The Journal of Arien Borthein: Part III

Ship: Borthien's Folly
Owner: Arien Borthien
Captain: Blaede Liemien
1st Mate: Crael Arlien
Magician: Caern
Priest: Eldried Houstien

Arien Borthien's Journal:

Haelynir 7: We have arrived at the Tarbul province of Malu, which appears to be a mainly agriculture based province. There are large areas of farm land and the seas are dotted with fishing vessels. Unlike the Aral to the north the people here seem very involved with the sea, although I have yet to see any large war or trading vessels, mainly only small coast hugging fishing and trading boats. Certainly our large Galleon attracts quite a stir when we arrive in port, and I doubt that many have ever seen such a large ship, although some of the local sailors did talk about vessels similar to ours that occasionally visit these waters from a place called Chorbrag which they claim is a city in the distant south. The name sound similar to cities in Brechtur, so perhaps we are approaching lands once occupied by the Brecht peoples.

Haelynir 11: We have travelled inland, hiring a wagon, to visit the capital of this province, a small city called Malune which lies a short distance up river from the coastal village where our galleon is currently. I am interested to see what the countryside of this land is like, having so far only seen the coast, and a the capital of Aral. So far it appears very similar to Anuire, although the crops being grown here are different from those we have at home. Eldried Houstien, our priest, has collected some samples of the grain crops to examine at latter time. Perhaps they may be an improvment over what we already grow back home.

Haelynir 12: After a half days wagon ride we have reach Malune. It appears to be a small unfortified city built across the river we have been following for the past ten hours. The city is similar to Aral, although much smaller in size. The homes and building are mainly stone, although woodern homes do appear on the city outskirts. We have noticed a lot of soldiers, and there appears to be two different groups, perhaps different units. I have hired my party a room at a local inn and we will spend tomorrow looking around the two before heading back to the coast.

Haelynir 13: Malune does not appear as peaceful as it first looks. As I mentioned yesterday there are two different groups of soldiers in the city, one mainly archers while the other is mainly infantry. It turns out now that they each belong to different guilds who are busy fighting each other. There appears to be no government armies in control here, with the guild forces allowed free reign over the city. I have decided to leave a bit earlier than planned to avoid being caught up in the fighting that appears ready to break out at any time. We will sail south towards the capital as soon as possible.
I would have like to see more of Malune, as it appeared to be a very nice city, but the threat of fighting meant that I have been forced to leave. One thing did discover however is the presence of the priest of a temple to the ancient godess of commerce, Brenna. It seems that the people of Aduria, at least in this part of Aduria still worship the old gods.

Haelynir 20: We have reached the Tarbul capital, Talat after slowly sailing down the coast and visiting several villages and towns in the provinces of Malu and Tarbul. The sailing has been very peaceful and so far we have been welcomed where every we have stopped, and have had little trouble, apart from a single incident three days ago. We had stopped offshore of a local village when approached by a small boat carrying a representive of the local merchants. With Eldried translating we were able to learn that he was demanding a payment for something called the transistional vessel fish relocation levy which was to be payed by all visiting sailing vessels. We refused to pay, so will have to be looking out for trouble in the coming days.
As for Talat itself it is even more impressive that the city of Aral. It is build well above the ocean on the top of a hill overlooking the sea, with building running all the way down the hill to the waterfront. Large warves cater for many vessels, and we have noticed several different types of trading vessel so far. There are large galleys that use sails rather than oarsmen, triple-hulled vessels like the one we saw at Aral, and finally large ocean vessels similar to a Brecht Roundship. The main cargos here appears to be iron ore and timber, with large loads of both being hauled aboad ships by a pully system similar to the one I noticed at Aral.

Haelynir 24: After three days of looking around the city I have discovered much. First the problem with the two guilds we noticed in Malune does not appear to be occuring here in Talat, with the government in total control. It appears however that the guild war is going on outside the capital and several merchant I have spoken to have advised me not to travel outside the city without the support of at least one of the guilds as they are currently preying of each others caravans from the lumber camps and mines to the west. Here is the city though it appears to be calm enough with only government soldier being seen on the streets at the moment.
The principality is ruled by a woman called Princess Istella, who took over Tarbul when her father died several years ago. It appears that she has little support among the people though, mainly because of her inability to stop the guild war currently going on. It is also rumoured that she has been working with a wizard from Halwan. It appears that the Neha people, like the Rjurik do not fully trust wizards.
The main religion in Tarbul is the worship of Brenna, although a smaller temple to Reynir also exists. I do not know if these people are simply hanging onto ancient beliefs or they actually are supported by Brenna herself and the old goddess lives still. I find this unlikely though and Eldried also believes this not to be true.
At the very top of the hill overlooking the harbour is the Tarbul palace. I was unable to gain entrance into this building though so I can not bring our a report of what is to be found there as few are allowed inside at the moment. There appeared to be a lot of work going on when I was there though, with workmen replacing the outter walls with a kind of marble that sparkled in the sunlight. It is certainly one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen, much nicer that what I am used to in Anuire. One thing I have noticed it the difference in ways of building between here and Anuire. Houses here are constructed of stone with a woodern frame and occasionally a woodern floor as well, while in Anuire they are primarly woodern buildings with few able to afford stone structures. In general structures here appears much cleaner and more attractive than back home with cool stone walls and carpeted floors. Carpets are like large rugs, only they cover the entire floor. At my palace in Boeruine all I had was a collection of woolen rugs that lay of the floor while here even the smallest dwelling seems to be able to afford these carpets that are spread out across the entire floor and are quite comfortible. I am sure that if anyone were to import them to Anuire they would prove very popular. I have quizzed a local merchant and he has told me that most carpets come from the C'rae T'lor'hirm states and a bought here by the shipload from the city of Chorbrag, and others are made here in Talat. The best come from the shores of the C'rae T'lor'hirm though. I asked him what this name meant, but he was unable to tell me saying that it was something in a local language and refered to the sea which is known to the as the Great Southern Sea.

