Trade Coast

Balarim gazed over the cliffs and out into the straits of Florenza, the sun just setting on the dozens of islands dotting the horizon, each with ships of all sizes passing through. Some of the ships went north to deliver their payloads to the Fenmarch and the Greylands. Others rode the trade winds south from Florenza to the rich plains of Zaragovia or the oases and sands of Samartha. Others still would set sail for the distant isles of Athgania in search of cocoa, vanilla, and other rare spices. There were flags of myriad colors representing nearly every nation, great and small, passing through these narrow straits and these miniscule islands. Balarim had been born and raised in the Trade Coast, the place where it seemed the whole world came together around him. As a merchant marine, he had travelled the straits since his early youth and met people who spoke dozens of languages, and whose appearances varied far more than the flags they flew and the tongues they spoke. He spotted his own island of Vindholm not far in the distance, a few of the city's great spires piercing into the evening sky like hairs against the grey twilight. He turned away with a reminiscent smile. To the south he looked toward Florenza, where he would one day make his name. Not far from home, but his journey had already begun.

Geography

The trade coast is situated along the eastern side of Mouradra, south of the expansive Fenmarch and encompassing the Straits of Florenza. Constituting the majority of the Empire of Wardenheim's foreign trade income and home to the overwhelming majority of its ports and fleet, the Trade Coast is of great strategic importance to the Empire. The archipelago that contains many important trade cities like Vindholm, Ferona, and Skaiaggia, lies at the crossroads between the two great continents. Much of the coast along the Wardenheim-side is rather flat as the land slowly is engulfed by the sea, with a few exceptions further south near Florenza, where ancient rock formations appear in chunks throughout the coastline resulting in cliff faces and rocky outcroppings. The myriad islands throughout the Straits of Florenza are home to over a dozen settlements, and see traffic from hundreds of trading and naval vessels daily.

Type

Region

Included Locations

• Florenza
• Vindholm