Development Sneak Peek: Arsur's Landscape, Climate and Wildlife

Hey all, I thought it would be fun for this week's sneak peek to dive in a bit on the geography side of things. The geography codex in the game gives a basic view and description, and MC in the story itself sees Rojan's climate firsthand, but there's a lot more detail that'll be shown in future chapters. So let's dive in!

General overview

The world that Arsur is located in has an overall population of 320 million, whereas Arsur itself has a total population of 26 million. It's one of the most populated countries, and it continues to grow over time. 

The spread of the population across provinces looks like this, from most populated to least populated, though this also relates to some provinces being bigger/having more habitable space than others:

• Zerat - 9 million
• Rojan - 7 million
• Avdin - 4 million
• Penawar - 4 million
• Şevan- 2 million

Natural resources and climate
The Armas Mountains are a rich source of stone and timber, its highland valleys in Rojan the historical home of the tribes that were united under the First Crown and later expanded to encompass an entire Empire.

The western end of Rojan, the province of Avdin, and the province of Şevan are responsible for a sizable portion of the trade that flows into Arsur from Thalloi city-states as well as other island nations within the Sea of Igris. Sea trade flowing through Avdin is especially large, which is why Avdin is also referred to as the Merchant's Province. There is also some sea trade flowing in from Penawar's coast, but not as much due to how dangerous the seas are to traverse from that side.

Most of the population, evidently, is located in the center province of Zerat for a reason: its region spans Arsur's most fertile agricultural zones. The northern parts of Zerat experience enough rainfall to grow grain crops, while the southern parts receive virtually no rain, its agriculture dependent on extensive networks of irrigation canals. Zerat also depends on Rojan for such things as stone, metals, and timber.

Aside from the Ruhuth River that flows from Rojan down to Zerat, the most notable bodies of water within Arsur are the Ancient Marshes in Penawar. The people that live on these Arsurian river basins or who farm there have unique cultures somewhat distinct from other provinces, as they are said to share more commonalities with the peris in Penawar, though they are often looked down upon because of it.

The desert tribes in Şevan depend on the other provinces for much of its resources, as there is virtually no fertile land in the province and little to be mined. However, it is a critical anchor point for trade with Qathesh; the merchants in Şevan are one of the only people who know how to navigate the famed Silent Desert safely. Secondly, the oases within the Silent Desert are particularly renowned for their great concentrations of magical energy, and the waters within them possess immense regenerative properties; they are some of the most well-known Sacred Sites in Arsur.

Weather patterns

• Northern Arsur (Rojan and the upper parts of Penawar) experiences warm summers and cold winters; Rojan is the only province that gets heavy snowfall during the winters. The higher up the mountain, the colder the temperatures get.
• Central Arsur (Zerat and parts of Avdin and Penawar) experiences hot summers and cool winters. Unlike Northern and Southern Arsur, it also experiences a mild rainy season of sorts; the wettest months are at the end of winter and the start of spring, generally a span of 5 months.
• Southern Arsur (Şevan and the southern parts of Avdin) experiences extreme desert temperatures.
• Avdin generally enjoys a more coastal climate and sees the most storms, whereas Penawar is generally the wettest part of the country and experiences the most rainfall.
• The entire region of Arsur is mainly arid and dry, and there are annual floods from the rivers near the start of the year.

Flora

• Wheat, barley, lentil, almond, walnut, pistachio, apricot, plum, pomegranate and grape can be found growing wild across the Empire.
• Arsurian oak, covering more than half of the forested area in the entire Empire, is the most important tree species
• Mangrove forests in Avdin
• Many great oak forests in Rojan and Zerat
• Pistachio forests in Zerat
• The Ancient Marshes in Penawar, which are saltwater marshes. They contain forests of poplar and willow trees, and are dominated by various plant species like reeds, cattails and papyrus.

Animal life

If you follow the Tumblr blog, you likely have seen this list come by before, but I'll put it here as well to make the overview complete.

Common animals

• Includes bears, gazelles, wild pigs and boars, wolves, jackals, panthers, lynx, foxes, cheetahs, lions, leopards, elephants
• Domestic animals include sheep, goats, cattle, horses, water buffalo, donkeys, camels
• Notable birds include pheasants, storks, cranes, eagles, hawks, falcons, flamingos, pelicans and herons

Rare animals

• Giant serpents in various climates; most commonly seen in the sea, but also known to be found in the desert. Said to be highly intelligent.
• Man-eaters, a creature with the body of a lion, the head of a human and the tail of a scorpion; known to be hostile towards humans and considers them its primary source of food. If one pops up, the nearest village or  city often sends hunters to kill one as quickly as possible or notifies  the provincial army
• Rukh, an enormous eagle big enough to carry off an elephant; it migrates yearly and can often be seen flying over Arsur in the autumn
• Sīmir, a giant bird with the body of a peacock, the head of a dog and the claws of a lion, it dislikes snakes and prefers to be near water; most commonly found in Penawar. It’s known for being extremely intelligent, even more so than giant serpents, as it has in rare instances displayed the ability to understand human speech. Some Arsurian scholars dispute its status as an animal for that reason, and demand it be granted a status of personhood, similar to the peris and Şahmaran and her serpents.
• Homā, a bird that is said to never rest and fly in the sky forever, being phoenix-like in that it consumes  itself in flames every few hundred years and rises again from the ashes
• Shirdal, a griffin; most commonly found at the peaks of mountains. The Armas Mountains are famous for having a large amount of them. Sometimes  domesticated and used as steeds.

Cool trivia facts about animals in various provinces:

• Injuring or killing a sīmir is punished with execution in Penawar, and with either a jail sentence or hard labor in the other provinces.
• Man-eaters are most common in Zerat, for reasons unknown. Scholars speculate they spawn more often where there is a higher population, but no one knows how man-eaters are born.
• The rukh sometimes rests in the Armas Mountains in Rojan, and will be visible from Marabad's Royal Palace. It hunts the shirdal for food.
• The sailors and fishers of Avdin have developed a somewhat harmonious relationship with the sea serpents; traveling ships will bring along animals to feed to a sea serpent in exchange for safe passage.
• Şevan is home to rare silver cheetahs; it is why cheetahs are also featured on its provincial flag. These cheetahs are said to have the ability to turn invisible at night, save for a few glimmers of silver from their fur.

That was it for the sneak peek this week, I hope you got some interesting tidbits from this and can visualize Arsur as a country a bit better now 💖