Kingdoms and Empires of the Oceans

After the panoramic view of the seas from the Savage Coast to the Alphatian Sea in the previous issue of THRESHOLD Magazine^¹, we will now take a good look at all the other seas of Mystara, going counter clockwise from the north of Brun to the north of Skothar, visiting the Sea of Brun, the Far End Ocean, the Sea of Steam and the Sea of Skothar.

Image: Bathymetric map

http://pandius.com/Mystara72mphBathymetry.png
Caption: Bathymetric map of Mystara in 72 miles per hex, showing also the main sea currents (warm in green, cold in blue, neutral in gray).

In the bathymetric map of the Mystaran seas above I have indicated only three colors. The light blue one means depth is within 200 meters and it’s the real habitable zone of the seas. Only in this limited territory in fact photosynthesis is possible and algae can grow, sustaining a great variety of marine life. This is the only area permanently inhabited by intelligent creatures and dotted with their communities.
The middle blue one indicates a depth from 200 to 3,000 meters. Here there is little light and temperature rapidly drops to 5 or 6°C even in the tropical zone. Pressure goes from 20 to 300 bar. Yet a lot of fish and other marine creatures travel in this zone day and night. Penguins can dive down to 500 meters, hold their breath for almost half an hour and see well also in the dark, but seals see even better, and they can also navigate the dark waters with the vibrations of their whiskers and some can dive down to 1,500 meters. Turtles can dive down to 1,000 meters. Below the depth of about 1,000 meters, not even the little light which can filter from above is visible, and pitch darkness begins. Yet, dolphins and whales can use echolocation to find prey and avoid obstacles in the dark, and they can go at a depth of almost 3,000 meters and hold their breath for more than three hours. Intelligent creatures therefore can easily travel the blue sea as well, using marine animals or vessels, but they can hardly build permanent residences, unless they can anchor them to floating algae or some other floating structure.
The deep blue regions are areas from 3,000 meters to 15,000^² meters deep. Here only abyssal creatures can roam and live, in total darkness, at incredible pressure and temperature of about 2–4°C, sustaining themselves mostly with ‘marine snow’ i.e. the organic material which falls down from above, and eating each other. Still there is a great variety of life, and even some light, as several deep jellies or deep fish have bioluminescence or use it to lure prey^³.
Finally, green-blue areas in the map indicate vast regions of floating algae which normally correspond to warm ocean gyres^⁴. Such zones are typically inhabited by a lot of marine life and often also by intelligent creatures who can use floating algae to anchor their homes even in regions of deep waters.

Image: Mapped regions on the world map

http://pandius.com/MystaraOceansZones.png
A - Northern Sea of Brun
B - Southern Sea of Brun
C - Western Far End Ocean
D - Strait of Izonda
E - Adakkian Sound
F - Pelatan Coast
G - Antarctic Sea
H - Southern Vulcanian Sea
I - Fire Sea
J - Sea of Steam
K - Gulf of Mar
L - Cestian and Aryptian Coast
M - Oceanian Sea
N - Tangor Bay and Coast
O - Eastern Far End Ocean
P - Northeastern Sea of Skothar
Q - Central Sea of Skothar
R - Nentsun Sea

Image: Northern Sea of Brun region
http://pandius.com/SeaofBrunnorth.png

Sealfolk, Walrus men, and the Domain of Sedna

Bearded sealfolk, hooded sealfolk and walrus men, plus the other sealfolk who live in the western White Sea live also in its eastern part. These people normally have some bases on the coast as well, and even buildings, but live mostly underwater. The whole northeastern Brunian coast is dominated according to local legends by Sedna^⁵, a sea dragon or an Immortal, usually appearing in the form of a nixie or a dragon. Some stories say she is the daughter of the sea god Protius.

