Introduction and Atlas of the Sahirde el-Mehare

Introduction:

The Sahirde el-Mahare, the isles of gold, the Golden Archelpeligo, the wonder of the Sun Coast.
The legendary Sahirde el-Mahare, which translates as the Golden Archipelago, is situated roughly six days sail south of the island of Suiriene, about 300 miles. During the heyday of the Basarji colonization of Cerilia, these islands were a stop over point between Cerilia and Djapar. As time past, many great city states were established on the isles, who enjoyed the richness of being an extensive trade hub between the two continants.
However, the islands have fallen upon dark times, and only a hand full of the once mighty city states remain. Those that do remain resort to piracy and plunder to survive.
It is a land of ancient legends and lost wonders. The now dead Masetian peoples left many ruins and ancient knowlege waiting to be rediscovered. If only someone could look past the petty squabbles on the islands and explore the ancient ruins, much could be discovered, or perhaps awakened...

History in Brief:

Even before the Basarji colonization, the isles prospered as trading hubs for the Masetian people. Conviently located between three continents, the Masetians established civilization here even before the Flight from Shadow. By the time the Masetians, as well as the Andu, Vos, Brecht, and Rjuven peoples, fled Aduria, the cities here were already very populous. But after the Masetians left Aduria, the islands lost importance and began to decline. The Masetian people began to leave the Islands for Cerilia, and the cities here began to dwindle. But before they were totally abandoned, the Basarji began colonizing in earnest.

It was not long before the Basarji population outnumbered the Masetians and the governments changed hands to the peoples from Djapar. For several hundred years the isles prospered as a half way point between Cerilia and Djapar. One of the island kingdoms, Besarif, began to dominate the islands. But then came the Shadow.

Azrai the Shadow corrupted many of the isles' regents to his will. For several decades Azrai secretly began taking control of the worship on the Islands and opening the way to a future invasion. Finally, the War of Shadow erupted on the Cerilian mainland and soon spread to the Islands.

After Azrai's defeat at the Battle of Diesmaar, the Azrai cultists lost the power they had accrued on the Islands and were forced to flee back to Aduria. But Azrai was not the only one to lose power in the region. The War of Shadow had been particularly devastating to the Masetian peoples, who were now practically non-existant. The few remaining Masetians on the Islands moved to Masetium, the capital of the Masetian Empire, and the future center of power for the Serpent.

Within several years of the Battle of Diesmaar, the political and economic systems on the isles began to fall apart. The Basarji native to Djapar were quite angery that the Cerilian Basarji were claiming that their patron Basaia, lady of reason and goddess of the sun, was dead. Even worse, they were claiming to have Basaia's blood flowing through them. The Djaparans, being particularly fanatic about their beliefs, ceased all trade and contact with Cerilia. The effect on the Sahirde el-Mahare was devastating.

Trade dwindeled to nothing, and most kingdoms went bankrupt. Besarif, the pearl of the islands, fell into disarray and anarchy. With the absence of a major power in the region, most kingdoms resorted to piracy to stay afloat financially. To make things worse, Besarif, and a few other struggling city states had to fend off an attack from Djapar to reclaim the islands. After several failed invasions, the Djaparans gave up and ignored the islands.

Ever since, the Golden Archipelago has been frought with danger and chaos. Most of the city states maintain themsleves through piracy. The two remaining city states that stand opposed to piracy are themsleves about to be torn apart by civil war. The Sahirde el-Mahare has become a haven for pirates and villianous scum. It would take a particularly strong or wise regent to change that.

Atlas:

Besarif Island:
The largest island in the archepelago is Besarif Island. Formerly the center of civilization on the islands, Besarif itself still maintains itself as a strong realm. However, Besarif is on the verge of collapse as several foriegn powers and internal interests vie for control of the state. The other nations on Besarif Island are either religous fanatics, devoted to cleansing Aebrynis of what it sees as evil, or pirates and raiding brigands who would stop at nothing to make money. The economy of the isles is based mainly on sea trade and sugar farming. Sugar from the isle of Besarif sells for quite a high price on the Cerilian mainland due to it's rarity.
The northern portion of the island is a mix of plains and jungles, dotted with sugar plantations. Dominating this regions is the large city of Besarif itself, the center of trade and commerse in the archeplago. The interior of the island is dominated by hills and thick jungle. This area, commonly known as Inner Besarif is frought with danger. Humanoids and a particularly vengefull awnshegh named the Doppleganger reside here waging war and pillaging their neighbors. There is rumored to be several large, unexplored ruins of Masetian civilization in this part of the island, however it is extremely dangerous getting to them. Rumour also has it that the Shadow World presses in dangerously in Inner Besarif. Legends tell of walking dead and apparitions beyond description stalking the living on particularly dark and dismal nights.

