Broken Sea¶
"An enclave of humanoid kingdoms and the Sancturi Imperium." — the opening of a Sancturi-era gazetteer of the surrounding lands (S324)
The Broken Sea is the inland sea of western Numenia and the lands that ring it: the Sancturi Empire on its southern shores, the Riven Kingdoms across the north and west in the lands of old Dalmar, the petty Broken Kingdoms of its eastern coast, and the islands between, from the trading kingdom of Miydal to the Hollow-choked ruin of Acadia. The whole region is sometimes called simply "The West" (S324). It is the stage of the Fifth Age material: the Sancturi documents count its years in SM, the Proturan documents in AL, and the Fourth Age Marshford material returns to its northern shore in an earlier age.
Geography¶
The sources describe the sea by its shores rather than its waters. The Sancturi Imperium holds the south, "the South-eastern and North-western parts of the Broken Sea area" being where humanoid populations first boomed in the 300s SM (S326). Dalmar, Faragond and Angorath lie to the north and north-west, lands that were "consumed in dragonblight" in the 200s SM when ebony dragons raided from the Cloudwall Mountains (S326); their successors are the Riven Kingdoms. The Isle of Danara sits in the southern sea, the Hollow-dotted ruin of Pesh and the other Danari kingdoms destroyed in the Age of the Dark Sun (S324). Beyond the enclave lie Pherox and Rhovun of the Draconians, the Dragonruin east of the Cloudwall, Thrace and Asea reachable only by sea, the jungles of Aquitania, and Amarin and the Demonlands (S324).
Two features of the sea itself are named:
- The Hollow Sea. The Acadian Hollow, "the largest known hollow", "has even spread across the sea (The Hollow Sea) to infect other islands" (S146). The Sancturi-era author notes an active imperial crusade to contain it.
- The Kithallen Plateau. Taken by Draconian forces when they "overrun Myrkan" in 425 SM, becoming part of the new Draconian nation of Myrox (S326). An older note records only "events on the Kithallen Plateau" in 455 SM (S132).
Gap
No source gives the sea's extent, its coasts in order, or a map. The relative positions of the kingdoms are inferred from travel notes and the campaign fronts of 704 SM and are recorded on the kingdom pages, not here.
History¶
The Sanctuary Age timeline (S326) is the spine of the region's history; the History section holds the eras themselves. In outline:
- The Morning, 0s SM. Survivors of the Age of the Dark Sun "universally rejoice in the return of the Sun." Sanctorum and Angorra are founded in 2 SM. Around the Broken Sea "the nations of Alghert, Angorra, Arnyr, Athagilion, Droburn, Dru'Bazan, Ruathim, Paecoria ... as well as many tribal and nomadic groups are rebuilding and prospering." The whole humanoid population is put at about 35,000.
- Rebirth and Bloom, 100s-200s SM. Biomes stabilise; "scavenging among the ruins of the old world is commonplace." Dragonblight consumes much of Dalmar and Faragond and drives migrations west.
- Fae Resurgence and the Faewild Wars, 300s-400s SM. Faewilds spread; two Draconian forces, one from Pherox and one from Turas, make war on the races. Seawall declares independence from Angorra in 410 SM; Myrkan falls in 425 SM; Pherox takes Rhovun and Angorath in 451 SM. In 493 SM a scavenging expedition returns from Acadia "with tales of horrors and loss", the first recorded discovery of a Hollow. See Faewild Wars.
- Sancturi Foundation, 500s SM. Sanctorum is destroyed by a volcanic event in 513 SM; rebels "organized around a new faith" retake its ruins in 522 SM and declare themselves the Sancturi. The last dragon west of the Cloudwall falls in 524 SM, the Draconians abandon the Broken Sea by 527 SM, and by 554 SM the Sancturi hold Angorra, Myrkan and Turas. The Great Purge of 554-565 SM follows. See Sancturi Period.
- Sancturi Campaigns, 600s-700s SM. Province by province the Imperium expands: Danar, Corvald, Rhyunn, Pevelor, the burning of Vael'Dorais, the Hills of Ghorresh, Arnyr, Faragond and Dalmar. See Sancturi Campaigns.
- The Fall of the Empire, 904 SM. "Historians mark the end of the Sancturi Age in 904 SM when the capitol Sanctorum fell to an Araxian onslaught led by the Thur'arax Dread Overlord Nikee, throwing the already besieged Sancturi Empire into complete chaos that led shortly to its fragmentation" (S112). The Redemption that followed destroyed every Hollow and tore the Mithis Plane away as the Rift. See The Redemption.
- The Rift period. The Proturan timeline (S107) counts the same region in AL: the North and South Broken Sea Kingdoms, the Araxian Wars, the founding of Proturas in 626 AL, and the Second Araxian War in which "the northern kingdoms fell one after another." See Rift Period.
