Crimea, southwest of Cankoy

One and a half sections today.

Part of the Crimea's plain, the "Pontic Steppe."  This same plain extends eastward well past the Caspian sea, as far as west-central Kazakhstan ... thousands upon thousands of miles.  At the time of my world, much of the settlement of these lands further east was entirely nomadic.  That ultimately is reflected in the lands of the Don Cossacks and the surrounding lands around Astrakhan, way, way east of where I'm mapping now.   And still there would be groups of persons living gypsy-like in the lands depicted here, so that in addition to the infrastructure population shown, there's a "ghost" population in the background possessing no infrastructure at all.

These peoples sometimes engage in something called "sporadic cultivation," in which groups settle for a season or two where sufficient water has accumulated in order to raise crops from late spring to early fall.  Usually the land won't sustain a second crop or there isn't sufficient water the following year, as the steppe is intermittently dry, depending on where rain happens to fall.  The effect, at any rate, is for these nomads to become tremendously protective of their small plots, as they've chosen to get most of their food in a give year from this cultivation, instead of from hunting.  Following such years, tribes move outwards after the harvest in search of herds, leaving behind evidence of their brief appearance.

Something new for the players to stumble across when they set out across the plains.

More coast tomorrow.