The Nine Kingdoms of Arn: General Gazeteer

Scale: The map scale is approximately 12 miles per hex.

General Notes: The Nine Kingdoms of Arn

The Nine Kingdoms of Arn is the central region of the Bloodwind Isles, an archipelago in the midst of the High Seas on the world of Thaelan.

The Nine Kingdoms of Arn were united in a series of vicious battles under the Warrior Queen Anastacia. In the five decades since she has united the nine major kingdoms under her family's control, the Kingdoms have flourished, though sometimes not happily. Most of the minor islands do not interfere with the shipping between the Nine Kingdoms, but humanoid renders roam the High Seas, and piracy and villainy abounds upon the waters.

The Order Arcane of Arn chronicles the lore, both arcane and mundane, of the Kingdom of Arn, and has since its inception. Anastacia became Empress Anastacia I of the Nine Kingdoms in 947 YA (Year of the Rule of Arn). Her daughter, Arabella I, took the throne after Anastacia's assassination in 956 YA. Arabella's cruel reign lasted for almost four decades, before she, too, fell to an assassin's blade in 994 YA.

Arabella's three daughters (Arwyn, Alyssa, and the youngest, Aetherwyn) vied for control of the Nine Kingdoms for two years before Alyssa died on the High Seas and Aetherwyn fled into hiding, leaving Arwyn to assume the title of Empress of the Nine Kingdoms in late 996 YA.

Arn
The sovereign kingdom of the Empire, Arn is home to a very militaristic magocracy. The current Empress of Arn is Arwen, granddaughter of the Warrior Queen Anastacia, who first forged the Empire of the Nine Kingdoms.

Arrendra
The Kingdom of Arrendra, located in the central region of the Nine Kingdoms of Arn, is a great trading kingdom, reknown for the quality of their seafaring vessels. Arrendra is led by High Lord Gaven, as appointed by the Council of Lords and the lesser Council of Nobles of Arrendra.

Balmordak
The dwarven kingdom of Balmordak is ruled by King Thorbin Blackbeard and the Five First-Clans. Balmordak extends far below the surface as well, and most surface dwellers only have contact with the dwarves of the upper First-Clan Strongholds.

Coivallen
Coivallen is the home of the wise and sagely Coivald people, who keep a careful eye on the Isle of Doom to their south.

Dalmora
The gnomish democracies that are the City-States of Dalmora fall under the rule of the Arn-appointed Governor Mendalos, also highly placed within the Order Arcane. Rumors of an underground resistance abound, but Governor Mendalos's officially denies such.

Erestia
The elves of the Enclave of Erestia suffer under the rule of the Imperial Governor Malificent and her orcish legions. Their free-spirited ways often brings them into conflict with the more lawful government of Arn's tyranny, and those that are not broken to Arn's yoke have retreated deep into the forests of central Erestia.

Fellendane
The island of Fellendane provides many of the more perishable trade goods for the Nine Kingdoms. The products of the halfling-tended plantations, orchards and vineyards are often found on the tables of many other kingdoms.

Gevedra
Gevedra is the home of the mysterious Pervishan, a people closely bound to the flow of magic, who originally taught the secrets of wizardry to the Ancient Masters of the Order Arcane.

Halick
A small feudal community with ties to both Rhennan and Arrendra, Halick served for a time as one of Arn's staging areas in the Warrior Queen's war of conquest against Erestia. Even today, large military posts filled with Imperial Legions exist in the island's major townships and villages.

Kesh
Kesh is an island of abandoned temples and ancient ruins, once the home of the proud and noble race of Yuan-ti. Much treasure still lies within the old stone structures, but many fear the retribution of the barbaric snake-men that are all that remain of a once-strong civilization.

Ku'dan
The orcish Tyranny of Ku'dan has remained subject to the Kingdom of Arn since the final battle of unification that forged the Empire of the Nine Kingdoms. Most of the island falls under the control of one of the Great Warlords of the Tyranny, and serve the Kingdom of Arn as the core of the Imperial Legions.

Marr
On Marr, the Monkey Island, the Vanaran people live in relative peace and serenity, protected by a collosal ape-like beast that lives in harmony with the monkey-men.

Muren
Muren is a small mountainous island, poorly inhabited by more civilized peoples, and overrun by giants and giantkin.

Naeben
The Druids and Rangers of the Isle of Naeben seek to return to a more harmonious existence with nature. The stone circles of Naeben's hillside are said to contain many gateways to the realm of the fey.

Porren
Ruled by a theocracy dedicated to the Divine Sun, Porren is a shining beacon for all that is good in the Nine Kingdoms. Grand Marshal J'onn Hellsbane, an orcish halfbreed of a paladin, has risen to the highest rank of the Temple of Light, and effectively leads the island in its mission to stave off the darkness that threatens to encompass the Nine Kingdoms region.

Render Isles
The Render Isles are the safe haven of various humanoid pirate bands, including the hobgoblin Pirate King, Kiir'ahk of the High Seas. Somewhere amidst the Isles, Kiir'ahk has created a pirate sanctuary known as Port Kar.

Rhennan
The Kingdom of Rhennan still reels from Arn's conquest of their people over five decades ago, when the ruling family of four centuries was cast into exile, and the King was replaced by an Imperial Governor. The various dukes, counts and barons of Rhennan now swear fealty to Arn through Governor Merrander.

Shen
Home to a number of remote monasteries of varying philosophies and martial training, the mountainous island of Shen is an ideal home for the ascetic monks that live and seek enlightenment there.

Siarra
Once the homeland of the Siarran people, the four-armed race scattered to the four winds as the giants of Muren moved across the small strait between their two homelands almost a century ago.

Tallismir
Tallismir, or the Dragon Isle, is perhaps the only safe refuge where dragons and the civilized races can live in harmony. Few non-natives are ever allowed to even approach the island, being stopped by either a Dragonmage or one of the Tallismir Dragonriders far from the shore and the aeries that house draconic eggs.

Toben
Little is known of the misty island of Toben, as most visitors to its interior never return. Expeditions and military forces have entered the Eternal Mists of the jungle interior, but none have ever returned to the sandy beaches and the light of day.

Valthos
Valthos, the Isle of Doom, was once an isolated community under the sway of the Lord Necron, a powerful sorcerer dedicated to the ultimate mastery of Necromancy. With his disappearance over four centuries ago, the Isle has been abandoned to the hordes of mindless undeath that dwell both on and around Valthos.

Ull
Another jungle island east of Zy, the island of Ull is home to a number of large reptilian creatures. The sheer size and ferocity of the island's saurian inhabitants deter most visitors.

Vher
Vher is home to the felinoid Artathi, the cat tribes that fiercely defend their island home and the magnificent Cat Temples within their jungle home.

Yemna
Yemna is primarily a haven for halfbreeds of all kinds, and many half-elfs and half-orcs find solace where they have found nothing elsewhere. This sanctuary for the downtrodden has attracted many races and people who have found no true home elsewhere. Many exiles from other lands retreat to this island, where acceptance and confidentiality are the way of life.

Zy
The martial clans of Zy are united under one warrior, the Warlord Tukera Todei, who has sworn to uphold the legacy of his father, and thus to the Kingdom of Arn. His son, Tukera Nemada, is currently wed to the new Empress Arwen. Much martial mysticism is practiced on the isle of Zy.