Alright, second post on the blog! Woo! No idea what to write about, so let’s talk about the setting of my short story project – Karatera!

Karatera is a harsh desert land filled with monsters, spirits and magic. It began its life around… 2017, I want to say? It was originally a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ type of setting, built for a D&D game I was playing at uni, with some people I was friends with at the time. As I wrote more and more for it, though, I realised that the tone didn’t really match the world, so I changed to a much darker, grittier tone. I stripped out the generic fantasy races that previously occupied it, added some of my own, until I had something wholly unique (so long as you don’t search up Dune or Dark Sun).

The land is split into four major regions by a great mountain range known as the Scar, which rises out of the land like a giant, three-pronged star of giant stone teeth. In times long past, all four corners of Karatera were ruled by one king from his verdant northern palace. But now, the land has erupted into a brutal, four-sided war for control over the sands.

The Black River and the Expanses

The southern end of Karatera is dominated by the Black River, which winds from the southern tip of the Scar and cuts a verdant path through the desert, with a branch that flows off to the east. Cities and townships dot the river at regular intervals, standing side by side with ruins of a kingdom ruled by half-man, half-beast kings. Worship of the gods of the old faith, such as Ansiliras the sun god, is kept strongly here. Beyond the river are desolate sand dunes, known as the Expanses, and far to the south are mountain villages where the reptilian dragonkin live.

The Red Sands

Harsh, dry, and vast, the eastern deserts of the Red Sands aren’t made of sand, but of dry red stone and dirt. The people who live here are as harsh as their land, and the lords here earn their power with iron, stone and water. Slavery is rife here, and non-human slaves are particularly sought after. It is said that even blacksmiths and tanners have a slave or two in this region. Strewn across the deserts are ruins of an empire built by stone and bronze, ruled by the mountain lords, or muluk’hajar, who were said to have grey skin, black blood, and stood no higher than four feet.

The Violet Sands

The Violet Sands is easily the most mysterious region in Karatera. Named for the prismatic shimmer of its dunes, the Violet Sands of western Karatera is where magic runs wild. Storms of chaotic power, icy spires that stand amid scorching sands, illusions of oases that enchant you if you get too close… the Violet Sands are as varied as they are dangerous. And hidden somewhere in the desert is the mystical glass city of Khenemata, guarded by the khenedrin nomads. It’s said that those accepted inside its gates are taught ancient spells from an age long past…

The Coastlands

The Coastlands are the crown jewel of Karatera, dominating the northern half of the land. A paradise of flowing rivers and lush forests, the coast is a far cry from the blasted wastelands just beyond the mountains. The lands border an ocean of scattered, scraggy isles known as the Shattered Sea, and its towns and cities are sprawling masses of white bricks, blue domes and red tile roofs. Here, it’s the new gods, the First Eye and its three saints, that holds sway over the people.

That’s about all I’ll say for the time being. Don’t want to overwhelm everyone with information. Next week I’ll post up an excerpt for the next short story I plan to put up here!