Domain of the Scarlet Sea

The Scarlet Sea is the most conflict ridden Domain currently known to the Empire. First contact with the Scarlet Domain (other name for the Scarlet Sea) was made in the mid Fourth Century Imperial after significant efforts were made to find new Relay paths out of Solomon's Reach. The path started quite deep in the Kingswood and ended at what would become Cirencester in the Scarlet Sea's far periphery. Unlike either Ascalon Domain or Solomon's Reach, the Sea is home to a widespread native populace (both of the Imperial Domains have native people, but they are not widespread and have more or less fully integrated into the Empire). As Imperial Chartists (crews and captains dedicated to charted new and known Domains) explored the Scarlet Sea, they catalogued the many tribes of the Scarlet Men (the name given to the myriad peoples of the Sea). The Imperial government of the period chose to enforce a policy of trade and peaceful cohabitation with the Scarlet Men in the Sea. That is, the Empire would not fully claim the Scarlet Domain as another frontier territory but would respect the native people. They bartered and traded with the tribes they connected with and for those whose territory overlapped areas that the Empire was interested in (Cirencester and later Black Hollows) they worked out a deal to trade the territory for considerable resources, preferential trade treatment and other diplomatic exchanges. As time progressed, the Empire showcased the value of the locomotive but in general, few tribes were interested. They had done quite well with simply taming the sky-beasts of the Scarlet Sea and lacked many of the necessary resources, organization and technical expertise to build their own engines, though a few tribes did trade for smaller engines. There were of course tribes that were wary of the Empire, but during this period things were peaceful. Roughly 20 years after first arriving in the Sea, two new Relay paths would be charted: first to Malakain and then to Ulysses. Trade flourished with the Empire establishing small outposts at the other end of the Relay paths. Unlike in the contemporary period, in which the Empire hands the local Relay to the native power, in Malakain and Ulysses the Empire retained control over said outposts. The status quo remained peaceful and focused on trade. In time, however, this status quo was disrupted by Malakain. The nobility-led political faction which dominated Malakain (and who were broadly pro-peace and pro-Imperial) was ousted in a coup by the decidedly expansionist, pro-conquest and anti-Imperial priesthood of Malakain. They took over the Transit Relay within Malakain but did not push out, instead building up their forces. When they did fully declare war on the Empire, they seized Port Shar (the Scarlet Sea side of the Malakain Relay path) and send their engine fleet far across the Scarlet Domain. The Malakite's goal was to take Black Hollows (then known as Port Anderson) and then drive the Empire out of the Scarlet Sea entirely. Fortunately for the Empire, the Imperial Navy forces at the port were more than able to defeat the Malakite fleet and proceeded to work to confine the Malakites to only a slice of the Domain. Port Anderson was renamed Black Hollows to commemorate the victory but leave a reminder that a true inter-Domain war was now active. This saw the beginning of the blazing Scarlet War that has dragged on for just under 7 years, overlapping the Empire's Fifth Century. As the Scarlet War continued, the tribes of the Scarlet Men began to drift into two main camps. The majority of the tribes began to fear the Malakites and the Empire. The Malakites already showed that they cared nothing for the Scarlet Men as anything other than converts to their faith while they feared the Empire would go down that same path if they secured victory over Malakain. The Emprie was also gathering more resources from the Scarlet Sea and its own territories more and more, causing the tribes to understandably fear the safety of their homes. This camp eventually chose to fight off both powers and remove them from the Domain. They took the name Scarlet Guard and struck out at Port Shar (the Malakites's main stronghold) and the Empire's base at Black Hollows. While neither attack succeeded, they did showcase to Malakain and Ascalon that the Scarlet Men were now a full player within the Scarlet War and could not be ignored. Roughly a third of the Domain, once broadly under Imperial watch, was swept clean of Imperial presence by the Scarlet Guard. Now the war has devolved into a three-way stalemate between Malakite Port Shar, Imperial Black Hollows and Scarlet Guard Kara's Vale. The other camp, decidedly smaller, consists of the tribes who are supportive of the Empire for their own reasons. Most typically, they have become quite drawn to trade with the Empire and the goods such a relationship has produced. While not explicitly required or even asked to fight against their fellows in the Scarlet Guard, most of these tribes (simply known as the Friendly Tribes) have at this point begun militarily supporting the Empire as the Scarlet Guard have given all other tribes an ultimatum: join us, abandon any connections with the Empire or Malakain or be regarded as traitors and enemies. Thus, the Friendly Tribes are no longer given the option to be pro-Imperial and remain uncommitted to the War. There are a handful of tribes in the most isolated areas that are technically neutral but these tribes will have nothing to do with any other faction at this point. They do not trade with anyone and generally attack any vessel or sky-beast in their limited territory. Generally, these regions are classed as "avoid as much as possible".
The Scarlet Sea got its Imperial name for a simple reason, the Domain is perpetually bathed in a red light. The Domain has, for as far back as any tribe can recall, been stained with a red light. Other colors and stars can still be seen, but these are all tinged with red. Like Eleusynia and the Scaled Kingdom, the Scarlet Sea's ports (the few main ones left) are not arranged in any particular pattern.
The Empire has control over slightly more than a third of the Domain, with the center of the Domain also under their control. The rest of the Scarlet Sea is evenly split between the Scarlet Guard and Malakain.
