Sea of Fallen Stars

The Sea of Fallen Stars

The Sea of Fallen Stars, also known as the Inner Sea, is the largest inland body of water in Faerûn. Its major areas include the Dragonmere, also known as the Lake of Dragons, in the west; the Dragon and Easting Reaches in the north; the Alamber Sea in the east; and the Vilhon Reach in the south. The sea serves as a crucial trade way for the powers of central and northern Faerûn and beyond. From Cormyr's Imperial Navy and Sembia's 15,000 sailors and corsairs in the west, to the] small but hardy fleet of dozen Impilturan warships in the east, and the militia-navy of Turmish in the south, the waters of the Inner Sea are well-traveled by ships that fly the flags of coastal nations in central Faerûn.

Description

The sea floor is covered with hundreds of shipwrecks.

Inhabitants

The Inner Sea is home to many types of aquatic life, including kingdoms of dragon turtles, aquatic elves, merfolk, and sahuagin. With the exception of a notable violent excursion in 1369 DR, these races rarely interact with the coastal land folk.

Territorial Waters

There is a recognized territorial limit of ten miles (16.1 kilometers) offshore among all the nations on the Sea of Fallen Stars. Areas of sea further than ten miles from the nearest land are considered neutral territory. Any attacks on shipping within a country's waters are considered to be acts of war. For most areas, these boundaries are clear, but they become more ambiguous in Mulhorand, Thay, and Unther, owing to continual border disputes.

History

Creation

Over the millennia, different creation myths regarding the sea have spread across the Realms. One tale, which explains how the sea earned its name, is detailed in the book History of the Last March of the Giants. It says that the gods above sent a star crashing down to Abeir-Toril as a punishment for the arrogance of the titans. Entire continents were lost in the ensuing earthquakes, fires, and windstorms and the four centrally located seas of Faerûn merged together, forming the "Sea of Fallen Stars". Other theories maintain the cataclysmic change of landscape was actually the eggs of the first dragons raining down onto Toril.
The true creation of the sea occurred ages ago, in the final years of the Days of Thunder, when the primordial Asgorath the World Shaper, along with the first dragons, were released from their imprisonment by the creator race known as the batrachi. In an event known as the Tearfall, the deity hurled an ice moon down to the surface of Abeir-Toril, which wiped out the batrachi and formed the sea.   Sarrukh accounts dated around −31,000 DR mention a "changing of the stars" in relation to this event. Few know what this really signified, but the fact was Lord Ao created a duplicate of the planet, Abeir, and sent the new world to another realm, with different stellar cartography. Other written accounts note that during the time of its creation an avatar of the goddess Istishia was present.

Pirate Wars

Time of Troubles

During the Time of Troubles, the chaotic evil goddess of the ocean Umberlee spent much of her time occupying the Sea of Fallen Stars. She caused widespread storms and destruction across many of the Pirate Isles. Following the return of her divine status, the Sea continued to be turbulent and often stormy. Circa 1366 DR, a group of merchant costers allegedly in league with the Iron Throne promoted an organized effort to appease her. In the years proceeding this effort, the waters of the Sea became gradually calmer.

Spellplague

On Tarsakh 29 1385 DR, the Spellplague hit Toril and greatly changed the landscape of the planet. Large openings erupted within the Underdark and large portions of the sea drained out beneath Toril's surface, greatly lowering the sea level over the next ten years. Coastal cities that once rested on the banks of the sea became land-locked, and formerly submerged ruins and wrecks were subsequently exposed. One of such resurfaced islands was Hegruth, an Island with a tower that had been submerged in the Sea of Fallen Stars for millennia. The tower ruin of unknown origin and obscurity made it the perfect place for clandestine meetings. The island did not appear on any terrestrial maps.

The Second Sundering and the Great Rain

During the Second Sundering in the autumn of 1485 DR, the Great Rain began to fall around the Sea of Fallen Stars and continued unceasingly for over a year. This constant storm caused massive floods; thousands perished from drowning, lightning strikes, or bursts of wind that capsized ships. By the time the rain abated, the Sea of Fallen Stars had swollen back to something approximating its former size, flooding vast tracts of land and numerous cities beneath the waves.

Notable Locations

Islands

There were numerous islands in the Sea of Fallen Stars:

• Alaor: A former Thayan island that gained its autonomy
• Pirate Isles: A group of about sixty rocky islands notable as the home of the pirates of the Inner Sea
• Isles of Prespur: A main island under Sembian control accompanied by the smaller unoccupied Traitor's Isle
• Ship of the Gods: An island volcano in the Alamber Sea
• Whamite Isles: A small chain of islands once ruled by a great khan
• Hegruth (an Island with a tower, surfaced due to receded water levels circa 1396 DR)

Undersea

Myth Nantar

Serôs

The underwater realm of the merfolk, who are protected by the Nantari dukar.

Xxiphu

Coastal

The Sea of Fallen Stars has coastlines in many different lands, including Aglarond, Altumbel, Cormyr, Chessenta, Chondath, the Dalelands, Impiltur, Sembia, Mulhorand, Priador, Thay, Thesk, Turmish, Unther, and the Vast.

Myths & Rumors

Legends tell of an aquatic race of dwarves inhabiting the Sea of Fallen Stars, but any time a scholar looks into the manner they find no evidence of such a race existing

Type

Inland Sea