Haelynir 31: Just as we were about to leave Talat we discovered something we hoped not to see. It appears that there is a cult dedicated to Azari that operates in the city. They do not seem to have popular support though as we only noticed them when the local city watch arrested them for preaching in the city square. The cultist appeared in fairly poor condition, with only threadbare brown robes and sandles to wear, while each also clutched a large book which I assume is a holy book of some sort. I have asked around about these cultists and learned that they are from a large empire that lies on the other side of the Azure Peaks and are not welcome in Talat or any of the lands of the Neha peoples. I believe when he is talking about the Azure peaks he is actually refering to the Deismaar range as our maps have traced the route of the mountain range along the spine of this continent to a land several days sailing to the south.

Anarire 12: I have only stopped at a few towns since leaving the captial, Talat. The southern province, Khashm, appears under the total control of the local guild, the Tarbul Trading Consortium. They seem reasonible, but have a tendancy to levy unresonible taxes and charges on visiting merchant vessel, unless those vessels are working for them or one of their allied guilds. The TTC is run by a woman known as Serra Talat, apparently a decendant of the original rulers of this land, who were removed from office because of a plot against their emperor. This is the first I had heard of an emperor though so I have questioned several people about him. I have learned that the Emperor of Nehalim lives in the great city of the Neha many days sailing to the south. He commands an army of tens of thousands of soldiers, perhaps as many as a hundred thousand or more. He rules all these lands from Aral in the north of the far south, almost the entire eastern coast of the continent. Unlike Anuire which is does not have single ruler Neha does and all the princes and princesses of these lands are only in power with his consent, and should they fall from favour then they will be replaced with someone else. The father of the Princess of Tarbul was a general in the Neha army before being given the title of prince and Tarbul to rule. Before then the lands around this region were ruled by the Talat merchant family, who's current head is Serra Talat. I have also learned that the princess is not the oldest in the family and there is an older brother who is currently a general in the armies off fighting a war in the far east of the Empire against another empire.

Anarire 15: Our ships has been stopped by a navel patrol from the Daran capital to the south. They demanded to know what our bisiness in their waters was, and our point of origion. Captian Blaede Liemien told them the story about us being traders from the south who were travelling down the coast trading as we went. They did search our vessel, but they did not seem to find anything that was illegal and let us proceed, although first warning us not to break and laws while in port. The naval vessels of Dara seem to be mainly small fast warships, with a single square sail, two banks of rowers and a large dangerous looking ram up front. I would hate to think what would happen to a vessel if it was struck by such a weapon. I think even the thick timbers of our hull would buckle if hit by their rams. Their ships do not appear to have a very long range though, relying on the strength of their rowers mainly. In a good wind we would quickly outrun them if we needed too.

Anarire 20: I have spent several days exploring the coastline of Dara. It is similar to that which I have seen elsewhere, with large cliff along most of the coast and small sandy beaches and inlets marking the locations of local villages and towns. The land here seems much more populated than the other lands I have seen so far with large towns and villages spread along the coastline. Fishing and farming again seems to be the most common, although the guild that we have been dealing with in the province of Siyal is known as Dara Mining. Apparently though they only opperate a few mines in the south and east, while mainly running the farming and livestock industries along the coast.

Anarire 23: At the city of Siyal I have discovered that the people of Dara worship a goddess I have never known of before. The Goddess of Life, Nestellia is apparently the most popular religion in all of Nehalim and she is also known as the mother of the Neha people. I had not heard of her before now though, but her priest certainly seem to be able to call on her for powerful magic. This city is very different from Tarbul, and Aral with the government exercising much stricter control than in those lands. The local watch is present in much greater numbers than I would have expected and seems to keep crime to a minimum.
The city itself is similar to the others I have seen on my journey, being mainly constructed of stone building. The largest building in the city is a warehouse for Dara mining. Apparently this is one of their main shipping ports with several vessels a day leaving for the southern lands carrying loads of ore and timber. It seems that all these northern lands specialise in the production of raw material, possibly indicating a shortage in the south.

