====== Untir ======
//(pronounced 'UN-teer')//
----

Untir is made up of five geographical regions. 

To the north, the people of **[[the Steppe]]** sparsely populate an expansive grassland filled with horses, wild beasts, and cattle.

Across mountainous eastern shores, the archipelago of **[[Hen Eibar]]** endures harsh winds and devastating storms, prompting its seafaring warriors to look elsewhere for the resources they need to survive. 

To the south, tucked safely between towering mountains, the arid valleys of **[[Maer]]** cradle proud libraries fortified by city walls. 

From those mountains, rivers flow and descend into the bountiful floodplains of **[[Tekhayana]]**, whose people now linger in the shade of the Kaliya Dam. 

Those rivers flow further south to meet the southern seas, home to the islands of **[[Bahlong]]**, where warmwater ports brimming with merchants dot the sealine.




{{imapmarkers> :untiragainnnn.png?nolink&1000 |}}
[[the_steppe|The Steppe @ 550,1200,280]]
[[hen_eibar|Hen Eibar @ 1200, 1100, 280]]
[[maer|Maer @ 700, 1700, 280]]
[[tekhayana|Tekhayana @ 1000, 2050, 280]]
[[bahlong|Bahlong @ 1150, 2400, 280]]
{{<imapmarkers}}

//An overview of the locations of the regions and major settlements of Untir.//

====Languages====
Although no borders demarcate one region from the next beyond the natural barriers of mountains, rivers, and seas, each region of Untir is home to a unique culture with its own language. 

Many people of Untir know some Swiftspeak, a shared pidgin language commonly spoken in matters of trade, business, and diplomacy. Swiftspeak is by no means a sufficient substitute to each culture's own native tongue(s), but for basic communication it serves its purpose well enough.

=====Telling=====
Even as they span a diversity of languages and cultures, the people of Untir are united in their practices of Telling---the crafting and sharing of narratives, artworks, fictions and nonfictions to regale, remember, inspire, lecture, horrify or conjure up any other myriad of emotions.

Telling can take as many forms as can be imagined, and includes (but is in no way limited to) drawing, weaving, painting, philosophising, pottery, prose, sculpture, poetry, oral storytelling, dance, music, drama, and even simply spontaneous conversations and exchanges between people. 

To see examples of common ways of Telling in the different cultures of Untir, see the 'Ways of Telling' section on each region page. Nevertheless, while particular approaches and methods are more prevalent in certain cultures, no way is exclusive to a single place or people. 



~~NOTOC~~