The Valley

A temperate plain encircled by the old, worn Eastern Mountains and the much taller Western mountains, where dragons are said to nest. It borders the Cold Lands to the north and the sea to the south. A large rivers splits it in two; herd territories are on the western side, and city-states are on the western side. To the south-west are the Arid Lands, the only access to the West.

The three main ways of life in the Valley are Herds, Urban, and Wayfarers.
Herds are idiosyncratic, each with its own distinct social structure, traditions, and material culture. Family ties do not necessarily correspond to herd affiliations. They're usually nomadic or semi-nomadic. They don't have a set territory; they have ranges, which may intersect with others', but they only keep away from urban centres.
Cities in the valley have developed a shared culture and values, such as social hierarchies, an economy, fear of water, and an admiration for skillful shifting. They trade with the East, but communications with other regions are blocked by the mountains, the deserts, or the sea.
Wayfarers travel in small groups, usually a mother with foals and occasional companions. It's a tradition relegated to a few lineages. Under normal circumstances, they're the only connection between herds and cities, as they frequent both offering help and trading. They pull small wagons which can be used as shelter if necessary.

Herd Elin

Herd Zenith

Darinn

• They construct more elaborate and expansive permanent dwellings and trade with each other. Shared cultural values and traditions have been codified by this lifestyle.
• Social stratification is common, usually a mix of class and lineage.
• Work is specialised.
• The ability to maintain a human form for a long time is seen as a good trait, as it's a sign of self control and willingness to work hard.
• Nevertheless, roads, buildings, and a portion of tools are built so they can be accessed and used by anyone in equine form. Outliers aside, most of the population spends around 70-80% of their time as horses.
• Higher classes may spend much of their time as humans to signal status, whereas people particularly gifted at shifting may be pushed into artisanal professions.
• Individuals with less proficiency in shifting may choose professions that can be worked in horse form (transporting, defence), or entertainment (racing, shows).
• Many individuals, unhappy with the rigid social structure, may leave cities to live in herds. Alternatively, individuals born in herds may move to cities for comfort, safety, and stability, or sometimes out of curiosity.

Balvicale

The Desert

Other places

Varidesha

Mahinana

Setting

The individuals you'll meet reside in a wide Valley split by a river, the bottom of which is a small plain. It takes a few hours of trotting to get from the Western mountains to the Eastern ones.

• the Eastern mountains are ancient, time has eroded them into hills; the city of Darinn and its territories are located on the lower ends, between two tributaries of the larger river. Several passes make it possible to travel to the plains and the steppe on the other side.
• the Western mountains are taller, blocking the way to the West. This side of the river is inhabited by herds, most notably Herd Elin (further down the plain, by the river) and Herd Zenith (travelling all around the plains and the slopes, even further into the mountains).
  It's said that the last dragons reside in the Western Peaks.
• Up north is a land of glaciers and fjords.
• Down south is the sea. The port city-state of Balvicale takes shelter in a harbour on the eastern side of the coast. Further down is an archipelago.
  South-West, mountains and currents have turned a peninsula into an arid place.
• Further south, crossing the sea, we find the archipelago of Mahinana (east), volcanic islands arranged into a crescent shape, and the island of Varidesha (west). The inhabitants of the former are said to be exceptionally good at shifting, so much so that they spend all their waking hours on two legs.