3,909
edits
Vandarch: Difference between revisions
m
→Environment
mNo edit summary |
m (→Environment) |
||
| Line 79: | Line 79: | ||
===Coastal Countries and Settlements=== | ===Coastal Countries and Settlements=== | ||
===Islands=== | ===Islands=== | ||
The Vandarch contains many tens of thousands of small islands along its coastline, which have long presented a major challenge for shipping. By far the most important island cluster in the sea is however the [[Kestrel Isles]], which are politically divided between Hendalarsk, Faneria and Yonderre. Composed of nine larger islands and hundreds of smaller ones, the archipelago separates the larger northwestern portion of the Vandarch (almost entirely under the control of Hendalarsk and Faneria) from the southeastern sector and represents a substantial barrier to navigation without the assistance of an experienced pilot. This challenging geography played a major role in the rise of the [[Pentapolis]] and the wider [[Great Trade League of the Vandarch]], since merchants overseeing the flow of goods to and from northwestern Levantia had to either find a way through the Kestrels or else risk much longer, much slower and even more dangerous overland journeys. Beyond the trading communities of the League, pirates based in the Vandarch's many bays and inlets were also not slow to | The Vandarch contains many tens of thousands of small islands along its coastline, which have long presented a major challenge for shipping. By far the most important island cluster in the sea is however the [[Kestrel Isles]], which are politically divided between [[Hendalarsk]], [[Faneria]] and [[Yonderre]]. Composed of nine larger islands and hundreds of smaller ones, the archipelago separates the larger northwestern portion of the Vandarch (almost entirely under the control of Hendalarsk and Faneria) from the southeastern sector and represents a substantial barrier to navigation without the assistance of an experienced pilot. This challenging geography played a major role in the rise of the [[Pentapolis]] and the wider [[Great Trade League of the Vandarch]], since merchants overseeing the flow of goods to and from northwestern Levantia had to either find a way through the Kestrels or else risk much longer, much slower and even more dangerous overland journeys. Beyond the trading communities of the League, pirates based in the Vandarch's many bays and inlets were also not slow to recognize the opportunities for plunder and slaving posed by the Kestrels' straits. | ||
Many other islands in the sea have long histories of habitation. Hendalarskara Christianity has a strong monastic tradition, and the Vandarch's windswept islands are natural retreats for spiritual communities and even hermits. Among the most notable is the community of [[Ísenhav]], which despite repeated raids by pirates and slavers in centuries past has been continuously inhabited by monks for almost 1,000 years, and the nunnery of [[Delkeisch]], whose mussels (farmed by the nuns) are a byword for quality in Hendalarsk. | Many other islands in the sea have long histories of habitation. Hendalarskara Christianity has a strong monastic tradition, and the Vandarch's windswept islands are natural retreats for spiritual communities and even hermits. Among the most notable is the community of [[Ísenhav]], which despite repeated raids by pirates and slavers in centuries past has been continuously inhabited by monks for almost 1,000 years, and the nunnery of [[Delkeisch]], whose mussels (farmed by the nuns) are a byword for quality in Hendalarsk. | ||