Verdant Belt

The Verdant Belt is the most lush area of the Tyr Region outside the Crescent Forest and the forests of the Ringing Mountains. The ground is covered with tall, luxuriant grasses, and sections of the region are dotted with smaller wood and thick copses of trees. Water in this region comes from springs as well as streams that carry runoff water through the Crescent Forest and out into the Tablelands. These streams eventually pool into bogs, creating oasislike areas within the Belt. The vegetation thins somewhat as the Belt leaves the protection of the Windbreak Mountains. The southern half of the Verdant Belt is made up almost entirely of high grassland, well watered by a series of runoff streams from the Windbreak Mountains. While the number of animal species living in the Verdant Belt does not approach the variety in the Crescent Forest, there are still many animals who reside here. First and most common are the herd animals: erdlu, erdland, and z'tal. Kip are discouraged in the Verdant Belt because their rooting can destroy whole groves of trees.) Large hives of kank are also raised in the Verdant Belt.

There is considerable conflict between the herders (who must move regularly to avoid overgrazing) and the farmers (who are bound to the land for their survival). The herders feel that the farmers are taking too much from the land and that their claim to ownership interferes with the herders' natural rights. The farmers, on the other hand, see the herders as stealing the life from the land without putting anything back. At times these conflicts turn violent, particularly when the herders are not citizens of a city-state, or when herders from one city encounter farmers from another. Wild herds also wander the Verdant Belt. These herds shy away from the inhabited portions of the Belt, but more than one farmer has had to drive a herd of kip out of his field. Jankz communities also build their underground colonies in the drier portions of the belt, generally far from human habitation. Despite the herding and farming, the Verdant Belt is not entirely tame. The bogs at the ends of the runoff streams attract bog waders to the region. Braxat and b'rohg hunt the wandering herds, making little distinction between the wild herds, the tended herds, and the livestock of farmers. The southernmost portions of the Belt suffer from the depredations of giants from the islands in the Forked Tongue Estuary. Giants wade over to the Belt to hunt and attack caravans. Travelers should beware. 

The Verdant Belt is one of the most well-traveled portions of the Ivory Triangle region. A major caravan route runs along the length of the Belt from Gulg to the Forked Tongue Estuary, then turns north toward Altaruk. A stretch of this road, beginning just south of the Crescent Forest and running all the way to the Forked Tongue Estuary, is paved with ancient stone bricks, providing a smooth surface for wagons and riders. The stone road, referred to as the Road of Roshott, actually continues all the way into the Estuary and beneath the silt; but caravans turn off a few miles from the shore to avoid attracting the attention of the giants on nearby islands. Even a slow mekillot wagon can travel nearly 18 miles a day along this fine road. No one knows who built this road – it certainly does not seem like a civic project of the oba. The stone road through the verdant belt is one of the most pleasant caravan journeys in the Tablelands. It enjoys a number of water sources and many villages. The road is patrolled by soldiers from the various merchant houses and less frequently by templar bands from Gulg. However, the region closest to the Estuary is not well protected.

In addition to the main road, there is a network of less well-protected and less well-constructed trails. Trails run from the road to farms and villages. While not made of the superior stone of the main caravan road, traveling along these trails is much faster than going overland. There is a solid network of trails running between Gulg and Nibenay. The Verdant Belt represents the largest stretch of arable soil in the Tablelands. This natural wealth, as well as its central location, makes the area one of the most attractive routes for traders. The southern end of the belt also offers one of the few verdant regions not under the direct sway of one of the city-states. This makes Fort Kalvis of the merchant house Tsalaxa the center of trade and security for the homesteaders who have built their lives here. While templar patrols are fairly heavy in the region between Nibenay and Gulg, protection usually only comes at the request of a client village leader. Templars are often called upon to drive off bandits and elven raiders. The templars are sometimes slow to respond to requests for help, so even the weakest bandits have learned that they may remain a few weeks with impunity before moving on. 

For those who must travel to the uncivilized portions of the Belt (or those who wish to avoid the attention of templars and law-abiding citizens), travel overland in the Belt is possible, but comparatively slow. There are many small valleys, groves of trees, streams, and other barriers which prevent easy progress, but it is still much quicker to travel through any portion of the Belt than it would be to cross the sandy wastes or rocky badlands in the more isolated portions of the Ivory Triangle region. Throughout the Verdant Belt, water is generally available. Much of it is run into irrigation channels for crops. There is enough water available that a small group of travelers can usually find some water, except in the hottest part of the high sun season when the runoff streams dry up. During this time travelers are advised to bring their own water or be prepared to buy water at local farms.

