Safta

Safta, the Research Country, AKA the Magic Country, is located in the northern corner of the continent. It is bordered by Everea to the southwest, along the Kanareh, and Pakerion to the southeast, along the Saghar. It is the home of Mages, Alchemists, and Spellswords.

Overview
Safta is a functional country. Its roads are paved, clean, clear and under control. The underbrush is managed. The side facing Everea is smooth and flat, and the side facing Pakerion is mountainous and rugged, and the Saftans have manicured that transition as if someone'd taken a smoothing tool in photoshop to the entire territory. The architecture is dark clay and metal and beautiful glasswork, done in the traditional, 8th century Persian (Iranian) architectural style. This style is greatly modernized, featuring dark wood accents and variant shades in stained glass, along with hardwood floors and a traditional, dark blue persian style rug in each home.

The flora and fauna of Safta are magically geared to be the most meaty and the most sufficient and sustaining with the least difficulty hunting, so several players have to go to other areas to acquire initial XP, but have no trouble finding luxurious pelts from rabbits and badgers and Safta Deer, a special kind of stumpy-legged, rather portly antelope.

Wolves also prowl the flatlands, and are vicious but luxuriously coated.

In the mountains, goats and mutated crickets dominate the landscape.

To the north is an amazing vacation destination, referred to in shorthand as the Safta Coast, but in general is known as The Shoreline. For a few short months in summer this is the most beautiful place to be around, though some prefer the chillier months, when the rocks and white sands are covered in a fine mist.

Unfortunately, as of June 16th, The Shoreline has disappeared, reappearing in the Pacific Ocean on Earth.

The Nenakret
The Nenakret is home to the World Library, and as such is the most traveled-to city in the entire world. Its roadways are wide and deep, with shops and tourist traps and temples for all sorts of deities and research locations and magic conduits and... anything you want to find you can find in the Nenakret. The architecture is remarkably consistent throughout, with low, arched buildings and large windows.

Paris has merged with the Nenakret as of May 28th.

The World Library
The World Library is a spacious building surrounded in columns; ten sets of two. On each set of columns an article of the Xumurdad history is carved, both in text on the right and in pictorial on the left. The archways lead to square paneled windows detailing the scenes talked about on the pillar, with each of the original guild leaders attaining their power. Of particular interest is the detail of the Assassin/Paladin struggle.

Inside the world library, everything is dark wood and clay and dark blue and magic, magic, magic. Things move when you call them. Lights turn on and off willy-nilly depending on silly code-words (often a treat for children, a nuisance for studiers). The librarian, the A'zam Mogh, or the Asha, is privy to knowledge that no member of Zenderael wants to know. He commands the administrative mages, or the Moghan (individually a Mogh), and is known for his taciturn rebuttal of questions that are "too mysterious."

Sharifa Zaida
Zaida, the Khshathra, can be heard laughing from a mile away, and her reign has been gentle, intelligent, and prosperous for Safta. The Sharifa is respected, listened to, and her advice is often sought by other Guild leaders and Saftans alike. She spends a good chunk of her day in "listening hours," designed to hear audience and address complaints.

She prioritizes sustainability and efficiency, and uses her superior alchemy to create cures for her people, liberating them from the Cleric caste in Everea outside of one thing: Resurrection. This is still the role of the Vahishta and of the Clerics, but it's said Zaida spends a good deal of her time trying to create a potion that can, indeed, resurrect the dead.

=Headcanon=

Businesses
The Wandering Fox: an inn in Safta, oft frequented by Alexander Varista and Ravindra Savarna.

Three Bitches: a tavern in Safta, run by three sisters who don't take shit from anyone.

Jioret (Hibi)
A substantially sized Saftan city that is the new home of the Air and Space Museum and Lincoln Memorial from earth. Some oddball inventors have formed a little sub-community within the population here and you can find some cool alchemist-made tech in the city. It is surrounded by some particularly nasty monsters, but that's okay just take a warp.

Washington D.C. has merged with Jioret as of May 28th.

Kayu
A goblin-occupied town ruins in southwest Safta, near another, unnamed Saftan town.

Sandsea Island (Mini)
As of June 16th, located in the sky above Underwood.

Stonecaster (Yoiko, Mini)
One of the river-side cities in Safta. Alexander Varista and Rayu Barozu own property there.

Whimsical Woods (Mini)
TBW

World Library Raid (The Guindo)
There is a raid in the basement of the World Library where the books on demons and forbidden magic are kept chained up. According to the raid, they occasionally get free and release all sorts of mayhem into the basement. Adventurers need to go in and periodically clean it out, while Moghan follow to chain the books back up properly.

It's very dangerous to enter the basement and nobody ever goes in alone.