T H E C O A S T A L H I G H W A Y
The Coastal Highway is a network of roads and trails that more-or-less skirt the coastline of the Empire from Kansk in Vlachia to Augstat in Hesse.
History
When the dwarves ruled the land there was little in the way of sailing or even riverboat traffic. Dwarves don’t much appreciate water, preferring to keep their feet on solid dry land. Avoiding large bodies of water, the best they could, dwarves connected cities and towns with roads but didn’t see any reason to put them particularly close to water. Dwarven roads are known for being as straight as possible. Some of these roads were near water anyway and are in use today. For example, starting a journey from Saratof heading east to the Georgian Forest the road shows obvious signs of ancient dwarven work.
Over the last thousand years as humans have come to populate most of Chaldea, coastal roads naturally developed to support the fishing and sailing communities that populate the coast.
Imperial Proclamation
Approximately two years after coming to power Emperor Kordaava began a large civic works project formalizing the Coastal Highway. This proclamation decreed that this network of highways be evolved and upgraded to create an actual highway from Kansk to Augstat.
Project Completed
The road is in excellent condition and well-maintained from Kansk to Augstat. That is not to say the trip is worry-free. The stretch through the Georgian Forest and Hills of Hatred is still quite “adventurous” with elves and orcs to worry about along the way. From the capital of Regis in Latium, to Mursiya in Andalus the landscape varies from civilized sections to open rough terrain. Connecting Mursiya to Augstat through the Garnon Forest is the most problematic and hazardous section of the journey; the road is often closed due to explosive overgrowth nigh impossible to keep trimmed. Wild animals, frequent bugbear incursions and a host of other hazards are ready to prey upon careless travelers. Luckily for those few who need passage through the Garnon, there are ranger guide services that operate on either side of the forest.
Emperor Kordaava originally intended the Coastal Highway to continue past Augstat, further south into Munchkein, Salominica and ending at the city of Carlisle in Tetonique. But due to the constant struggles to keep the road open through the Garnon Forest, the decision was made to make Augstat the anchor and that is where it ends today.
C H A L D E A P E D I A
Augstat is the capital of the Kingdom of Hesse and is the largest and most important port city in Niessia. Enchantments Guard is the imperial seat of power adding to it's prominence.
Dwarves are the original indigenous species who evolved on Chaldea. Due to the world changing Claw Hammer war, they now represent less than one percent of Chaldea’s total population.
Squashed between the Georgian Forest and Latium—both physically and politically—festers the Hills of Hatred, a range of lumbering hills in southwest Tamica that serve as the home of a significant orc kingdom.
Saratof is a city of two capitals. Most important and most recently, it has become the Imperial Capital of the Kordavan Empire and the World of Chaldea, but for centuries longer, Saratof has been the capital of the kingdom of Roosh. It is arguably the most important city in Chaldea, not just for its political significance but also for its size, economy, military, culture, architecture, trade, and diversity.
Humans migrated to Chaldea during the Claw Hammer War.
Orcs are an extraplanar species of humanoids not indigenous to Chaldea. At a distance they appear unremarkably human—bipedal and roughly the same body height and weight; arms and legs equal to that of humans.