Yalta

Yalta
Basic Information
Type	Wasteland / Ruins
Geography
Area	~2,550,000 km²
Notable

Overview

Yalta is a region at the heart of the Central Continent, once the seat of the Yalta Empire. Since the Mana Cataclysm, it has existed without a governing state — a vast expanse of ruin and wasteland dotted with small, unaffiliated settlements. The name Yalta predates the empire itself and has continued to denote this land through every era, imperial or otherwise.

Etymology

The name is said to descend from an Elder who once held dominion over this land in ages past. Among the Old Ones, the territory was known simply as belonging to him. Human settlers who later arrived shortened this into "Yalta," and the empire that eventually rose here inherited the name from the land itself.

Geography

The Blast Zones

Yalta is structured as a series of concentric zones radiating outward from the site of the Cataclysm, each defined by its degree of danger:

• The Epicenter (~3 km radius) — The only zone still uninhabitable today. Mana storms occur here without pause.
• The Yalta Ruins (~500 km radius) — The area of direct physical devastation from the blast. Though reduced to ruin and wasteland, it is not uninhabitable.
• The Ringwall (~700 km radius) — The remains of the fortifications that once shielded the imperial capital region. It was never a national border, but a wall built to defend the empire's core.
• Yalta at large (~900 km radius, ~2,550,000 km²) — The full extent of the region, including the outlying territories beyond the Ringwall.

Waterways

A great river once ran through the heart of the empire. The Cataclysm reshaped the land and severed its old course, but the river's headwaters, lying outside the zone of destruction, remain intact. Its main flow now runs elsewhere across the continent, though a portion still feeds into the old imperial water network and reaches Yalta underground. No great river runs above ground any longer; settlements have instead formed around the points where this buried water surfaces — old intake points and reservoirs.

Regional Geography

Beyond the blast zones, Yalta's terrain and ecology vary by direction:

• South — Desert bordering Tilrestan.
• East — A narrow green corridor following the river's headwaters, supporting most of the region's herbivores and small wildlife.
• North — High ground adjoining the Hammeval range.
• West — Open wasteland bordering Krossen.

Population

Yalta's settlers hold no formal legal status. They fall broadly into two groups: descendants of those who never left after the Cataclysm, and refugees who arrived later — first during the First Dark Age, and again in far greater numbers during the Second Dark Age.

Settlers are further divided by disposition: those who seek to build communities and live as townsfolk, and those who, worn down by betrayal and hardship, have turned to banditry as a way of life. The latter form the basis of Yalta's raider bands.

Beyond human affairs, Yalta is also home to hostile creatures and dangerous wildlife — the land itself poses a constant threat.

Stagnation of Settlement

For nearly a century and a half, Yalta's settlements have remained no larger than villages. The region's physical instability is only a secondary obstacle; the true cause is political neglect. Rebuilding Yalta would require investment on the scale of a city-state, but because the land is unclaimed by treaty, any nation that commits such resources risks the appearance of asserting sovereignty — inviting the other powers' objections. As a result, the three powers each limit themselves to modest aid: food and supplies, friendly trade, and survey missions meant to build goodwill rather than restore the land in earnest.

This is compounded by an absence of security. None of the three powers stations formal forces in Yalta, since doing so could likewise be read as a claim of ownership. Bandits, raiders, hostile creatures, and predators remain a constant presence, making it exceedingly difficult for any settlement to grow beyond a small, fortified community.

Between the Yalta Ruins and the Ringwall, a modest economy has taken root, sustaining the researchers and expeditions who travel toward the Epicenter for study.

Legal Status

Yalta was formally declared unclaimed territory under the Three Powers Summit — land that can never be permanently held by any nation. The Ringwall is maintained autonomously by each power along its own stretch.

Border Policy

Entry into Yalta is unrestricted, though safety is never guaranteed to those who enter. Departure, by contrast, is subject to intense scrutiny at every checkpoint — a practice that arose after a caravan, secretly infiltrated by raiders, ambushed and slaughtered a border checkpoint from within.

The Empire's Legacy

Legends persist of great treasures still buried within the ruins, drawing a steady stream of fortune-seekers. Even organized expeditions, escorted by military detachments, find the barren land unforgiving — supply lines are difficult to maintain, and even seasoned soldiers have vanished without a trace.