The Hordelands

The Hordelands (also known as the Endless Wastes) is a region in the fictional fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms, modelled on the steppes of Mongolia. It was once the territory of the mighty empire of Raumathar.

The Hordelands is the Faerûnian name of the region, though it goes by a number of names in other countries; Al-Tirmaq (Durpar), Plain of Horses (Kara-Tur), or Taan as its inhabitants call it. Now, the Hordelands is populated by the Mongol-like Tuigans. It is bordered on the north by Yal-Tengri, on the west by Narfell, Rashemen and Thay, on the south by Murghôm, Semphar and the massive Himalaya-like Yehimal mountain range, and on the East by the empire of Shou Lung.

Notable features

 * The second largest body of water is the warm, plesiosaurs-infected Lake of Mist, with the ex-Raumatharan sprawling town of Almorel on its shores.
 * The Great Spire on the Ice Sea
 * The Many-Windowed Tower, a Raumathari lighthouse inhabited by a spelljamming lich
 * The rocky Quoya desert, inspired by the Gobi desert
 * The Mountain of Iron, a mountain containing a tremendous concentration of lodestone (natural magnet).
 * The living castle of Panjuis
 * The Tuigan capital of Quaraband, in a dead-magic zone
 * The Fortress of the Old Man, an Hashishin-like organisation (notice there is also such a fortress in Zakhara).
 * The Tsaparang Fortress, apparently inspired by Petra
 * The Shalhoond forest, a sub-equatorial jungle

Apart from the aforementioned major countries, one can also notice the mountain-dwelling nations of Khazari (capital Skardu), crossed by the Silk Road and the paranoid theocracy of Ra-Khati (Tibetan-like).

There are three ways to go from Faerûn to Kara-Tur:
 * Silk Road, cold, long and dangerous
 * Spice Road, which crosses Khazari and hence requires a fee
 * Old Iron Road, blocked by the Ra-Khati

Winterkeep
Winterkeep is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) city in the Hordelands. Originally a nobleman's estate, it later became the winter palace of the Raumatharan king. Located on the southern side of a bay in Yal-Tengri, it may arguably be compared to real world Saint Petersburg, or a remote Koenigsberg. It may also be compared to any city bordering the real-world Hudson Bay, albeit it is not located in Anchorome (Toril's equivalent to North America).

East of Winterkeep are the Glittering Spires, arguably Toril's Urals (except that Urals are actually very low in altitude, barely a mountain range at all).

Official Material

 * The Horde: Barbarian Campaign Setting - pdf (zipped) version of 2nd Edition AD&D Box set expansion for Forgotten Realms, describing the Endless Wastes.
 * Kang Yu
 * Brief description by Ed Greenwood

Usermade content

 * Winterkeep
 * Winterhaven, a NWN persistent world around an alternative Winterkeep, north-west of Vaasa)