Caylean

Caylean, ranking as the second largest continent, spans nearly 7 million square miles. Despite its size, it has historically been the least populated continent. Most of Caylean is constantly in a state of extreme heat or cold thanks to its deserts and mountains. During the day, the deserts can reach temperatures of up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, and then plummet down to near -10 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, the civilized population has remained fairly low, and most towns and cities are along the edge of the continent on the individual islands.

History
Caylean has always been an adventurer's world. Many live a standard life on Coastal Caylean, spending their days as a factory worker or a farmer. Others, however, dread the dull and drunken life of Coastal Caylean. These adventurers seek the heart of Central Caylean, where rumor has it that a massive treasure is located, hidden by Dionysus during the formation of the continent. Countless adventurers have entered Central Caylean, usually turning back within a few hours. Those who do not turn back shortly are usually never heard from again.

Government
Caylean has no governing body. An anarchist continent, Caylean thrives under its religious focus and its inhabitants feel no desire for an established government. They believe in freedom in its truest form and would happily work or fight for those freedoms.

Despite the lack of a true government, Caylean is actually controlled behind the scenes by a few corporations. These corporations provide factory jobs for the citizens, and designed their entire economic system. The general population doesn't piece it together, and those who do don't seem to have an issue with the set up. The corporations are not invasive in the day to day life of the citizens, they are generally only competing with one another and making profits off of those who visit the continent.

Major Cities
The major cities of Caylean are all extremely religious, factory-driven cities. Each city is controlled by a large corporation, each in competition with one another. These corporations each run their cities differently, but a few things hold true through all of them: drinking is close to godliness, and adventure is the key to life.

Achilles
Achilles is the wealthiest of the four major corporations. Achilles rules the north east of Coastal Caylean. Here, the strange constructs known as Wyrwoods were invented. These beings were invented in the 800's, thanks to the discovery of a strange tree known as the Wyroot. This living tree provided the foundation for Achilles' wealth and position of power as they focused much of their energy into creating factories based around these trees and their inhabitants. Within the trees exist the Wyrwasps, who maintain their hives within the heart of these trees. The wasps are generally non-aggressive, but have been known to fight when commanded by a Wyrwood.

Achilles is wealthy in more ways than one. The wealthy of Achilles have always had a kind-heart and treated their poor with understanding and love. Even the poorest of Achilles still live their lives in happiness as the more wealth provide them with the basic necessities of life.

Daedalus
Daedalus controls the south east section of Coastal Caylean. Their focus has always been progress, which leaves them slightly behind the other corporations in terms of mastery. As soon as Daedalus can ship out a product, they are already half way through working on the newest product to put their current out of business. They have a tendency to take more risks than other corporations. They were actually the first corporation to send mercenaries to retrieve the treasure from the heart of Caylean, and have sent teams in numerous times in the past.

Paris
Residing in the south west of Coastal Caylean, Paris couldn't be more opposite of Achilles. The Paris corporation was formed out of spite for Achilles, stealing some of the Wyrwood trees to grow their own on the other end of the continent. They have always resorted to underhanded tactics, rather than trying to improve their own product. Their Wyrwoods are no where near the level of Achilles', yet they sell nearly as many through strictly advertising to the lowest common denominator.

Theseus
Theseus makes up the north west of Coastal Caylean. Originally, there were two corporations which split the north west, but Theseus came along in 700 A.S. and unified the two into Theseus Corp. Under their new management, Theseus was able to save the two dying corporations and prove to be an equal to the other three major corporations in Caylean.

Geography and Climate
The coast of Caylean is striped with rivers, creating almost a halo of islands around the continent. The large islands contain very rich soil, allowing for impressive farms along the coastline of Caylean. Unlike the rest of Caylean, the temperature is fairly temperate along the coast, making the islands quite a nice place to live.

The remainder of Caylean becomes progressively more uninhabitable towards the center. There are scattered mountain ranges that most men dare not climb. The desert is incredibly harsh both during the day and the night. Life exists throughout Central Caylean, though virtually no civilized form of it. Creatures and monsters adapting to the harsh climates make up the majority of the population.

Population
Caylean's primary civilized population consists of Halflings, Half-Elves, Ifrits, and Oreads. Other races do exist there, but they are few and far between. Notably, a race known as the Kasatha are unique to the land of Caylean, though few enter Coastal Caylean.

The general population falls near the Chaotic Good alignment, following in the footsteps of their god.

Language
Coastal Caylean residents speak Common, while many of the factory workers speak forms of Ignan and Terran.

Religion
The residents of Caylean are worshipers of Dionysus. There are cathedrals built under Dionysus throughout Coastal Caylean, as well as altars built within Central Caylean. The religious sacraments are primarily drunken festivals where the followers celebrate their freedom and love of alcohol.