Safelster
Safelster is a diverse collection of city-states in western Ralios occupying the fertile lowlands around Lake Felster. This is a volatile and heterodox society, born from the uneasy cultural interaction between the dour monotheism of the West and the exuberant theism and animism of central Genertela.
After defeating his great foe Gbaji, the hero Arkat instituted an empire here, called the Autarchy. It was eventually destroyed by the God-learners, and is remembered and reviled elsewhere in Glorantha as the Stygian Empire. The people of Safelster, however, still look back upon those times with nostalgic affection, and the legacy of Arkat is still alive in the region's numerous henotheist sects and secret societies.
The principal states of Safelster are: Azilos, Borin, Dangam, Daran, Estali, Helby, Holut, Kustria, Naskorion, Otkorion, Sentanos, Tarasdal, Tinaros, Tiskos and Uron.
Other sources of information about Kustria, Naskorion, Tiskos and Uron can be found in the Links section. The city of Syran in Sentanos is described elsewhere on this site.
Ralios
Safelster is one of the three main regions of Ralios, a large region of western Genertela that is surrounded on most sides by impassable mountains and vast elf forests. The main exceptions are Safelster's long-contested western border with Seshnela and a riverine trade route south to Handra and the rest of Wenelia. Its only other links to the world are two treacherous mountain passes: the High Llama Pass in the north, leading to Fronela, and the north-eastern Kartolin Pass, leading to the cursed land of Dorastor.
Vesmonstrain is the northerly portion of Ralios. It is a wild, hilly and heavily forested region, dominated by the Orlanthi tribespeople of Lankst and Surkorion, and influenced by the Safelstran state of Otkorion. This region also contains Telmoria, the land of the cursed Telmori werewolves, and Ormsland, home to a savage race of dragonnewts. In the west, it borders the great Aldryami forest of Ballid, which is rumoured to contain one of the six Great Trees. To the north rise the Nidan Mountains, which are home to an ancient Mostali civilsation called the Decamony of Nida; these dwarves maintain the notorious trading post of Bad Deal in the High Llama Pass.
The people of the East Wilds, in the south and east of Ralios, are also Orlanthi. The most important tribes are the Keanos, the Saug and the Delela; the Safelstran state of Naskorion also has a strong influence in the west of this region. Also present here are numerous hsunchen peoples, including the Damali (fallow deer), Pralori (elk), Falani (beaver) and Alekki (moose).
Further to the east, nestling between the Mislari and the Western Rockwood mountains lies the troll stronghold of Halikiv, one of the largest and oldest of the troll civilisations in Glorantha. The contested territory of Corolaland lies between the Uz and the Orlanthi of the East Wilds, claimed by both, but ruled by neither.
More trolls are to be found in western Ralios, in the land of Guhan, which lies between Safelster and the elf forests of Ballid and Erontree. These hilly lands, surrounding the Uzgor Peaks, were granted to the trolls by Arkat more than a thousand years ago.
Refer to the Links section for further sources of information about Ralios.
Neighbouring regions
Seshnela is a feudal kingdom to the south-west of Safelster, dominated by the austere and forbidding Rokari church. Its long and bloody history is described in Greg Stafford's Kings of Seshnela (parts one, two, and three). In recent times, King Guilmarn has revived the kingdom's fortunes, working closely with his ally, the Ecclesiarch Theoblanc, to unite the Seshnegi under on Church and one King.
The Seshnegi are surrounded by other Malkioni, but regard the divergent churches in these lands as misguided or altogether pagan. To the south and west lie the maritime duchies of Nolos and Pasos, which have formed an alliance known as the Quinpolic League. A peninsula to the west, called the Castle Coast, is all that remains of Old Seshnela, which was drowned at the end of the Imperial Age. To the north lies Arolanit, which is the last home of the ancient and immortal Brithini, the first sorcerers.
Fronela is the north-western portion of Genertela. It includes the kingdoms of Loskalm and Jonatela, and the city states of the Janube valley. The people of these regions are Malkioni, like those of Safelster and Seshnela, although in many cases their churches are profoundly different. There are also a number of hsunchen tribes, especially in the northern region of Rathorela, including the Rathori (bear) and the Uncoling (reindeer).
Some areas of Fronela are still cut off by the Syndics Ban, a mysterious magical phenomenon that once held the entire region in its sway, and which only started to break down when Dormal brought an end to the Closing of the Seas. The affected areas are effectively cut off from the world, unable to communicate or leave, and impervious to outsiders. Other areas are threatened by a more recent phenomenon called the Kingdom of War, whose brutal armies threaten to swallow up all in their path.
Wenelia is a heavily wooded region, bordered by the Mislari mountains and the elf forest of Arstola in the north, and by the sea in the south. Its people are predominantly Orlanthi, but their historical rulers, now in decline, are henotheist Malkioni of Ralian origin known as the Trader Princes. A trade route through Pralorela, home to the Pralori, Damali and Alekki hsunchen, leads to Safelster. In the south-west, the land of Ramalia is the home of the Mralori (boar) hsunchen. To the east of Wenelia lie volcanic Caladraland, matriarchal Esrolia and the rest of Kethaela, the so-called Holy Country.