Steppes, savannahs, and deserts punctuated by hills, mountains, and a few rivers and lakes make up the harsh terrain of Syrkarn. Unnatural weather and roving planar disturbances reinforce the inhospitable nature of the place. But life survives there nonetheless, in small villages and nomadic tribes. Most of the residents are ogres, goliaths, or humans descended from Riedran refugees. These races live and trade on the plains, in the mountains, and in permanent settlements, interrupted by intermittent intertribal wars usually fomented by the Inspired.
Four kingdoms of old Sarlona once claimed portions of Syrkarn, and Unknown ruled there before humans ever did. They named the land Syrkarn, and the remnants of their civilization linger among the ruins of the four kingdoms and those from the Age of Demons. Ancient lore suggests that a rakshasa rajah once escaped a prison in Syrkarn, only to be bound again. This legend, combined with the ruggedness of the land, explains why the Inspired never conquered Syrkarn.
Five thousand years before the arrival of the Inspired and the present age, the nations now known collectively as Syrkarn were the jewels in the imperial crown of old Sarlona. Today, only ancient stonework and half-forgotten legends mark the fall, passing, and rebirth of this land. Still, to those who have inherited this seemingly inhospitable kingdom, Syrkarn offers a gift denied to both the warring nations of the past and the Inspired-dominated lands of the present. To its people, Syrkarn is the promise of freedom.
