The Core is the most densely-populated and well-traveled region in the Land of Mists. There are more known domains within the Core than there are beyond it, lending weight to its standing as the veritable center of the world. It's a rugged, temperate land characterized by both bustling villages and trackless wilderness. The Balinok Mountains are the principal geographical feature of the Core, running north to south across the center of the continent. The mysterious Shadow Rift, a yawning chasm filled with black fog, interrupts the Balinoks near the center of the Core. The Core's frontiers are defined to the north and south by the Mists, to the east by the Nocturnal Sea, and to the west by the Sea of Sorrows.

Although the landscape varies from domain to domain in the Core, some generalizations about the continent as a whole can be made. To the west of the Balinoks, densely forested river valleys and floodplains dominate, with most waterways flowing toward the Sea of Sorrows. East of the mountains, sweeping grasslands stretch out on an upland plateau to the shores of the Nocturnal Sea. The temperate climate has a regular cycle of seasons, though weather extremes are common in many domains. The Core is a region of both prosperity and misery, where a host of tyrants skulk in their dark manses and plot endlessly against one another. The villages hum with thriving commerce and intrigue, while cunning predators, both natural and aberrant, stalk the wilds.