The Sea of Brun

The sea along the northwestern coast of Brun is inhabited by elephant wereseals, sea lion folks, some sea giants and kna clans and sea elves, who are quite numerous in the southern part, near the Sylvan Realm. These people are peaceful and rarely have had conflicts among them, but the deeper sea to the east is the domain of Arnapkapfaaluk^⁶, another being of uncertain nature, possibly another sea goddess or an ancient sea dragon. Arnapkapfaaluk is served by creatures that can live in the deep sea, such as devilfish, and feared all along the coast, as it is narrated that she devoured whole villages and communities which dared defy her. She often exacts tribute from the people of this region, normally in the form of food, but sometimes also asks for live members of the communities.

The Hollow World Sea

The northernmost Sea of Brun is already inside the Hollow World curvature. A reclusive community of opabinians^⁷, an intelligent race of crabmen-like creatures which in ancient times were much more common in the seas of Mystara, still survives here.

Image: Southern Sea of Brun region
http://pandius.com/SeaofBrunsouth.png

The Western Coast of Brun

The Western coast of Brun along the Endworld line is inhabited by a variety of intelligent races. The hydrax, creatures originally from the plane of water, have colonized the northern part of the coast and even partially the land, creating their own nation in the region^⁸. Just south of them there are the hresha-rhak^⁹ a strange amphibian race of fish men. Both cultures are quite reclusive, but the hresha-rhak actually trade with some of their neighbors. Further south there are the Rusalka nixies, the Moryana merrows and the Nanshe mermen^¹⁰. Merrows and mermen obviously should be the same race, but the two cultures have a long history of rivalry, so they call themselves and are called by other cultures with different terms^¹¹. The Nammu shark-kin live in the open sea, having adapted their culture and homes to travel the great cold current of this region of Brun they live in connected pods made of algae which floats in it.
Along the coast of the southern Arm of the Immortal the dominant culture is instead the Dogon kna^¹² who trade with Gombar, Suma’a and the other Tanagoro and tanagogre cultures of the region.

Gyre of the Cephalopodians

This region of the open sea is dominated by one of the biggest gyres of Mystara, a vast extension of algae inhabited mainly by cephalopodians^¹³ and kna, with not a small number of shark-kin too. The cities and communities of this region are anchored to the floating sargasso sea and float in a slow clockwise movement.

Agunua Lair

The creature who rules over the southern islands of this area and its inhabitants, mostly kna and shark-kin but other sea races too, is a mysterious entity who could be either a very powerful and ancient sea dragon or an Immortal.

Image: Western Far End Ocean region
http://pandius.com/Farendoceanwest.png

Ostracoderm Kna, Nautilodians, and Acanthodian Shark-kin

The undersea people who live in the northern part of this region of the Western Far End Ocean are likely living fossils of past ages^¹⁵. The ostracoderm kna have an external carapace, which makes them quite formidable opponents. They had a true empire spanning a large area of the ocean once but nowadays they dominate over a much smaller territory and have become a relatively peaceful people. Unlike the common kna, trade is not their main interest, but they have relations with neighbors over and below the waves. The surface islands of this region are inhabited by several people descended from Oltec and Tanagoro humans, elves, tortles, and crabmen. The nautilodians are intelligent creatures vaguely similar to the cephalopodians described earlier, but they have also an external shell over head and back. They also have a form of empathic communications between them and have built a strong and unified nation, currently at peace with other races. Finally the acanthodian shark-kin are an ancient race of shark-kin with rounded heads and spiny fins, bigger than the standard shark-kin but rather peaceful.

The Momoke Nixies and the Parica Empire

All the people above are threatened by a rising power in the western and southern part of this region, the Parica Empire, created by merrows and sea elves, who have subjugated many other peoples, such as crabmen, snappers, shimmerfish, kna, and shark-kin. The Empire is expanding in the region and has obtained the alliance of the Momoke nixies, a group which has basically enslaved many inhabitants of the surface islands by charming chiefs, shamans and wizards. The Parica Empire is now trying to do the same in all this region of the ocean.

