ATLAS OF THE ALPHATIAN SEA
Introduction to the Alphatian Sea
The once mighty Alphatian Empire has sunk beneath the ocean, and in its place now sits the Alphatian Sea. Dotted with several hundred isles representing the peaks of drowned mountains, the Alphatian Sea is rich with pirates and island fortresses.
The Alphatian Sea is also the place to be to search for magical treasures. The ocean floor is littered with thousands upon thousands of magical items from the former empire, and many adventurers are doing their best to try and acquire them. Several hundred have been found already, and most now reside in the hands of the pirates who then plundered the treasure-seekers. Those who manage to acquire an Alphatian Artifact always find fame and glory with it.
The people of the Alphatian Sea are mostly free subjects, most belonging to the New Alphatian Confederate Empire (annoyingly called Nayce by most of the commoners [the Mystaran Almanac now makes use of the spelling popularised by Minrothaddan merchants. Ed.]). They are well educated, mainly literate, and boast a larger percent of mages than most of the world. Some are also slaves, which is still legal and acceptable in most kingdoms. Slaves are only very rarely able to read or write.
Only a few nations of the area do not belong to Nayce, although ships from around the world sail here. Nayce would prefer to keep the area clear from foreign treasure seekers, but they have far too few ships and skyships to patrol everywhere, hence pirates are able to roam freely and do almost anything they please.
Adventurers come to seek fame for defeating some of the most notorious pirates of the world, while others come in search of sunken treasure. Reputation and glory is more important than anything else, and insults rarely go unchallenged. All in all, it is a swashbuckling place with endless adventures on the high seas. On the Alphatian Sea, fame and glory mean everything!
The Alphatian Sea has one minor continent known as Bellissaria on its southeastern margin. This is where most of Naycese forces are concentrated, and one of the few places where the law is effectively maintained. To the west, Norwold and the Isle of Dawn mark the end of the Alphatian Sea, while the continent of Skothar indicates its eastern limits. The north is bordered only by the glaciers marking the north pole and the entrance to the Hollow World. The southern waters eventually turn into the Sea of Dawn and the Bellissarian Sea.
Correspondents for the Alphatian Sea
This year, pending the result of the census, the same reports as you could read last are recopied almost verbatim, with only a few minor modifications where necessary. Next year should prove a good opportunity to offer you brand new correspondences.
Here is our list of correspondents that give us detailed information on the nations, places, and events of the Alphatian Sea:
Adoramar
Adoramar is a young man, little more than a boy, from Horken on Bellissaria. His parents are commoners working in the farmlands north of the town of Wymar, and none of their family are aristocrats. One day when he was with his father, a mage passing through the area noticed Adoramar's almost innate ability to write and keep records for his family, and the mage told Adoramar's father that the boy might have potential for magic. Adoramar's father asked the mage to confirm this and a few simple spells seemed to confirm the suspicions of the wandering wizard. When Adoramar's father asked the mage to take the boy as his apprentice, the mage merely laughed and said he should consult the Evaluation Guild, since they could pass judgment on the boy's potential abilities. Adoramar's father then took the boy all the way to the capital of Horken to have the boy's magical potential confirmed, which it was. However, Adoramar's parents could never afford to pay for Adoramar's private apprenticeship, so Adoramar instead accepted a free scholarship [apparently such scholarships are given freely to all Alphatians with the potential for magic. Ed.], but was required to travel to the university in Alchemos in the Kingdom of Meriander. On his way there, correspondents from the Mystaran Almanac met the young man and asked him to describe the Bellissarian nations he had knowledge of, Horken and Meriander. Though Adoramar is an apprentice to become a wizard, he is still only fourteen years old [though some claim this is actually not uncommon in Alphatia at all... Ed.].
Allstrick
For those not privy to the man that is Allstrick, he is a half-breed. Born to a Shiye mother and Alphatian father, Allstrick has lived a long life as an adventurer both inside and outside of the Alphatian Empire. He outlived the dangers and retired from the profession, ironically enough taking up residence in Glantri. During the war, Allstrick sent his son back to mainland Alphatia where he hoped he would be safe. He himself moved the rest of his household to a residence in Mirros to wait out the war.
