Douarnenez Bay
Geography
Douarnenez Bay is a large, semi-circular bay located on the Western coast of Letha's Penn-ar-Bed region on The Armorican Peninsula. Opening to the Mor Bras, the bay is enclosed by two rocky peninsulas to the North and South.
The Bay's northern barrier is the Crozon Peninsula, which seperates Douarnenez from the Rade de Brest, a large, sheltered roadstead. The Peninsula, stretching along an East -Westa axis, terminates in a three-pronged cruciform shape, with a small peninsula stretching into Douarnenez. Crozon is the home of the Lordship of Crozon, one of the oldest sovereignties in Letha. The northern coastline alternates between rocky headlands, with cliffs between 20 - 40 meters tall, and marshy wetlands, stopped up behind sandy strips of beach and sandbars.
Following the coastline, the Biskonti Glazig controls the Eastern coastline between the Crozon and Sizun peninsulas. Glazig's coastline is made up of long sandy beaches, coastal rivers and gentle hills.
At the port town of Tristan, the Barony of Penn-Sardin begins, continuing Westward along the Southern peninsula. As one approaches the borders of the Lordship of Kab Sizun, the sky becomes overcast as the effects of the Tempest become more apparent. The Southern Peninsula is dominated by high granite cliffs, making settlement almost impossible, and the foul weather makes sustained agriculture difficult. Most of the Western Peninsula is made up by rocky, barren stretches of land, long battered by the Tempest.
Ecosystem
Douarnenez Bay was once a low-lying wetland, but was completely engulfed by the sea during the Fall of Ys in 249 SI. With no major rivers emptying into the waterbody, it is almost entirely saltwater, with some minor brackish pockets along the Glaizig Coast, most notably at Tristan. The inhospitable nature of Kab Sizun means that there is little maritime life there, but the Glazig Coast and the Crozon Peninsula are more balanced, with sardines being especially abundant in the area.
Localized Phenomena
The most notable aspect of Doaurnenez Bay is the frequent appearance of Wyldstorms, including the Tempest, a nearly constant and highly localized storm over the citadel of Barrad-Faout. It is rumored that this storm has been present in the region in some form since the Fall of Ys, but its strength wanes and waxes regularly.
The nearby Bae an Anaon, located between Kab Sizun and the island of Enez-Sun, is considered to be a cursed region, where the souls of the drowned are ferried to spectral Bag Noz to make the journey across the otherworldly limbo of Mag Mor.
Climate
Even without the presence of the Tempest, Douarnenenz Bay is prone to frequent, powerful storms, bearing nearly the full brunt of storms from the Mor Bras.
Fauna & Flora
Porpoises, dolphins and Beluga, drawn to the sardines that school in the bay, are present in large numbers, competing with surface fishermen and the Marie-Morgane.
Natural Resources
The greatest asset along the Bay is the Tempest, a near-perpetual Wyldstorm thought to be the same one that claimed Ker-Ys and Lyonesse. The consistent access to the Storm and the Tan-Mor in the bay allows for the refinement of Tanfoeltr, or liquid lightning, a material that is essential in the production of artificial lighting, Brassgaurd, Rods of Taranis and Windships. Barrad-Faout harvests the magical lightning via tall metal spires atop its structures, but also is responsible for the development and creation of other sparkcatching equipment. Even as it controls a large portion of the direct market, this allows the region to capitalize even on its rivals in the sparkcatching windship fleets.
In addition to the resources produced in conjuction with the Tempest, the bay is also home to a lucrative sardine fishing industry, with most fishing fleets sailing out of settlements in the nearby Rade de Brest to ply their trade in the Bay.
The Glaistig coast is peppered with salting vats, cut channels that allow seawater to flow in and evaporate, leaving behind salt for harvest. Garum is made in this region. Hot springs and thermal baths are also common here, remnants of old kingdom technology.
