The World of Argent is not so different from our own, as worlds go – save that within its bounds, great heroes might be something more than legend, and magic something more than myth.    Of particular interest in this distant world are the venturers, a motley group of individuals who lead dangerous, exotic, and sometimes rewarding lives, as they endeavor to find treasure amid the monstrous terrors of the Wilderness.           Maps     Display Map of the World: for perusal on site (254 KB)    Large Printable World Map: on 4 sheets, in the Venturers in Argent game     Texts    Survey of the World of Argent: discusses the various lands on the world map.  It is presented below, and also at the end of the Venturers in Argent Rulebook.    The House of Yendis Droane: the prologue for this tale provides some descriptions for landmarks in the city of Argent (in pdf format).    Venturers in Argent Boardgame: depicts the expeditions known as ventures.                  DEDICATION    This document is submitted for the edification of the esteemed novice, presenting a survey of the varied lands, near and far, that lie in and about the realm of Argent.  May it serve your purposes faithfully.     ARGENT, KINGDOM OF    Founded by the Western contingents who led the Great March, Argent was hitherto a possession of the Second Empire, its capital of Rondas rising amid broad forests.  As the Empire crumbled, the land was overwhelmed by the Western newcomers, who thereafter learned more settled ways.  Woods were felled, marshes drained, and fields plowed; their chiefs became lords, their high chief their king, their tribes a great kingdom that grew steadily in wealth and might.  Thus it is that Argent now reigns among the powers of the world, vying with the Third Empire for supremacy in the west.     ARGENT, CITY OF    The capital and greatest city of the kingdom that bears the same name, Argent is host to the most formidable gathering of venturers in any land, and to their patrons, suppliers, advisors, dependents, kith, and kin.  The cause might lie in the footloose nature of the Western people, or perhaps in the presence of Outland Wash, among the first Wilderness lands to afflict a civilized realm.  But however it came to pass, it is here that the foremost venturers meet and plot and scheme, hatch a thousand plans, and dream a thousand times more of wealth and glory.     AMAZONIS    The fabled realm of Amazonis lies at the end of the Golden Reach, south on the shores of the Inner Sea.  The Amazons who inhabit this land are a race of warrior females, gallant and terrible, who delight in the chase and every martial pursuit.  It is said that they live in colonies in which all are sisters, each ruled by a Matriarch who enjoys the attendance of several drones, and who alone produces offspring.  Though bound in sisterhood, each warrior also strives for the ultimate prize of Matriarchy, resulting in disputes which may end in exile.  Such is the usual origin of those Amazons who wander abroad.     BARBARIAN NATIONS    From out of the east came the nomads called Barbarians, the chaos of encroaching Wilderness biting at their heels, the spears of enemies guarding the lands before them.  Thus did they arise: a folk born of battles and forced marches, always ready to fight and move on.  For the present, their herds pasture on the plains of the east, where their clans gather into tribes, and their tribes into nations, each celebrating its own customs and laws.  None welcome visitors, save for the booty that might be seized from them.  Nevertheless, two havens have been declared where they might trade for fineries, namely the Wintercamp in the south, and the Gathering in the north, which serves also as a sanctuary on the pilgrimage to the Turok.      DERVISH REALM    There was no place for the Dervish; yet they made one.  So it is said, and so it was done in the wars between Kardane and Barbarian, as they fought for the lands beyond the Yann.  From southwards appeared the Dervish, dispossessed and wandering, saying to the Kardane: let us help you destroy the Barbarian.  And to the Barbarian: let us help you destroy the Kardane.  So indeed they helped both – but only to destroy the other.  Thus was a place gained for this folk of many colors, so called because their men are of a crimson complexion, and their women a verdant green; while the nimble deeds of both come in every shade.     DWARVEN MINES    Below the White Mountain and down the Blue Mines lie the halls of the Dwarves.  It is said that none have any mother but the earth herself, springing to life from buried eggs of stone; and indeed, the mortal remains of a dwarf do not molder, instead petrifying into the rock whence they came.  So it is that, having been born of the earth, the Dwarves lust after its riches, especially gold and gems, but above all mithril silver, most precious of metals.  It is this lust which drives some to seek far for such things, in spite of their mistrust of the world above ground.     ELVEN FORESTS    In the Fair Lands and Greenwood rise the forests in which the Elves dwell, but not in which they were born.  In fact, they come from a distant realm, one of magic and great wonders; though some say it is not distant in miles, but in some other way.  Be that as it may, they were cast out of that place, for which reason they call themselves the Accursed.  