Insight's Island of Monarie Setting

[Insight]

MONARIE'S OTHER ISLANDS
The island of MONARIE is flanked by three smaller islands: LION'S BAY ISLAND, SEAHORSE ISLAND, and SILVER ISLAND.

LION'S BAY ISLAND
Named for its large bay and for the name of its founder, EDRIN "THE LION" BILSEN, Lion's Bay Island is located in the RED SARGASSO SEA near the larger island of MONARIE. Lion's Bay is mostly covered in jungle vegetation and is known mainly for its bat population. Explorers insist that an ancient shipwreck lies at the bottom of the bay, but this has yet to be confirmed.

SEAHORSE ISLAND
This narrow, semi-circular strip of land in the RED SARGASSO SEA, near the island of MONARIE, is uninhabited and mostly covered in scrub brush and jungle forestation. Rumors about that pirates are using a hidden cove on Seahorse Island for a base of operations.

SILVER ISLAND
This roughly oval-shaped island, located in the RED SARGASSO SEA, southwest of the island of MONARIE, has proven bountiful in the mining and extraction of silver and other ores. Because of the island's active volcanos, however, settlers have yet to build a permanent colony. Instead, ships from PORT LUSITTER and, to a lesser extent, SANCTUARY, bring miners and laborers to Silver Island and supply the mines for up to a week from the ships. Fortunately, no volcanic eruption has yet halted mining operations.

Port Lusitter and Sanctuary maintain their own mining operations on Silver Island. The mines operated out of Port Lusitter enjoy a distinct advantage since that colony is about half the distance from Silver Island than Sanctuary is. Right now, this is a "friendly" rivalry, but it could turn into more of a direct competition if the VELONIAN EMPIRE, which owns Sanctuary, ever builds its second colony at RUER BAY.

 

[Insight]

SOUTHERN MONARIE
This post details the lands south of PORT LUSITTER and the LUSITTER RIVER.

Southern Monarie is characterized by its natural beauty, its jungles, and the towering mountains that form a southern butress against the sea. It is an untamed place, especially the JADE JUNGLE, populated with JADE TRIBESMEN, who are native to Monarie. The mountains, known as the SOUTHERN WALL, are rumored to be home to huge monsters and flying beasts.

BAY OF GHOSTS
Located in the middle of Monarie's western coast, the Bay of Ghosts is so named for the many lost sailors and ships crashed on the dangerous reefs surrounding its waters. Navigators traveling to PORT LUSITTER must take special care and follow closely their maps in order to avoid becoming another victim. The Bay of Ghosts, despite the hazards, is still quite popular.

THE STRETCH
This naked spit of isthmus runs from the AMBER JUNGLE in the north to the Jade Jungle in the south, Port Lusitter to the west. The Stretch is otherwise an unremarkable region of verdant, low-lying grassland.

THE GREEN COAST
A stretch of white sand beach that runs from SANCTUARY BAY in the north along Monarie's eastern coast to the ASHEN COAST in the south, sailors and fishermen alike appreciate the Green Coast's serenity and plentiful fishing opportunities.

THE ASHEN COAST
Located on the southeastern side of Monarie's eastern coast, between the Green Coast and the the BLEEDING COAST, the Ashen Coast is characterized by gray, ash-covered beaches and the foreboding volcanos known as THE LORDS that loom in the distance. Most steer far clear of this place, both for the volcanos and also for the rumored fiery creatures allegedly living in the area.

THE LORDS
These three volcanos tower over the Ashen Coast and are actively flowing with lava. The volcanos, named LORD AGAN, LORD BINAN, and LORD VASHER respect three Velonia nobles who helped discover the region and lost their lives in a minor eruption. As is the case with the Ashen Coast, there are rumors of strange, fiery beings living among the Lords.

JADE JUNGLE
Called "An Un Ve Ra" in the Southern Monaric Tribespeak language, the Jade Jungle is home to many Jade Tribesmen (they are numerous and not necessarily allied, but Honaric settlers refer to them as one group). A vast section of southern Monarie is covered in this tall, green jungle. It measures 160miles northwest to southeast and 100miles north to south. Strange ruins not built by the Jade Tribesmen have been reported in the jungle's southern reaches.

