Askandor, which began centuries ago as a fairly lawless human settlement, has grown into the single largest kingdom on Garidon. Comprised of fully one-fourth of the lands of the continent, this kingdom has been going through a rapid expansion in the last twenty years, quickly "protecting" a number of smaller, formerly independent cities in the southeastern portion of the world. Most recently, King Halusan V, reigning monarch, has been hailed as a hero of the people for organizing the attacks and counteroffensive at Deepdawn. This was less him than the assorted Heroes, but he (of course) is not above taking some credit for what happened.

This unassuming farming village was the site of the single bloodiest battle in the history of modern warfare. What started out as a rout by the forces of Darkness was quickly turned into a pivotal victory for Light when Chaos, in the body of Pellanistra, was slain. The village was practically raised by the ensuing wave of godly and earthly power. The survivors of Deepdawn have struggled for the last few years to return some sense of normalcy to their lives, but most are ready to leave the desolate place in search of a fresh start somewhere else.

A large port city of 70,000+ on the coast, known not only for its devotion to dragons, but its fanatical devotion to the red dragon Zhaga. For almost 800 years, Zhaga demanded terrible sacrifices of the populace to spare them her wrath. Following a meeting with an unnamed silver dragon, her tone mellowed and she has given up much of her formerly evil ways. Ever since, the city has slowly become used to the idea that dragons are not gods themselves and is turning into a relatively mundane place. (There are some, though, who are preparing for Zhaga's return... just in case.)

The tallest mountain on the eastern coast, and home to the great dragon, Zhaga. The mountain was named for the ancient red by the residents of the terrorized city of Wyrmspire, and the name stuck after it was put, jokingly, on an official Kandorian map some centuries earlier.

As its name implies, Crossroads is the largest trading center in the Free Cities. During the winter months the city is practically a ghost town, as traders from the surrounding Free Cities tend not to run their caravans during the treacherous rainy and snowy season. Once summer arrives, the town's population swells to almost ten times its normal size. The city itself is run by one man, Lord Hugh Gungrin, a kind-hearted, middle-aged human who likes nothing more than to parade around the city and find out from its citizens how it fares.

The highlight of the year in the city comes in late summer during the great Harvest Festival, when merchants from each and every one of the Free Cities come to display their wares to the public. Exotica from all walks of life can be found at the Harvest Festival, from coral sculptures of Midia to the curious Ice Crystals of Eskomil. Even the more outrageous attempts at plant crossbreeding and magical potions from Dinsdale and Swanspoint, respectively, can be found during the height of the festival.

During the summer months, many travelers to Crossroads try to reserve rooms at the Broken Bough, a curious yet hospitable place run by the original Elven family who lived on the land that became the center of town. The Bough is, in actuality, a large oak not unlike the World Tree that has been hollowed out to accommodate upwards of fifty guests. Iltamar Goldsheaf, the proprietor, runs the inn like a tight ship, but not so much as to run his staff ragged; in fact, the Bough is a choice place for younger folks to earn a living in Crossroads if suddenly found with nothing.

Also famous in Crossroads is the Music House. Known for its many and varied musical events throughout the year (one week and oratorio, the next an ensemble of instrumental and vocal music, the following week a full-length opera), the Music House remains open year round for the upper crust of Garidon and keeps lower rates for traders (only with permit) during the summer to make it affordable to all.

Tucked away in the middle of nowhere, the mysterious town of Laposter is protected from outsiders by deep magics cast centuries earlier by the town's founders. It definitely needs the protection the magics afford it: Laposter is home to a race of people who can change their forms at will from human to tiger. The town itself was founded centuries ago by Ubaris Laposter, a man who had been given the curse of lycanthropy by a Dark Fae. Shortly, though he gained mastery over the curse, and even as he passed it on to his children (and, unfortunately, more than a few victims), they too found they could master the curse and turn it to their benefit. Laposter then led his family and his unfortunate charges to a place in the wilderness, where they founded the city that bears his name.

Marnet is perhaps the single largest city on the continent, with over 1.2 million people living there during the high season. Its large shipping and shipbuilding businesses provide more than one third of the revenue for the city, and common wisdom holds that one should visit Marnet at least once in their lives to witness the splendors of this ancient metropolis.

The modern city is run by a council of seven known just as "The Council", although many dissatisfied folk refer to them as the Overlords. Those seven people are elected to the post for seven years, with at least one new member joining each year. This Council holds command over not only the policies of the city, but also acts as court and commanders of the city watch. Over ten thousand strong, the watch acts as both a standing army and as a large police force set to deter crime of any sort. Part of the problem with the watch, however, is the corruption rampant within, thus insuring a steady job for officers and a steady supply of crime that goes on unnoticed, almost protected in the alleyways and back rooms of the city.

