously agrees to explore these Skies, by Scott Lynch: The city of Camorr’s towers,
topics, consider employing negotiation techniques bridges, and other structures were built out of strange
like the X-Card, fading to black, and lines and veils to materials by a people long-vanished, reminiscent of
allow everyone at the table the flexibility to engage as the First Age wonders scattered throughout Creation.
much or as little as they prefer. For a more in-depth The second book includes a band of pirates who’d be at
discussion of safety tools and how to use them at your home harrying the Merchant Fleet in the West.
table, please see Crucible of Legends.
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian: O’Brian’s
Aubrey-Maturin series gives readers a glimpse of life at
the hands of a few, from the psychic twin queens of sea and an understanding of nautical terminology and
the fortress-city of Ember to the mysterious, demonic customs through the landsman Stephen Maturin’s eyes.
Benefactors of festive Dajaz.
The Phoenix Empress, by K. Arsenault Rivera: This
Chapter Seven: The Southwest discusses the fal- series’ protagonists interact with local gods in a way
tering kingdoms of a region whose empires have his- that’s reminiscent of Creation. Storytellers building
torically unraveled over the centuries, from the cruel their own locales or setting up conflict between ca-
squabbling of the Lintha pirate septs to the civil war nonical Exalted polities might take inspiration from
brewing among the warlike Dayfire clans after their Rivera’s depiction of struggles between various cul-
unifying prince Konthoi’s assassination. tures and her challenge of imperialism.

Chapter Eight: The West showcases the region’s

wealthy islands, whose long independence is coming to
Nonfiction
an end. Some, like Wavecrest, have fallen to the Realm;
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before
others find themselves subject to expanding local pow-
Columbus, by Charles C. Mann: This book pres-
ers such as Azure’s sea lords or the pekumi warrior-ar-
ents lots of great historical and cultural inspiration
tisans of Randan.
on pre-Columbian societies in the Americas. Many of

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 I n tr o d ucti o n

these are particularly appropriate for Northeastern

and Far Eastern societies like the Gathering Suns, the NATURALISTIC FANTASY
Maremé nation, and Land-Under-Robe.
For all of its post-apocalyptic, sword-and-sorcery
Against the Grain, by James C. Scott: An excellent trappings, Exalted has always been rooted in veri-
resource, offering details about the intersection of soci- similitude. This book aims to present peoples and
ety and food that can show up in actual play. This book polities whose politics, economics, warfare, religions,
addresses topics like the conflict between hunter-gath- and cultures appear plausible, reflecting how real
erer societies and settled ones, how nomadic peoples people might act even in the presence of supernat-
sculpt their environment, and so forth. ural forces.

Orientalism, by Edward Said: This book takes a criti-

cal look at how the West depicts Asian, North African, from urban planning to state languages to how revolu-
and Middle Eastern societies. Said’s work is an excel- tions happen.
lent starting place for Storytellers and players who
want to approach portraying other cultures with care Television
and thoughtfulness.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, developed by
Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky: Accessible Noelle Stevenson: Not only are Adora and Mara great
and intriguing, this book examines how the demand examples of Exalted reincarnation, Etheria is a world
for salt carved out trade routes, financed wars, and in- full of diverse cultures that exists in the ruins of a more
spired revolutions. Storytellers can gain insight on a advanced society.
particular commodity’s influence over a region, and the
ways in which it interconnects humanity. Podcasts
Seeing Like a State, by James C. Scott: This book ad-
Hardcore History, by Dan Carlin: This well-re-
dresses a broad range of topics on historical societies
searched podcast takes a closer look at historical events,
and governments that’s useful to Exalted play, ranging
and presents them in an engaging, narrative format.

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Tsuura hummed a battle song as she swung down from her saddle to examine the body of a fallen
defender. She recognized the old man — he’d been a beardless boy the first time she rode out from
Fortitude with her war band, and they’d traded blows many times when the Uznikane came reaving.

A war cry split the air, full of the overeager note that told her someone was on his way to doing
something regrettable. Tsuura was the veteran of hundreds of raids, maybe thousands; she’d stopped
counting her victories two decades ago. The sound of trouble whooping from a young warrior’s throat
was the same now as when she was young.