Gap
The SM and AL reckonings are never reconciled in the sources; the timeline table of S107 places the Sancturi Empire and its campaigns in the 300s AL, several centuries earlier than the SM dates above. Dates on these pages are given in the calendar of the source that supplies them.
Peoples¶
The Sancturi-era census of 704 SM (S326) counts the Broken Sea's peoples by where they live. Lizardfolk were still to be counted.
| People | Total | In the Imperium | In the Kingdoms | In the Wilds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humans, Danari | 4,760,000 | 1,850,000 | 2,600,000 | 310,000 |
| Humans, Curcian | 3,920,000 | 2,100,000 | 1,400,000 | 420,000 |
| Humans, Naher | 1,640,000 | 420,000 | 590,000 | 630,000 |
| Humans, Huur | 160,000 | 125,000 | 35,000 | none |
| Orcs, Black | 925,000 | 180,000 (slaves) | 240,000 | 505,000 |
| Orcs, Green | 476,000 | 210,000 (slaves) | 94,000 | 172,000 |
| Oesterkull | 237,000 | 61,000 | 92,000 | 84,000 |
| Draconians | 185,000 | none | 5,000 | 180,000 (Pherox) |
| Dwarves | 158,000 | 62,000 | 81,000 | 15,000 |
| Wood Elves | 144,000 | 70,000 (slaves) | 52,000 | 22,000 |
| Gnomes | 39,000 | none | 33,000 | 6,000 |
| Halflings | 13,000 | 3,600 | 9,000 | 400 |
| Rock Trolls | 4,000 | none | none | 4,000 |
| High Elves, Dark Elves | extinct |
The whole came to about 12,661,000 souls, from some 35,000 survivors of the Dark Sun. Besides the settled kingdoms, the shores hold tribal Oesterkull clans, tribal Orcs in the wildlands, tribal Lizardfolk in the wetlands, the migratory river-folk called Norvedil, and the Rovers of Rovarion (S319).
Sea power¶
The Imperium's navy "control[s] the largest military fleet in the Broken Sea, but most of it is engaged in protecting their shipping routes from Riven Pirates and Oesterkull Raiders" (S317). The Broken Sea Merchant Alliance, licensed in most ports on both sides of the border, is believed to command the second-largest fleet; the Miydal navy is small but "nearly uncatchable"; the Pirates of Azmeran sail from Riven ports as merchantmen and prey on Sancturi shipping (S317). The sea-loving half-giant Oesterkull raid "wherever plunder is to be acquired" and sell captives to Sancturi slavers (S317).
The Araxian Empire¶
In the Proturan-era documents the Broken Sea's north has fallen. "The release of several of the Elder Gods is causing big problems ... coupled with large scale invasions from the Araxian Empire have led to the fall of every human kingdom on the north side of the Broken Sea. There are reputed to be some kingdoms remaining in the western isles, far west, and southern parts of the broken sea areas, but trade and communication has essentially dried up with the Araxian Empire sprawling across the north and eastern edges of the Broken Sea" (S076). The Araxian Empire is the dominion of the Araxians, the beetle-like servants of the Elder God Seth'Arax (S015). The Araxian Wars and the Second Araxian War tell how the northern kingdoms, Lorsythe and Droburg fell and how the Proturan brigades scorched the south to stop them (S107); after the Empire's fall the Araxians "operate in swarms managed by Overlords. Their advance and expansion has been relentless, but have slowed recently" (S112). The Grotto of Proturas, "the last bastion of Humanity (& other Kalari races) in the North", lies "near the old kingdom of Alghert, north of old Dalmarr" (S076).
Gap
No source describes the Araxian Empire's seat, borders or government; it is known only by its conquests.
Powers after the Empire¶
The post-Sancturi notes (S112) name two further powers without placing them:
- The Divine Nations. "Nations of Humans, Wood Elves, Hill Dwarves, Halflings and Oesterkull" under the Divine, whose fanatical Divine Authority razes the temples of the old gods.
- The Eldritch Kingdoms. "Several competing Eldritch kingdoms ruled by Witch-Kings and Witch-Queens (as called by outsiders). They still search in vain for their Soulcruxes. The number of Eldritch are small but all other races live in servitude to these. These tend to be city-state like kingdoms." The Eldritch are the elder race; their soulcruxes are a thread of the Sancturi campaign.
Lesser places¶
Places named in the sources without a stated kingdom.
Kyzall and Septnest¶
A Fourth Age trade kingdom reached by the Marshford party on the way to Acadia (S358). Septnest is its capital, "Trade City"; the Kyzall sigil is a white moon on a dark blue field. Kyzall "is ruled by a wizard: Rythaemenias." At Septnest's western docks the shipper Milton, "a large overweight fellow", keeps Milton's Shipping by the Farmer's Gate; the dockside inn is Vaun's Hall; and the Acadian expert Eoriast can be found. The Bank of Kyzall rents vaults, 150 gold a year with 100,000 gold of insurance, and the party stored every magical item they owned there before sailing (S358).
