Braided Shore

The **Braided Shore** comprises the western peninsula of a large uncharted land mass to the east. The Braided Shore's chief urban hub and capital city is Kasa.

## Etymology

The name Braided Shore was given to the land by the Asken, whose search for a homeland brought with it a yearning for the order and harmony symbolised in braids.

## Geography

The Braided Shore is bordered to the north by the Sleeping Sea, to the west by the Great Casso and to the south by the Great Southern Veil. The lands east of Braided Shore are barred from exploration by cliffs, rapids, and an ancient wall; the region beyond it is unexplored. The landscape is very fertile, though a few small desert areas do exist.

The land is divided roughly in three. The southern lands are separated from the northern reaches by the wide Fumes river which empties into the Duct of the Alef and out into the Deep Water Bay. The northern region is split in half by the great sea inlet of the Verve.

The regions' terrain is defined by its numerous waterways, islands, and rugged shorelines. There are significant island ranges, such as New Foundry in the Verve and Myr in between the Crying Coast and the Verve. There are also several extensive river networks, most notably the Fumes and its numerous tributaries, but also the Urn's Crack, the Whisper River, and the Ribbon River.

The Braided Shore is home to immense woodlands, such as the Deeplands north of the Fumes, Pale Hum Forest, the Forest of Four in the northwest, and, within the Myr, Vapor Moor of Lake Vapor and the Wind Pattern Forest in the Verve. Surrounding the Crossroads lie Vigor Thicket, the Jaded Grove, and the Haspen Woods. Numerous smaller wooded areas dot the peninsula.

The Braided Shore is also mountainous in its own right. Complementing the lush, fertile landscape, the Pale Char Mountain, bordered by the Fumes river, Mount Ramsa, Varsat Crescent, and the Southern Rising, south of the capitol city, Kasa, and north of the Ovi Talif, bordered by the Deep Water Bay and the Ribbon River.

## Climate

The regional climate is very temperate, with cold spells being incredibly rare and the notorious local winds being mainly warm.

## History

Clues and artifacts to the history and former residents are scattered across the Braided Shore. A rudimentary industrial infrastructure points to a legacy left by inhabitants who lived in a culture marked by a moderate degree of manufacture and travel known as the Machine Age. These mechanical relics and the mechanised society that produced them are the subject of much research but, at present, remains little understood by today's inhabitants. Machine parts, made of a foreign material known as Master Iron, have never been replicated or reworked. Local mineral deposits, while plentiful, have proven unable to match the quality of Master Iron.

Thought to come after the Machine Age is the Varhim period, the key artefacts of which are a scattering of busts made of an unknown composite. The busts and their shadow are considered bad portents and so remain untouched. Several large structures sharing similar sculptural characteristics are also attributed to the Varhim era. Most scholars agree that it was the Varhim era that saw the destruction of much of Braided Shore's industrial infrastructure, although contradictory theories also abound.

Much of the Braided Shore is yet to be known, an exciting prospect for willing explorers and adventurers.

## Language

The spoken language of Braided Shore is known by the locals as Elskeni. It can be studied in the region's college in the northwest.

## Population

The population of Westeros extends into many hundreds, though a precise count has never been attempted. There are several notable human ethnic groups currently extant in the Braided Shore, with the most common being the Asken, the ancestors of whom are said to have arrived as boat dwellers who brought with them a practice of complex knot crafting. The name Braided Shore was given to the land by these people, a name stemming from their search for a homeland, which was accompanied by a desire for the order and harmony symbolised in braids.

Accessible locations:

* The Verve
* Kasa
* Myr
* Bat Saha
* Travellers' Meadow
* Crossroads | Crossings
* Char Cape Passage
* Secret Spooky Dungeon
* Siram Fields
* Mountain's Secret
* Obo's Blade Pass
* Alken Rock Coast
* South West Coast
* The Jade Urn
* Charwood Forest
* Lakatos Spring
* Western Harvest Route
* Western Verve
* The Two Wanderers
* Kuro Orchard
* Myrt
* The Burnings
* Little Slip
* Crescent Link
* West Wind Shores
* Brim of Abarat
* Harrow Ledge
* Abarat Cliff

Inacessible:

* Mistkeeper's Toe
* The Underbelly
* Rivenleaf School of History and Higher Education
* New Foundry
* Ovi Talif
* Osso by the Canal
* Billows