Sunset Province

The Sunset Province used to be the Kingdom of Gorchov until 50 years ago, when the local king accidentally insulted a visiting prince of the eastern Tsan Empire. In retailiation, the Tsan Empire invaded, executed the king, and incorporated Gorchov as its westermost territory, now renamed Sunset Province. It is now ruled by provincial governors, who are usually appointed to this barbarian frontier of the Empire as a punishment and are thus less than enthusiastic about their duties. The conquered people themselves resent this occupation, and thus small-scale uprisings are common despite bloody reprisals.
Spies and diplomats from western regions have found the Tsan Empire to be an old and powerful civilization, though one bound by myriads of ancient customs and habits. While its military and magical powers are probably enough to crush any of the western powers if the need should arise - including the League of Armach and the Hobgoblin Dominions - it has grown self-absorbed and corrupt over the centuries, and some observers expect a civil war when the current Emperor dies. Some factions in the League of Armach see this as an opportunity and are supplying resistance cells throughout the region, and plan to seize power once the opportunity arrives.

Industries

Life and Society

Government and Politics

Groups and Organisations

Religion

Important NPCs

Grand Duchess Natasha Ivara (N female human ari5/sor7): The only surviving child of Boris III, Natasha Ivara was smuggled out of Toskava as an infant and has lived in exile ever since. She has travelled the Known Lands in search of support for taking back her homeland. But while she has received much sympathy from other nobles, she gained little in the way of support for her plans. This might change soon, however - at the moment, she moves through the social circles of the League of Armach and has identified several people who are willing to help her and the rebels. She knows that there will eventually be a price for the support of the League, but she does not care - all that matters to her now is that she sees her son Alexander (the result of a stormy love affair with the king of Bodenwald in his youth) on the throne of Gorchov before she dies.
Korzech (CE male human vampire ran10/sor10): Also known as "the Dark Rider", Korzech is the terror of the occupiers and their sympathizers. From dusk to dawn, he rides the vast plains of Gorchov and hunts the soldiers of the Sunset Empire, striking fast and furiously and then vanishing again. Despite the best efforts of Wuanlong and his subordinates, all they have ever been able to find are abandonend lairs - his main lair has not been found yet. It is suspected that he teleports from place to place, and magically conjures a steed to take him where he needs to go.
While his savagery is legendary, he does have a sentimental streak, and he does refrain from preying on poor native Gorchovrites who haven't collaborated with the occupiers. If he hears of people victimized by the soldiers of the Sunset Province, he might even give them some of the treasure he has plundered during his raids. As a result, many in the Resistance look up to him as one of their leaders.
However, while he does demand (and get) the respect of the rebels and is indoubtedly tactically brilliant, he is incapable of making strategic plans on how to remove the occupiers. He is a terror in the night, more of a force of nature than a man, and can only destroy, not build up.
And that's just how he likes it.
Wuanlong (LG male old gold dragon): A member of a vast clan of gold dragons serving the Tsan Empire, Wuanlong is the most senior dragon in the Sunset Province, and thus the other dragons defer to him. He is genuinely convinced that the social structure of the Tsan Empire is better for the non-dragon races than any other, and it is his dream to one day see the world united under its banner. At the moment, he concentrates on assimilating the Sunset Province, a task which has proven to be frustratingly difficult. He has had only sporadic success in catching the Khazad nomads at raiding red-handed, and his moral nature forbids undiscriminate reprisals against nomads who might be innocent of any wrongdoing. He suspects that they might receive outside help which protects them from his scying. The impending succession crisis troubles him greatly, and has caused him to redouble his efforts to bring peace and quiet to the province.
His one weakness is his lover Amanthera, an elf from Turaveen and his young half-dragon children whom he loves dearly and dotes upon. If anything were to happen to them he would stop at nothing to find and punish the guilty party.
Zhao Roh (LN male human ari3/wiz5/eldritch knight 7):
A nephew of the current Emperor and one of the possible contenders for the throne, Prince Zhao Roh was exiled to this barbaric western frontier in one of the capital's many courtly intrigues and now serves as the governor. Still, he has supporters back East who would dearly love to see him succeed the current emperor (in exchange for future favors, of course). He is currently contemplating whether to try to claim the throne for himself or simply ally himself with a faction that looks likely to win. He does desire the throne, but he is also realistic enough to not gamble on something he is not sure to win.
However, he does realize that whatever happens, he needs a power base that is as strong as possible so that he can come ahead in the coming struggles. For that, he has enlarged the armed forces under his control, filling the ranks with both natives and even foreign mercenaries. The loyality of the recruits might sometimes be in doubt, but the Prince is confident that with enough discipline the troops will ultimately do as he orders.

