Enultramar

Alshari Arms

Map of the Great Bay

The Great Bay of Enultramar is a vast body of water at the southern end of the duchy of Alshar, and the center of its maritime and commercial power. The Bay was originally settled by Cormeeran Sea Lords during the First Magocracy as a pirate port and distant haven from the Archmage of Perwyn's growing navy. There were only a few native human tribes living in around the Bay, which were easily conquered. The Sea Lords of Enultramar chose the Sea Axe as their symbol. The Bay is protected by the Shoals of Sinbar, a great reef and underwater ridge running east to west across the mouth of the Bay. Without knowledge of the Shoals, it is very easy to wreck a ship on the imposing reefs. The Bay is fed by the River Mandros, the great central river that runs from north to south near the center of the Great Vale, the Coastlands, and thence into the Bay.

During the Second Magocracy the Archmage determined that the Sea Lords of Alshar were a hazard to shipping to and from the peninsula of Farise, one of the Magocracy's richest colonies. They sent expeditions of warmagi and mercenaries to conquer and subdue the pirates, who had settled many havens along the coastlines of the Bay. During a series of wars the Imperial Magocracy eventually drove the worst of the Sea Lords to either abandon their havens or submit to the Archmage. During their war, the Magelords discovered a very fertile country beyond the stark and barren coastlines, and began importing labor and colonists from Farise, Merwyn, and Vore to settle and farm the coastlands. The Coastlords, as the newcomers were called. They focused on food and wine productions and commerce, using their Sea Lord vassals knowledge of distant lands to build a commercial power in the west. The Archmage's representative took residence at the important inland riverport of Falas, from whence he ruled. This magelord's palace at Falas was known as the Tower Arcane, or the Tower of Sorcery.

After the Narasi Conquest of the Magocracy, the Coastlords of Enultramar held out for a few years on their own, in alliance with Farise. While the Narasi barbarians were horselords, their alliances with Cormeerans led to the youngest of King Kamaklavan's five sons to take ship with an army and conspire to wrest from the Coastlords dominion over the land the king had promised him as his legacy. With concerted effort the Narasi invaders conquered the Straights of Sinbar and made common cause with the Sea Lords of Enultramar against the Coastlords. They conquered Falas, deposed the old regent, and installed Tirine as Duke of Alshar, as well as the Count of Falas. Thus began the Ducal House of Alshar who initially took the Anchor and the Sea Axe, combined, as his device.

Though the Coastlands were well-settled, the Narasi conquerors found land more to their liking in the northern Great Vale. While not as fertile as the Coastlands, the Great Vale was good ranching country which suited the horse-obsessed Narasi knights well. This suited both the Coastlords and the Sea Lords, for the Narasi nobility seemed to take little interest in maritime affairs. After a generation, most of the Ducal Court offices involving the Great Bay were held by Coastlords and Sea Lords, as was tradition.

The greatest cities on the Bay are Gavina and Ganivet, both near the Mandros Delta; other important cities around the Bay include Gavinal, Argarus, Vaxel, and Oskatialy, the traditional haven and seat of the Lord of the Waves, the court official in charge of security and defense of the Great Bay. A vast sea fortress is the linchpin of that defense, guarding the Shoals of Sinbar and making it nearly impossible for a navy to enter the Great Bay without its permission.

Once Gilmora and the Wilderlands were discovered and settled in the early days of the Narasi conquest, and included under the control of the Duke of Alshar, "Enultramar" became a shorthand term for the bulk of Southern Alshar, although this technically references the Great Bay and its surrounding lands, only.