a world grown up around an inland sea

a few highlights on the tour

with and without borders

As the map suggests, Halurál is a region composed of many nations, each with its own culture, its own military, its own economic interests to protect. That wasn’t always the case, though; the Kula Ze Ahn Empire once covered all the territories west of the spine of mountains running parallel to the ocean’s coast both north and south of the Halu. Only Soubrál never came under its power, a tradition still felt to the present. The Empire is hated and admired by every people to have claimed a portion of what were once its territories.

The Frees (in the southwest corner) are the oldest cities to be continuously inhabited. North of the Frees lies Soubrál. It is central to the story but its people are perpetual outsiders in the region. They shun outsiders and won’t tell stories of their gods; whether or not they have reason to be reticent, you’ll have to judge. I should point out that the Omcotons are volcanic, an important fact you won’t want to lose sight of.

The story is set in the Cities of Liath-Tamren and all the action takes place within the nation Golgalesse. It was once an imperial outpost, like so much of the region. After the Empire withdrew its legions, barbarians fleeing unending winters in the north conquered the area, including a younger, smaller version of the Cities. To this day, there’s a cultural divide between the Gash ruling class and the Liathm natives.

Liath-Tamren

they call it ‘the Cities’ for a reason

Liath, Tamren, Tamren-Beyond-the-Walls

There have been two distinct settlements here since they were nothing more than hamlets; local wisdom will tell you Obuda in the south and Streetersail in the north are the oldest neighborhoods. Liath was conquered by the Gash nearly a hundred years after its sister-city. After generations of rebellions, the King tore down its walls and outlawed their rebuilding. The third city, with more space and more sprawl, dates to the building of Tamren’s walls. Everything is more expensive within Tamren’s walls, and the second that became the case, there were people who opted not to pay.

TAMREN

As a rule, the most expensive neighborhoods are in Tamren. This doesn’t mean the city is entirely full of rich people; Clovis and Basilisk especially are famously home to hard-working bourgeois all living in cramped apartments over their shops. Tamren is also home to Golgalesse’s homegrown cabal, the Meddressahn, whose guildhall lies in Finette Park. Most of the government is here — the Mayor’s Hall and courthouse — reflecting the truth that there’s a hierarchy, conqueror/ conqueree. The Havlsburg, which is the palace and the rocky bluff it stands on, is located in Tamren but barely a part of the Cities it rules.

TAMREN-BEYOND-THE-WALLS

Tamren-Beyond-the-Walls is populated almost entirely by immigrants, in the special sense that some of these newcomers have been here for generations. This is where the ‘barbarians’ make their homes. It’s younger than the rest of the Cities, tame and suburban in comparison. Most of the best markets are here, but the iconic cultural institutions are almost exclusively in the older cities.

LIATH

Liath is much larger than its sister on account of the lack of walls; drawing a line based on where they used to be, it would include only the neighborhoods of Magnolia, Oest, Obuda, Towellyton, Hannibal, Oyster Fair, Rookswood, and the Kulahn Quarter. The rest are hamlets engulfed as the city expanded over the centuries.

The Kulahn Quarter is home to the University. Its presence shapes the character of the areas around it: bars and cheap restaurants abound and all the larger houses have been subdivided into apartments. Magnolia, Oest, and Obuda are the worst slums, notorious in all three Cities. Hannibal is where the Malisaat make their home.

boundaries within boundaries

Liath-Tamren is the biggest urban center in this world, chock-full of foreigners who make it their home. The natives themselves are a conquered people, ruled over by barbarian invaders whose ruling class never intermarried with them. You may have noticed all the churches; only maybe half of them are devoted to the local faith. There are racial and economic hostilities, fault lines between borders and faiths. Even the residents of each city have a grudge against the others.

Like any melting pot, it’s defined by both tension and potential. It will affect how they deal with a crisis, for better or for worse.

Halural