Pizzwhizzle Empire: A fallen empire whose borders spanned an area that encompasses both the Wallowood and Thistlewistle kingdoms. By historical accounts in its early days the empire was war-like, hungrily engulfing its neighbors like a pointy and viciously aggressive amoeba. The emperors and empresses gradually became less thirsty for conquest and more thirsty for treasure chests. Great bazaars and huge, permanent markets were established for merchants to have a location to store their wares and conduct their business. Over time, internal power struggles and a bitter rivalry between Acer Treaclesbough ended in the dissolution of the empire and the founding of the two kingdoms. Though neither ruler allowed their flames of animosity to grow into an outright violent conflagration it was obvious to any outside observer that the contentiousness between the monarchs was barely contained. Reports of assassinations of nobility close to each leader, rumors of spies within each castle wall, deaths of royal taste-testers, and a bevy of other unsettling events plagued the populous of each kingdom.
Wallowood Kingdom: King Gavin took his ball and went home to found the Wallowood empire out of the failed government of the Pizzwhizzle Empire. Not wanting any part of Treaclesbough's harebrained scheme of equality for all he struck out to found a more traditional kingdom, a cadre of loyal nobles and their associated serf workforces in tow. Using the traditional forms of labor allowed for creating the castle and kingdom walls in record time, but made for a very unhappy labor class. Those amongst their ranks talk of dissent and a brewing revolution in hushed tones, wary of the many spies planted in the kingdom.
Thistlewistle Kingdom: Acer Treaclesbough wanted to try something different. He wanted to instate an egalitarian government that would give fair representation to all citizens of his kingdom. Unfortunately he didn't consider that certain nobility under his rule were not interested in giving up their privilege and did not desire to be classified as the same as those working the fields or disposing of waste. Given their considerable wealth and influence from the Imperial days Count Thistlewistle and a throng of unhappy nobles conscripted an army of mythic mercenaries to handle their dirty work. In the dead of night, assassins crawled their way up the tower and executed the Treaclesbough family in their sleep. The following day the Count seized control of the government, and decreed that all known relatives of the Treaclesbough family were hereby exiled. His will has been dominating the lives of his subjects, leaving him an acting dictator and obsessed with controlling the Ancient Watershed. Only the frogmen Protectors and the forest surrounding the Ancient Watershed stand between him and his goals. Some families got wind of the assassination plot and were able to escape the city walls before the Count's iron fist crushed all individuality.
Ancient Watershed: The font of all magical freshwater in the region. Required nourishment for all myth-world creatures, they will begin to fade out of existence if not able to get the proper amount in a day. The Watershed is surrounded by a huge, thick, and cagey magical forest, enchanted and nourished in cycles by the Watershed itself. Over many centuries new creatures evolved within the forest, the magic from the Ancient Watershed modifying their DNA in unexpected ways. Frogmen, a species never recorded before the discovery of the Watershed, seemed to evolve based on influence from a sort of consciousness arising from the Watershed itself. It's as if the Watershed, realizing it needed protecting, put this intention into its waters which appear to have greatly modified the native species of the surrounding forest. Physically, the Watershed is defined by the high force expulsion of freshwater from a fissure high in the mountain range located deep within Ivyvale Forest. Legend has it that the forest sprung up in response to the will of the Watershed, desiring isolation and protection from myth world inhabitants.
Deity of the Ancient Watershed: It's likely that the Ancient Watershed is a physical manifestation of a powerful and ancient deity, one that has decided to seal itself off from the world within a mountain spring. This explains how the forest seemingly moves with a purpose and sometimes great violence against anyone who dares attack the Watershed.
Ivyvale Forest: Enchanted forest surrounding the Ancient Watershed. Home to large populations of free and enchanted creatures including the frogmen and the upchucks. The forest and its inhabitants provide the last line of defense against any Ancient Watershed assaults. There are rumors that closer to the Watershed even the trees act to protect the well, flaying intruders with thorny vines and rustling their leaves to send ghostly warning messages. In fact, the trees are able to grow their roots in any location containing the Watershed's magic freshwater and can exert the will of the Watershed to destroy any structures attempting to fully impede the flow of its waters.
The Heartland: The area outside the bounds of either kingdom, where the free people of the region live and work. Life here is not bound to the will of a monarch and proceeds at a leisurely pace most of the time. However, this area does not exist in a vacuum and assuredly the actions of either monarch would have a profound effect on the denizens here. People like Tommy Gorgonzola, Schreven Raffalais, and Edzio Eduardo make their home and their livelihoods here. The landscape consists of gently rolling hills and the ground is fertile, supplied with water from the Ancient Watershed. The food grown with soil from the Heartland is of the highest quality and is highly desired in all parts of myth world. A few small wells have been drilled throughout the Heartland to allow harvesting and storing amounts of magic freshwater.