History
The Leones Marshlands
What is now Douarnenez Bay was once a low-lying wetlands and a shallow sea known as the Leone Marshlands and the Mor Bitik respectively. During the conquests of Conan Meriadoc, High King of Letha, refugees from Dumnonia fled to the region, establishing themselves on the hills, making use rudimentary Sand-Skiffs to cross the shallow waters and marshy plains, taking advantage of the long, flat vistas to flee from approaching armies. These settlements had an uneasy relationship with the Kriores of the Are Plains to the East, but skirmishes rarely evolved into larger regional conflict. The exiled Prince of Dumnonia, Gradlon Mwar, after attempting to conquer the Royal Magocracy of Fjallkonan, returned to the continent with his ally and lover, Queen Malgven of Fjallkonan, making landfall in the Leones Marshlands. Their stronghold, initially built around the hulls of Gradlon's longships, quickly established itself as a regional power against both the Are Plains and Dumnonia. Gradlon united the marshclans and forged an alliance with the Kriores, creating the Kingdom of Great Kernev The rise of his brother and rival in Kernev did not go unnoticed by Gadeon, King of Dumnonia and he marshaled his own forces, and those of Goued River Clans to marsh on Gradlon's Capital, Ker-Ys. Numerous skirmishes in the War of the Two Brothers were fought in the Leones Marshlands, while the majority of the fighting occurred on the Are Plains. The treaty ending the conflict and bringing Dumnonia into Great Kernev was signed on Menez Hom, a mountain overlooking the Leones Marshlands.Ker-Ys
With Dumnonia and the Goued River Clans brought into the Kingdom, Gradlon and Malgven went about carrying on a massive infrastructure undertaking, converting the motte-and-Bailey stronghold into the great city of Ker-Ys. As the shining city of white limestone rose on what would become Castle Hill (Krec'hkastell), the surrounding region was reclaimed from the waters, using landfill and a complex network of dikes and dams. The shallow waters were drained, and construction boomed, both for the capital itself and nearby towns growing strong and prosperous. A deep channel was cut and dredged in the Mor Bitik, allowing Ker-Ys to take advantage of its protected waters to grow a vast trade empire. The Beacon City, as Ker-Ys became known, was the shining jewel of Kernev, with some even reasoning that the Kingdom could reestablish the collapsed Empire of Tarif. The reclaimed Leones Marshland became known as Douar an Enez (the earth of the island), the most populated and prosperous region in Gradlon's Kingdom. Gradlon and Malgven has a daughter, Ahes Dahut, the Princess of Ys.The Arrival of the Faith
After two centuries of prosperity and growth, Gradlon's Kingdom would fall. The troubles began when Malgven returned to Fjallkonan, drawn by her mysterious ere-hud. King Gradlon fell into despondency, the affairs of state no longer interesting him. In the East, once disparate tribes and petty kingdoms began to consolidate under a new religious fervor sweeping up from the Golden Sea. The influence of the Southern Church spread like wildfire across borders and cultures. Many took up its unifying rallying cry with zealotry, condemning the old religions. Some of the Faithful carried banners from sincere beliefs, while other stuck out for political opportunity against their rivals who followed the old ways, but Great Kernev remained the most powerful geopolitical entity outside of the growing influence of Lupino . Skirmishes began pressing against its borders and coastlines, while missionaries poured in, preaching a new cosmology and religion, an organized cultural push to convert this "heathen" territory, taking advantage of the King's distracted antipathy and the Fisher Kingdom results it was having on the realm. Kernev's ally, the Kingdom of Werran was pressured by constant raids that threatened to spill over into Kernev itself, while the fortress of Nasado was besieged by enemies from what is now La Manche. With Gradlon absent from leadership, Ahes established herself as a leader against these forces, both as a political and cultural bulwark. Her role became more starkly defined with the entry of a newcomer into the power structures of Ker-Ys. In the meantime, Gradlon had taken to hunting, often taking long trips to the foothills of the Meneziou Du. On one fateful trip, Gradlon was wounded and became lost, until he came across the itinerant holy man, St. Guenole. Guenole nursed the ailing king back to health and accompanied him back to Ker-Ys. Guenole was shocked at the "godless depravity" of the Beacon City, taking particular adage with Princess Ahes, condemning her as a heretic and deviant. He took particular issue with her lavish parties and her habit of swimming naked each morning in the bay, as well as her open support for the Korrigan and other Faerie peoples. Guenole secured permission to build a monastery on the Rade de Brest , first setting up on the Enez-Tibidy. The weather coming in from the Mor Bras proved inhospitable, and after three years, he was granted permission to move the abbey to Landevenneg, on the Southern shore of the roadstead. His influence over the court, and especially the King, grew. He and Ahes became faction leaders in opposition to each other.The Fall of Ker-Ys