Major points of interest include the City Fairgrounds, slightly north of the Main Bazaar. It is in the fairgrounds that each year's Midsummer Faire is held, bringing the greatest minds and muscles together for two weeks of competition such events as classic chess and strategy games, fencing, jousting, the Mystery Play, and a full three days of storytelling. Also of interest are the Lozarian Brewhouses, run by the wealthy Lozar family, which produce no fewer than eight different types of ales and beers, six for export and two which are served only in the family's pub.

For all that has happened within the loose borders of Naridale, it's a wonder that it is not more populous than it is. From the scenic Lake Narilan on its western border to the picturesque College of Magical Arts, Naridale is fast becoming one of the few places of unspoiled beauty remaining in the world. Notable places in the 300-strong village include the College of Magical Arts, Darrin Trailsong's Whistling Swan Inn, and the small bronze statuette in the center of town depicting Founding Day. (People who look hard at the statue will find clues as to the apparent ages of some of Garidon's resident, including Aernath, Shasta Rameikos, and Darrin Trailsong.)

Far to the northwest of Marnet lies one of the greatest buried treasures of the world: the undersea kingdom of Midia, home of the mysterious Merfolk and the center of culture and commerce for more than a dozen undersea races. Giant spires of gold and sculpted white coral mark the cityscape of a city seemingly grown and molded from the very bottom of the sea itself. Sunlight reflects off the spires during the day, making the city easily visible from below; at night, enchantments shine from the towers throughout the city, making it easy to spot from above. This, of course, is a favorite of navigators who cross the sea; more than one sailor has marked his course by the lights of the Midian night.

Being an undersea city, Midia has little to offer in the way of lodging and drink for the surface traveler; for the undersea dweller, the Hook, Line, and Sinker is the choicest place to go. Exotic natural cuisines and special distilled beverages make the Sinker unique in that it serves drinks especially made for nine of the dozen or so undersea races common to Midia.

This curious city is home both to merfolk and air-breathers, the only city of its kind in the world. Around the year -470, the first merfolk made landfall around the area which is now Firstfall and began a dialogue with traders of the surface-dwelling races. A trading post sprang up around that site, and the port city of Firstfall soon grew up around it.

Firstfall, as with its sister city Landunder, offer much more to the surfacer than their capital city Midia. Sharkey's Bar and Gill, located in the heart of Landunder, is most impressive due to its dual nature of being both above and below the surface, allowing both air- and water-breathers to mingle. Prices tend to be relatively expensive, mostly as a measure to keep out anyone wishing to cause trouble to one class of breather or the other. The bar's owner, Rhaymil "Sharkey" Sharksbane, a half-Kyth (sea elf), will gladly accept any coin common to either the surface or undersea.

The home of the Puristan Order of Mentalists, Keep Shiatar was originally an outpost on the border of the Dwarven lands of Mittlerealm, a thriving trading outpost that catered to both the human population of Shiathas and the Dwarven craftsmen of Mittlerealm. When the Dwarves disappeared, however, so did the economy of the keep, which rapidly fell into ruin and lay abandoned for a number of centuries.

As time passed, an order of deep thinkers, outcast from mainstream society, found their way to the abandoned keep. These thinkers, led by Minlor Puris, renovated and salvaged what they could of the keep and rededicated it as Shiatar, hoping to somehow relive the glories of an earlier age. The order, naming themselves the Puristans in honor of their original leader, have since lived and developed their powers within the walls of Shiatar and hope to someday (once their number is replenished) continue the restorations and renovations that were begun so many years ago and restore Shiatar to its former glory.

Located directly east from Sybara, the island of Sithatel is one of two large islands off the main continent controlled completely by the Elven people. Consisting mostly of forestland, this island also serves as a refuge for some of the more unique and magical creatures that are slowly disappearing from the world, including not only some types of fae, but also a number of non-magical creatures once thought extinct.

Like Tanathel in the far north, Sithatel's most unique residents are its resident Elves. Having split from their brethren during the time of the Great Sundering, the Sithemariel have since developed into a distinct people all their own. As opposed to the "standard" Elf, like the Sybariel, the Sithemariel are distinct in three ways. First would be their skin, which shows as a pale blue or gray under even the most colorful of light. Second would be their pure white or silver hair. And third, perhaps most unnervingly, would be their eyes, which show up only as white-- no pupil, no iris, nothing.