The cause of this exile is unknown to any others, but a mark of it is said to be seen in their bodies after death, which do not decay, but instead shrivel from within, leaving only a dry husk which finally crumbles in the wind.  Lost grace flows also in their blood, conferring the power of arcane enchantment.  The Elves disdain the presence of other races, save at the harbor of Paros Caradel and the besieged outworks of the Greenwood; those few who wander abroad are said to be the unfit, or foolish youngsters, or even the doers of misdeeds: the exiles of exiles.     EMPIRE OF THE SOUTH    Also called the Tyrian Empire of the South, and of late the Third Empire, this largest of all realms stretches from the shores of the Great Ocean to the backwaters of the Inner Sea, from the plains of Karst to the numberless dunes of the Sea of Sand.  Its history is also vast, commencing first with the Empire of the Zodarans, which arose under great generals, grew to rule the known world, and then collapsed under the scourge of strife and civil war.  Next came the Second Empire, founded by the Arkosians, whose pursuit of commerce led to a dominion over the far corners of the earth, only to fall into corruption and decay, followed by destruction under the assaults of the Great March.  It was then that the Southron people came down from the hills, taking the cities that crumbled on the plains; and having tasted conquest, continued on to subdue their neighbors, extending their rule until the Third Empire was born.  The progress of this reconquest remains an obsession, for the imperial domain once extended far north, from Argent to beyond the waters of the Yann.  Nonetheless, the heart of the Imperium remains what it has always been, in all the incarnations of Empire: golden-walled Tyras, the greatest city in the world, whose place astride the entrance to the Inner Sea is the source of untold wealth and power.  Thus every Empire has in truth been Tyrian.     IRON TOWER    When the shadow returned to show its face to men, it fell upon  a place to the south of Argent, now called the Outland, since all who dwelled there fled.  And for long this land lay empty, the hand of the Wilderness upon it.  Yet that time has been measured: for after the White Order banished the shadow from Outremer, a lord of the Northern world thought to do the same elsewhere, and thereby win himself a kingdom.  A great captain was he, as rich in bravery and cunning as he was poor in estate, and was known to all as the Warlord.  With his men he came to the Outland, not to venture – but rather to follow those who did, taking hold and defending those places where the shadow was defeated.  Indeed, he gave welcome aid to all venturers, for he knew things of the shadow that others did not, and after a time came to equip and direct their parties, receiving a portion of treasure in return.  By and by he built a great fort, called by him the Iron Tower, where he dwells even now; and about him there also dwell many others, called by his invitation to settle the land.     KARDANES, KINGDOM OF    Close on Western heels came the Kardanes on the Great March, ending their trek in the land between the Rhonedin and the Yann.  Here it was that they came upon the Arkosians, in the ancient city of Karst, and here it was that they learned the ways of empire.  For within a generation their tribes had been forged into one kingdom, and their hordes into many legions, which then they hurled in every direction: north to the ocean’s verge, west to the gates of Rhonde, south to the shores of the Inner Sea.  Only in the east were they checked by the fury of the Barbarian.  Their kingdom reigned among the mightiest, but slowly fell into laxness and decay, for the Kardanes were not used to civilized ways.  In their decline they found themselves ringed by enemies: the Third Empire, the armies of Argent, the raiders of the Northmen.  Much did they lose, so that now only their heartland remains; and whether even this can be saved, no man can tell.     LIZARDRULE    South of Argent, and to the west of the Outland, lies the wide marsh that is the home of the lizardmen.  A terrible race they are, savage and pitiless, the power of their limbs and teeth and claws matched only by the voraciousness of their appetites.  Indeed, it is said that the Wilderness fell upon their marsh the same as the Outland, yet failed to take hold, for they slew all the creatures of shadow, and then dined upon them.  Be that as it may, it is certain that men who intrude upon the realm of the lizards are always welcome, for they will be brought to dinner forthwith.      MONTARANE    The Grand Duchy of the Montarane lies to the south and east of the Kingdom of Argent, within the great valley of the same name.  It was founded by a tribe of the Western folk; and while its duke does homage to Argent’s king, the royal writ does not run there, for this mountain realm has always been ruled by its own.  Indeed, the duke receives delegations from not only the kingdom to the north, but also the Tyrian Empire, treating both with every courtesy and deference – yet to date has averted any compacts with either, for while both covet this land that lies between them, each is even more eager that the other should be denied it.     MYSTIC ISLES    At once the most obscure and scattered of all peoples, the Mystic folk possess the power to work magic, unknown to any other race save the Elves.  