Droth Jovàrnë

Droth Jovàrnë, which literally means "sharp edges" in the tongue of the merpeople who dwell in the Ermothine Sea, are unique geological formations along the southwest coast of Valthassòra. These jagged, sharp rocks stretch for miles upon miles of Valthassora's shoreline and hinder tremendously the access to the continent's interior, thus creating a natural obstacle between the Ermothine Sea and Valthassora's innermost territories. They also cover most of the landscape in the Lowlands -though there numerous lakes of varying depths and perimeters are interspersed inbetween the jagged stones- and the isthmus of Rònvallos, which connects and simultaneously separates Valthassòra from the mainland of Ermoth.

Naturally, there is a great inherent difficulty in traversing Droth Jovàrnë due to its unwelcome terrain. Moreover, if someone attempts to approach Droth Jovàrnë via ship, they have to be constantly vigilant due to the ever-present danger of their ship sinking if they fall into the protruding sharp rocks at the reefs which stretch up to a nautical mile away from the shore. For these reasons and many others, for centuries naval explorers were deterred from organizing expeditions to the interior of Valthassora, though the unsavory reputation of the region as being perilous and filled with fearsome, unknown beasts, had also contribuled to the lack of interest. It wasn't until a mere two centuries ago that the Ermothine Sea Coalition, determined to seek new lands for expanding its territory as well as its wealth and influence, decided to concentrate its efforts and resources in sending large expedition groups to explore and inhabit Valthassora.

At first Droth Jovàrnë was thought to be the only path someone had to cross in order to reach the continent's interior, yet an expedition led by Captain Hòrkon Terveniç led to the discovery that the rock formations reached a relatively short clearing many leagues further up the coast. He was also the first to have explored the region of central Valthassòra meticulously, and the one to have suggested that by burning down the oak forest around the delta of River Kelbhain, the Coalition could clear a plot of land large enough to establish a permanent settlement, a new port town which could act as the connective link between the sea and the continental interior. Terveniç ultimately set his plan in motion and ordered his men to set fire to the entire woodland region where today stands Port Avìgnia. The newly-formed paths to the interior of the continent and the subsequent discovery of ample natural resources beneath its ground, such as copper, iron and particularly gold, ushered a new age of exploration and attempts at permanent inhabitation of Valthassòra, though soon the settlers realized that taming the wilderness of this land would prove a nearly insurmontable, if not impossible task.