Image: Strait of Izonda region
http://pandius.com/StraitofIzonda.png

The Southern Arm of the Immortal

This region of the sea, dominated in the east by snappers and shimmerfish, is ruled on the western coast by the Agwè merrows^¹⁶, who have mixed relations with surface dwellers and other inhabitants of the sea, sometimes trading peacefully and sometimes helping pirates. In truth, the Agwè are divided into multiple clans with different attitudes and agendas.

The Strait and the Ruins of Y’hog

Here starts the greatest abyss of the world of Mystara, It’s also the location of the cursed ruins of Y’hog, capital of an ancient and evil empire of reptilian creatures, the carnifex^¹⁷. Few inhabitants of the sea know about this lost history and fewer suspect its evil still lives here, as the very few who have explored these cursed ruins have not returned to tell the tale.

The Arican Coast and the Silver Coast

The region of northeastern Davania, inhabited by descendants of Tanagoro colonists, zebrataurs and other races, is called Arica^¹⁸. Its coast is dominated by the Olokun kna, who are a real trade power in a vast area of the sea, reaching also hundreds of miles south, north and east. Their southern neighbors are the Mindis omm-wa, a peaceful culture, while to the east there is the realm of Chicamassichinuinji, a very powerful dragon who dominates over sea giants, kna, and other undersea races^¹⁹. The Silver coast^²⁰ is the region north of Izonda and east of the straits, dominated by Lusca^²¹, a mysterious being, possibly a giant octopus or maybe a creature mutated by the evil magic of Y’hog, feared by all the kna, shark-kin and crabmen tribes which live here.

Image: Castle underwater
http://pandius.com/senarch2323_underwater_fantasy_city_under_the_sea_intricate_sun_4c29bca1-90c7-444a-9ffd-03834642a4c0.png
Caption: Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Image: Adakkian Sound region
http://pandius.com/Adakkiansound.png

The Adakkian Sound and Eastern Silver Coast

The seabed of this region has a large expanse of habitable depth especially in the south, while the area is much smaller in the north. The Eastern Silver Coast is dominated under the sea by the crabmen, who also have a surface nation^²². The rest of the Sound is home to several other races. Often aggressive shark-kin tribes dominate the northern part, often in alliance with the lizardmen and troglodytes of the surface. In the south live the shrimpmen, a sort of sub-race of timid and peaceful crabmen. The Yara nixies have a sinister reputation of killers and kidnappers, and some legends say they are indeed velya, or dominated by them. The Yacuruna merrows^²³, a people which lives in the southernmost part of the Sound, are said to ride crocodiles and be able to turn into dolphins.

Image: Pelatan Coast region
http://pandius.com/Pelatancoast.png

The Great Sea Dragon Abyss

This is the greatest abyss among the seas of Mystara, and is believed to be responsible for an event known as “The Sea Dragon’s Wrath” which every five years causes thunderstorms and floods in all of Western Davania from the months of Flaurmont to Sviftmont. No one really knows if there is actually a sea dragon or more than one, living in these depths.

The Open Sea and the Gyre of the Sea Elves

A significant number of sea elves who left the sea around Evergrun after the Great Rain of Fire decided to stop in a series of islands and a great plateau in the middle of the open sea, forging an alliance with local merrows, nixies and kna, where they still reside to this day. They have also colonized the gyre which takes its name from them, anchoring homes under the floating algae of this region.

Image: Underwater city
http://pandius.com/Senarch_a_city_of_brain_coral_houses_under_the_sea_epic_sunlit__6045ae0d-7401-47e2-b224-bf3c9232f9d1.png
Caption: Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

The Coast of the Bay of Pelatan

The habitable regions along the coast are inhabited by many sea races. The north is the domain of Mama Qucha^²⁴, as she is called in the Matriarchy of Pelatan, a very ancient sea dragon who is the undisputed master of the coast and has subjects of all the possible undersea races. Mama Qucha gets along quite fine with the leadership of Pelatan, to the point of being willing to defend the nation from possible invaders from the sea and even pirates.
More to the south, Coi Coi-Vilu and the Sumpall merrows^²⁵ are considered rivals of Mama Qucha, or at least unwilling to submit to her. It’s not clear if Coi Coi Vilu is a sea dragon or a dragon turtle. This region of the coast is also inhabited by southern fur sealfolk^²⁶, a peaceful people but well able to defend themselves from intrusion of other races.

