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Tolnedra, to state the obvious, is one of the larger of the western
kingdoms. Its northern border is formed by the lower reaches of the
River Arend and proceeds easterly thence around the southern tip of
Ulgoland, then southeasterly along the rim of the western Algarian
escarpment at the Vale of Aldur to the by-and-large indistinct frontier
with Cthol Murgos in the east. The border then proceeds southward
to the lower reaches of the district of the Marags - that area once
referred to as Maragor which was assimilated by Tolnedra early in
the third millennium. Thence the border runs generally westerly,
fronting still on Cthol Murgos to the northeastern tip of Nyissa, then
to the lower reaches of the River of the Woods and finally to the
shores of the Great Western Sea.
while it is a commonplace to speak in public pronouncements of
the 'sacred and inviolable borders of Imperial Tolnedra', it must be
understood that any boundary not marked by some natural feature
- such as a river - is only an approximation. This is particularly true
in mountainous country where lack of human habitation (as well as
lack of interest) makes efforts to demarcate precisely a useless
pastime.
At any rate, fully two thirds of Tolnedra is wasteland of rock and
ice and gloomy, endless forests sighing in the chill mountain winds.
The significant portion of Tolnedra is the western third, a fertile
coastal plain lying between the River Arend to the north and the
River of the Woods to the south. It is upon this plain that Tolnedra in
fact exists. Four of the five major cities lie there as well as the bulk of
agriculture and commerce. In antiquity, the central portions of this
plain were periodically inundated by the vast floods of the Nedrane
River. It was the labor of two early dynasties to dike the Nedrane
from Tol Honeth to Tol Horb. providing not only the necessary
flood-control but also that broad waterway that makes Tol Honeth,
despite the fact that it lies a hundred leagues inland, one of the major
Ports of the world.
In the north, along the Arendish border, lies the forest of Vordue
where extensive logging operations provide sufficient hardwood
lumber for the fine furnishings of which Tolnedrans are so fond.
Softer woods, for construction, are taken from the mountains to the
east, but the wood of the Dryads to the south remains inviolate for
reasons which will become clear later. While there were extensive
mines in the south central mountains around Tol Rane, the deposits
of gold, silver, copper, iron and tin have been exploited to the point
where the depth of the mines makes the extraction of these useful
and ornamental metals both difficult and dangerous.
Tolnedra's two seaports of Tol Horb at the mouth of the Nedrane
and Tol Vordue at the mouth of the Arend conduct between them a
major portion of the world's commerce. Tol Borune on the south
plain is the center of an enormous agricultural empire. Tol Honeth,
the Imperial capital, has been justly called 'the hub of the world'.
THE PEOPLE
Tolnedrans are shorter and somewhat darker in complexion than the
blond, rangy Alorns of the north. Racially, they are akin to the
Arends, the Nyissans and the now-defunct Marags. Thus we observe
three broad racial groupings in the twelve kingdoms - Alorns,
Angaraks and the southern peoples. The racial background of the
Ulgos is, of course, a mystery