Neutral Territory
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Culture | Mixed |
| Government | |
| Government Type | Anarchy |
| Demographics | |
| Total Pop | 9,356,565 |
| Urban Pop | 0 |
| Rural Pop | 9,356,565 |
| Settlements | 0 |
| Geography & Economy | |
| Area | 61,332 sq. Gorom |
There is territory in Otan so thoroughly inaccessible that no nation has gone to the trouble to plant its banner there, let alone colonize the terrain. Most of the neutral territory is in the high, frozen mountain ranges, blanketed under vast swathes of ancient glacial ice. Standing atop a glacier brings a worthy feeling of awe, but it hardly feels like a conquest. One cannot grow a crop in the deep ice, nor raise a herd of sheep upon barren crags, so the brave explorers, scholars, and healers who rediscover these frozen wastes routinely leave the Neutral Territory exactly as they found it.
Beneath the sheer weight of these glaciers, Sophists routinely suggest that dread things and items of unbelievable power might be lurking in the dark. Whether these hidden artifacts or ancient entities would save or destroy Otan comes down entirely to the individual belief of every Sophist who has put their mind to the idea, as well as every soul who has listened to their tales.
Population
The officially acknowledged population of the Neutral Territory sits at less than a dozen if one only counts active travelers and transient expeditions crossing the frost. Yet, demographic censuses often estimate the true numbers anywhere from the thousands into the millions depending on how broadly a census is cast. Many scholars firmly believe that the thick ice protects countless dormant or hidden Qurilissi, though skeptics maintain the Qurilissi never existed at all.
Those who count the colossal Rock Giants and Ice Giants as proper sentient "population" rather than simple wandering beasts immediately bring the estimate into the tens of thousands. Still others, indulging in wild fantasies of entire uncontacted civilisations living deep within the rock and ice under the protection of those same Giants, put the subterranean population in the tens of millions. Official imperial records simply list the territory's total rural population at 9,356,565 unclassified individuals.
Culture
Rock and Ice Giant culture remains, so far, an absolute mystery to the Sophists, and precious little can be reliably described. Observers have noted that they utilize simple stone and ice tools and possess an extraordinary, natural knack for quarrying massive slabs of rock and glacial ice. What these subterranean behemoths actually do with their quarried supplies deep within the frost, however, is completely unknown and far too dangerous for any sensible archivist to investigate.
Beyond the Giants, any isolated living groups in these ranges exist completely detached from the metropolitan high arts seen in the lowland capitols. You will find no grand mirrored halls of the Academy of Dance or formal collegiate campuses of the Wizarding schools here. Any culture that survives in this frozen expanse relies on absolute pragmatism, folk traditions, and sheer endurance against the elements.
Politics
There is no formal international treaty or agreement establishing Otan's Neutral Territory as anything other than unmapped, neutral soil. The Dweorges of the Quarrylands calculate that there are inestimable riches hidden beneath the ice, believing rich veins of minerals and precious gems are practically sitting on the raw ground, if only a practical method existed to melt the glaciers away.
Every sovereign nation bordering the ice, including Batis, the Quarrylands, Soltustik, Aelfwode, Ortalyk, and Krazalik, has aggressively claimed the outer edges of the territory as far as their miners can dig or their rangers can travel. Each border state remains poised to claim vast swathes of the frozen interior the moment magical or technological advancements make land expansion viable.
Geography
Spanning a vast expanse of 61,332 square Gorom, the Neutral Territory is dominated by high, ice-covered mountain ranges. It forms a stark geographic barrier nestled directly between Batis, the Quarrylands, Soltustik, Aelfwode, Ortalyk, and Krazalik. The landscape is defined by sheer cliffs, perpetual snowstorms, and shifting glacial shelves that render conventional transit impossible.
Many cartographers and mining guilds suspect the existence of immense cavern networks, many Gorom-wide, winding deep beneath the surface ice, though this remains mere conjecture. Neither sovereign military engineers nor brave bands of adventuring scholars have managed to dig deep enough into the solid ice and granite to verify these subterranean realms.
History
There is no recorded history of the Neutral Territory. Without permanent settlements, administrative archives, or established scholastic bodies to chronicle the passing of ages, the timeline of these icy mountains remains an absolute blank in Otan's historical record. Whatever triumphs, wars, or ancient civilizations may have transpired beneath the ice exist entirely outside the written canon.
The only historical footprint left behind is defined by the encroaching borders of surrounding empires. While lowland kingdoms have risen, expanded, and documented their lineage for centuries, the high frozen core of Otan has stood entirely frozen in time. Until an expedition successfully unearths what lies beneath the glaciers, its past remains a field of pure speculation for future archivists.
Subregions of Neutral Territory
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