Image: Antarctic Sea region
http://pandius.com/Antarticsea.png

The Ice Elves of the Sea and the Sea Ice Salamanders

These two peoples live respectively west and east of Evergrun. The former elven island is still inhabited by those elves who refused to leave it and have adapted to the extreme cold of the region. The ice elves of the sea are allied with the ice elves of the surface, while the sea ice salamanders are an intelligent breed that has adapted to undersea life. They are rivals if not enemies of the elves, as are their allies, the Air Empire^²⁷ of the clouds above this region of the sea. The Air Empire is inhabited mainly by cloud giants and several races of air elementals.

The Southern Sealfolk and the Penguinfolk

The Davanian coast in this region is inhabited by several races of sealfolk, like the sea lion folk, the crabeater sealfolk, the elephant sealfolk, the leopard sealfolk, and the eye sealfolk^²⁸. These peoples are generally organized in clans; almost all domesticate sea mammals as mounts, and some are more aggressive than others toward their neighbors. In the region, there also live different clans and races of penguinfolk, which could be considered a local variant of gyerians. The biggest emperor penguinfolk tend to dominate the smallest races. Penguinfolk often have an enmity with sealfolk. The two people normally avoid each other, but clashes are not particularly rare.

Image: Southern Vulcania region
http://pandius.com/SouthVulcaniansea.png

Ikatere Kna and Sealfolk

This region of the sea is inhabited mainly by the same sealfolk races we have encountered in the previous region, plus the leptonychotes sealfolk^²⁹, who are indeed expanding both in the Vulcanian Sea and toward the Antarctic Sea. This breed of sealfolk has already subjugated several clans of other sealfolk, penguinfolk, and kna, and harbors many shamans and wicca, so they could well be on the verge of founding a true nation or even an empire.
If they expand too much north they could well clash with the Ikatere kna^³⁰, a true nation of kna and merrows which dominates the coast and the seabed around multiple islands of this region and further north.

Ponaturi and Taniwha of Cape Fire

The region around Cape Fire is inhabited mainly by the taniwha shark-kin, a bigger variety of the more common race, and the ponaturi^³¹, a race of goblin-like creatures, with relevant magical abilities, of unknown origin and descendance. The two races do not get along much and while the taniwha are generally benevolent toward the inhabitants of the surface, the ponaturi are not.

The Fire Abyss and Nearby Inhabitants

The Fire Abyss is a deep sea region with volcanic activity, which often has warm currents or steam explosions rising from the depths. It’s inhabited only by devilfish, velya, and monsters. Around it there are found more peaceful cultures: the rongomai whales, the ruahine kna, and the ammonitians. The rongomai whales are intelligent marine mammals with important magical abilities, the ruahine kna are expert wizards and traders in magic, and the ammonitians are a race of shelled and intelligent sea snails^³².

The Steam Abyss and the Nearby Islands

The Steam Abyss is reputedly inhabited only by monsters, devilfish, and other nasty creatures, but the seabed of the islands around it are the home of shark-kin, merrows, and a unique form of crabmen, the trilobitian^³³, of ancient origin. These peoples get along well among themselves as they often have to cooperate to fight monsters exiting the Abyss or Ancient Lhomarr.

Image: Ruins of Lhomarr
http://pandius.com/Senarch_underwater_lair_of_the_dread_devlifish_ruins_in_the_sun_c4a8dfec-1352-4da8-83fe-5289ff330fd8.png
Caption: Ruins of Lhomarr, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Ancient Lhomarr

Here in the remote past of Mystara lay a great island which came to dominate half of Davania, but was destroyed in a terrible war with the carnifex of Y’hog^³⁴. Now the ruins are infested by devilfish, undead, and hresha-rhak^³⁵, and a militaristic nation of tritons who stubbornly resist them. These tritons consider themselves descendants of the ancient empire of Lhomarr^³⁶.

