Characteristics of the Continents
Physically, Farland is but one continent on a larger planet. The elves call this planet Núrion (pronounced NEW-ree-ahn, with a trilled R.) The word means "Shattered Jewel." Farland is known as the "world" of Farland, however, because it is all that is known of the entire world, at least to the inhabitants of the sub-continent. This is similar to the situation in Europe when the "New World" was discovered; it was literally a New World, because the entire world had been Europe and Asia.
Geographically, the known boundaries of Farland span about 1800 miles East to West, or about the distance from New York City to mid-Colorado, as the crow flies. North to South, Farland spans about 1000 miles, or around the distance from Minneapolis almost to Mississippi, again as the crow flies. Thus the continent is just under 2/3rds the size of the United States. Of course, maps of Farland are rare, especially in the dark times.
The Northernmost edge of the world of Farland lies at 40 degrees North latitude, however, the entire continent is at a relatively high altitude. Thus the southernmost boundaries rarely get as hot as Northern Texas or Southern California. South Western Farland is also subject to a summerly jet stream that blows off the Endless Sea. Much like England, this air current serves to temper the weather. For this reason, the summers in South Western Farland are only slightly hotter than the summers in Northern Farland. This weather anomaly also makes the summers there prone to large thunderstorms. Northern Farland gets quite cold in winter. The average daytime temperature in Elder Daven City, Daven (34 degrees North Latitude) in July is only 84 degrees, while the average temperature in Dragonspur City, Kelerak (41.5 degrees North latitude) in July is 80 degrees. The average daytime temperature in Elder Daven City in January is 49 degrees, while the average in Dragonspur City is below 30 degrees.
| Some other average temperatures in daytime in degrees Fahrenheit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Latitude | January | July |
| Barbarian Lands | 43 N | 20 | 70 |
| Kale City, Kale | 29.6 N | 40 | 89 |
| Orland City, Orland | 30 N | 42 | 91 |
| The Far City, Farland | 34 N | 38 | 86 |
| The Summervale, Belendale | 35 N | 23 | 72 |
| The Nameless City* | 35 N | 15 | 34 |
* The Nameless City, in the Wintervale, is locked in the expanse of the Great Glacier, a mysterious weather anomaly.
Click here for a Farland Climatic Map.
Climate types ranging from somewhat hot (the Zeel Flats of Daven), to very cold (the Barbarian lands and the Great Glacier), as well as heavily forested (The Belendale), mountainous (The Grand Peaks), or savanna (The Horselands of Zeland and the plains of Orland) can all be found in the expanse of Farland.
The planet Núrion on which Farland is located is roughly the size of Earth, although the human kingdoms use the Farlandish calendar, which has an even 360-day year. This means that there is a calendar deficit which must be made up every two years. Núrion has but one visible moon (called Sulus) and one sun (called Tanarus). The constellations, of course, are very different.
The population of Farland is currently unknown. The majority of intelligent beings are human, with orcs and other goblinoids likely being a not too distant second. Demi-humans are more rare. The Kingdoms of Farland are vaguely similar to medieval Europe, except for the drastic difference of the Dark Conquest.
