From the introduction: The Lands of Marak are named after the Navigator Marak, who brought the Pale Folk to the Realm of the Pure Lands, through the maelstroms of the Shimmering Ocean nine generations ago. A visionary in his youth, Marak grew corrupt in his old age - his Navigators were overthrown four generations ago, exiled to the Ice Flats to the north. Since the rebellion, the Pale Folk have generally frowned on magic use. Marak had likely never visited most of the Realms in the Sphere that bears his name, but the Pale Folk still identify with him, despite ousting him. The Unity Covenant that the Dukes of the Pure Lands signed after overthrowing Marak has since been expanded - there are now Duchies in the nearby territory of Derange, and even some Pale Folk settlements in Santana and on the eastern slopes of the Lofty Mountains. The Realms of Derange, Santana, and the Lofty Mountains are where the Red Men make their homes. The Red Men are a strange folk, aboriginal to the Sphere and highly steeped in magic, having been around even longer than the theandria of the Mixed Lands. They do not speak the Tongue, instead speaking a shattered language that differs from clan to clan, village to village. (Santana is a word from the Red Men - those from the Pure Lands often call it the Frontier, a word that Santanans have come to associate with 'greenhorns'.) The people of the Mixed Lands (known as the Jaguar People) speak the Tongue, although a very strange dialect, full of obscure words and hidden meanings. They are ruled by a 'theandric', a person said to be simultaneously divine and human. Succession is more or less through divine fiat. Beyond the Lofty Mountains, there is the Golden Coast, lying on the Peaceful Ocean. Not much is known about the inhabitants. Similarly, to the south of the Mixed Lands is the Umbral Jungle, a land that even the Jaguar People speak of in hushed tones, full of awe and horror.