Deriving its name from the sea that it spans, Barast could not exist in another context. A handful of islands, scattered across the sea, have managed to exert an exceptional amount of power and influence over the entire region. Popular opinion is that well over half their population are aboard ships, and their naval superiority surely backs this up. What exists in the central region of their control is only guessed at by most people.

Recently separated from Gauliño by a civil war, the Briscan nation of Bescdigal is still finding her legs. Famed for a rapidly-spoken dialect of Brisarnish and excellent twin-hulled fishing craft, the young nation has much going for it. With one foot in the Sea of Barast and one in the neighboring Glenguay Sea, Bescdigall is profiting greatly from its role as a Barastîr’s “gateway to the West.”

A frontier mentality permeates much of Elmen, and its people still embrace their rugged and hardy qualities above all others. Springing from southern Haslißii tribes, the language and culture of Elmen is different from that of the rest of their people. Wide grasslands spread across most of Elmen, forcing the outspread people to rely on mounted travel. Divided down the middle by the swift Gerlos River, the majority of the population reside in the west.

As with other nations of the Twilight Elves, the natural phenomena of their lands were what drew them there. Here in the "Changingwood," the boundaries between the Material plane and the Feywild are particularly thin. Few foreigners desire to cross into these woodland because of the otherworldly sights and experiences that they report – if they ever emerge again.

Known for being formidably boisterous, Essone manages to always keep a finger on the politics of Barastîr. This influence would be much more impactful if its 5 provinces hadn’t been in a constant state of conflict with one another for the last few decades. These tensions are often rooted in ancestral and cultural division, with Gavleör in the southeast, dwarves in the southeast, and Haslißii in the north.

A great confederation of Banner Dwarves and Earthbound Gnomes, Harn Laduhr exists in the heart of the Godstrewn Mountains. Not all of this land exists under the jagged peaks of the mountains; there are wide valleys and gravity defying terraces that cut through the remote centers where produce and livestock flourish. In the Southeast is also the great wonder that is the floating city of Decapoint.

Founded on the promise of perfecting the qualities that the empire of Nalthanar failed to exemplify, the charismatic Götz Nathgod has united the splintered Halslißii princedoms of the neighboring Red Starfields. Discontent to stop there, he is seeking now to welcome Elmen and Lutterveld into the fold. Thus far, they have only managed to seize the eastern portion of Lutterveld and the northeastern forests of Elmen.

Built upon the ruins of the very heart of Nalthanar, the people of Lutterveld have imparted a degree of graceful dignity to their lands that is rarely seen among other Haslißii nations. Much of their lands were flooded in the events of the previous age, and so the great achievement of the Lutterverlders has been the reclamation of lost lands and farming the lush lowlands of their southern coasts. The western wildernesses are still home to a Aedani tribesmen.

The true heartland of the Gavleör, this nation is home to many of great bardic traditions that have come to be associated with this region. A well known source of wine and cheeses, it boasts fertile valleys and lowlands in between wide forests. Their western border provides an ample stream of trade from the Briscan nation of Bescdigall. The Montbelesse are an impassioned lot who love life in all of its glories. They boast the best vineyards anywhere in Barast, and possibly even the world. Freedom is a right held sacred to every Montbelessi and revolution is their Gods-given way to enforce it.

Ere the arrival of human peoples into these lands, Taurë Imlamel has been home to the Sylvan Elves who settled here for love of its vast forests and green peninsulas. There are several ports and established strongholds on the coasts, but much of the interior is thought by outsiders to be complete wilderness. While there is truth to this, it is also a means of keeping the prying eyes out of the sacred cities built among the roots of the massive trees that reside here.

Standing at a crossroads of peoples and cultures, Thuin has long been the subject of wild tales in the lands beyond Barastîr. The dominant human culture is that of the Gavleór, but they are highly colored by former incursions of Haslißii from the north and northeast, and remnant Aedani people in the western regions of the nation. Though they have done their very best to serve as a melting pot of sorts, there remains strong regional divisions and deep rooted cultural separation. Goussé is the primary language spoken, but nearly everyone maintains their ancestral languages in their homes and villages.