Salinar Island:
The island of Salinar has long been a point of contention for the powers of the Sahirde el-Mahare. Officially claimed by the nation of Sardalas, Salinar remains a haven for lawlessness. The pirate clans on this island dominate the local people and make war on each other frequently. Several nations have tried to claim the island, but none have succeeded. Sardalas, though it claims the island, cannot even collect taxes from the island, and Sardalas efforts to invade the island have failed thus far.

Semera Island:
Dominated by the nation of Semara, this island is one of the richest. Along with Besarif, Semera once dominated the isles, but like Besarif it has succombed to internal pressures. The current Sultan fights to retain control of the country from his twin brother, who believes that he has as much claim on the island's regency as the Sultan.
The geography of the island consists mainly of jungles and sugar farms.

Djinara Island:
In times long past, Djinara was one of the great city states of the islands. Since contact with Djapar was cut, the island fell into disarray even moreso than the rest of the islands. Now it is a haven for pirates and outlaws, greater than any such haven in Cerilia. Currently, Djinara is under the leadership of the Prince Arturo el-Hajjaj, a renegade pirate with no merciful qualities. The nation of Semera already pays him tribute to protect their own shipping, and his ships range far and wide, raiding Cerilian ships as far west as the Isle of the Harpy. Many of the pirate clans in the Sahirde el-Mahare have already sided with the Prince, or are at least considering it.

The Minor Islands:
The Sahirde el-Mahare has countless small islets and reefs in addition to the main islands. Some of these islets have become pirate coves while others simply remain uninhabited. Since there are far to many and most of them deserve no mention at all, all that will be covered here are the six small islands that appear on most sea charts.

Sira, el-Sahir:
These are the two small islands that can be found to just to the north and to the south of the southern end of Besarif. They are also provinces of Semara. See that realm's description for these isles.

Nemal:
The island just to the west of Semara; also a province of Semara. See realm description.

Qadre:
This island, just to the north of Semara, has been a base of operations for pirates or merchants for many years. However, strange stories have emerged about Qadre. It is said that a group of Khinasi merchants from Ariya suffered a disgraceful loss of Sayim and set sail for Besarif. However, before they could make it, a storm blew up and they shipwrecked on Qadre. From here the stories vary widely. Some say that some foul spawn of Azrai from the nearby Isle of Shadow, corrupted the merchants. Others say that they were beset upon by an ancient Masetian curse, while still others claim that the island is inhabited with the cannable decendants of the merchants.
What ever the case, there is now a tribe of monstrosities living on the island, hiding in its many caverns and volcanic tubes, hunting and killing intruders on their island.

Isle of Shadow:
In the days after the Flight from Shadow, as Azrai began gathering his forces for war with Cerilia, several of his priests traveled to the island that lies between Djinara and Semara. Here they plotted and schemed and gathered the forces of Azrai's faithfull to sieze control of the Sahirde el-Mehare. They very nearly suceeded. But when Diesmaar was destroyed, the priesthood was thrown into disarray. Azrai's inheritors, Kriesha and Belinik, were not yet totally aware of the extent of their powers and could not help the priests. While the majority of the priests fled to Aduria, it is believed that a few may have remained where they plot and scheme continually in the depths of the Temple of Shadow.
Few dare to venture on to the island for fear of losing their lives or sanity, but those few brave or foolharty souls who have ventured onto the island and lived to tell the tale speak of a large burned out temple near the center of the island. Those extremely few who have summoned up the courage to step inside say that there is little of interest in the temple itself and that there is a very large labyrinth under the temple. None have gone inside that except one. Adar the Frightened, though merely a legend, is said to live in the worst of the slums of Besarif drinking to subdue the horrors he sees every time he closes his eyes. If some brave or foolharty character wishes to go inside the Temple of Shadow, they may want to seek out Adar.