Gradlon was taken by Guenole, but still loved his daughter, rebuffing the attempts of either to dismiss or condemn the other. Guenole's allies spread rumors that the Princess would take a new lover to her chambers each night after a night of drinking and debauchery, offering her nocturnal lover a black satin mask. which tightened slowly as the moon sank over the horizon, draining the life from the unfortunate victim. Ahes would ride out and sacrifice the body to the demons of the sea in exchange for magic, power and other rewards. While the tales of human sacrifice and life-stealing masks were fiction to slander the Princess, Ahes ambitions and sexual openness would sow the seeds of her downfall. Ahes met the Red Knight, a handsome stranger clad in magnificent scarlet armor, who claimed to represent a powerful force in the Fortunate Isles. Taken by his charms and sensing the opportunity for a major political alliance, Ahes entertained the knight and took him to her bedchamber. A storm began to lash out at the city, but the sturdy, magically reinforced walls stood firm, as they always had. As she entertained her guests over the course of the storm-filled week, Ahes learned of a plot by Guenole's allies against her father, stealing the Silverkey around his neck to control the fate of the city. After a long period of resistance, Ahes gave in to the Red Knights urging, sneaking in to Gradlon's room to steal the key first. But it was a trap and the Red Knight, laughing, overpowered her and opened the floodgates. Gradlon awoke to see the full height of the sea rushing into the city, walls and wards failing and opening new channels of destruction. The King found Ahes trying to reseal the wards, and, seeing all was lost, the pair mounted the magical horse Morvac'h to gallop across the waves. They found themselves beaten back by the fury of the storm, even the power of the Nightmare unable to gain ground. As the sea began to engulf them, Guenole appeared in a holy light of the rocky outcropping, commanding in a booming voice that to survive, Gradlon must cast away the demon riding with him. Gradlon hesitated as the storm grew stronger, the magical horse unable to rise above the rough waves. Guenole commanded again and Gradlon was struck by a holy vision. He threw Ahes into to waves, the betrayed princess shrieking as she was pulled under. Morvac'h regained its footing and raced the King to safety as the damned city of Ys sank beneath the waves. As Ys fell to the unprecedented Wyldstorm, so too did the Enez An Douar, with the massive flooding and seismic upheaval unleashing destruction. The same magical creations that had kept the sea at bay spelled doom for the entire region, submerging the lowlands beneath the Mor Bras.Abandonment and Ys-Beneath-the-Waves
The Storm, drawing from the otherworldly power of a Bleed continued to linger over the region for months, destroying coastlines as far away as Lyonesse and the Ar Briwer wetlands. The flooded bay was abandoned entirely, and most of the ruins remained inaccessible. Kernev moved its capital to Kemper on the Odet River. The population was ravaged by the Yellow Plague and the Kingdom broke apart in 323 SI during the Three Kings Crisis. All attempts to reclaim Douarnenez halted and it was forgotten, passed on to myth. The Tempest still lingered, greatly weakened, over Kab Sizun. During this time, Ahes Dahut survived alone in the ruins of Castle Hill, having become Marie-Morgane. in the 400s, a chance encounter with a refugee druid Rozenn brought new life to the city. Rozenn and Ahes developed the The Oceansong, reforging the curse that drowned Ker-Ys to transform Rozenn into a mermaid and allow the creation of the Nemeton of Ys-Beneath-The-Waves, magically adapting the saplings of the Sacred Trees that Rozenn fled with to survive in the center of Ahes' ruined palace. The ranks of the Marie-Morgane began to grow, and a serious effort began to rebuild Castle Hill. in 736 SI, Ys-Beneath-the-Waves had grown to the point where expansion was necessary for continued survival. Ahes directed the Odet Raids, launching raids on settlements along the Southern Kernev Coast and the Odet River from an old stronghold in the Glenan Islands, taking a combination of captives and supplies to ensure their continued survival. The Marie-Morgane were turned back from an attack on Kemper, ending the campaign as Ahes's magically-amplified madness subsided. The ranks of the Daughters of Ys swelled during the campaign, and the city grew to encompass both Garden Hill and Cathedral Hill.A Land Forgotten and a Land rediscovered
The choice to launch the Odet Raids from Glenan, rather than Douarnenez, had proven a wise one, as retribution was focused on the Pleg-mor Gwaskogn, where the Daughters of Ys had only a small presence. The Peninsula became increasingly focused on the East, allowing a group of minor clan lords to establish themselves on Crozon and Kab-Sizun, removed from the tumult of the rest of the Kingdom. When Letha fell to Fomorian conquest, the Stormlords remained, the great fleets of the Fomorians unable and unwilling to brave the storms of Douarnenez to take them. The young Prince Alan "Al Louarn" II, sought out the assistance of the Stormlords Amalgod and Wethenoc to retake Biskonti Dol and eventually Naoned from Hastings Fireforged. As a result for this assistance, the Stormlords rose to prominence in Alan's reformed Duchy.The Sparkcatchers of Barrad-Faout
With few exceptions, the regions along Douarnenez Bay remained a quiet and remote frontier. The Bay, wracked by storms and Wyldstorms, was not as sheltered as the nearby Rade de Brest, and its lack of rivers limited its use for interior trade. While the perpetual storm had drawn some interest from similherez and alchemists looking to harness its power, it remained largely a curiosity until the successful refinement of Tanfoeltr, liquid lightning. With the new wonder material, Barrad-Faout suddenly became the center of one of the most important industries in Kornôgel, assisting in the creation of Brassgaurd, Rods of Taranis, Artificial Lighting and Windships. Located at the center of the Tempest, the stormwracked citadel had a unique advantage, unmatched by the cottage industries along the Mor Breizh or the fleets of sparkcatcher Windships. In the decades since, Barrad-Faout has continued to grow in size and power, but the logistical difficulties and lack of infrastructure on the Doaurnenez Bay has prevented significant growth in the rest of the area.
Alternative Name(s)
Leones Bay, Bay of Ys
Type
Bay
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
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