As he tore past, she snatched him by his fur-lined hood. It was like scruffing a large kitten, only
instead of claws he bore a saber in one hand and a lit torch in the other. He struggled at first, perhaps
thinking one of his friends had grabbed him to gain an unfair advantage in their race towards
mayhem. Then his brain caught up, and he realized who’d halted his charge.

“Gray Tsuura,” he breathed, his eyes flicking from the silver plaits in her hair to the wrinkled hand that
held him fast, then back to her weathered and battle-scarred face. She’d been leading raids since his
grandmother was in diapers; he was at least smart enough to recognize who’d stopped him and quit
his squirming.

“Where are you headed with that torch?” For a moment, she thought he might try to hide it behind his
back and deny its existence. And singe his ass in the process.

To his credit, he held it steady. Molten pitch dripped onto his wrist, but the boy didn’t flinch. From
the colors he bore, he was a member of the Jagged Thorns. The gang prided themselves on their
immunity to pain. “To... to the stables?”

Tsuura resisted the urge to cuff him. The Thorns weren’t known for their cleverness. “The stables that
still have horses in them. Tell me, if we kill all the horses now, how far out will you ride to find new
mounts? The cattle pens are next to them. If the oxen die in your ill-thought fire, how will the people
till the fields come spring?”

He frowned. “That’s for them to figure out.”

She cuffed him after all, pleased at his grunt of pain. These youths, so eager to make names for
themselves, they forgot why Fortitude went raiding. “What do we eat if their fields lie fallow? What
keeps us clothed and our bellies full if the shepherds are too dead to tend their sheep? Take your
torch and find Dergen. Tell him Tsuura said you’re too stupid to be here and help him burn the dead.”

The boy ran, smoke from his torch marking his path across the battlefield.

He’d learn, eventually, the difference between raids like this one and those where the fight was the
entire purpose. Perhaps someday soon he’d test his mettle against garrison soldiers rather than
townspeople wielding farming implements. Tsuura cared little about the Realm’s troubles to the
south, but she had to admit the turmoil caused by the Scarlet Empress’s disappearance had made
Uznikane attacks on nearby towns much easier. The satraps simply didn’t have the resources to
protect all the towns in their domains every time riders boiled out of Fortitude. Tsuura missed the
challenge.

She turned back to the dead man and pulled the spear from his chest before she headed deeper into
the town. No use wasting a perfectly good weapon.
 Chapter One

The North
Most see the North as a land of winter. Indeed, snow
and cold weather have at least some hold throughout
History
this Direction. But the Inland Sea’s coast is temperate,
Fortitude was originally a prison-fortress built by the
its summers warm and its winters cool. Even the White
Tsarkuur empire, whose religion asserted that crimi-
Sea’s long, bitter winters are tempered by hot — albe-
nals inherited the inclination to commit crime. When
it short — summers. Farther north lie expanses of cold
capturing thieves, murderers, and political enemies,
prairie and taiga, and only beyond that does greenery
authorities also rounded up their families to serve life
give way to tundra and glacier.
sentences. Smaller cells housed one or two inmates;
Still, privation leaves its mark across the North. Shorter others — only slightly larger — accommodated entire
growing seasons and fewer viable crops — wheat in- households.
stead of rice, for instance, or rye instead of wheat —
The prisoners were slave laborers, farming the area’s
lead to hunger; hunger beckons peasants into banditry
rocky, impoverished soil and toiling in its mines. The
and piracy. Predators, likewise hungry, prey on domes-
empire also seized skilled artisans, forcing them to
ticated animals or even attack humans. City dwellers
weave textiles, forge armor, and distill alcohol. Once,
packed indoors through the winter suffer from all man-
their hard-earned mastery supported their families;
ner of pestilence. Icebergs and fog wreck ships. Scarcity
now it profited Tsarkuur, attracting merchants until
fosters war over vital resources. Fatalistic resignation
the fortress became a city. Wary that vengeful hun-
is common, and many cultures emphasize the ancestor
gry ghosts might arise, the empire stationed funerists
cult as an escape from doom-laden life into an afterlife
alongside the guards. Captive priests were compelled
free of hunger and cold.
to perform final rites for fellow prisoners.
Northern cultures find their own ways to come to terms
Tsarkuur fell long ago, but the prison continued operat-
with these hardships. They may focus on cooperation
ing during its lengthy decline. Its guard force dwindled
and building strong communities, or on fiercely raiding
as opposing factions of the splintering empire called
neighbors and rivals. Nomadic peoples focus on herd-
them home to fight. Many simply deserted. Eventually,
ing or hunting, relying on meat to endure lean win-
the prisoners revolted and overthrew their remaining
ters, while settled folk struggle to keep granaries full.
jailers.
Scavenged relics of former ages serve not only as sourc-
es of wealth, but as means for survival. Superstition is Though freedom was theirs, most of Fortitude’s former
rife, and pacts with gods, sorcerers, and other super- prisoners didn’t leave. They had nowhere to return to,
natural beings can prove the difference between life their lands and homes long since sold off or left in ru-
and death. ins. Others had only ever called the prison’s cells and
tunnels home. Together, they claimed the fortress as
Fortitude their domain.

