Talatem
Talatem, on the southeastern coast of Imya, lies at the mouth of the long Damat River, which flows into and out of Lake Gevegi near the Karaman Mountains. The river provides a way to transport goods from roughly one-third of the country to the port of Talatem, where Axuumite traders purchase them at favorable prices to sell elsewhere at a good profit. This includes foodstuffs, wines, and raw cotton, as well as gemstones and gold from mines in the mountains.
One source of wealth available in the area of Talatem is the pearl oysters to be found up and down the coast. Talatem is at the edge of the Boiling Sea and something about the qualities of the water there means that oysters tend to produce more pearls with golden coloration, which are quite rare elsewhere, as well as many pink pearls. Authorities have a process by which only certain beds can be harvested in a year while others are rested, and pearl divers in the approved beds need to register with an administrator from the mulya’s office. Of course, any enforcers will go only so far afield from Talatem, so any oyster bed more than about 10 miles from the city might be harvested by unapproved workers and not all the pearls might get back to an official trader.
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