he first impression of Arkandale is that of a surprisingly beautiful and inviting domain. Most of the land falls into two categories: woodlands or plantations. The forest is a patchwork of broadleafs and evergreens, set on a gently rolling topography. Trees found here are typical of warm, temperate woodlands: pine, oak, dogwood, walnut, willow, and magnolia. The forest is broken occasionally by green meadows filled with wildflowers and bumblebees. Some of these meadows are littered with bones, broken weapons, and buckshot, remnants of a forgotten war. The clay and limestone knolls of the forest are cut by myriad streams and cricks that feed into Arkandale's mighty rivers.

These rivers are the heart and soul of Arkandale. The prosperity of the folk depends on the transport of their crops—particularly cotton—beyond the domain's borders. Because of Arkandale's lycanthropes, travel through the wilderness is a terrifying prospect. The rivers are wide and deep, allowing boat traffic to steam up and down them with relative ease. Their current is strong, and the waters are murky and heavy with silt. The two principle waterways are the Musarde and Arden Rivers. The Musarde River drains the interior, where it begins as a local tributary named the Okanee. It then curls north--beyond the borders in Invidia--and runs through the eastern region of Arkandale. The Arden flows north along the western border of the domain. A minor river, the Sunflower, drains the central hills, joining with the Arden in Mordent.

Despite its wealth, Arkandale is a sparsely populated domain. There are only three towns of any considerable size: Ludlow, Gillsburg, and Rolling Fork. Gillsburg, a town of 1,600 souls, hugs the Musarde where it flows north into Arkandale. Rolling Fork, with 1,300 people, sits further downstream at the northern border, near where the Musarde joins the Luna and Vasha Rivers. Ludlow, a town of 900, lies near the western border, where a minor tribuary flows into the Arden from Valechan. There are a few other settlements scattered around the domain, but altogether, Arkandale boasts just over 6,000 folk. Over a quarter of these people are slaves who work the domain's largest plantations.

Plantation agriculture is what creates Arkandale's prosperity. There is a smattering of small farms throughout the domain, but the bulk of the profitable farming happens on large estates owned by wealthy families and worked by their slaves. Cotton, tobacco, indigo, and orchard fruits are the truly valuable crops, but there is some production of rice, peanuts, and poultry. Plantations are normally clustered around the periphery of towns, and for all practical purposes provide an economic backbone for the townsfolk.

The climate in Arkandale is exceedingly warm, uncomfortably so during the summer. The humidity is also very severe, making the sweltering midsummer months all the more unbearable. Winters are mild, cool, and snowless, benign by comparison. Precipitation, blessedly, is for the most part gentle and frequent. Floods are rare, but when they occur, the rivers become brutal and destructive forces.

The domain is rich in wildlife. Most notable are the wolves—great, russet-furred beasts with deep green eyes and a reputation as maneaters. A handful of panthers, black bears, and foxes can be found, but they do not compete well with the vast numbers of wolves. The usual variety of small mammals occur in great abundance, particularly rabbits and possums. Raccoons, otters, and muskrats feed heartily on the oyster beds of the rivers, where thriving schools of fish swim. Huge snapping turtles are known to lair along the river bottoms as well. Bats infest the limestone caverns which dot the domain, and their fluttering forms fill the evening skies.

Recently, a merchant named Phineas Crenshaw has set hundreds of slaves to work clearing long paths through the woodlands. These efforts are for something Crenshaw calls the Iron Horse, a project he promises will replace Arkandale's steamboats. Crenshaw's slaves are work steadily, but the going is slow due to problems with lycanthrope attacks.