Opal Coast

The Opal Coast covers a long, broad costal plain in the northeastern coral sea, beginning in in the north of the Gwen's March and extending up into the empire. A sizeable amount of Jeggido's land trade with inland Pax provinces passes through Jeggido's ports of Harbourhead and Qayan, and proceeding on imperial toll roads until reaching Red Peak Pass to the east. The province is dotted with small fishing settlements, mostly of the local Puni and Ismay peoples. The trade has made the region very wealthy indeed, as it has for centuries. Eru ruins have been discovered dotting the presence, and historical record suggests that relations with Jeggido city states in antiquity had not been as friendly, with foreign powers desiring the wealth of the coast for themselves.
Further inland, where the hilly countryside gives way to mountains, the other great source of wealth of the region lies. The Altayt mountain range is rich in mineral wealth, most famously opals and to a lesser extent silver. The precious metals have been extracted for centuries, some by the furthest southern kingdoms of the Apaslaka Mahajapandate, but just as often by Puni or Ismay interests. The opals of the province have fame for their quality even in markets as far flung as New Cain, Naitlan, Bander and the Njortan states. In modern days, many of these mines are owned or controlled by Patriari or Aspis interests, many of whom have negotiated or bribed their way into lower local tax rates.
Beyond the more settled people, a local population of Tabaxi has lived in the region for centuries, although they are rather disinclined to communicate and have gained a reputation as thieves and vagrants. The region has long supported small roving bands of ogres, maintaining a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, often raiding villages to supplement their diet. The Pax and the Gurakani Khanate have effectively driven them deep into the hills, where some of them have taken on more settled lifestyles, allying with existing bandit groups. In recent years, a religious group, styling themselves as The Family of Unlimited Mercy, have set up a citadel in the hills west of Harbourhead. Family members often take it upon themselves to preach the good word of their founder, leader and deity, Arlen, who is reputed to have incredible healing powers, is a foreigner, believed by his white skin and hair to be from somewhere northerly, and is instantly recognizable just for his unusual skin, but also for his eyes and teeth, which are said to be made of solid jade. The Family has skirted the bounds of sacrilege to the Imperial cult, and some speculate on how long it will be before the group is crushed by the legios for their insolence. In addition, Chydrudirth the Silent, a massive blue dragon, has taken up a lair somewhere on the southern part of the province, and has proven to be a menace to both trading caravans and shipping lanes alike.
There are a number of local tributary states. The Tamur Ohrta, the Gurakani khanate ruling Harbourhead and much of the surrounding area is the largest of the regional powers. In the south of the province, Qayan, the northernmost of the Puni Zamindarates, falls under the administrative lines of Oplio province, despite being far more politically tied to the Punistan Province to the south. The local Zamindar, however, makes the best of the situation, as it insulates him somewhat from Puni politics. Mahaadialya, the southmost of the great Apaslaka holds, manages a kingdom of several smaller delves across the Altayt moutains, centering in the north of the province, with Mahaadialya situated not far from Red Peak Pass. According to the Apaslaka treaty, they are taxed by the Mahajapandarate sakellarius, but they are heavily involved in local trade, as one of the major producers of precious metals and gemstones. The last of the local tributaties is the Eaters of The Dead, the lizardfolk tribes who occupy the Hungry Glades. The Eaters of The Dead didn't formally exist until after imperial occupation, after which they were assimilated into the empire at sword-point and a tribal leader appointed to be a basiloi. If the lizardmen didn't produce among the best marine auxilarius units in the empire, no one would have bothered, as there is rather little of value in the glades, and the lizardmen's propensity for cannibalism has historically not made them particularly well-liked neighbors.

Ecosystem

The coastal lowlands of the region have primarily been turned into grazing fields for local herds of sheep and gurakani yaks, and in some places terrace farms for barley, wheat or other grains. The balmy, mediterranean climate of the region is ideal for growing grapes for wine, and vineyards dot the civilized places of the province. Snakes, amphibians and insects are common, but rarely grow to extraordinary sizes. As the wet lowlands give way into hills, the air becomes distinctly drier, and the hills give way to mediterranean cypress and sage woodlands. During the dry season, which lasts most of the year, these low, thick forests are prone to fires, which the waxy plantlife can quickly recover from. The ecosystem can support relatively few large animals, but a handful of local razorback hog species scavenge in the thick, brushy, natural forests of the region, preyed on by the tigers, and occasional dire tiger. During the wet season, the coast is lashed with vicious tropical storms, which water much of the highland plants but keep the lowlands a maze of shallow creeks and overgrown hills where they aren't cultivated. The Opal coast is also on the migration path of skywhales, and the annual dry season skywhale migration has been historically been used to time important occasions like coronations. In modern days, whale festivals during that season are common, especially that they correspond with important times in the farming calendar. The Hungry Glades are a different story, being are home to large wild herds of what the local lizardmen call Wailers, or hadrosaurs, which are preyed upon by hunter sharks that swim in from the sea, false dragons and the everpresent hellkites. Near Quyan, the climate is much crisper, as the hills turn into cliffs and the wet season lasts longer, with the tradewinds that are the Zamindarate's lifeblood easily roaring into gales and unexpected and dangerous rip currents and storms. The sparse greenery is short and hardy, with twisted, gnarled trees the largest foliage outside the rare costal forests in the bay.
Out at sea is a different story. From offshore reefs to shoals of fish, the waters of the Opal Coasts teem with life. Sharks of monsterous size once swam in the region, but have largely been hunted by local loacathoah and fishermen for their meat. Other large predators, like giant eels, sea tigers, and even Kraken spawn from far deeper parts of the Coral Sea make up the top of a broad ecosystem, preying on dire groupers, tilapia shoals and the domesticated bullhead tuna brought by the bloodfin loacatha. The aquatic megafauna and skywhale migration have, in turn, brought with them a not inconsiderable amount of local aerial predators. Rocs, in small family groups, carry off dolphins and small livestock, but their depredations are largely tolerated due to their relative rarity. The Quetzalcoatlus, called hellkites by locals, are another problem entirely. They are voracious predators, and, unlike the far more skittish rocs, have no problems attacking caravans or even towns and carrying off horses or even people. Extermination efforts over the centuries have been largely unsuccessful. Some mountain tribes have attempted to tame them, with varying degrees of unsuccessfulness. Cloud Leviathans have been sighted rarely, but seldom descend below cloud level. This level of biodiversity has meant that fishing in the coast has generally been a productive endevour indeed.
As the lowlands become mountains, the ecosystem changes. Big cats from the lowlands venture up into the low mountains to mate and hunt, while blood harpies have learned to roost near trade routes, attempting to pick off whatever meat they can find. In the high mountains, small families of griffins roost, preying on local mountain goats, which are both wild and domesticated by local, barbarian xvart tribes. The mountains also have at least one Kruthik hive, but they seem to be located far enough away from civilization that sightings are rare. The sharp cliffs of Quyan play host to apes, rock snakes and an incredible diversity of birds and hellkites.

Alternative Name(s)

Oplio Province

Included Locations

• Harbourhead

Owner/Ruler

Aarsil Broken-Leg

Ruling/Owning Rank

Sakellarios

Owning Organization

The Eastern Empire