Food is scarce. Farmers of the region are not tolerant of travelers who pillage their crops and are likely to meet a lone traveler with cudgel and spear. Larger groups will be reported to the templars as bandits. Most farmers are willing to sell a small portion of their crops to travelers, but unless the traveler is a templar or a member of a recognized merchant house, the farmers are likely to be suspicious. Templars have the right to demand food, water, and lodging from any client village or farm. The cost of the goods consumed is just considered a part of the host's normal burden of taxes. 

The Verdant Belt is one of the most heavily populated regions outside the city-states themselves. Hundreds of farms dot the landscape, all providing their crops to their city-states and merchant caravans. Herders move thousands of animals across the Belt, taking them to feed the people of the cities. Templars march the length and breadth of the Belt, keeping the peace and enforcing the will of their rulers. The Belt is actually divided into three inhabited regions. The northern portion (running from Nibenay halfway to Gulg) consists of client villages of the Shadow King. The people of these villages are subservient to the templars, who (with such a small area to patrol) are a very visible force among the Nibenay client villages. This is the most developed of the three regions, with almost no territory remaining that has not been converted into farms or restricted grazeland. Slave escapes in this region are common, and the templars responsible for guarding the roads use trained cilops to hunt down escaped slaves. The central portion (centered roughly at the city of Gulg) represents the portion controlled by the oba LalaliPuy. This region is much less thoroughly settled and much of it is still untouched wilderness. The hunters of Gulg can often be encountered stalking the grasslands here. The area is less heavily patrolled by Gulg's templars, in part because the inhabitants are more loyal to the oba than the Shadow King's farmers and herders are to him. Templars do patrol the area, however; here they are viewed less as oppressors than as guardians, but they have much the same authority here as Nibenay's wives do in the most dominated village of his lands.

The border between these first two regions is constantly in dispute. According to Gulg, the border stands at the Verehan Mud Run. Nibenay, however, claims a zone 20 miles wide on the southern side of the river. Farmers in the disputed zone find themselves alternatively beset by templars from Nibenay and templars from Gulg.

Each demands a portion of the farm's output, as the farm is presumed to be part of the domains of both sorcerer-kings. The result is inevitable: the farmer is unable to pay one templar or the other. The family is enslaved for failure to pay taxes and a new subject is given responsibility for the farm. This cycle has become so common in this border zone that most farmers consider being sent here punishment for acts of disloyalty to the templars. The third portion of the Verdant Belt runs from the edge of Gulg's area of control, down to the Forked Tongue Estuary. This area is outside the control of the citystates and is inhabited by slave tribes, raiders, nomads, and small frontier villages. The communities here do not benefit from the protection extended to the client villages of the city-states and merchant houses. For this reason, each community must provide for its own security. This can either take the form of a citizen's militia or a hired band of mercenaries. Some bandits hire themselves out to villages to provide protection one week and then loot the village the next. Trustworthy mercenaries are a precious commodity in the southern end of the Verdant Belt. Communities are willing to pay well for security. Some villages demand that such mercenaries make a long term investment in the community by taking a mate in the village.

Fort Kalvis of House Tsalaxa is the most secure site in the southern end of the Verdant Belt. Surrounding communities often take refuge in the shelter of the fortress in times of difficulty. While not humanitarian by any means, House Tsalaxa recognizes that the key to power in any relationship is dependency, and they are more than happy to let the villages depend upon them for security. This has already paid off in favorable trade agreements with the small towns. All three regions of the Belt suffer from the attacks of raiders. The fertile lands provide many havens for raiders and ex-slaves. Templars and bounty hunters are constantly searching for renegades throughout these lands. A number of smaller slave tribes also wander this area, but the templar patrols are aggressive enough (and the slave tribes poorly enough led) that most fleeing slaves are recaptured within a matter of weeks. In addition to human raiders, hunting bands of thri-kreen also wander this area. These hunters are so efficient, however, that even at a distance they trouble the sorcererkings. The oba Lalali-Puy has put up a bounty of 100 cp for the heads of thri-kreen raiders. The hunters of Gulg relish the challenge of tracking the mantis warriors and this new policy has led to the deaths of not a few citizen thri-kreen whose heads have been turned in for ransom. The few thri-kreen have protested this policy to the templars, but to no avail.