Oh yes, of course.  Your Kingdom is mighty in its navy and its army... but your Kingdom is not the entire world, Your Majesty."

- Theodoric the Old, Sage to King Pilheard of Calafia
in response to His Majesty

The World of Taranche is composed of a single continent with roughly the same land area as Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  In addition to the continent, there are numerous islands that range in size from several hundred miles across to a few feet across.  "Taranche" is an Auld Taroric word which originally meant "the nurturing soil".  The word is never used in that manner any longer; the only time anyone uses it is when they are speaking of the land itself.

The Young Kingdoms

Long ago, a great conquering force arose from the cities of the Taora.  This Taoric army, led by the now legendary warlord Tanicio Longinus Kaeso, conquered every tribe and nation north of the Sea of Horses and east of the Great Empty, leaving only scattered barbarian tribes outside their power.  Longinus named himself Emperor, and he and his descendant emperors brought civilization and the rule of law to the conquered people.

Slowly, the assorted conquered cultures merged under the pressure of Taoric culture.  Over the course of centuries, the conquered nations began to resemble their Imperial rulers more and more; language, styles of dress, customs... all were subsumed into a greater culture.

And then the Empire fell.  The last Taoric Emperor, Falero Lollus Barus, was assassinated alongside his family by one of his generals.  Shortly thereafter, a half dozen different generals declared themselves Emperor, and then promptly began striking at the other claimants.  Chayk, and Rostok barbarians, along with three different orc hordes all took advantage to raid deep into Imperial lands, while many of the border regions entered open rebellion against a centralized Taoric rule.

For nearly three centuries, bloodshed was the rule of the day.  One by one, new kingdoms were born... created by warlords with smaller ambitions than ruling all of once was the Taoric Empire.  Seven hundred years after the fall of the Empire, the Young Kingdoms have risen to once again bring civilization to the world.