Major Geographical Features

Important Towns and Cities

Katrinburg (Small Metropolis, 763,783): This western coastal coastal was long the favorite residence of the czars, and over the years, they have done their best to make this city look much more like a "modern", "western" city than the capital. Boris, the last czar, had ordered the the renovation and reconstruction of large parts of the city according to his architectural wishes, but with his death, many of the buildings were unfinished and later completed in a more haphazard style.
The western location of the city makes it a good place for smugglers and others who wish to get away from the Tsan Empire as much as possible, and thus the rebels are particularly strong here.
Marsata (Small Metropolis, 531,273): Formerly an unimportant border town, Marsata has become the hub of most traffic between the Sunset Province and the rest of the Tsan Empire. Troops often move in either direction, but so does trade, and the population of the city has boomed in recent decades, though much of the population is in transit at any one time. Not only the government realizes the strategic location of the city, but also the Resistance, and several cells use the fact that it is easy to hide among the constantly changing population. However, they still need to be careful, since most inhabitants - both new immigrants and old timers - like being part of the Empire for the trade opportunities it brings and won't hesitate to point out rebels to the authorities.
Strozny (City, 135,387): The city of Strozny was where the armies of Gorchov made their last stand in their attempt to prevent occupation. They tenaciously fought the army of the Tsan Empire almost to the last man, and tens of thousands of soldiers died on both sides - not counting the civilian casualties.. But their valiant efforts were ultimately doomed, though they fought harder than the enemy commanders had thought possible.
The formerly large city has now been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Most of the city has been turned into rubble under the onslaught of arcane energies, and even now, 50 years after the battle, the city is haunted by numerous ghosts and undead. Only the desperate, those who wish to hide from the authorities, and those who hope to unearth treasures from the ruins remain. Many cells of resistance fighters operate from the city, and the occupation forces have a hard time rooting them out of their hideouts.
Toskava (Metropolis, 1,753,237): The old capital of Gorchov, Toskava now serves as the administrative center of the Sunset Province. The city has undergone a steady restructuring of streets and building according to Tsan geomantic principles in the last fifty years; the new rulers believe that once this is completed, it will ward off bad luck and grant them mystical powers. But many of the natives who have had their homes moved elsewhere or even destroyed to make way for "dragon lines" are bitterly resentful of these changes and use every opportunity they can get to frustrate their new rulers.
Many of the rebels hide out in the vast and only partially explored tunnel networks beneath the city. Some of these tunnels have been created by former rulers who wished to have escape routes in case of an uprising, while others were used as cemetaries or created by smugglers and others who wished to hide from the authorities (some of these are, in fact, a quite recent addition). However, a large number of these tunnels are truly ancient and might even date back to pre-human times...

Important Sites

Regional History

While cities blossomed in other parts of the world, the vast northern lands of Gorchov were dominated by various clans of horse nomads. Neither the Atalan Empire nor any other nation ever bothered to conquer these lands - they were too remote, to unhospitable, and too poor. Only after the fall of the Atalan Empire did the first permanent settlements spring into existence, and with them developed a feudal system based on agriculture that gradually pushed the Khazad nomad to the fringes. Eventually, a succession of czars laid claim to to most of these northern lands, with the significant exception of the cursed Forest of Turaveen in which no human dared to set foot.
The czars were all too keenly aware that they were seen as mere "country bumkin" by the more sophisticated aristocracy of southern and western lands, and frequently looked down on the very peasants that supported them for being primitive. Instead, they concentrated on building vast and beautiful cities in the (vain) hope that this would give them the respect of their peers in other lands.
But their focus on the Western lands proved to be their undoing, as they regarded the lands further to the East more primitive still - including the Tsan Empire. In 1347 NA, the czar Boris III (also later known as Boris the Mad) came to power at the age of four upon the death of his father. While regents administered the kingdom while he was young, he grew up with having the power of life and death over those around him - a power which would prove to unhinge him as he displayed a talent for inventive cruelty even early in life.
Matters came to a head in 1371. The crown prince of the Tsan Empire visited the capital of Gorchov on a diplomatic vision, and instead of being a gracious host (as his advisors had hoped), Boris insulted the prince and the Empire as "primitive barbarians". When the prince protested, Boris threw a crystal goblet at him, injuring his face. The princes bodyguards attempted to attack Boris for this outrage, but were killed by Boris' troops, and the prince himself was whipped and sent home in sack cloth.
Outraged by this affront, the Tsan Emperor declared war on Gorchov and defeated the kingdom in a single year thanks to his superior forces (which were supported by several gold dragons). Most of the nobility of Gorchov were killed in reprisal, with only a few escaping to other lands, and the kingdom was included in the Empire as the "Sunset Province".
Fifty years have passed since then. The cities of the Sunset Province have seen a steady influx of immigrants from the East, who hold most of the positions of power - though more and more natives go to the East to get educated in the ways of the Empire and are given posts of authority upon their return. The population in the cities is divided between those who have accomodated themselves with the new rulers and those who wish to see them gone. The rural peasants care little either way as long as they aren't taxed too heavily and left alone, while the Khazad nomads have waged a steady campaign of guerilla warfare against the intruders.
It is likely that the Tsan Empire will soon go through a succession crisis - a situation that is likely to affect the Sunset Province tremendously. The rebels sense that their chance to strike and regain independence comes soon, and are stepping up their attacks, while the authorities struggle to maintain order.