Bleeders Bay & the Wreck of the Sea Elves

"What lies beneath the waves..."

The city of Progress boasts a rather large seaport, which happens to access one of the more dangerous naval passages in the West. Bleeders Bay, so called for the mass of wrecked ships forming a semi-circle within the bay, is a rather treacherous inlet. The initial shipwrecks were the result of numerous naval battles, mostly pirates against pirates, for control of the independent city. These battles occurred many hundreds of years past and were incredibly destructive. So dense with wreckage were the waters, that even hundreds of years later, new ships were added to the debris simply because of improper navigation. One would think this is enough to commemorate Bleeders Bay as a place of interest in the West, but its waters actually harbor an even more incredible "secret." Nestled within the wrecks of the innumerable ships live members of a race, up until recently, only believed to be legend. The Salinosti "sea elves," capable of breathing both air and water, have chosen Bleeders Bay as their single above water colony... a lone outpost, at least in the West. The Salinosti are a peaceful folk who, over the past several hundred years, have slowly commenced open trade with their land-bound neighbors. They provide valuable treasures from the sea: pearls, seafood, as well as their own magically-enhanced crafts. The Salinosti claim few enemies, save for their ancestral nemesis, the malicious Sahuagin. Sahuagin are amphibious humanoids, with lamprey-like heads and a taste for humanoid meat. All other species are inferior, as far as they're concerned. However, they have it out most for their own near-neighbors, the Salinosti. Thankfully, the Sahuagin rarely travel onto land (or anywhere by day), doing so only for the occasional raid. They're much more likely to accost ships daring to travel unprotected (in the middle of the night) into the bay. It is thought that they may be the cause of some of the more recent wrecks added to the vast collection. In return for fair trade, the Salinosti help guard the waters of Progress from these vile creatures. They've even shared extensive maps of the shipwrecks, helping the captains of Progress navigate the oft treacherous waters. No one is certain how many Salinosti sea elves live in Gothenya, let alone in the West. And as friendly and open to trade as those of Progress are, they are quite secretive in all other matters. They seem to have little, if any, interest in connecting with their land-born cousins, and their very origin is a secret kept only by themselves. Based upon some of the artifacts recovered from the sea, it does seem that they have been around much longer than the Sundering, thus felling the theory that some of the elven blood mages took to the water to avoid persecution. Like their surface brethren, sea elves are quite adept with the Art, and many of their numbers have access to at least some form of magic. They do not recognize the laws of Wyeth, and as such, don't do much to hide their magical abilities. As far as the crown in concerned, as long as the Salinosti remain a peaceful neighbor, Wyeth is happy to look the other way (the Salinosti do not fall under the watchful eye of Hex Chain). As a result, some of the more powerful magical artifacts in the West are allegedly sourced from the sea elves.

Geography

A densely packed, major bay that serves as seaport to the city of Progress.

Fauna & Flora

Home to the Salinosti sea elves, as well as their mortal enemies, the Sahuagin. The Salinosti are known to occasionally use dolphins as mounts, and live in relative harmony with the various creatures of the sea.