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Nani     Nani was shaped by the Protodragon Dox’Ah the Blue, and it is a barren desert wasteland. Not otherwise known for sadism or uncreativity, it is thought that Dox’Ah created Nani as a sort of heat sink, so as to enable more agreeable weather patterns for the other six realms.
    Little to nothing grows in the Nanic sun, and nothing from elsewhere can survive for very long. Dozens of lives are lost every year due only to the heat and exhaustion of walking through this land. Fortunately, there are many roads, outposts, and oases, created by both Alacris and dwarves. However, if the road is lost, there is little chance that you will ever find it again; giant swarms of sandfish infest nearly all the dunes of the realm. Although Nanic ecology is shrouded in mystery and the sandfish likely subsist on some unknown food source deep under in the dunes, it is a well-documented fact of life that they can detect vibrations on the surface of the sand. Anyone foolish enough to step off the ancient stone roads unprepared is near-certain to be devoured before getting too far. Adventurers who feel the need to do so often rent dwarven "fish carts" - expensive quartz-based devices that purposely fill the sand with resonating vibrations, essentially blinding the sandfish and driving them away.
    In the Alacrian Golden Age, the dwarves’ natural affinity for underground exploration was noticed, and so they were settled in the only remotely habitable parts of Nani: the massive cave systems. Beneath the surface, the impressive architecture of the dwarves is outdone only by the dizzying size of their caverns. While most dwarven cities fill a single "smaller" cavern, the three Core Cities (Metarinth, Ergastulum, and Caput) are found in a gargantuan underground realm known as Chthon.
    Spanning around 350 miles at its widest as-charted, Chthon also extends both north and west an unknown distance via the unexplored tunnels of its Reaches. Despite the best efforts of dwarven adventurers and pioneers down through the centuries, even the charted regions of Chthon are poorly explored due to its enormous size and enormous dangers. By all accounts of modern science and physics, the cavern is so enormous that it should not be able to exist without its "roof" collapsing; the mystery of its survival is usually ascribed to the machinations of Dox'Ah, and perhaps related to the massive amount of magnetic stone found in abundance throughout all of Chthon. Less marvelous to would-be explorers are said magnetism's effect on navigation; traditional compasses are completely useless within Chthon. This, combined with the natural hazards of the realm's flying wildlife and renegade Alacrian defenses, tends to confine airship travel to fixed beacon-lit routes between the major cities.
    Chthon was originally created and controlled by a ferocious mass of silicon-based microorganisms called the Chasmodyne. When the Alacris discovered that Dox'Ah's ancient tunneler had an instinctive fear of the sun, they used artificial sunlight to trap the entity safely in the deepest parts of Chthon, rendering the caverns safe for the dwarves.
    Agriculture in all Nanic caves is dominated by fungal growth; Chthonian mushroom ale is particularly iconic of dwarven culture. The small amount of light required for mushroom cultivation is provided by special insendite lights, with substrate and nutrients imported from other realms or brought in from the fungal wilds. The latter occur in large quantities only in Chthon - specifically, warm, humid regions in the vicinity of geysers and other geothermal activity. In these areas, the density of fungal life can rival the biodiversity of even overworld forests. They also provide a welcome relief from the pitch-darkness of the rest of Chthon, with large, bioluminescent mushrooms providing the light that many other fungus species require for growth (and which dangerous predators find useful in the hunt).
    Each dwarven city is led by a Senate, with everyday affairs of state handled by an elected Praetor. To handle the strange happenings and new threats that occasionally arise in Chthon, the three Core Cities also elect one Consul to oversee their collective militaries.

Major Cities Caput     Estimated population: 130,000
    The first and largest city of the dwarves, and their capital city during the Imperial Age. Caput is the only practical way into and out of Chthon, and is thus massively important in dwarven culture and economics. Like all Chthonic settlements, the city makes its main profits through mining. It also boasts significant farms to the east, made possible by the many hot springs that surround the city. The cave fungus grown here supplies the dwarves with enough food, grog, and lamp fuel to survive in this unusual environment. Caput is located on a high plateau protected by 800-foot cliffs, which has historically shielded it from most conflicts in Chthon. The cliffs would be utterly insurmountable were it not for the two winding, well-guarded stairways carved into the side.

Ergastulum     Estimated population: 90,000
    A mining settlement, and a profitable one at that. Ore is obtained and delivered to other dwarven cities in exchange for food and supplies. Roads run along the rivers to the southwest, where salamandra are raised to provide food and transportation. Given its proximity to the Drakelands, Ergastulum also houses a large military garrison.

Metarinth     Estimated population: 85,000
    A well-rounded city with profitable farms and mines, Metarinth is also home to many other professions less common in the other Core Cities. Most underground research is done here, and the city is a common destination for other species who wish to study Chthon.