RUDD RIVER
Called "Pun Ha Rik" in the Southern Monaric Tribespeak language, this river flows northwest from the SOUTHERN WALL through the Jade Jungle, where it splits to become the RUER RIVER heading west and continues as the Rudd heading towards the Ashen Coast and the sea. The Jade Tribesmen fish in this river, using spears to catch various species of small, red and green fish they call "Taki Taki".

RUER RIVER
Called "Pun Ja Rik" in the Southern Monaric Tribespeak language, this river diverges from the Rudd River just inside the Jade Jungle and continues west towards RUER BAY and the sea. This and the Rudd River are considered sacred to the Jade Tribesmen and they are loath to allow foreigners to use the rivers for any reason.

RUER BAY
This bay, located at the delta where the Ruer River meets the sea, boasts a deep, natural harbor, sufficient for mooring ships of just about any size. Despite this feature, tales of strange monsters and tribes of cannibals kept early settlers away from Ruer Bay. Instead, Velonian settlers rounded the BLEEDING COAST and founded SANCTUARY to the northeast and Sundic settlers founded PORT LUSITTER to the north. Now that the rumors of cannibals and monsters have mostly been disproved, both Velonia and Sund have been at odds over the rights to settle Ruer Bay. The proximity to Silver Island makes Ruer Bay an ideal location for a second Velonian colony and, of course, Sund has been doing everything it can to delay or prevent the Empire from moving into the bay.

THE BLEEDING COAST
Travelers sailing for Monarie from Hoanar first come upon this broken coastline of dangerous reefs and forbidding cliffs. Pirates are keen to hide amongst the rocks and waylay unsuspecting ships. The Velonian navy has tried to police the Bleeding Coast, but has been mostly unsuccessful in ridding the area of pirates.

THE SOUTHERN WALL
The long mountain chain, known as "Um An Ra Ket" in the Southern Monaric Tribespeak language, forms a de facto southern border of the Jade Jungle as well as territories sacred to the Jade Tribesmen. While some tribes make homes in the mountains, most of the natives are fearful of the mountains, claiming that strange flying monsters live there. Honaric settlers have thus far been unable to survey the mountains for possible natural resources, but plan to do so soon.

 

[Leif]

Sorry for the delay, Insight. I was beginning to figure out how to put a character together, but I haven't looked at the book for a day or two now, and I'm afraid I may have forgotten what I learned. Hopefully, it'll be akin to riding a bike? Anyway, I hope to have something together by the end of the weekend. *Fingers Crossed!*

 

[Insight]

Sorry for the delay, Insight. I was beginning to figure out how to put a character together, but I haven't looked at the book for a day or two now, and I'm afraid I may have forgotten what I learned. Hopefully, it'll be akin to riding a bike? Anyway, I hope to have something together by the end of the weekend. *Fingers Crossed!*

Pace yourself. I don't expect anything to come together quickly. After all, I still have "Northern Monarie" to do, plus all of the organizations, politics, and religion and other crap.

 

[Leif]

Okay, thanks. And sounds like maybe YOU'RE the one who needs to pace yourself!

 

[Insight]

Yeah, maybe. I'm the kind of person who never completes things, so it's important to me to keep working at the setting until it's "done", whatever that means.

 

[Leif]

Don't give up! I like it!!

 

[Insight]

I've had a very long weekend (work interfered with what should have been a 3-day weekend).

I'll try to get Northern Monarie done this week.

 

[Insight]

NORTHERN MONARIE
This post details the sites north of THE STRETCH and the BAY OF GHOSTS.

Northern Monarie is characterized by its two settlements, PORT LUSITTER and SANCTUARY. It is more densely foliated than the south, and features both a large jungle and a swamp. The highlands, to the far north, are mostly unexplored and, according to legeng, populated with monsters and giants.

