> [!success] Integrated > This lore drop has been processed and integrated into the vault. > See: [[Region - Eraden]] **LOCATION - Gryth - Auken - Eraden** **ERADEN** Eraden is a quiet nation that serves a vital geographic purpose as the primary continental land bridge between the northern reaches of Auken and the frozen expanse of Norn. It is, in fact, the only continental land bridge on Gryth. While it lacks the grand, recorded sagas of the southern kingdoms, Eraden is far from a new creation; it has existed in various forms for millennia, firstly as a troll tribal ground, then a snow elf colony, and has been ruled by various gnome and dwarf clans in the years since then. It gained its current form as a sparsely populated human nation after the first wave of Edarian migration into Auken, some 800 years ago. Although it should be noted that Nornian humans had lived alongside these ancient kingdoms, as cave gathered communities of hunter and wild warriors. In recent ages it has existed quietly, serving as a silent witness to the ebb and flow of empires. The landscape is defined by this transitional nature, caught between the windswept moorlands of the south and the encroaching permafrost of the north, resulting in a terrain that is as still and silent as its ancient reputation. Winters are a brutal affair here, and the already hardy landscape becomes desolate in the deep winter months. Despite its long standing, the governance of Eraden remains a fragmented affair, lacking a central monarch or a unified throne. Instead, the country is managed by a patchwork of local councils that oversee day-to-day affairs in the small, scattered settlements that have occupied these crossroads for generations. The true authority in the region often lies with foreign powers, most notably from the Thornmark. These southern interests exert significant influence over Eraden’s councils, effectively using the ancient territory as a political and physical shield against the biting influence and potential aggression of Icynthraal, the closest Nornian country. To the "Gold-men" of Greater Terrisia, Eraden is a strategic necessity, a buffer zone that keeps the supernatural chill of the Nornian wastes at arm's length. Because of its status as a buffer state, Eraden remains a place of transit rather than a destination, its ancient roads well-trodden by merchants and soldiers moving between continents. Its history is not found in grand monuments, but in the layers of ruins that lie beneath its quiet villages, remnants of the many cultures that have used the bridge over the aeons. For the inhabitants of the Thornmark, Eraden is a bulwark against the extreme cold, while for the locals, it remains a land of endurance, solemnly persisting as a vital thoroughfare. ![[Pasted image 20260201090259.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260201090306.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260201090312.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260201090319.png]]