Fire Bay

The region of Fire Bay is inhabited by the fire kna, a culture with great magical abilities and good relations with the gnomes of the coast. The seabed around a nearby island is instead the domain of Phorcys and Ceto^³⁷, a king and a queen of the local merrows who have a somewhat sinister fame as powerful wizards and creators of monsters and mutants.

Green Bay and Vulture Peninsula

The Green Bay coast is the undisputed domain of Rahab, a sea dragon who rules over the local kna and merrows. Another sea dragon named Labbu^³⁸ rules instead the northern coast of the Vulture Peninsula, and the enmity between the two is legendary. The local nagpa have so far tried in vain to control either dragon.

Gulf of Mar

The northern part of the gulf is inhabited by many omm-wa, kna, and some crabmen. Omm-wa predominate toward Cestia, while the west is the domain of Thaumas, another merrow king famous for his magical abilities. Thaumas is negotiating an alliance, or a war, with the Heldannic knights of Vanya’s Rest who have taken residence in what he considers to be ‘his’ gulf. The open sea of the gulf is inhabited by the Leviathan, a mythical sea serpent of gigantic size, feared by all undersea creatures and surface folk’s ships.

L) Cestian and Aryptian Coast

Pass of Cestia

The Pass, which is inhabited to the south mostly by the peaceful omm-wa, is infested in its northern expanse by the feared Cestian snappers and by the electric fish, a particular subrace of devilfish who can attack with a strong discharge of electric force. Fortunately for the surface and undersea inhabitants of the area, the two races hate each other passionately and therefore are more often busy assaulting each other than other people.

Aryptian Coast

The seabed of this coast is infested with aggressive sea serpents, some say created or bred by the serpentines of Arypt before the Great Rain of Fire, to protect their coast from a possible Blackmoorian invasion^³⁹. In this region there is the domain of Yam^⁴⁰, another unknown being who could be a sea dragon, a deity, or a powerful kna sorcerer, notorious also because it seems that in the past he tried to conquer the surface, or at least a big tract of the coast, by colonizing rivers and lakes with his subjects. More to the west live the rayfish, a specific subrace of devilfish, who, very differently from their more famous cousins, are peaceful and friendly, even if they often suffer for the bad reputation of the devilfish.

M) Oceanian Sea

Oceania and Everfeed

The seabed around Oceania, probably influenced by the presence of night dragons on the surface, is infested by monsters of all kinds and some corrupted sea dragons in the process of becoming night dragons themselves. Around Everfeed the local sea elves resist against these monsters, helped by nixies, tritons, merrows, kna, and other races. To the east there is the Gyre of the Angelshark-kin. This subrace of shark-kin is friendly and has often helped the sea elves against the monsters of Oceania.

The Tangor Coast

The seabed along the southern coast of Skothar is inhabited by many sea races but dominated by the Nommo kna, a specific culture which is more focused on religion than trade. The Tarystian Bay however is dominated by Hedammu^⁴¹, a ravenous and tyrannical sea dragon, while the Gulf of Tangor is inhabited by the merrows and nixies of Queen Mami Wata^⁴² who are generally peaceful but occasionally kidnap surface folk.

