Geography of Elthos and Salthos

The Empire of Adana covers just the eastern portions of the continents of Elthos and Salthos.

The northwestern part of Elthos is home to the Kingdom of Wend. South of Wend is the large independent Duchy of Evenwatch. South of there is the Kingdom of Westelth, the largest polity on Elthos after the empire, which covers a substantial swathe of southwestern Elthos.

West of Elthos are a number of islands. Not all are inhabited. The largest are claimed by Wend. Others are home to tiny petty kingdoms.

The World Ocean to the west of Elthos is the edge of the known world. North of Elthos is the Wailing Sea, the stormy, perilous waters that separate Elthos from the Terror. South of Elthos is the Sea Between, the land which separates Elthos from Salthos.

Western Elthos is separated from central Elthos by the Shield Heights, a range of high mountains. One may still journey overland near the coast to the north or south of the mountains, though traffic along the southern route into isolated Westelth is virtually non-existent.

Central Elthos is home to several large realms and numerous smaller polities. These borders have sometimes shifted. The large realms have expanded over the centuries since the Greytides, but it has generally been a slow process. The most notable polities along the northern coast of Elthos to the east of Wend are the large but decentralised Realm of Norhame and the relatively small but powerful theocracy that is home to the Church of Siegfried's Light, the Divine Assembly. The Divine Assembly borders the Imperial Territories to its east. The southern coast of Elthos, to the east of Westelth, is home to the Realm of Medon and a few minor polities, loosely bound in the Confederation of the Purple Coast, then the rapidly expanding Dominion of Rin. The Realm of Intis is a moderately large polity between Rin and the imperial border.

Inland from the coasts of Central Elthos, the land east of the Shield Heights is home to umpteen minor polities, collectively known as the Iron Counties. The largest solely inland polity is the Realm of Kordris, along the upper reaches of the Ada, north of the Confederation of the Purple Coast and northwest of Rin.

The empire dominates eastern Elthos, the region around the Encircled Sea. The Imperial Territories reach the Wailing Sea to the north, and are bounded on their west, from north to south, by the Divine Assembly, by the independent but distinctly culturally Adanan and imperial-leaning duchies of Aldhill and Thestis, and by the Realm of Intis.

The southern edge of the Imperial Territories is bounded by an imperial subject, the Grand Republic of Thasen. Thasen is relatively small but is positioned to dominate trade to and from the Encircled Sea region, with its coastal ports and strong maritime tradition. Thasen sits on both sides of the Thasund, the strait that separates the Encircled Sea from the Sea Between.

The eastern half of the Encircled Sea region is primarily occupied by the Realm of Dyria, an imperial subject. On the northern side of the sea, it borders the Imperial Territories to the west, while on the southern side, it borders Thasen to the west.

Northeast of the Imperial Territories and north of Dyria is the Commonwealth of Hana and Lonin, which has the Wailing Sea to the west. The Commonwealth spans as far north as the Terror.

East of the Commonwealth and Dyria is the Red Waste, inhospitable badlands. The Red Waste continues southward, and has a coast along the Sea Between, until it reaches the Great Desert at its southern end.

East of the Red Waste is the Worldspine, a vast mountain range, which runs from the Terror at its northernmost end, along the eastern border of Lonin, and proceeds south-southeast from there, all along the eastern edge of the Red Waste, and, as far as anyone knows, east of the Great Desert.

The Sea Between separates Elthos and Salthos. There are a number of inhabited islands in the sea, home to minor powers which might keep to themselves, engage in commerce, or occasionally piracy. No major power exerts control over them.

Salthos is as broad, west to east, as Elthos. In the northwest, in a fertile coastal region, are several city-states, which form the League of Gold. Across much of the rest of the Salthosian coast are the Plains Kingdoms, a jumble of fractious polities, large and small, generally believed to be home to more non-humans than humans.

The northeastern part of Salthos is covered by Hadash, a large and populous realm centred on the Emerald River.

A narrow isthmus joins Hadash to the Great Desert. East of the rest of Hadash is the Pearl Sea.

Bounding the southern part of the entire known region of Salthos is the immense jungle called the Labyrinth. It is extraordinarily dangerous, home to aggressive megafauna, and nobody knows much about it beyond its fringes, and the high quality wood that comes from the trees of the Labyrinth. A few expensive expeditions have tried to sail to what is presumed to be Salthos south of the Labyrinth, but all have been forced to turn around due to lack of supplies before coming across any apparent end to the jungle.

Lands east of the Worldspine and the Pearl Sea are a matter of conjecture and speculation. The Endless Steppe is thought to be east of the Worldspine, but nothing of consequence is known about it. Merchants arrive from east of the Pearl Sea, bearing silk, porcelain and other fine wares, and conduct business in Pearlsedge, but without ever speaking of their home. People of the known world describe the places that are assumed to exist as the Cornucopian Realms.