Mouth of Souls

=Badaria=

Badaria is an independent island nation in the Grim Sea. It is widely believed to be a pirate haven.

Badaria gained its independence on 11 Gulik 640. For centuries it was an island of slave plantations as a possession of the Byzant Empire. The slave revolt leveraged large portions of the island's sole city—Port of St. Hung—as well as future revenue of the new nation, to mercenaries in return for weapons and soldiers.

Badaria lies west of Stormundia at the mouth of the Ruhlarin Agiz (The Mouth of Souls, or Soul Bay) near Tataramoa Island. It is the second largest island in the bay. With the dissolution of the plantations, the jungle has reclaimed most of the land. A few poor villages are scattered about the island, eaking out a living by subsistence farming and fishing. Most of Badaria's population lives in St. Hung.

Badaria's primary business is the repair and outfitting of ships. It also does brisk trade as a minor shipping hub for the Grim Sea. Not many ships are registered out of St. Hung's port, but many are repaired and refurbished there. Badaria is infamous for not inquiring about battle damage of its customers.

The seas surrounding the island of Badaria are calm and green. Regular tides enable even the most heavily damaged ship into limp into the repair yards. Though large fish dwell in the deeper depths around Badaria, the local fishermen keep fairly close to the shore, or to nearby fisheries. Tiger sharks and megalodons rule the deep.

=Tataramoa= Tataramoa is the largest island of the Grim Sea. It sits at the mouth of the Ruhlarin Agiz, or Mouth of Souls as it is known locally, due west from the Darkmouth Emirate. Tataramoa is the home of six separate nations: Westport and the Riverlands, the Grand Duchy of Andale, Wynnland, the Chersonese, Akiden, and Sukoden.

The people of Tataramoa Island share a common ancestry with Formour. Anglan is the common tongue, but Bizzannite coin is seen far more often. Most transactions use weights of silver, and use the ducat or florin interchangeably, pricing goods as x silvers. Large sums of money are commonly measured in pounds of silver.

There are no Trolls on Tataramoa. They were all slain in a pogrom after the disastrous and brief reign of Gorse the Mad, Trollborn bastard of the last 'true' king of Thorn, King Martin II, 250 years ago. Trolls and Trollborn Changelings are not welcome in any nation of Tataramoa.

Riverlands
The largest country, at least geographically, is known as the Riverlands. The Riverlands extends along the Bistre River, from Headwaters in the northwest, through Great Forks, downriver to Westport. Technically, this is a loose affiliation of independent city-states. In reality, most of those 'cities' are small towns, and Westport is the unofficial de facto capital. However, for most day-to-day operations the towns of the Riverlands manage their own affairs. The Riverlands has no military, relying solely upon civil militias.

Westport
Westport, and by extension, all of the Riverlands, is ruled from the Lilac Palace on the Aureate Throne. Westport is located as far upriver as seagoing ships can travel. The land is simply too marshy to build a seaport further down on the delta.

Aureate Throne
Prince Monello Mazumah (13) is the legal regnant, but true power remains in the hands of his mother, Princess Laiche Mazumah. Control was wrested from the Daur family by Monello's grandfather (Laiche's father-in-law). The surviving Daur family escaped to Andale. Laiche claims young Gör (8) as belonging to her late huband, Jack Mazumah, but he died from heart failure a decade ago. The seat of power in the Lilac Palace was originally meant to be ceremonial, with true power held by a council of guilds and aristocratic families. This state of affairs did not last long, and the council has long had a more advisory role. A representative of the council still officially crowns a new head however, and the council is not without its own authority. The power of the Aureate Throne has always come more from the family's wealth, influence, and control over several important guilds in Westport.

Sere Keep
On the southern edge of Westport, facing a baren plain that was salted during a conflict long ago, is the defensive structure known as Sere Keep. It is high walled, and built mostly out of single huge smooth granite slabs. The secret of how it was constructed, how the stones were moved, or even where they came from, have been lost to antiquity. Sere Keep has fended off attacks by bandits, pirates, Andale, and even forces from Castle Thorn under King Gorse the Mad. Sere Keep is the home of the Westport Miltia and the Council of Westport, but is largely unused otherwise except during times of conflict.

Conveyors Guild
Controlling much of the goods moved along the Bistre River, notably the docks of Westport where imports and exports are transited, is the Conveyors Guild. Conveyors wear red knit watchcaps. The guildmaster is a man known only as Mr. Nuncio, who keeps out of the public eye. Detractors call them the Thieves' Guild, but never openly, due to their power. The Conveyors Guild is unmistakably mobbish.

