The United Councilate States are a federation of ten self-governing regions. The Great Road Councilate borders the Banakur Forest and is among the most recently settled. Great Road is rectangular in shape, bounded on the north by the Tumosura River, on the west by the Vari River, on the south by the Linku River and the Barkov River on the east. Its eastern half is in the Transition Zone and the west is in the Periphery Zone.
When the Councilate States were organized, the lands south of the Tumosura River were formed into the Great Road Councilate, although at the time it was an unsettled frontier province. In those days, the only civilized place in Great Road Councilate was its capital of Anorah, far to the east on the Barkov River. From there, military bases followed the path of the Great Road west to Nagrepec. There, on the east bank of the Vari River, Nagrepec guarded the ancient crossing point. Settlements followed the military bases and spread north, in the relative security of the lands between the Great Road and the Tumosura.
Over time, the Keshdumah secured much of the lands between the Great Road and Linku River. As lands were settled, the Banakur Forest shrank. In current times, Great Road Councilate is settled and civilized as far west as a line running from Melanbac to Solisova. West of there, settlement thins. Nagrepec is still primarily a military base, as is Abarsha that guards the Linku River and marks the edge of security in the south.
West of Abarsha, the Linku River plunges into the Banakur Forest, through lands occupied by Wild L'npei and defended by Gens Tamroti. The forest margin is active as a settlement area, supported by financial and material support from the Federal Council. Great Road Councilate establishes and supports military colonies all along the forest’s edge. Settlement is opposed by the three Banakur Gens, their Rapani allies, war bands from Gens Uk’Damakini and merchant interests in the Gornarod Working of Gradec. There is constant military conflict along the western and southern borders of Great Road Councilate.
Great Road is one of the larger states. The great majority of the Councilate is level, gently rolling land with rougher hill country in the east and several river valleys, primarily in the west. The broad western lowland area gradually increases in elevation as one travels west, all the way to the Barkov River valley. Although the lands have generally been cleared, the arc of the Banakur Forest fringe still contains intermittent woodlots and forest extensions. Most of the less desirable land west of Abarsha and Melanbac is still forested. The lands along the Banakur fringe are smallholdings, engaged in subsistence farming.
Great Road has a population of 4,786,000, of which 310,000 live in the major cities. Another 150,000 live in smaller cities and large towns.
Anorah (population 143,580) is the capital and dominant city of the Great Road Councilate. It is an ancient place, located at the Great Road crossing point on the Barkov River. It was settled during Wanderer times, abandoned during the Time of Chaos and resettled during M'Maoulek's Protectorate. It developed into a minor commercial center and military staging point as M'Maoulek's forces pushed toward the Vari River. Anorah came into its own after the Great Revolt when it became the jumping off point for settlement of the nearly empty western lands. Today it is a regional industrial and commercial center, drawing raw materials down the Barkov from the Golakarn Highlands and selling finished goods to its western hinterlands.
Melanbac (population 62,218) is advantageously situated at the head of the Tumosura Valley, where the river begins its climb into the Golakarn Highlands and intersects the Great Road. It serves as the western outpost of Dumerai civilization, and the commercial depot for the towns and settlements south of the Great Road.
Solisova (population 32,545) is the entirely artificial creature of Great Road Councilate colonial expansion, created to serve and support settlement of the lands north of the Linku River. Solisova is near the edge of the Transition Zone, but situated so that its mechanical infrastructure is stable and reliable. Solisova is a commercial center for the south, the last civilized stop for administrators and settlers headed west and manufacturer of basic implements and weapons required for survival on the frontier.
Abarsha (population 23,930) is a fortified military base and administrative center for settlement on the Banakur fringe. It is situated on the west bank of the Gura River and the north bank of the Linku, on a protected bluff line, overlooking the Linku valley. Abarsha sits less than 110 km from the forest edge and 370 km, as the crow flies, to the administrative town of Gens Tamroti, in the heart of the forest.
Nagrepec (population 9,572) is an isolated garrison, located on the east bank of the Vari River, at the ancient Great Road crossing point. Nagrepec is the gatekeeper of Dumah. It has no industry and its commerce is limited to the needs of the soldiers posted there and of their families. It has a small docks area used by its military watercraft and the occasional supply convoy from Kotrath or Kyla.
Three rivers flow through Great Road Councilate, to empty into the Vari. From north to south they are the Ruapara, the Tumosura, and the Linku. The Tumosura divides Kyla Councilate from Great Road Councilate and the Linku marks the southern border of Great Road Councilate.
The Linku is a long, gentle waterway, making its way for 529 km along Great Road Councilate’s southern border. It is little used for traffic because of the sparseness of settlement in the area and because below Abarsha it plunges into the Banakur Forest.
The line of settlement in Great Road runs along the Linku to the Banakur, then along the edge of the forest about 250 km, then across to the eastern bank of the Parduva River, filling in the lands between it and the Tumosura. There are scattered settlements along the south bank of the Tumosura River and along the Great Road from the Parduva River to Nagrepec.
Great Road Councilate has two main communication routes: its namesake, the Great Road and a second road that connects theLinku River valley with the core. The Great Road begins in the Dumah Councilate and heads west, crossing the Barkov River at the Great Road Councilate capital of Anorah (510 km). From Anorah, the road heads northwest then due west to the military base of Nagrepec (410 km). The Anorah-Abarsha Road heads southwest from Anorah to Solisova (250 km) then continues on to Abarsha on the Linku River (300 km).