Some say they are descended from those Forerunners who ruled the world before the First Empire was born; others claim an origin in the same lost home as the Elves; still others that they came down straight from the sky, spirits who have merely assumed human form.  Surely one tale is as good as another.      NEW ATLANTIS    After the fall of the Second Empire, a vast fleet appeared from out of the west, bearing people who called themselves Atlanteans.  They made landfall upon the great island of the south ocean, and such was their power that they were soon lords of the people they found there, raising up their own cities and calling the whole land the New Atlantis.  Their ships were fast and powerful, bearing dreadful weapons of fire, so that their law has come to rule all the oceans, save for the Inner Sea.      NORTH HELM    One branch of the Great March found its own path early on, westward through the land now called the Blood Plain, which has since become Wilderness, and then to the realm washed by the Northern Reach.  Here were met tribes even wilder than the marchers, but being less numerous were swiftly conquered; from which union were born the people called the Northmen.  Proud and violent, their lords warred one against the other, raising forts across the land, until one rose who was greater than the rest, and made them all do homage.  Then they were led across the sea, where they fell upon the Kardanes, and gained a new land called the North Law.  Great pirate raids they made too, harrying all the ocean, until the fleets of the Atlanteams defeated them; for which reason they bear them great malice.      OUTREMER    When the shadow came to the Outland, it fell also upon a province of the Empire, far at the end of the Inner Sea; and it was laid utterly waste.  At this the Emperor was filled with wrath, for there were mines of gems and gold there, and the people had paid fair tribute.  So he raised up a great army, commanding that it should go to that place and destroy all the dreadful creatures within.  Yet of the legions that marched into the Wilderness, not one was seen again; for they were destroyed instead, falling beneath unimagined hordes of creatures, by report of a lone deserter.  Nevertheless, after a time it was found that a small party, daring and discreet, would not gain so much notice.  Indeed, it could even make its way to a place of power, destroy its shadows, and loot much treasure.  For which reason a society of militant religion, the White Order, sent bands of its most valiant members into that land, which they now called Outremer, since it was so far from their priories in the west.  Their suffering was terrible, and their losses heavy, but they held all the places they took, fortifying them; and the wealth they gained brought many to their ranks.  So it was that they finally banished the Wilderness, far back into the mountains of Drome.  And so also did they come to rule Outremer, their forts guarding it from the grasp of the Emperor – though some also say they have not guarded their hearts, from the temptations their great wealth has brought them.      SEALAND    South of the kingdom of Argent, upon the coast beyond the marshes, lies a dwelling place of halforcs, which though so-called have no orc forbears, but gained this name from scaled skin, long teeth, and webbing of feet.  Upon the fall of the Second Empire this strange people were left to their own, for a time.  But a lord of the New Atlantis, descended from those who dwelled there since before Atlantean rule, grew ever more restive, desiring a greater place for himself.  So he gathered up an army and set sail for the coast, falling upon the land with fire and sword, assailing the halforcs til he held all in thrall.  Whereupon he styled himself king, and his new realm the Sealand, since it was conquered from over the sea.      WILDERNESS    A land of dread creatures, whose bounds know not the rule of man – such is the Wilderness.  Some say it came with the doom of the Forerunners, whose downfall shattered the world.  But however that may be, its origin lay far to the east: a blight unseen at first, but growing with the years.  In time it wove a shroud that fell over the whole land, driving out all who dwelled there, in that flight of tears called the Great March.    So it was that the people of the March came into the west.  For a long time they found refuge, and many supposed the blight had found its end.  Yet far to the south and east a thing came to rest, a rumor of shadows over barren lands, at first menacing none but the outposts of the Elves.  Many years after there was more: a sudden chaos that drove before it the Barbarian peoples, and fell also near the settled lands of men – on the marshes and hills of the Outland, the peaks of Grunduzum, the plains of far Outremer.  Then even more, and yet more, in ever shortening span of years: upon the Wilderlands, the wastes of the South, the domain of the Spire.  Finally, with the last decade came the deadly grasp of the Unknown, into the very midst of the forest of the Kels, and the ice-locked mountains of North Helm.    Wise men there are who have measured the past, and say that even more will soon fall beneath the shadow, much more, perhaps all the lands of the west.  Yet there are many who doubt this, saying: has not the sun always risen?  And some who doubt not, but have no hope, for few lands have ever been reclaimed, in Outremer and about the Iron Tower; while the Wilderness is very great.  In truth, a catastrophe looms – and the way beyond is not clear.