Great Forks
Built across two islands formed by the Bistre separating and reconverging is the second largest community of the Riverlands. The city is known for having lots of big bridges--with buildings on them--between the two landmasses. Nearly as many citizens of Great Forks live on a bridge than on land.

Amana
This town lies between Great Forks and Westport on the Bistre River.

Tulip Town
Upriver from Great Forks sits Tulip Town. It is named for its many varieties of flowers, mostly tulips, some of which can only be found here. Tulip Town's annual Chorus of Colours has been described by the Readers' Choice Travelogue as a 'must see' event.

Misty Glen
Between Tulip Town and Headwaters is the town of Misty Glen. It marks the furthest upstream one can travel by boat, as Misty Glen is built around the Shama Falls. Nestled inside a canyon, no breeze sweeps away the constant mist and fog from the waterfall.

Headwaters
The source of the Bistre river is on a large farmstead known to the rest of the Riverlands as Headwaters. To the Prichma family that resides there, it is simply 'our home'. Sustine Prichma is the family matriarch, and unquestioned ruler of all she surveys, however humble. Headwaters is known among Riverlanders for two things: fantastically delicious lean bacon, and a source for inbred redneck jokes.

Brass Woods
Also part of the Riverlands is the Brass Woods. There are no towns here, but that does not mean it is uninhabited. Many crimes with no known perpetrator are blamed on the Roam and Uncann tribes, or on the spirits that haunt Whisper Lake. Though the Brass Woods are part of the Riverlands, the Aureate Throne has no real authority there.

Roam Tribe
Bands of this gypsy tribe wanders throughout Tataramoa, but they mostly frequent the Brass Woods. No nation claims them, and they claim no country for their own. Rumours of their origins abound: that they are the remnants of Gorse the Mad's army, that they are a lost branch of the Tarrysh, that they were the original inhabitants of Tataramoa, or that they are simply lazy thieves who won't find a real job. The eastern half of the island (Aikiden, Andale, Sukoden) refers to them as 'Romans', using 'Romish' as the adjectival form. The matriarch of the Roam Tribe is the Doyenne. This ancient, hideous, obese sorceress is the grandmother or great-grandmother of a large portion of the Roam. She is believed (even by her own people) to consort with dark forces that lurk in the woods. The Doyenne is Trollborn, as were both of her parents: one half-Goblin and one half-Human.

Uncann Tribe
This tribe of Goblins can also be found in the Brass Woods, and in marshes or wastelands nearby. The bulk of the tribe lives in a hidden valley inside the Brass Woods. The Uncann keep to themselves, and are self-sufficient, though they have resorted to raids or other forms of banditry. Some connection exists between the Roam and Uncann (besides proximity) though neither will admit such. The Uncann divide themselves internally into the Kine (the descendants of the one they call Grandmother) and Kith (the rest). Kine have Human and Troll ancestry; they are somewhat taller, and the women are more mammalian. Outside of ancestry, there is no difference between them; they all live together, and one is not elevated over the other socially.

Whisper Lake
Separating the Brass Woods from Sukoden is Whisper Lake. It is popularly believed to be haunted, but some loremasters believe it to be the home of several Elementals.

The Grand Duchy of Andale
The most populous country of Tataramoa is the Grand Duchy of Andale. It is pronounced 'Ann Dale'; pronouncing it as the Spanish word is a grave insult. Andale is a mercantile nation, known for its skilled armourers. Andale armour is famed for its beauty as well as its strength.

Andale has no deep ports. The ocean floor drops off slowly off Tataramoa's southeastern coast. Many reefs and shoals further complicate transport. Cargo must be disembarked onto small boats before it can be moved into Andale City or Coastal. For most merchants, it's much simpler to unload cargo destined for the Grand Duchy in Westport, and rely upon their skiffs to transport the wares around the island. This does not help the strained relationship between Andale and the Riverlands.

Andale City
This is the largest and densest city in Tataramoa. The armour produced by the master artisans of Andale City is prized throughout the Middle Lands.

Palace of Seasons
At the heart of Andale City is the Palace of Seasons. Four separate mansions surround a large courtyard garden. Each represents one of the four seasons. The Archduke and his family will live in each one in turn. It's a bit ironic, as Tataramoa is a tropical island, and seasons can be described as 'more storms' and 'fewer storms'. Andale officially claims it was founded by King Morris I, but an abundance of archaeological evidence shows Andale was there long before Morris's time.

