<div align="center"><span class="bbc_u"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">The Continent of Mara and Beyond</span></strong></span></div><br/><div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/18LXV4v.jpg)</div>Mara is the name of the world, and also the continent that the game takes place on.  It is an irregular shaped continent that runs east west roughly 4000km (2450mi) and north south roughly 2300km (1400mi).  To the right is a rough image of the size of Mara, compared to North America.  This image is for scale only.   The continent of Mara is actually located on its planets southern hemisphere with the northern portion of the continent falling inside the worlds tropical latitude.<br/><br/>The continent of Mara is believed to not be the only land mass on the planet.  However sailing ships that sail off into the ocean never return.  There is legend of explorers from previous ages traveling to new locales full of wild beasts and mysterious locales and returning with boundless riches.  But these are just myths shrouded in the mists of time.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong><br/>The Traveler's Curse </strong></span><br/><br/>The shifting zones make the wilds around Laelith a wildly unpredictable realm, but they are not the only challenge facing travelers and cartographers. A force is at work in this section of Mara that defies even magical explanation—an effect that seems to encompass the entire continent and yet does not behave in any predictable fashion. The consensus of scholars is that this is a lingering effect of the ancient cataclysm known as the fading.<br/><br/>The Traveler’s Curse twists time and distance, both in perception and reality. Two parties of explorers set out from Laelith in search of a specific ruin, but though both follow the same path, it might take the first group one week and the second group three weeks to make the journey.  No logical explanation exists. The first group might find that it has covered the distance in an impossibly short time. The second might perceive a reasonable length for the journey, only to find on their return to Laelith that far more time has passed. Under some circumstances, this effect can be a blessing, speeding a party through dangerous terrain. However, the Traveler’s Curse can just as easily lead explorers into unexpected danger or cause them to arrive at a different destination than the one they sought.  This phenomenon is one reason why no reliable maps of Mara, outside of the faded lands, exist and why it is always possible to stumble into new ruins within striking distance of a settlement or in areas the party has explored before.<br/><br/>The Traveler’s Curse ebbs and flows, but it seems to have the strongest effect on those fresh from the Faded lands.  Those few who have been in the area longer seem to be affected by it less, with the oldest settlers, those who traveled from the Faded Lands twenty years ago claim that they barely ever feel the curse any more.   Scholars have also noticed that the effects are weaker on the few established roads in Mara—the paths connecting Laelith to the closest trading outposts. Some believe that aspects of intent are at work: Knowledge of a destination holds back the effect, and a strong-willed individual might resist or even control it.<br/><br/>The curse has no specific game mechanics associated with it. It is an optional effect left entirely to the DM’s discretion and could change from adventure to adventure.  If the PCs know their exact destination, perhaps they’ll make it there without difficulty. Simply remember that Mara is a land of mystery—and that when explorers stumble onto a hidden city that has remained undiscovered only miles from Laelith itself, the Traveler’s Curse is what makes it possible.