The Sea of Veils
Shrouded Waters of the Fringe
Stretching along the eastern frontier of the Aurigan Coalition, the Sea of Veils is a vast and mysterious inland sea, its name whispered in sailors’ taverns and ancient texts alike. More than a body of water, the Sea is a place of myth and danger—a glittering expanse that both nourishes and haunts the coastal settlements of the Coalition.
The Sea of Veils earned its name from the strange and persistent mists that drift across its surface at dawn and dusk. These fogs are not natural in origin; they shimmer with latent energy, refracting light and sound in disorienting ways. Mariners speak of vanishing islands, ghost-lights dancing across the water, and voices calling from the deep. Arcane scholars have long speculated that the sea overlays one or more astral faultlines—thin places where the boundary between realms frays and bleeds.
Despite its dangers, the Sea is central to Aurigan life. Its coasts support fishing villages, minor ports, and hidden smuggler enclaves, while deeper inland, the Coalition’s capital, Coromodir, rises from cliffs overlooking its western edge. Trade caravans carry salt, exotic fish, alchemical brine, and magically reactive coral from the Sea’s bounty. The sea is also a primary route for discreet transport, favored by both diplomats and dissenters, depending on the tide.
But the Sea is not easily tamed.
Many who venture far from the mapped coastlines vanish, their ships found days or weeks later, adrift and crewless, barnacles fused to wood with unnatural patterns. The Veil Currents, swirling eddies of energy, are unpredictable and deadly. Storms can rise without warning, often preceded by eerie silence or spectral lights beneath the surface. Tales abound of ancient League of Stars vessels buried beneath the waves, their arcane cores still pulsing in forgotten wreckage fields.
Legends also speak of the Forgotten Beacon, a submerged tower said to have once anchored astral pathways between worlds. Whether real or not, many believe the Sea of Veils holds secrets too deep for mortals to chart—and too dangerous for the Great Houses to ignore.
In the rising turmoil of the Succession Wars, Aurigan scholars and smugglers alike report increased magical disturbances along the Sea’s coast. Arcane storms are growing more frequent. Some say the Veil is thinning—and something beyond it is beginning to stir.
“Sail not by stars alone, child. On the Sea of Veils, even the heavens can lie to you.” — Old Marra, dockside oracle of Dieron’s Landing
Type
Sea