The Imperial Sector is divided into four main sections: Black Hollows (covering center of the Domain and reaching out towards the periphery some), Montral Pass (the Scarlet Guard border zone), Orvin's Ridge (the Malakain border zone) and Morson Field (the periphery zone around Cirencester). Black Hollows port is located roughly in the center of Empire held territory, though it is closer to the center of the Domain than the periphery. Black Hollows is a massive fortress complex, with every possible entryway covered in defensive emplacements to thwart any further incursion attempts. The Hollows Docks can allow nearly the entire Imperial Navy force out in the Scarlet Sea to be docked at once, though such an arrangement hasn't happened since the outbreak of the Scarlet War. The primary product of Black Hollows is ammunition, with a secondary function as a repair yard. Black Hollows is the main meeting point for Imperial Naval Command in the Scarlet Sea. Cirencester is the other major port under Imperial control, this time located on the far periphery of the Domain at its outer border (roughly analogous to Port Alnor of Solomon's Reach). While this complicates the logistical chain somewhat, it does not provide an easy target to hostile forces. Cirencester has, in fact, yet to see an assault on it once thus far in the War, unlike Black Hollows or Torhen's Watch. Cirencester is technically a civilian port under martial law, unlike Black Hollows or the other Navy outposts in the Scarlet Sea. Cirencester sees a fair amount of trade as the Empire controls the space between their Relay paths and the Ulysses Relay path, which starts at Easthaven. As such, Cirencester is the primary Imperial marketplace (rather than the center point port as is typical of Imperial territory). Cirencester exports two different exports. One military export (ammunition) and one civilian (locally sourced Scarlet Wine, a highly regarded alcoholic beverage). Cirencester has also become one of the main settlement areas for the Friendly Tribes, as they see the protection of the port and it being on the main trade route as essential for their continued survival. Torhen's Watch is a Imperial outpost located roughly in the middle of the Domain, analogous to New Draycott, Aeston and Lunaris. However, due to its proximity to the Imperial border, the outpost is a military stronghold rather than a civilian port. Torhen's Watch has flipped between the Empire and Malakain roughly three times over the course of the war, with the Empire retaking the outpost roughly a year and a half ago. Imperial Naval Command has increased the defensive systems of the outpost to try and avoid it falling back into Malakite or Scarlet Guard hands. Easthaven was once an Imperial civilian port. However, following the outbreak of the Scarlet War, it was decided to share the defense and administration of the port with Ulysses. When Ulysses made it clear to Malakite envoys that the Republic was officially remaining neutral regarding the conflict, the Malakites successfully lobbied the Ulysseans to get the Empire to hand over the port so as to "ensure that they are neutral and not beholden to Imperial interests". In practice, this was to deny the Empire total control over any other Relay path besides the Scarlet Sea to Solomon's Reach path. Unbeknownst to Malakain, the Ulyssean government has secretly promised Empress Euphemia that, assuming the Empire wins the war, that Easthaven would be returned to Imperial rule, as the Republic does not regard the port as their territory, but that of a foreign Domain. Until then, Easthaven remains a formally neutral port watched over by the Republican Fleet. While officially neutral, Ulysses gets virtually no trade in from Malakain since the port is well inside Orvin's Ridge region and the Republic makes no effort to safeguard trade ships after a short distance from the port. As such, Malakain cannot functionally trade with Ulysses and the Empire has been very thorough to ensure that their trade with Ulysses remains as safe as can be managed. Skegness is another more prominent outpost located in Orvin's Ridge, specifically on Dallson's Promontory. The Promontory is a strategic point in the Ridge, overlooking one of the more wide open passes into the Imperial Sector. As such, Malakain routinely contests the port and area trying to out the Empire from the valuable position.
The Malakites divide their territory into three zones: the Middle Zone (covering Port Shar and the main disk), the Upper Zone (the north polar region under their control) and the Lower Zone (the south polar region). The Empire segments the Malakite's sector into: The Eyrie (the Guard-Malakite border), Donaldson's Canyon (the Malakite-Empire border) and the Shardland (region around Port Shar). Unlike the Empire, which has several lesser outposts besides scattered out from the major bases, Malakain mostly relies on direct patrols out from their primary base at Port Shar. They have an advantage of sorts over the Empire as their Transit Relay is located close to the core (roughly two thirds of the way out of the core to the periphery), in contrast to having their Transit Relay on the Domain border. Malakain also can field engines much more easily than the Empire. Malakain's locomotive are notorious within Ascalon for being cheap and quick to make, but poor in quality and armor. Malakain has prioritized speed and output over quality, and it is not unheard of a single Imperial engine being able to outlast and eliminate an entire Malakite wolf pack (typically five or so engines) without reinforcements. That said, Malakite fleets are something the Empire is wary about. After all, what the Malakite fleets lack in quality and survivability, they make up in quantity of gunfire.
The Empire divides the Scarlet Guard sector into five zones: Kara's Vale (the central region around the port of the same name), the Pillarhold (a vast region of the north polar zone), the Ormsal Abyss (the border sector with the Empire), the Crimson Crevasse (the border with the Malakites) and the Polar Jungle (the south polar zone).
The Guard has two major centers: Kara's Vale and Squall's End. Kara's Vale is their main military stronghold and meeting place, located in the center of their Sector. Squall's End is a civilian port equivalent located in the middle to upper area (close to the main disk) of the Polar Jungle and is their de facto capital. The majority of the Scarlet Guard's smaller settlements lie scattered across the Polar Jungle, Kara's Vale region and on the inner edge of the Crimson Crevasse. The Pillarhold is a region regarded as sacred to the many tribes of the Scarlet Sea, with the Blood Pillars site being of particular importance. Traditionally, a warrior seeking to tame a sky-beast would do so at the Blood Pillars and the Scarlet Guard have continued this tradition.

Type

Plane of Existence