The current ruler is Archduke Budrick. He claims descent from King Morris I or II (even he isn't quite sure—he publicly claims I, but privately assumes II). His children are Posy (14) and Buxton (7 and heir apparent); their mother, May, died giving birth to Buxton.

The Ordained
This is a huge mercenary army with religious overtures. The Ordained are all Bahists, and rather humanocentric, but are not part of the Separatist sect. The ordained contract out as mercenaries, in whole or in part. Their largest client is the Grand Duchy of Andale, and The Ordained act as Andale's army, having only police and honour guard otherwise.

Redbud Forest
These woods are held in joint stewardship between Castle Thorn and Andale. Though the former has been abandoned for most of a century, Andale has honoured its part.

Brier
This is a small Andalish town near the Redbud Forest. Brier was long ago a dominion of Castle Thorn, but has been a part of Andale since the time of King Martin I.

Coastal
It's just what it reads on the tin: This is a town on Tataramoa's southwestern shore. This is primarily a farming community.

Cruor
Nestled south of the Redbud Forest, this is the town nearest to the Verdant Valley. Cruor is a timber town.

Wynnland
Wynnland has no proper cities, or even villages. It is mostly just uniform farmland that slowly condenses into an unnamed sort-of town. It's current ruler is Chancellor Adama. He is a pleasant, rotund, grandfatherly sort of man. Wynnlanders elect chancellors for ten-year terms, and Adama has run unopposed for the past three of his four terms. Wynnland is noted for its terracotta buildings. Wynnland farms feed much of Tataramoa. This fact alone has left it mostly free of strife.

The Chersonese
This Chersonese peninsula adjoins Wynnland, with a salt marsh mangal connecting it to the Marshlands. The Chersonese is independent from Wynnland legally (but not really culturally) and ruled/inhabited by a collection of large would-be/former aristocratic families. Think 'Old South' with generations of inbreeding on the plantation. No one other than the Chersonese themselves think of them as anything other than an odd part of Wynnland.

Marshlands
Though the Marshlands are a fair chunk of the island, it houses only one community: Crag. Once a Trollish community, it is now exclusively Orcken. The remnants of the old architecture (mostly repurposed ruins) is scaled 'huge'. The population consists of Trollblood Bully Orcks, with lots of Half-Orcks (but no Ogres, they've bred true). The Orcks of Crag pre-date the Scourge Wars; they have been here for nearly two centuries.

Verdant Valley
This lush and fertile valley now lies unclaimed and unpopulated. Wildflowers dominate where princes once roamed. The main feature of Verdant Valley is Castle Thorn. Once the home of the kings of all Tataramoa, the nation fragmented after the reign of King Gorse the Mad, though many say it ended with the death of his great-grandfather, King Alvin II. Last held by the Zachariah, the Thistle Sage, Castle Thorn was reputedly built by the first king of Tataramoa, King Morris I. Some prevailing legends offer alternate explanations, mostly that King Morris 'found' the castle in the sense of discovering it than 'found' in the sense of having it constructed. Castle Thorn has been vacant for 80 years. The eldrich powers that protected the castle for the Kings of Thorn still secure it today. A thick cover of roses shields the walls all the way past their eighty-foot height. No gate or barbican can be discerned. Even the road leading up to the gate was quickly swallowed by vegetation. The walls resist climbing, hacking, or burning. Bones of would-be claimants or attackers can still be seen peeking through the blood-red roses. Even birds cannot alight on Castle Thorn's parapets. Some force prevents this. The mystic key that supposedly allows entrance to the rightful ruler of Thorn has been lost for generations, since the disappearance of Zachariah, the Thistle Sage. The Redbud Forest borders the Verdant Valley, and is held in joint stewardship between Castle Thorn and Andale.

Akiden
On a peninsula in the east, at the bottom of the pincer formed with the Sukoden peninsula, is the nation of Akiden. Akiden is allied to Andale. Akiden and Sukoden hate each other fiercely, and about once a decade to every couple of generations, they have a huge war and all but annihilate one another. The causes of these conflicts seem petty to outsiders, but no one but an Akider can truly appreciate the hate that the vile Sukoden cause. On purpose. Because they suck.

Sukoden
Forming the top of the pincer with Akiden is a peninsula in the northeast. Sukoden is allied to Westport and the Riverlands. These two city-states are separated by a narrow channel into what everyone else calls Two-Name Bay. Akiden and Sukoden typically name the bay after themselves, but each sometimes changes their official name to something antagonistic: "It's the Akiden Bay." "No, it's the Sukoden Bay." "You're almost right; it's now the Sukoden Sucks Bay."