Anarire 29: We have left Siyal city and are now bound for Babal province, home to the capital Dara. We expect the journey to only last a day at the most with any luck. So far the only thing that is different from the other lands we have visited is the coastal road. It is in much better condidtion that our roads back home, having been strewn with chunks of ground up rock that prevent the dirt from washing away in the rain. This road travels down the coast and allows the quicker transport of armies and caravans if needed. We have not seen many soldiers so far, only a few around the north of Siyal province.

Anarire 31: Finally we have arrived in the Daran capital. At first glance it appears similar to other Adurian cities, only bigger. It is at least the size of Ilien and may even be larger. There certainly seems to be a lot of people moving around. I plan to go ashore tomorrow and look over the city and see the sites.

Deismir 3: I have spent the past four days looking around the city and have seen a few items of interest so far. The most impressive building is the temple to Nestellia. It is the largest temple I have ever seen and is constructed on the top of a hill near the harbour so it dominates much of the city. It appears to have one large structure that makes up most of the temple, and then has four tall, but thin towers on each of it's corners. The main building is roughly square with a rounded roof. The roof appears to be made entirely from coloured glass, throwing quite a display of light in the morning and night. A wall surrounds the entire temple, preventing the entry of non-believers and priests. At the entrance stand ten guards, all powerful soldiers from a order known as the Light of Nestellia. Apparently temple soldiers are common in Neha proper, although not so much in the northern lands that I have just passed through. These soldiers certainly seem well equiped and trained and according to a local merchant they also have the ability to see into the hearts of those who seek to enter the temple.

Deismir 5: Two guilds operate in this city, the Dara Miners and the Dara foresters. After speaking to a few of their members I have learned some of their organisation. It appears that both are more a collection of smaller merchant oganistations that the holdings of a single merchant. There is an elected head of each guild, but he or she may change at any time depending on the support they have among the members of the guild. It is certainly a different structure to what I am used to. Both guilds seem to get along very well, as they each operate in different industries and there is no competition between them. The foresters guild appears to be the smaller, although this is mainly due to the small number of forests left in this land.

Deismir 7: I have discovered the presence of a powerful wizard, and possible Awnshegh in this land. It seems that a mage known as the Silver Princess, who is also the ruler of the nation of Halwan lies just to the south of Dara and she has source holding throughout Dara. The locals do not seem to know much about the magic of the land, and have no wizards of their own, but our magician, Caern, does not what he is looking for and over the past week and a half has been on an expedition to the eastern province of Garra where he has learned that a mage has claimed the source of that province. I have asked around and have learned of this Silver Princess. No-one seems to know a lot about her except that she is ancient, and has ruled Halwan for many centuries. Halwan is also the ancient enemy of the Neha and many wars have been fought over its provinces, all of which have ended in the defeat of the Halwan hordes. The people here do not trust Halwan at all but they still seem to accept their trades as I have seen several of their tri-hulled vessels in the harbour loading goods.

Diesmir 11: Unlike Tarbul the government building could hardly be called a palace. It is a small square structure looking over the main market. The ruler of Dara is Prince Leostis, once again a former soldier. He rules with tought by fair laws that ensure peace in his lands. He does not see the need for an elaborate palace, but instead prefers just a small strcuture for the government, although I beleive that he does have an estate outside of town.

Diesmir 15: I have discovered now after a bit of exploring by other members of the crew in the provinces of Garra, Gadan, and Durba that Dara really has two differnt parts. The first is the coastal provinces such as Siyal, Babal, and Morgan. These lands are civilised and have a large population and are well patrolled by the princes men. The other provinces, those further inland are less civilised, and if the reports are to be believed one is even under the control of a cult dedicated to Azari. I have no wish to visit these lands at the moment, but they do seem much wilder than would be expected in such a wild land. The Prince maintains a firm hand in the more civilised lands, but seems to have much less control over the wilder provinces leaving them relativly lawless.

Diesmir 17: We have finished our exploration of Dara, except for a side trip to Morgan on the way to Halwan which will be our next major stop. After that our map ends so we will have to purchase another that covers the southern lands if we wish to continue. Dara appears to be a friendly enough place, although the laws here are very strict, and I had to pay a couple of large fines for some of the crew after what appeared to me to be very minor offences.

Diesmir 28: We have made our final stop in Dara, the southern city of Morgan. This city is dominated by a massive fortress, at least as large as any I have seen in Anuire which is apparently been built to help in any invasion from Halwan. I must admit that I am a growing worried about visiting this southern land after all the stories I have been hearing about them. Morgan is basically an army town with much of the Dara army based here. There also seems to be several units from the main Nehalim army which is here to defend against any attacks from Nehalim, although I have been told that this number has been greatly reduced due to the war in the east.

Diesmir 31: Our ship has just passed by the border of Dara. The border appears to have a large wall built along it, apparently to prevent an invasion from Halwan. The wall is well manned by soldiers and they look ready to fight. I am left wondering exactly what I am heading towards.