Serrarak's Tower and the Tserrakis Empire¶
The tower of the Acadian High Wizard Tserrerak, spelled Serrarak in the Acadian outline, "is a ruin on the top of a volcanic rock, almost completely destroyed and sliding off the rock. The netherworm has consumed most of it" (S358). He had moved his library and laboratory into a separate subplane against this day. Eoriast calls him "1 of 8 who ruled Acadia" (S358), and the Marshford notes list the tower among the party's teleportation circles (S359). Freed, Tserrerak means to rebuild his order, assert dominance and build "the Tserrakis Empire" (S358), the secret master of the Sovereign Assembly. Whether the empire has yet any land is not said.
The Monastery of St Morgan¶
A Kalari monastery of the Sancturi campaign beneath which "the Vault of the Eye was hidden" (S185). Its trapped halls honour the court of Kalar: "In reverence to the High Lords who serve Kalar we keep these Golden Orbs; let those who seek glory cast their eyes down in humility" (Quitas, Erolan, Orandos, Moros, Arcantus, Khardas), and "In devotion to the High Ladies who serve Kalar we ordain these Silvered Orbs; let those who seek to serve be grounded in their faith" (Vana, Arya, Lunaris, Damara, Itreya). Beyond the entry hall lie the Hall of Light, whose coloured lights turn with every passing moment; the Pit of Darkness, where a necrotic cloud rises and fills the room in cycles before eleven doors each bearing a god and a keyhole ("Kalar chose one on High to oversee the prison he had forged to contain the invading darkness"; the answer is Arcantus); and the Hall of Angels, guarded by two corrupted, fallen angel protectors, where the Demonlord Adramycos made his stand. The Vault of the Eye itself held the Arcane Eye in an "impenetrable cylindrical crystal" (S185).
Gap
S185 does not name the monastery's kingdom. It falls in the sequence of the party's Alghert sessions, between the fall of Pemeril's wards and the Battle of Angels, but no source places it.
Entries¶
| Page | What it is |
|---|---|
| Acadia | Island mageocracy of the Acadian Order, destroyed by the Fae Conjunction; the largest known Hollow in the Sancturi era. |
| Alghert | "The Jewel of Dalmar", the isolationist mountain kingdom of the Tugard dynasty. |
| Altandon | Capital of Brusau and seat of the Great Library, under Sancturi occupation. |
| Arkuun | Hollowed lakeside town in the ruins of Dalmar's ancient capital, a market of witches. |
| Arnyr | Fourth Age kingdom of King Aderik Tugard; Fifth Age largest Riven kingdom, conquered by the Obsidian Legions. |
| Athagilion | Staunchly Kalari farming kingdom ruled from Arkos by the Conclave of the Golden Sun. |
| Brusau | Warlike coastal kingdom of the Lorimer dynasty, forever at odds with the Imperium. |
| Delvarn | The Lands of the Necromancer, patrolled by the dead. |
| Droburg | Hill-country city-state of craftsmen, spices and beer, old as the Dark Sun. |
| Floren | Kalari refugee kingdom crippled by the Sancturi Dalmar Campaign. |
| Kilmarn | Buried Kalari temple complex inside the Brimstone Hollow of Urk'maggo. |
| Marshford | Fishing village of Arnyr grown to a town of 1,500 and promised seat of the Duchy of Westmarsh. |
| Miralt | Duchess Lavinia's half-emptied city, its harbour guarded by kraken. |
| Miydal | Island kingdom of traders and shipwrights under Sidhe of the Trade Winds. |
| Myrkan | Lake-dotted peninsula west of Dragonfall, overrun by Draconians in 425 SM. |
| Ozaustein | Hardy kingdom of three duchies and the best mercenaries in the Kingdoms. |
| Pemeril | Capital of Alghert, warded against the fungal mega-Hollow. |
| Riven Kingdoms | The kingdoms outside the Imperium as of Fall 704 SM, and their lesser neighbours. |
| Sanctorum | The Sancturi capital, founded 2 SM, destroyed, retaken and finally lost to the Araxians in 904 SM. |
| Sancturi Empire | The theocratic Imperium of the Sancturi gods and its provinces. |
| The Broken Kingdoms | Twenty to thirty petty kingdoms of the eastern shore and their Sancturi-era successors. |
| Uthein | Largest of the Riven kingdoms, the melting pot of former eastern Dalmar. |
| Vael'Dorais | The High Elven forest burned to ash by the Nightshade Legions; Luiria founded by its survivors. |