Taur-Dji-Oum [Tower-shjee-ohm], known as Torthien in much of the Civilised World, also called the Vale of Tortanis in Ororr, is an upland area of southeastern Anásthias. It is a politically complex and unstable region, consisting of twenty-three major ethnic nations, territorially sub-divided into smaller kingdoms, chiefdoms, fiefdoms and clan holdings, with a shifting pattern of allegiances and alliances.