Sacred 2:Book 2 - Artamark

Geography of Ancaria Book 2

Artamark

Geography and climate: The land of the Humans is green. From the mountains that line it a cold wind constantly blows carrying rain in summer and snow in winter. Large woods cover Artamark. Beneath the trees the ground is fertile. The large variety of crops that grow here are responsible for the many tasty kinds of breads taverns serve in Artamark. This green land again and again surprises the traveler with is beauty like the view of snow covered mountain tops and mist rising from the woods and evaporating in the pale sunlight.

Inhabitants: The inhabitants are friendly and open-minded toward strangers. Artamark is almost exclusively populated by Humans. The thatched huts and houses they live in look picturesque, but offer good protection against common winter storms. Most people in Artamark work as farmers or craftsmen, but some go to the woods and try their luck as hunters. They kill game for meat and sell the pelts to passing merchants. Brigands who also live in the woods often robe these merchants.

Strangers are welcome in Artamark, but its inhabitants generally do not care for High Elves or Orcs. This is understandable as High Elves regard Humans as slaves whereas Orcs constantly threaten Artamark’s northern borders.

Places of interest: Humans aren’t particularly renowned for their architectural masterpieces. There buildings are mainly simple and practical, and they seem to have no eye for beauty. Still, there are some places one should visit, for example Urthak’s Moxie near the Orcish border. It is said that it was build over a period of two hundred years and looking at its mighty walls rising out of the woods one can almost believe this.

The market in Blackoaks in the south of Artamark should be the last stop on one’s journey through the land simply to avoid being robbed further north. It is the largest market in Artamark and deals mainly in furs, meat, and craftsmanship, especially wood carvings. Human woodcraft is highly regarded in all of Ancaria and may well be the only form of artistic expression displayed in this land. The market offers all sorts of carvings from small earrings to life size warrior statues that look so real one almost expects their hair to move in the breeze.

In Artamark it is considered impolite to make a gift of something that could be of use to the giver, as it implies that the giver is better off and therefore superior to the receiver.

Recommendations: If at all possible, one should travel through Artamark in the summer. The weather is mainly pleasant then and one can also get a taste of a local delicacy: a mush of deer brain and strawberries that is served with fresh bread.