The Armorican Peninsula
In all of my travels, I have never encountered a land such as Letha. The peninsula reaches far into the great sea, making it a land isolated from the realms of Gallia, proudly challenging the spirits of the deep. It would be more truthful to describe Letha as two lands. Ar Mor, the rugged, rocky coast, wraps around the peninsula as crashing waves and howling winds ravage the shores and clifftops. Only the strongest and stubbornest survive, facing the dangers of the sea to reap the untold riches hidden within it. The interior of the land, Ar Goat, is taken up by a sea of its own, a sea of emerald leaves, a dark, endless forest hiding riches and dangers of its own, penetrated by all but the most determined. The Otherworld makes its presence known here, even before The Tearing of the Great Veil, weaving its arcane machinations into our world beyond the understanding of man and woman. Darker things still lurk in the inky blackness beyond the reach of castles and kings, unknown even to the Otherworldly Courts of Summer and Winter. And yet endless riches in gold and in life are found here as well, a proud people taking root to carve out their own destinies.
Beaj ba Letha (Voyages) Marie de France
The Duchy of Letha and its vassal states make up the Armorican Peninsula, stretching from the isolation of Lower Letha or Penn-ar-Bed (Land's End) in the West, marked by the Kontelezh Kernev (County of Kernev) and the Biskonti Leon (Viscounty of Léon) to the more populated Ducal cities and the Marches of Neustria in the East.
Geography
The Armorican Peninsula is located on the Northwestern tip of the continent of Kornôgel and directly South of the island of Albia, located across the Mor Breizh, a narrow channel connecting the Mor Bras and the Mor Marv. Its Eastern border is the Kouenon River where it empties into the Pleg-Mor Menez-Mikael and the Contentin Peninsula begins. The Southern coast lies on the Pleg-mor Gwaskogn, which follows the Akitanian Coast to the Shatterlands
The Armorican Peninsula is largely defined by two distinct concepts. The long coast of the Peninsula is known as Ar Mor (by the sea), a rugged and forbidding landscape, full of stone cliffs and capes, broken up by the occassional stretches of sandy beaches or marshy wetlands. The Ar Mor Breizh has a reputation as one of the most treacherous stretches of water in the North, ships threatened by high winds, submerged rocks and rough seas, compounded by the frequent appearance of thick Feth Fiada and chaotic Wyldstorms. However, those brave enough to face those waters are rewarded with extensive fishing and an unparalleled trade network, commanding all trade between the Northern and Eastern seas. A notable feature on the south side of the Peninsula is the Mor Bihan, a massive natural harbour full of countless islands.
The interior of the region, known as Ar Goat (by the forest), is generally dominated by highlands. Two mountain ranges make up the central spine of the region: the Meneziou Are in the North and the Meneziou Du in the south, the Kastellin Basin, which follows the Aon River until it empties into the Rade de Brest. These ranges and the basin between them are dominated by rolling hills, rocky, desolate moors, thick forests and wetlands. The largest forest is the Brekilien, which takes up much of the interior.
Northwest from the Meneziou-Are is the Plateau de Leon a highlands region beginning in the rocky foothills of the mountains before flattening out into a Bocage dominated landscape, ending with the river valley and Montroulez Bay in the East. At Montroulez, the landscape again rises in the Plateau de Dreger, continuing along the spine of the Meneziou Are, gradually declining in height until it reaches the Marais de Dol, a low-lying region of river valleys and wetlands. Following the Renk river Southwards reaches the Roazhon Basin, situated between the Brekilien Forest in the West and gentle rolling hills to the east. The valley rises once more to the Naoned Plateau, then drops once more to the Ar Briwer wetlands along the Pleg-Mor Gwaskon and across the Liger river, where the plains begin.
West of the Naoned Plateau, the Southern Ar Mor is dominated by the Landes be Lanvaux, rocky moors rising into the heavily forested foothills of the Meneziou Du until dipping down at the Blavezh River at Henbont, rising again in the Kernev Plateau until reaching Douarnenez Bay.
The majority of settlement has taken root along the rivers and fertile coastline, especially in the flat and hospitable East. The landscapes surrounding these settlements has been transformed into Bocage farmland, carefully maintained mixture of pasture and woodland, criss-crossed with sunken country lanes surrounded by hedgerows to break the wind as it races across the peninsula.
The Peninsula is crossed by several rivers, which wind their way through the landscape. These include the Aon, the Gwilen, the Liger the Odet and the Renk River, among others.
Ecosystem
The Armorican Peninsula has a temperate, mild climate with regular rainfall, especially in the centre of the landmass.
Localized Phenomena
While by no means unique to the region, the Peninsula experiences a very high occurrence of Feth Fiada, rolling in from both the seas and mountains, earning the region the moniker of the "Mistlands."
Fauna & Flora
The long coastline of Armorica gives the region a rich variety of oceanic life and a diverse population of seabirds, including ospreys and colonies of cormorants, gulls and puffins. The waters surrounding it attract all manner of sea creatures, such as sharks, seals, whales, dolphins, turtles, crabs, lobsters and a large variety of fish.
The Ar Goat is home to birds such as hawks, swallows, pheasants and partridges. The inland rivers are teeming with otters, beavers and minks. Other mammals include foxes, wild boar, roe deer, rabbits and bats, among others. Packs of wolves, including dire wolves, roam the peninsula. With the vast forests and bogs covering large stretches of land, what resides there is not fully known.
The region is home to a number of unique domesticated animals, such as cattle, sheep and horses.
The same variety exists in the flora of the region, ranging from the heather and gorse dominating the moorlands to the lush ferns and deciduous trees of the vast forests of the Ar Goat. Between them, a tapestry of grasslands, rivers, dunes and marshes feature yet more plants.
Natural Resources
The Armorican Peninsula has access to a large array of natural resources, hidden within its long coastline, vast forests and rugged mountains.
Wood and furs are plentiful in the forests of Ar Goat, and the mountain ranges of Meneziou Are and Menez Du provide ample access to minerals, like slate, granite and sandstone, and ores, such as gold, silver and tin. These are mined along the mountainside in vast, open pits, and more recently, shafts dug into the earth. The swamps that fill the valleys are a good source of peat, and the rivers make for easy transportation to the more populous Ar Mor.
The rough, inhospitable land of the Ar Goat makes agriculture difficult, forcing much of it to the bocages created in the fertile soils of the forests and river abers along the Ar Mor. Buckwheat, known for its hearty stamina, is a favourite crop, greatly influenced by its tax-free status by Ducal decree. Vegetables and legumes, such as green beans, onions, artichokes, potatoes and tomatoes grow well in the Ar Goat. Apple orchards are common to find throughout the region, and Cidre is the drink of choice by many Bretoned. Grapes do not grow well on the peninsula, save for in the County of Naoned, where rich soils are home to Vineyards rivaling those of Akitania and Northern Arle
Livestock, such as cattle, pigs and poultry can be found on many noble estates, and sheep graze the moorlands. The Biskonti Leon well known for its prized horses.
Fishing is a heavy industry in the region, taking advantage of its long coastline. Seaweed harvesting along the Ar Mor is also a profitable business. Salt is frequently harvested from the seaside marshes, such as in the Barony of Gwenrann. On a darker, but no less profitable side, the sharp rocks and submerged reefs hidden along the coastline provide dangers to passing ships, a fact which is seized upon by the
wreckers who inhabit remote stretches of shore.
History
See the Duchy of Letha
Alternative Name(s)
Breizh, Letha, The Mistlands
Type
Peninsula
Location under
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Related Tradition (Primary)
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