The three cities on the island are as curious as their inhabitants. All Sithemariel are born into their station in life; such stations are much more strict than that of any of their cousins. For example, if one is born in the city of Willimar on the western coast, that Elf is likely to grow up to be an artisan or craftsman. In Brellithum, though, on the far eastern coast, one is likely to grow up to be a soldier or tactician. It is in the capital city halfway between, in Beristyl, that the two diametrically opposed kinds of Sithemariel meet and exchange their ideas, thoughts, and even some members of their race to infuse the other with a fresh outlook.

The ancient Elven homeland of the southwest has seen much change in recent times. Once rivaling Askandor in size and power, the Elven homeland lies in near-ruins following the events of the Node Quest and the Second Chaos War. Until the rebuilding is completed, much of these lands lie off-limits to public eyes, with virtually no exceptions. Eyrim Delithera and Kera shea Silverleaf, survivors both, have vowed to put aside any differences they have had and work together to rebuild Sybara; to that end, Eyrim has cast magics (in conjunction with the Node of Earth) enough to create a new World Tree.

A great oak, well over two miles high, which is home to the Node of Earth and to Elven Royalty. The first World Tree, which had survived untouched since the days of the world's creation, was destroyed during the earliest days of the Second Chaos War. Since the restoration of the Nodes, a "new" World Tree has been selected from within the same grove in which the original World Tree grew. Work has begun on giving this new oak the same feel as the original, if only to restore a measure of pride to the nearly-lost Elven people.

Known mostly as a sprawling port on Dewdrop Bay, Talian has become a home of lawlessness that is just begging for some strong leader to come in and clean up. Of course, the last three people who've tried it have been found floating face down in Dewdrop Bay, but that shouldn't be construed as a threat of any kind. Currently boasting status on par with Tasmil and Marnet, Talian is fast becoming a place for someone to make a name for themselves... but only at the expense of the next person down the line.

The single most impressive feature in this city is the Axis Guildhouse structure itself. At first glance, it looks to be two, maybe three stories tall. If you enter the front door without the spoken password, though, a teleportation trap sends you to the "beginning" of the Axis maze: a lumbering structure that begins some six stories underground. Between the sheer number of teleporters and other, more deadly traps, the guildhouse is looked upon by the local residents in two ways: one, as a place of wonder during festivals (children are allowed to go through the "fun house," death traps disabled, during two or three public festivals as a gesture of goodwill to the locals for tolerating their presence), and two, as a place of death (more than once has a body shown up on the front doorstep of the guildhouse following a botched intrusion attempt).

This small island of less than one hundred square miles is the home of the last "original" Elves, the Avariel. The last of the winged Elves migrated to the island following the Great Sundering, the time when their goddess split herself in two to avoid the madness that threatened to overtake her. Forsaking their kin, the Avariel, as they named themselves, headed as far away from their fallen kin as they could in an attempt to preserve the life to which they'd become accustomed.

Over time, even the unchanging Avariel began to alter their attitudes and traditions. They switched from a monarchy to a council of elders, from following the original traditions to making their own, and from a ground and air-based lifestyle to a purely air-based, preferring to live amongst the tops of the trees rather than below them.

Things went well for hundreds of years, until Byreth attempted to take over the council. His direct control over the island nation has led to decay and apathy among her people, something that the exiled Avariel Ailen Arrowshaft hopes to change if and when she returns to her island home.

Isolated from most places by the desert of the same name, Tasmil has rapidly become the second most populous city in the world, second only to Marnet. This is not due to people migrating to the capital of the sprawling desert empire; rather, it is due to the combination of the sheer lack of people leaving the city and the incredibly high birth rate. Tasmil is, in effect, a contrast in terms: a very rich city, the majority of her citizens living well below the poverty line. This has bred an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair, one that is not easily shaken by its numerous residents.

Two things set this city apart from most anyplace else in the world. First is its thriving slave trade. Nowhere else is it legal to buy, sell, and own humanoids like it is in Tasmil. (Closest would be Meard's Rock and the other cities of the Tasmilan Empire, where ownership is legal, but buying and selling is not). Of special interest is the sheer number of non-humans sold at auction, if for nothing else than a power trip for their primarily human buyers and sellers. Second would be the Arena, a place where people of all walks of life can pay a silver and watch or bet on the gladiatorial death matches between two or more opponents. The Arena serves double duty as a home for public executions and for "justice", in which the accused is left to fight for his life as a part of the sentence.

Tasmil is currently ruled by the rogue Elf Calimar Llewyntraee, who is holds an iron grip over the city. He's currently not only plotting revenge against certain folks in Naridale, but dealing with the leftovers from a slave revolt that seriously depleted the working population of the capital city.