PORT LUSITTER
This port settlement, founded by the kingdom of SUND about 50 years ago, is located on the Bay of Ghosts on Monarie's central-western coast. Lusitter is considerably more liberal when it comes to laws and regulation, a contrast to the stricter nature of Sanctuary, Monarie's other port. Port Lusitter is ruled by a consortium of Sundic merchants, with little representation from the nobility. Guilds have been established to control most of Port Lusitter business, from fishing to shipping to hospitality to money-changing. The guilds are quite willing to allow those with money and power to do as they please, as long as activities don't interfere with or hamper business and the exchange of goods and services. Port Lusitter is in direct competition with Sanctuary for maritime rights, overseas business, and control of Monarie itself. Of particular interest to both parties is SILVER ISLAND, a mining site currently operated by both Lusitter and Sanctuary. The VELONIAN EMPIRE would very much like to build a settlement at RUER BAY, closer to Silver Island and, of course, Port Lusitter, much closer to the mines, would very much like to prevent this from happening.

LUSITTER RIVER
Like other sites named for JOHANNES LUSITTER, this river was "discovered" by the Sundic explorer and named in his honor. The native Monaric tribes in the area, the AMBER TRIBESMEN, refer to this river as "An Zhe Dul" in the Northern Monaric Tribespeak language.

AMBER JUNGLE
This large area of jungle, smaller than the southern JADE JUNGLE, creates a buffer between Port Lusitter and Sanctuary. It is home to the Amber Tribesmen, who refer to this sacred jungle as "Er On Um Kal". The jungle is a hot, humid place and few find comfort here. There are rumors of ancient ruins found while traveling through the jungle, but this has yet to be verified. The Amber Tribesmen, unlike the Jade Tribesmen of the south, are more welcoming to strangers and have made peace agreements with both the Kingdom of Sund and the Velonian Empire. This has kept the settlers from attacking the Amber Tribesmen and taking their sacred land.

AZURE PLAINS
Southwest of the Amber Jungle lie these rolling plains of blue-green grass peculiar to the island of Monarie. The Azure Plains, so named for these grasses, are home to many breeds of herd animals. Farmers from Sanctuary and Port Lusitter have started planting crops on these plains and raising livestock on these strange grasses, without any ill effect... so far.

AZURE RIVER
A beautiful river running down from the ANDRUS MOUNTAINS, through the Azure Plains, and to the sea, its pristine waters are said to have the ability to cure disease and mend wounds. The Amber Tribesmen call this river "Chun Dan" in Northern Monaric Tribespeak and revere it through several shrines located in the Amber Jungle.

SANCTUARY (Settlement)
This first Honaric settlement on the island of Monarie is several generations old now, with several waves of "native" Monarics born on the island. The VELONIAN EMPRE established Sanctuary as its port after attempts at mapping Monarie fell short of locating a more suitable harbor. The Velonians regard Monarie as an extension of their empire and so view Port Lusitter, the kingdom of Sund's settlement, as intrusion upon their territory. In fact, Sanctuary and Port Lusitter have been at odds ever since Sund sent explorers to the island to build a second settlement. Because of Sanctuary's location, it is no longer the preferred port of call for travelers coming from the continent of Hoanar, nor is Sanctuary the closest port to Silver Island, a bountiful mining location southwest of Monarie. For these reasons, Velonia has had its eye on Ruer Bay, a deep, natural harbor south of Port Lusitter (and thus closer to both Hoanar and Silver Island). Sanctuary is a strict, law-abiding society, much like the empire that spawned it. Some view Sanctuary's restrictions as too prohibitive on trade, but others point to Sanctuary's success in keeping pirates out of Sanctuary Bay, making Sanctuary a safe haven for maritime business.

[sblock=Left to Do]
SANCTUARY BAY

LUSITTER VALLEY

ANDRUS MOUNTAINS

LOST BAY

GRAY SWAMP

GRAY RIVER

SCREAMING VALLEY

CAPE OF FIRE

MOUNT HIGHFLAME

BIS MOUNTAINS

DAGGER BAY

MONARIC HIGHLANDS[/sblock]