Situated on the Run River, the city of Wine Run is the stopping point for the seasonal wines that flow from the upper regions. Casks of wine are floated down the river on barges to Wine Run, and from there distributed amongs the southern cities.

Wine Run is a booming, bustling trade city, and also boasts the largest arena in the country. High King Saeru occasionally comes to witness the Championship Games held there once a year; Wine Run is downstream of the capital city of Standrock Keep, and the High King usually travels right behind the wine barges. Wine Run is within the region of High Seat.

Kingdom of Karimas

So named for the first High King who forged an alliance between seven warring kingdoms, and eventually welded them into one nation, Karimas is a vast expanse with many different peoples and terrains. There are four regions in all, each ruled by a King, which in turn answer to the High King who rules the fourth region.

Karimas is bounded on the west and north by the Dragon's Spine mountains, and to the south and east by the Rain Sea.

Region 1: Oakheart
King: Kevan Whitelock
Crest: Pure strike on field ebon (a white slash on a black field)

While the kingdom is named for the forests that are this country's dominant feature, the crest and the name of the king both come from the streak of white in Kevan's otherwise black hair. Kevan's ascension to the throne took place about twenty years ago; born a royal bastard, Kevan essentially hacked his way through the true line of succession in a bloody but contained and controlled coup. High King Saeru ruled it an internal matter and thus did not interfere; when Kevan petitioned for true recognition as the rightful King of Oakheart, Searu granted him it. The only reason the High King allowed the whole sordid affair was that the Oakheart royalty before Kevan had been engaged in all kinds of messy activities and had brought shame to much of Karimas. Kevan cleansed the region and rules with a fair, if sometimes overly firm, hand.

The forests of Oakheart are deep and rich with trees of all kinds. Careful tending and farming has ensured this resource continues to support the region for some time. Oakheart's lumber gets sent down the Sweetwater River to the neighboring region of Coastal, who uses it primarily for shipbuilding.

Oakheart is the home of the Living Grove, a village of healers and herbalists who are aided by what appear to be living trees. Some of these trees can move and speak; almost all can communicate with humans in some fashion. Anyone may come to the Grove and ask assistance; those who mistreat other patients or the tenders of the Grove have disappeared rather quickly.

Region 2: Coastal
King: Helmas Janns
Crest: Sail aurum on field azure (gold sail on a blue field)

Coastal Kingdom isn't the only kingdom on the coast, but it is the one with the best harbor. Coastal tends to handle much of the shipping overseas, and it's also well known for its beaches and its rich fishing grounds. Coastal is actually an island for part of the year; during the spring rains, the Sweetwater overflows its banks and floods a narrow strip of lowland, completely surrounding the region by water (however temporarily). The current when this occurs is so severe that Helmas has petitioned Saeru for aid in building a bridge over the Sweetwater.

Coastal is a quiet kingdom, well ruled and happy for the most part. Helmas takes his duties seriously, and ensures that his sons and daughters do as well. His lower lords follow his example; those that don't tend to become examples.

Region 3: ProudRock
King: Syan Snowlander
Crest: Black footprints on a white field

Until recently, Proudrock was ruled by the Shadowloves, a family of nobles known for both possession of magic and responsible use of same. The Order of the Eclipse burned Shadowlove Keep to the ground and slaughtered the entire family, though there have been rumors that some escaped. Syan Snowlander leads the Order of the Eclipse, and Saeru installed the man mostly out of a lack of options. Since the matter was technically an internal coup, there wasn't much the High King could do. Syan's albinism often results in him being referred to as the Snow King.

The Order of the Eclipse has their base now in Proudrock. Known mostly as a country of scholars and academics, the region also makes wines and sends them down the Run River to the city of Wine Run. Proudrock's terrain is mostly mountainous foothills, aside from its vinyards.

Proudrock is also home to the unusual feature known as the Glass Plains, a perfectly circular region about two miles in diameter in which everything has been somehow transmuted to glass. It is considered a place of the worst bad luck, and is avoided at all costs.

Region 4: High Seat
King: High King Saeru lin Karimas
Crest: Gold crown on a white field

The High Seat is situated in the mountains that form the southwestern border of Karimas, with Proudrock to the north, Oakheart on the northeast, and Coastal to the east. Mining and related activities are this region's primary strength, and the steel that comes out of High Seat is reputedly the best in the land.

The High Seat is also the original homeland of the Warrior's Way monasteries. The largest monastery is here, and Saeru wears the star of the Order, as have all the High Kings since Karimas himself.

Organizations

The Order of the Eclipse

An order who purports to be "protectors of humanity", Syan Snowlander's Order of the Eclipse is opposed to the use of magic by humans, deeming it a dangerous and corruptive influence. The albino king blames his parent's use of the magic for his disfigurement, and he founded the Order twenty-five years ago. Now approaching fifty, Syan is ready to hand over the reins to Farris Starkweather, a zealot and purported madman and, it is rumored, Syan's lover.

The Order's methods range from subtle and political to the direct and shocking; from the pushing of laws in the High Council of Viziers to the public flaying of those who use magic for criminal acts, the Order is careful to stay within the law in the public eye. This is not to say that incidents do not occur, but the people of the regions exact their own kind of justice in the places Saeru's hand cannot reach. The Order has all but been forced underground after the destruction of Shadowlove Keep ten years earlier; while it cannot be proven that the Order was involved, Syan's resultant ascension to Proudrock's throne and the Shadowlove's well known magical skills certainly don't make a very strong case for their innocence. As a result, the Order is viewed with strong suspicion everywhere they go.

The Warrior's Way, or the Brotherhood of the Eightfold Path

Warrior monks of the highest order, the Warrior's Way espouses eight virtues: courage, strength, honor, intelligence, self-control, fortitude, insight, and wit. These eight virtues define the path they follow. The mark of an eight-pointed star is tattooed on the underside of each initiate's forearm who succeeds in completing the tests for all eight paths.

However, many of those who come to the monasteries come for only a short while, and the Brotherhood welcomes these "temps". While within the walls, they are educated and trained in whatever area they desire, although their time belongs to the Brothers. These temps clean and maintain the monasteries and their grounds in payment for the teachings they seek.

The Way's teachings, espousing self-control as one of its highest virtues, sees its share of magic users too. The Brotherhood is fully willing to train them in the use of their magics as long as the magic users do their fair share and abide by the rules of the monastery, which while draconian in nature, are designed to keep the monasteries peaceful, even when two mortal enemies (say, an Order of the Eclipse and a magic user) are training together. Incidents are punished brutally, and because all who come to the monasteries are volunteers who are made well aware of the rules and consequences before entering, these punishments are well within the King's Justice.