Altum     Estimated population: 35,000
    The historic headquarters of the dwarven armies, Altum has never been conquered in all its many sieges. It remains a military stronghold, which is fortunate even in the post-Imperial world; its cave is home to the most bizarre and dangerous of beasts.

Domus     Estimated population: 33,000
    Whereas the Core Cities are focused on quantity, Domus concerns itself with quality. It is the source of the finest ore and tools ever crafted from steel, but buyers should not expect low prices. As the Age of Adventure progressed and more Alacrian technology was recovered, Domus also became a center of adamant engineering.

Orto     Estimated population: 30,000
    Located underneath the flat regions of Nani, Orto has little mining activity but is very agriculturally productive due to its underground rivers. It is the dwarves’ largest source of food and ale. Whatever food it cannot produce on its own, it imports from Macska.

Proximus     Estimated population: 15,000
    A small town lacking any extensive caverns. This is one of the few locations where dwarves still make their homes above ground, thanks to a single still-functioning Alacrian aqueduct and unusually rocky (and thus sandfish-free) terrain. The town is sparsely populated and would serve no economic purpose were it not for its proximity to Manusian and Skretan trade.

Chthonic Geographical Features Pillars of Titus
    Titus, one of the first dwarven explorers of Chthon, was struck by the unorthodox beauty of this region and eventually retired here. Gigantic stalactites and stalagmites dominate the area, the most ancient of which have joined together into columns nearly a mile high. Beneath them lies the spring-fed Pillar Lake. Two rivers flow out from the lake, and their water is carried by aqueduct to Ergastulum and Metarinth. Small fissures in the cavern ceiling make the Pillars the only region in Chthon where natural sunlight shines. The water, dim light, and tall ceiling are actually sufficient to produce slight weather. Soft rain allows a few leafy plants to grow here. Because the bizarre environment is conducive to exotic flora, the Pillars are a favorite destination for hedgedoctors and corallurgists, both dwarven and surface-dwelling.

Drakelands
    The plains to the east of dwarven civilization are dotted with geysers and other geothermal features. The resulting heat endears the area to tough-skinned lizards and drakes, which have lived here for centuries. Though mostly docile, these beasts do not always take kindly to travelers violating their territory. Adding to these hazards is the poisonous weather; the sulfurous moisture from the geysers tends to accumulate on the ceiling, eventually falling as acid rain.

Sulfur Swamps
    Deep within the Drakelands, the river running down from the Pillar Lake fans out into a murky swamp. Here, the amphibian salamandra breed in massive numbers. These innocent, fireproof animals are no threat directly, but their numbers occasionally get large enough to displace dangerous drakes into dwarven lands.

Stagnant Lake
    Most of the legendary Alacrian scientist-city of Rédix collapsed into a sinkhole during the wars of the Third Era. The site is currently buried under several hundred feet of completely stagnant water, which shows no sign of evaporating any time soon. The waters themselves pose an extreme health risk, and their stench is offensive many miles away. Adventurers are sometimes attracted by tales of unflooded parts of the city still accessible by secret doors. Few return, and legends speculate that this is due to hordes of Rédian-made fiends that still infest the ruins and nearby Reaches.

Northern and Western Reaches
    Despite the best efforts of the dwarves, the farthest sections of Chthon remain unexplored. This is due partly to logistics, but mostly to insufficient armies: the Reaches are totally infested with hostile imp tribes, and they reproduce as fast as they can be killed. Dwarven garrisons focus on keeping the imps contained rather than actively pushing them back, and have succeeded in this arrangement for centuries.

Abysm of Pilatus
    This deep fissure in the cave floor is named for the Alacrian explorer Pilatus I, who met his fiery doom after falling into its depths. A constant stream of lava flows south along the bottom of the Abysm. Gradually, the canyon becomes shallower until the lava fans out across the floor of Chthon, heading south for parts unknown. The only way across the Abysm is a long and terrifying Alacrian bridge dating from the late Golden Age.

The Void
    At the easternmost point of Chthon, several successive cliffs descend miles down into darkness. The deepest cliffs have never been explored due to the total lack of light, the thick, still fog, and the presence of the Chasmodyne imprisoned in the depths. Nothing has been able to safely probe the bottom of the Void.

Arcturus Tower
    An Alacrian tower from the Third Era, Arcturus is a valuable source of light in this otherwise pitch-black region. Automated machinery maintains an artificial glow at the top of the tower which perfectly mimics natural sunlight. The light is visible for approximately 50 miles in all directions. The Alacris originally built the tower to imprison the Chasmodyne; by shining light over the Void, the sunlight-averse monster is securely trapped. Today, dwarven researchers use Arcturus to provide light for crops and monitor events in eastern Chthon. A significant dwarven military presence is stationed in and around the tower, since its destruction would likely result in the Chasmodyne escaping and consuming all other life in Chthon.
    Although the Alacrian road to Arcturus Tower is better-kept than the road to Rédix, traveling in great strength is advised due to the proliferation of techs and wildlife.