With Alphatia's sinking Allstrick naturally assumed his son had perished. With the divulgence of Alphatia's survival in Hollow World, he began planning a venture to visit the Naycese lands. Rumours persist that he wishes to reassert his prestige upon his countrymen to gain access to the Hollow World. We took advantage of this trip and approached Allstrick on reporting what he saw during his travels; he readily agreed and we look forward to his reports.
Daralann
Daralann, a lifelong resident of Spearpoint, is a shipbuilder by profession. Initially prosperous, as demand for ships has been on the increase for a number of years, Daralann's business has hit a rough spot, as many purchasers can no longer afford to buy his vessels, and the number of orders has begun to fall. Finding himself with some unanticipated free time, Daralann has consented to share with us his view of Surshield.
Dariyana
Dariyana is not one of our correspondents, but we have published parts of her diary in the almanac. From what we have gathered, Dariyana is a teenage student from the Floating Continent of Alphatia, not yet part of the Alphatian aristocracy but probably gentry (her father seems to be an aristocrat). She records events of her life in her magical journal (the words appear on the pages as she thinks them-we surmise this was a gift from her father). Dariyana was sent to the school on the surface world in AC 1017, and spent her academic year there, and then she disappeared. Her diary was found, though, and we reprint passages from it here.
Feldimur
Well known in Aaslin as a jovial fellow, Feldimur is a wealthy aristocrat of Notrion, who sat out the Great War on his estate. More recently, he has been aiding the Naycese effort directed at enchanting the domes that will form part of the growing underwater settlement of Torenal. He brings us his view of Notrion, and recent events within it.
Graltarnim, Captain of the Wave Turtle
Graltarnim is an Alphatian commoner and former soldier who has become a sea merchant from Dawnrim since the Great War. He acquired his Horken-built ship, the Wave Turtle, several years back. Since then he has specialised in bringing grain and other foodstuffs from Dawnrim to other nations of Nayce. With the recent division of Surshield, he has added the city of Spearpoint to the ports of call on his list of destinations, because the new Surshield has very little farmland.
Myloptarq
Myloptarq is an aristocrat native to Ambur, who was visiting relatives in Floating Arkan when the continent sank. In AC 1016 he was one of the passengers of the Dallyant when the submersible took him and his fellow travellers to the submerged town of birth of their captain. Myloptarq tells us about the sunken continent of Alphatia, a unique-and gloomy-experience.
Thalia "Red Sheaf" Torres di Lopez
Accompanying Allstrick is Thalia "Red Sheaf" Torres di Lopez. Thalia is a half-breed from the Belcadiz Principality in Glantri. Allstrick and her had been adventuring companions for years; rumours persist she was a primary influence in his settling in Glantri before the Great War. She is not the mother of Allstrick's son, however the two have become romantically involved since his birth and his real mother's departure. So close are they that Thalia left Glantri to stay with Allstrick in Mirros.
Trastamar
A captain in the Verothian army, Trastamar is part of the large force of Randel soldiers who were stranded in Bellissaria following the sinking of Alphatia in AC 1009. Since that time, the soldiers managed to establish a number of strongholds in the wilderness of southern Notrion-unbeknownst to the authorities of that kingdom, as it turns out. It was only in AC 1016 that the Randel soldiers were discovered, and their claimed territory recognised as the Kingdom of Veroth. Captain Trastamar was kind enough to forward this briefing to us.
Atlas
AQUAS (Kingdom of)
ARKAN (Kingdom of, a.k.a. Ar)
DAWNRIM (Kingdom of)
GREY ISLANDS (Dominion of the)
HORKEN (Kingdom of)
IONACE (a.k.a. the Isle of Nayce)
LAGRIUS (Kingdom of)
MERIANDER (Kingdom of)
NOTRION (Kingdom of)
QEODHAR (Kingdom of)
SUNDSVALL MAELSTROM
SUNKEN ALPHATIAN MAINLAND
SURSHIELD (Kingdom of)
TURMOIL (Territory of)
VEROTH (Kingdom of)