There are those who have entered our world from...other realms. Having interviewed a number of these strange refugees, I have learned that there are similarities between the worlds, that I have collated and compared with what I have spent much of my life studying. I have to confess that what I have learned has been most stimulating and has driven me to compose the beginnings of a number of treatises, like this one.
But I am rambling, as I often do. Today I shall write a summary of our world's climate. I believe visitors of an intellectual bent may find it to be a subject of great interest.
Revaliir consists of two major continental land masses, plus a smaller region far to the south that is mainly sheathed in ice and snow and not very habitable to a civilised gentleman of good breeding. We have two moons, which is the proper number necessary for maintaining the cycles of nature in both man and beast. We also have what is known as an axial tilt, which means our little orb leans toward the sun in a manner that provides more light and heat to one hemisphere than to the other. In the north, this heat becomes intolerable in some dry unforested regions, while it provides amicable comforts to those who dwell in the southern lands, where the greatest of civilisations are stationed.
So, I will begin with the greatest lands of all; being those that are contained within the kingdom that we call Adeluna.
Adeluna is situated along the furthest southern reaches of Canelux, starting in the western reaches of Bohar and continuing all the way down and along the coast, past the Moritius swamplands and beyond. A warm current passes by from the west, supplying the lands with plentiful rain that feeds the fertile lands that were blessed by the great Tree that is the mother and father of us all.
The kingdom of Adeluna has a temperate climate, and shares some of that blessing with the Duchy of Ejgora, a strong ally of our great nation. There, the rainfall is utilised to supply us with much lumber, while here we prefer to use it for the provision of many farmlands.
Moving further north we pass the Ancense mountains, Virens forest and the Vilmapolan coast. Vilmapolan is a lawless region, but warmer as it shares its waters with far-off Parvpora. Further up the great plains of Bohar are yet warmer and drier, but supplied by many rivers that fall from the north and the great equatorial rainforest of Laeto. It is there that we reach the line dividing north from south. And invisible ribbon separating the civilised lands from our own (with the exception of Mamlak, which provided us with our learned and excellent majesty, Queen Qendresa Fiona Thema of Adeluna. May she reign eternally and with the blessing of all the gods and goddesses of Revaliir.)
The rainforest of Laeto is a hot and humid region, but it is protected from scorching by a thick leafy canopy and there are theories espoused by the more wild-haired amongst our scholarly community, that the thick volcanic dust that frequently spouts from the island of Apoy, provides some shielding against the sun's rays at various times of year. However, I emphasis that is merely theory and I only mention it here for completeness.
Mamlak is a hot country, populated by lions and a fierce but noble people who have become our friends in recent years. To the east of Mamlak lies the Corval Basin, a deep cleft in the mountains left by a root of the Tree in times long-past. To the north and east lie the Harena Wastelands, culminating in the mysterious land of Arri.
As you are no doubt aware, the Mo'mey steppes and the elven country of Endapano lie in the north west. A cold current comes down from an unknown northern sea, restoring some level of tolerable temperature to those lands, which is why they are not as afflicted by the sun as Harena. But the Highlands are colder from a number of factors. The first being their high altitude. The mountains lining the eastern side of the Corval Basin acts as a shield wall. I have witnessed the clouds ascending and rolling out over the Highlands like a cold blanket of white and grey, bringing with them rain and snow. But there is also a northern current we call the Ice Queen's Tongue. It curls down from the far north, flickering against the eastern coastline of the Highlands, before looping back and up towards the north western coastline of Parvpora to wreak havoc with the mountainous regions of Baltil. It is no wonder the dwarves that reside there have deigned to bury themselves deep within the hearts of those mountains, given the cold outside!
One other feature of the Ice Queen's Tongue is that in the winter months it brings down with it islands, fashioned from ice that can destroy the unwary ship that wonders across its path. I have seen such an island in my youth. It floated but a dozen fathoms past our bow. I yearned to walk upon such a marvel, but the captain warned me that most of the island was beneath the surface of the water. Truly we were lucky to sail away from such a danger unscathed!
Ah, but this concludes the first of my essays. The second shall deal with that strange foreign land we call Parvpora. I trust you will find it as stimulating as you no doubt found this one!
Magderrus Crumm, Baron of Cherroweir in the western lands of Adeluna.