The Tolan Shore stretches over 1500 miles, from the ruined Algorand Capital of Celebrent to the Meleta shore to the south east. The map to the right shows the northern half of the coast, which contains the starting campaign region of Trionesse (shown by the box near the middle).
See Languages for Tolan area tongues.
Highlights of the Northeast Tolan Shore
Celebrent
The Algorand Imperial capital had over 2 million citizens at the time of the Cataclysm. Several sets of earlier walls had long been overgrown and the capital stretches for many miles along the shore and Haladrin River with fertile farmland in land for hundreds of miles in all direction. The Cataclysm was particularly severe in this region, leveling most structures, dropping Celebrent into the sea so that it only exposed for 10 hours at lowest tide. Much of the rich hinterland also sank and was broken forming the Mercian Marshes, a bleak expanse of bog-pools and soft ground. Nearly all Celebrent citizens died in the initial floods and earthquakes as did most people for hundreds of miles around as this land was low and quickly flooded by the sea.
The College of Wizards dominate an island northwest of Celebrent. The Cataclysm leveled all the buildings of the college and shattered most of the underground chanbers as well as permanently sinking the college beneath the waters, even at low tide.
Tascan Wastes
This region of poor soils supported few people even before the Cataclysm. The bedrock is limestone with rivers mostly underground or sunken in deep canyons leaving the surface lands dry and mostly barren. The underground cave system here is extensive and since the Cataclysm, many Dwaro have moved to these shallow caves from their deep caves in the Rikenkevar Mountains.
The Great Notch
The Great Notch splits the Rikenkevar Mountains providing the only overland passage through the heart of these immense mountains. It is a natural cleft whose rise is limited to no more than 10 miles over its entire length of nearlt 500 miles. It is still a great hardship but nothing near the 200 mile peaks to either side of it. Nearly always in shadow, it is a gloomy place.
The notch averages about 40 miles in width although in places this drops to 10 miles or less. Much of the floor of the notch is rubble and talus from the mountains on either side. The Dwaro during their imperial age created the first passages through the notch, a combination of roads and tunnels (some 10s of miles long). The Algorand restored these passages and added regular stopping places at 20 mile intervals. They also bypassed nearly all the tunnels although the old tunnels do remain.
Calanthar Minara
The great isle of Calantha Minara is first major island in the Calantha group northeast of Celebrent. It faired well in the Cataclysm and represents one of the higher levels of civilization in the world at this time. Thanks to the treacherous tides, the people of the island keep to their island.
Elven Forests
Trionesse, the elvish forest in the campaign start area is discribed elsewhere Trionesse.
Oscan Forest
This elvish domain was one of the more isolated Elvish forests in Imperial times, infamous for its dark wizards. It escaped the Cataclysm nearly unharmed. The Oscan elves keep to themselves.
Isharia Forest
The Isharia elves claim to be the oldest in the world and their claim may have merit. Unlike most elves, they have more advanced crafts and tend to live on the ground in stone structures. Most other elvish woods, except the Oscan, acknowledge the Isahria overlordship, at least in principle if rarely in action. The inundations during the Catalysm affected about a third of the Isharia domains.
Orcan Woods
These elves were very imperialized during the empire with sizable human populations in their woods and a number of mixed race cities. The Cataclysm inundated much of the forest however and the resulting famine saw mcuh interracial strife. The humans disposed the remaining elves of the woods with the few refugees finding haven in Isharia and Oscan. These elves nurse a bitter hatred of the humans for bringing on the Cataclysm and slaughtering their people who had open their woods to the humans.
Talindria Forest
Talindria is a wild forest of land steeply rising into the high mountains to its northeast. This rise saved the forest from the worst of the inundations with only a tenth of it flooded at the Cataclysm. Hilly, mountainous in places and cut by deep rivers, passage through these woods is difficult. The elves make only light paths and temporary bridges through their domains for security reasons. These elves have some tree-houses but tend to favor high perches in the hills or deep river canyons.
The Talindria elves do not tolerate outsiders in their woods. They even bar travel on the old Imperial road on the coast.
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