Thoughts on Regelnis
by Geoff GanderRegelnis is also known as "the Shield Land", because it has been in the path of many of the perils that have threatened the empire over the millennia - the most recent of which was the Fallen Realm of Ildarinos (the battle markers on the map all date from that period). The Ormincarith ("Cold River", and it does live up to its name) was the site of a series of skirmishes too numerous to note on a map of this scale, and at one time a series of wooden fortresses ran along the "western" (i.e., our eastern) bank to hold the line. Most of these have long since rotted away, but a lone tower or two can still be found.
The city of Olathis, once a jewel of the early empire, was besieged by Ildarinos and was the site of brutal fighting. Ildarinos prevailed in the end, but gained a bloodstained pile of rubble. After it was defeated, the survivors had no heart to rebuild and instead re-founded the city further north. The Belothian Way bypasses Old Olathis entirely, and few people visit the grass-covered ruins now.
The other quirk is the exclave of Caltirnos, which is surrounded by the Imperial Domain. This was not a product of battle, but (depending on who you speak to) a tidy way to resolve a question of inheritance, a reward for secret deeds done in the service to a long-dead emperor, or a means of hushing an illegitimate birth.
Our journey through Selhomarr continues. After perhaps running afoul of the corrupted animals of Inithandur (the Cursed Forest) - Varannis isn't quite your cup of ale. Following the Belothian Way along the Bay of Thass takes you past many peaceful-looking villages, but some have a unique character.
Torsanon, right over the border in Regelnis (or "the Shield Land", as locals call it) stands out because the warehouses of its waterfront market, as well as the temple of Xeron, look like overturned ships - which in fact they are (the village's name means "built of ships"), a testament to its founding by survivors of a wrecked fleet centuries ago. Further south is the quiet, provincial capital of Olathis - the new one, actually; the original Olathis is now an overgrown ruin further south and circumvented by the road. Few in the city will speak of what befell the old capital, but some might utter "Ildarinos" and spit on the ground.
The paved and broad Belothian Way continues around the bay, passing through more communities whose names tell the stories of their founding, from Marelnarion ("caused by sea winds"), Carnosion ("caused by a storm" - a particularly bad hurricane forced voyagers to seek shelter in a well-protected bay ages ago, and they decided to settle), Anyosion ("born of a bay" - the entire village hugs the steep cliffs surrounding a narrow bay, and there are no streets so much as staircases).
Regelnis ends at the border of the Imperial Domain, a region ruled directly by the imperial family - or more accurately their officials; although oddly enough there is a small exclave (a territory surrounded by imperial lands) where the port of Caltirnos ("place of glass") stands.
The interior is sparsely inhabited, partly due to the aptly-named Windy Plains, which are battered by gale-force winds in the stormy seasons. The Ormincarith (Cold River) slowly winds northwards from the Lhomarrian Range through the plains, carrying frigid glacial meltwater. The rotting remains of wooden fortifications erected to prevent Ildarinian attacks may be found here, and one does not have to dig deeply to find an old battlefield. Few twisted creatures from Inithandur make it this far, but they are not unknown. Danger is more likely to come from the forests of Ardeth to the south, as well as the distant mountains.