Ptolnom

Ptolnom is a large region in the southern reaches of the Lands of Man. Ptolunum was once a kingdom renowned for their strict discipline and regimented way of life, and is now a valuable part of the Silvertree Empire. It is warm and fairly dry, full of flat lands and low ridges, but within the hard ground comes most of the mineral wealth of the empire.

Geography

The northern border of Ptolnom is the narrow, salty sea of Long Sea, with a narrow strip of land connecting it with Noirda. The western border is the impenetrable front rank of the Lower Longspine Mountains, and Ptolnom stops where the first rivers start flowing east to the Whalesong Waters. Perennially disputed territory within the Arian Delta marks the southeastern corner of Ptolnum.

The interior of the region is mostly parched plains and ridges, where glacier meltwaters once carved through the area and filled now-empty basins. The stone underneath the earth is in flat, narrow strips, and lends itself well to craving and dry stonework.

People

The Ptolnomic people came south through Noirda in deep history, and settled along the coast near the Arian Delta. When gold was discovered in the interior, vast stone citadels were built near mine heads, and began popping up throughout the kingdom. To better accommodate trading with other peoples in the Lands of Man, the stone was laid onto the ground, and the famed Roads of Ptolnom were developed. Around this time, to protect the stores of gold, and later diamonds, the vast armies of Ptolnomic spearmen began growing.

The Ptolnomic people share a lineage with their Noirdic cousins, but due to better nutrition and close association with the Arian peoples south of them, they are taller and are generally more fair-skinned. Unlike Noirda, dwarves came in droves to Ptolnom, attracted by the wealth and perhaps the engineering, but remained in conflict with the native Ptolnomic people up until the Arrival. Not many halflings live in interior Ptolnom, but many settled in the Arian Delta.

Culture

Acting almost as a foil to their cousins from the north, Ptolnomic people are stoic and distrustful of strangers. Their interior citadels were designed to keep people out, and this attitude persists culturally. However they act, though, the Ptolnomic people are revered throughout the empire for their engineering savvy, having been one of the first places wear paved roads were developed, and where dry stone buildings were developed that rivaled the strongest keeps elsewhere. Their aqueducts are the stuff of legend.

Within the keeps of the white citadels, a disciplined system of defense and mindfulness developed over the centuries. Soon, each citadel had its own population of weaponless warriors capable of protecting their lands, who stayed behing while the spearmen made war elsewhere. After the Arrival, a large enclave of elves came to Ptolnom, and ancient knowledge was shared between the two parties. Before the Great Awakening, citizens from across the empire came to Ptolnom to learn knowledge and discipline from the masters.