Fortitude’s walls rise stark and gray over the surround- While Fortitude’s residents expanded the city above,
ing prairie. The remains of its once-mighty guard tow- they dedicated most of their efforts to the vast network
ers graze the sky like jagged, rotten teeth. Sections of of cells and tunnels underground. Subterranean wards
the foreboding stone walls lie in ruins, but the city is became gang territories ruled by ruthless, charismatic
far from dead or abandoned. Within the gates, a peril- leaders. As the city grew, workers dug new tunnels to
ous market of visiting merchants thrives. But this isn’t accommodate the increasing population and to expand
Fortitude proper. The true city lies underground, in a their living quarters beyond their cramped cells.
vast network of tunnels ruled by gangs and minor war-
lords. There, only the strongest thrive.

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 C hapter O ne : T he N orth

Fortitude’s farmers — gang members unfit for battle or at banquets. Hunters and warriors eat first, receiving
in disgrace, reinforced by slaves — continued working the choicest portions seasoned with spices seized from
the land. But the empire’s stores had always supple- merchants’ caravans. Lesser gang members content
mented local crops, and harvests fell short of keeping themselves with bland stews of farmed produce — oats,
bellies full. Without an influx of additional food and vegetables, and the occasional carp or chicken — and
supplies, the fortress’s inhabitants set their sights — scraps from the warriors’ table. Likewise, warriors and
and spears — on nearby territories and their bounties. a few skilled brewers drink plundered wine and the
best Fortitude beer, while the rest consume the brew-
Culture er’s dross. Gathering fruit, herbs, berries, roots, and
mushrooms is considered children’s work; bands of
Fortitude’s people call themselves Uznikane, or “pris- youngsters stake claims on spots rich in foodstuffs, and
oner” in the Tsarkuur language, proudly reclaiming bicker or brawl over the day’s take.
the word from their ancestors’ jailers. Prison society’s
harsh, unforgiving rules echo throughout present-day Gangs control food distribution within their own terri-
Fortitude; survival depends on making tough decisions tories. Those too weak to find a place in a gang, mem-
in volatile circumstances, and on being stronger than bers of subordinate gangs, and those who fare poorly
rivals attempting to seize one’s resources, people, or at hunting are fed at the whim of the territory’s dom-
territory. Characterized by outsiders as brutal and self- inant leadership. This can cause instability — whether
ish, the Uznikane rely on these traits to stay alive. Kill the unfed underclass rises up or flees, or because gang
or be killed, seize or starve; they do whatever it takes to members resent their leader’s generosity toward peo-
live another day. ple whom they deem undeserving.

The Uznikane prize meat above other foods. Gangs send Most wear a deel or caftan with a leather cloak and
hunting parties into surrounding lands for boar, deer, boots, often trimmed with fur. Each gang has its own
and waterfowl. Successful hunters earn a place of pride colors and symbols with which members adorn their
clothing. Likewise, many gangs maintain distinctive

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 ACROSS THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS

Realm Year Event

Millennia before the Realm Heaven sends spirits to Skandhar-Bhal to guard the Moon-That-Fell.
Millennia before the Realm Whitewall founded.
Centuries before the Realm Shogunate engineers erect desalination manses along the upper River of Tears.
Decades before the Realm Vanamaithri Mirror-Soul seeks refuge in Skandhar-Bhal.
1 The Great Contagion ends.
3-5 Proto-Icewalker culture heroes establish pacts with the animal avatars of cari-
bou, elk, and mammoth.
20 Whitewall’s Syndics make treaty with neighboring Fair Folk and undead.
38 Haywain Kingdom founded north of the White Sea.
111 The Tsar