N) The Tangor Bay and Coast

The Bay

This region of Skothar has the most extensive habitable seabed of the continent, and therefore is densely populated by undersea races, but dominated by four main cultures. The Apas merrows are a very religious but peaceful culture. The sea drakes are a specific undersea subspecies of mandrake and woodrake. The Dewi Lanjar merrows are a sophisticated and ancient culture, builders of magnificent undersea structures. Finally the Renyu kna are a ‘traditional’ kna culture, who also trade with surface dwellers and have built a strong confederation of cities.^⁴³

The Coast

Ao Run and Ao Qin are two very powerful sea dragons who style themselves respectively the Dragon King of the Western Sea and the Dragon King of the Southern Sea. The islands to the south however are dominated by Ayida Weddo, another sea dragon who claims the open sea, while another one, Bakunawa, claims the coast to the east. All these dragons have many subjects, especially kna, merrows and sea drakes. Mau Thoai is instead a powerful creature, maybe a nixie or an Immortal, who rules over local kna and merrows. The Siyokoy kopru are not as devious and manipulative as their western cousins are, or at least they hide it very well, and have good relations with the kna, shark-kin and merrows who live in their region. The Amanikable merrows to the east on the other hand seem less peaceful, and nearby undersea races fear they are preparing a war of conquest.^⁴⁴

O) The Western Far End Ocean

The Southeastern Skotharian Coast

The extreme southeast of Skothar’s coast is inhabited by Imoogi kna, a culture which venerates sea dragons and specifically Watatsumi, a powerful one who has his lair here and dominates also the nearby Amahiko merrows.^⁴⁵

The Sea Kingdoms of the Far End Ocean

The habitable seabed of the ocean is only a small part around the islands, but the sheer number of islands is impressive. Most, but not all, are also inhabited by several different cultures of land dwellers who have come in wave after wave over the centuries. Inhabitants of the land and of the sea have joined into so-called Sea Kingdoms, a confederation of land and sea peoples, with surface people dominating the undersea inhabitants—or the opposite. The distance between the surface peoples’ and the undersea peoples’ settlements is in fact so minimal in the islands of the Far End Ocean that it is practically impossible to avoid contact, cooperation, and conflict. The islands are inhabited by more or less all possible undersea races, but especially merrows, tritons, shark-kin and sealfolk, sea giants and sea elves, kna and kopru, weresharks and wereseals, the latter two being usually land dwellers maintaining constant contact with their undersea masters or subjects.
Some sea kingdoms have risen to particular prominence over several islands and surface folks, like the Dakuwaqa shark-kin, the Tinirau mermen, the Realm of Nyai Roro Kidu with its sea giants guards, and the tritons serving the sea dragon Ryujin.^⁴⁶

P) The Northeastern Skothar Sea

The Sea of Zyxl

The sea north of Zyxl is inhabited by the Umibozu sea giants and sea ogres who are generally quite confrontational with surface folks and ships and undersea races. The Ebisu whales who live north of them are not so unfriendly, and are even known to sometimes help ships in danger during storms.^⁴⁷

The Coast and the Deep Beholders Abyss

The abyss, which runs all along the northeastern coast of Skothar, is inhabited by nasty and aggressive deep beholders who often venture to less deep regions of the sea with nefarious purposes. The Kappa snappers and the Ningyo merrows who live along the coast often have to deal with them. Both peoples are not too hostile to surface dwellers, or at least much less than the deep beholders. The sea dragon Ao Kuang who dominates the coast to the northwest has quite a sinister reputation as well.^⁴⁸

Q) Sea of Skothar

The Central Coast

The north central coast of Skothar is inhabited by many undersea races, with a certain prominence of merrows, kna, sea beholders, and shark-kin. From the south, the Mazu merrows are a peaceful people who sometimes have troubles with the northern sea beholders. The domain of Ao Shun, the sea dragon of the north, fortunately keeps the beholders in check. The Jiaoren shark-kin and the Chiru merrows have less problematic neighbors, even if they occasionally have to defend themselves from Ao Shun’s attempts to conquer the whole coast.^⁴⁹

R) The Nentsun Sea

Sealfolk of the North and the Undead Sea

The northwestern sea of Skothar is home to several races of sealfolk: the spotted sealfolk, ribbon sealfolk, northern fur sealfolk, and the walrus men. The first three races are rather peaceful while the latter are more belligerent. And they often need their strength to fight the undead, which abound along the coast near the site of former Blackmoor, where the millions who died in the Great Rain of Fire keep rising as lightning zombies or velya, possibly created by some malevolent power which still lurks in the depths.

