Prior to the outbreak of the Ceunan War (also referred to as the Angels' War or the Methrangian Civil War) the mortal world of Vorlanys was organized into a variety of different nations spread across the continent and its surrounding islands.

Major Powers

Methrangian Empire -- Ruled from the sprawling capital city of Methrangia in the south central portion of the empire, the Methrangian Empire was by far the largest realm in Vorlanys at the time of the Ceunan War. Occupying the most fertile lands on the continent, it spread approximately 2,500 miles from the mountain city of Karmand (a derivation of a prior language's phrase for "Mountain City") in the mountainous northwest of the empire to the lush wetlands around Zarmand (meaning "River City") in the empire's southeast. Numerous different peoples resided within the empire, including the Nimorsians and their distinctive blue green hair, red-skinned Kyosoks, blue-skinned Caylanchs, the strange mountain-dwelling Vedous, a diverse set of western peoples, a portion of the repitlian Varanians, and countless smaller groups of sentient beasts.

The Methrangian Empire had been ruled for centuries by the House of Trandov and the most recent emperor to rule over the united realm was Emperor Covifaht, who split administration of the realm between his sons Rohmhelt and Duronaht. Prior to the war's outbreak, the empire's population exceeded 90 million sentient mortal life forms of varying kinds.

Confederacy of Gadisia -- Gadisia was organized as a federated republic along the southwestern coastal region of the continent, especially around the Cersomin River delta to the north of the island of Kalion. Because of the variety of different ethnicities belonging to the Gadisian Confederacy, the bulk of the governmental powers were devolved to the several provinces comprising the republic. Elections were held approximately every five years to decide the composition of the national parliament, which harmonized certain laws and provided for the common defense of Gadisia. Generally on good terms with the Methrangian Empire, it nonetheless had numerous territorial disputes along a jagged and disorganized border between the two powers.

The Gadisian Confederacy was governed by Chancellor Erka Kivren at the time of the war's outbreak and it had a population of approximately 7 million.

Varanan -- Home of the slender reptilian Varanians, Varanan occupied the barren and rocky lands starting approximately one hundred miles to the southwest of the city of Karmand and extended to the coast of the western sea. While substantial portions of the Varanian population lived scattered across the Methrangian Empire, Varanan was their ancestral home and many Varanian place names littered the western portion of the Methrangian Empire due to a greater previous extent of the Varanian people. The Varanians had a tribal structure centered around Broodmasters who ruled particular clutches of Varanians, ranging from the hundreds to as many as tens of thousands in a given location. The Broodmasters would fight each other for dominance every so often to establish who would rule as Chief of Varanan, a position responsible for attempt to provide harmony to the Varanians both inside and outside Varanan.

Varanan was governed by Chief Besix at the time of the war's outbreak and had a population of approximately 1 million Varanians while another 500,000-1 million Varanians lived in the Methrangian Empire.

Osilintis -- Located in the sprawling high snowy mountain ranges far into the northwest of the continent, Osilintis is the realm of the Osil birdmen, a highly intelligent avian race that has generally chosen to remain separate from the affairs of the other mortal races. Some nomadic Osils will travel throughout the land-dwelling realms, sharing their unique perspective on mortal life and usually proving to be quite the fascination for other mortal peoples. Osilintis's society is highly rigid, with one of the few outside observers who ever visited the capital of Strigaw describing it as "ritualistic and stagnant." Unlike virtually all other realms of Vorlanys, Osilintis was matriarchal, drawing a comparison to Ceuna itself with Forynda's dominance over the angelic realm.

Osilintis was governed by the Wingmother Nanikaw at the time the war commenced and had a population of approximately 500,000.

Kingdom of Bohruum -- Located in the lands north and west of the steam vents of the Segrison Marche, the Kingdom of Bohruum was comprised of two primary races of fur-covered sentient creatures, the Bohruumites and the Jorogs. The Bohruumites were the were the dominant race of the two, ruling continuously through their royal family for some centuries. Jorogs lived in the more westerly portions of the kingdom and were content remain under Bohruumite rule, provided that the combined kingdom allowed them to maintain their traditional societal practices. Both races look relatively similar, standing 6-7 feet tall, highly muscular, and with luxurious fur of varying colors, projecting an imposing presence to most other sentient mortals. Bohruum has been one of the few consistent military rivals for the Methrangian Empire, despite its much smaller size, due to the martial prowess of its peoples and the miserably difficult lands in the northeastern portion of the continent.

At the time the Ceunan War began, the Kingdom of Bohruum was ruled by King Rogaf IV and had a population of approximately 11 million.

Nitandran Isles -- Some five hundred miles off the south-central coast of the continent, a string of dozens of large islands, and some several hundred smaller islands, comprised the Nitandran Isles. Here, the Nitandran people, a race of amphibious squid-like humanoids, lived a fractious existence with near constant civil wars for dominance of the islands and the seas around them. Accomplished mariners, their fleet was considered an equal to the far larger Methrangian fleet. This rough parity after decades of war led to an uneasy peace between Methrangia and Nitandra, though portions of the Nitandran Isles refused to recognize the peace and regularly raided the Methrangian coast.

The ancestral capital city of Ugaxo sat on the largest of the islands, also named Ugaxo after the famous "Admiral King" who united the Nitandran people some centuries earlier. The central government, such as it was, when the Ceunan War began consisted of a council of the so-called "Admiral Princes" who tried to maintain the uneasiest of truces between the warring factions. The population of the Nitandran Isles at that time numbered approximately 3 million.

Smaller and Unorganized Powers

Northwestern Barbarian Tribes -- A variety of tribes to the north of the western portions of the Methrangian Empire, these lands are divided from the empire by a variety of natural boundaries including great ridges and canyons with very few useful paths through them. The largest of these peoples are the Herekites, the greatest among the nomadic peoples who travel those menacing and wild lands. While some of the dozens of tribes regularly raid into Methrangian territory, others have healthier relations and have begun to try to emulate Methrangian society for the purposes of development. The tribes of these lands had a combined population of approximately 4 million.

Donod -- A race of stocky, hairless, pink humanoids lived in the Donodese swamplands in the continent's far southeast in a decentralized shamanistic society. Known for their exotic and strange work with gems and metals, the Donodese have provided the Methrangian Empire with important resources from the swamps and other foreboding terrain in their domains in exchange for promises of peace and the abundant crops the empire could provide. The Donodese numbered approximately 2 million, though roughly a quarter of them lived within the Methrangian Empire in the bordering provinces.

Kalion -- A single large island and its immediately neighboring smaller islands two hundred miles south of the Gadisian coast, Kalion was a refuge for mercenaries and other soldiers of fortune. It was settled by a variety of peoples from both Gadisia and the Methrangian Empire and has maintained a certain level of autonomy from both. While the Gadisian Confederacy considered Kalion to nominally be part of the confederacy, Kalion rarely saw things that way. Government did not exist in a formalized sense, but rather as a series of implicit agreements between mercenary companies and other organizations that operated on the islands. The total population of Kalion was approximately 250,000 across all of the islands.