1See THRESHOLD Magazine issue #31 here in the Vaults http://pandius.com/Threshold_31.pdf and the first part of this article also in html here http://pandius.com/oceanemp.html

2Depth of The Abyss in PC3 map is given at more than 50,000 feet.

8Created by LoZompatore here in the Vaults http://pandius.com/klagregn.html and expanded in the Mystaran Almanacs later http://pandius.com/greenkhl.html

9Created by LoZompatore and Geoff Gander here in the Vaults http://pandius.com/klagregn.html and later expanded in the Mystaran Almanacs http://pandius.com/kermin.html

10Inspired by Slavic and Middle-eastern aquatic creatures, as the area is inhabited by Mystaran cultures inspired by them, see Rusalka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka, Moryana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moryana, Nanshe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanshe and later in the text Nammu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nammu

11The DM could choose to differentiate the two cultures by using the merman AD&D (or later editions) description for the ‘mermen’ rather than the BECMI D&D merrow description and statistics.

12Inspired by a real world African culture which has legends of fish men, the Nommo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nommo

13 These creatures are similar to illithids in aspect. The DM may choose to give them psionic powers or not. They could be the ancestors of the more famous Spelljammer illithids.

14Obviously for the inhabitants of the Far End Ocean, this is the Eastern part, but here in the article I’ve called it Western as so it appears in the world map above.

16Name inspired by the real world Haitian loa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agw%C3%A9 with the different clans inspired by different aspects of the mythical spirit

17Created by Geoff Gander here in the Vaults http://pandius.com/lore.html and later also expanded in THRESHOLD magazine #5 with description of its current state, html version here http://pandius.com/yhogbprt.html

18Created by Steven Wilson here in the Vaults http://pandius.com/aricad.html

20See also THRESHOLD Magazine issue #5 and especially this article by me http://pandius.com/iznddeep.html

21Inspired by this real world creature of Caribbean folklore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusca

22Created by me for the Mystaran Almanac of 1019 AC http://pandius.com/tlikkil1.html and later also described in THRESHOLD Magazine issue #5.

24Inspired by an Incan deity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mama_Qucha. About the Matriarchy of Pelatan see also THRESHOLD Magazine issue #5.

27The Air Empire is fully my invention, see also THRESHOLD Magazine #24 and this article http://pandius.com/msubset2.html, while Evergrun as a still inhabited land was an idea introduced by LoZompatore here http://pandius.com/evergrun.html and in other articles and later also developed by Omnibius in one of his pdf supplements here http://pandius.com/Evergrum.pdf

30Inspired by a polynesian and Maori divinity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikatere

32Inspired by Maori mythology again, Rongomai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongomai and Ruahine, and by ancient sea creatures, the Ammonites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonoidea

33Inspired obviously by these real ancient creatures, the trilobites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite

34See Lhomarr: The Land, Its People, and Their History: by Geoff Gander in the Vaults http://pandius.com/lho_hist.html

35Also created by Geoff Gander here in the Vaults http://pandius.com/ubbeth.html, inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s stories

36Author’s idea and not Geoff’s. As in PC3 it’s written that tritons escaped in the Sunlit Sea as they were pursued by devilfish, this could also be the original homeland of both races.

37Inspired by these mythological creatures, Phorcys and Ceto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorcys

38Inspired by Hebrew and Mesopotamian mythical monsters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labbu

39About the rivalry between Blackmoor and the serpentines of Davania see The Age of Blackmoor by James Mishler in the Vaults http://pandius.com/ageblack.html

42Inspired by the African and American goddess Mami Wata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mami_Wata

49Inspired by a Chinese sea goddess https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazu, the Chinese sea dragon of the Northern sea, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_King#Dragon_of_the_Northern_Sea and generic oriental names.