Senecia
Senecia is an oceanic continent that surrounds the Widow's Sea. It is comprised of a dozen island groups whose total expanse is larger than any other continent, but whose combined land mass is only comparable to Jumira (the fourth largest continent).
Despite its distribution over a wide area, Senecia is considered a continent unto itself because the island groups that comprise it are presumed to be geologically related. It is believed that a large portion of the Widow's Sea may have been created by the explosion of massive supervolcano during an event known as the Upheaval, which took place following the astronomical Conjuction of 2050 BCB. The explosion may have caused the collapse of a long lost land mass that created the Widow's Sea, thrust many of the Senecian islands up from below the surface and triggered countless volcanic eruptions that connected the islands and formed much, or even all, of the archipelago.
The principal city of the continent is Calighenna, 27S x 106E. The city served as the capital of the Elvish Empire of Senecia throughout the Imperial Era, and remains still the capital of the remnants of the Empire now known as Imperial Senecia. The major portion of the island chain known as the Senecian Archipelago decribes a 180 degree arc of approximately 8500km in length runing the eastern edge of the Widow's Sea from Poglia at 7N x 132E to Sancelia at 42S x 140E.
With the exception of a small portion the northwestern island of Povescia, including the city of Povescia, Vehira is visible everywhere in Senecia at all times, The easternmost extent of the continent, located at Colrigna at 171E x 28S,is also the easternmost point on all of Tear. Here, Vehira is almost directly overhead. The shortest crossing of the Sea of Tears is from Colrigna to the city of Gutai in Inik, with a distance of only 1900km.
Climate across almost all of the continent is tropical to temperate. Temperatures in the northern parts of the archipelago can be very hot and humid - reaching the mid forties, while temperatures in the southermost areas rarely fall to freezing even in the coldest months of the coldest years.
Sea trade and commerce have necessarily been central to Senecia culture for millenia. With the exception of the main island, none of the Senecian islands is self-sufficient enough to continually develop and expand without external trade. Historically, however, the islands have been able to support one another's growth whether they were part of a unified nation state or not, thanks to unparalleled networks of sea trade.
Main Island
The largest island in Senecia is the so-called main island which, by itself, is approximately the same size as continental Obersch. The island stretches is approximately 2900km north to south from Veliola at 22S x 112E to the peninsula south of Gianora at 46S x 111E. From Carovente at 29S x 89E on the Fairwind Passage to Driftwood at 39S x 129E on the Sea of Sancelia, the continent stretches some 3700km.
The coastal regions surrounding the entire island are green and lush, ranging from subtropical in the north to temperate in the south. The inland areas are much rockier and dry.
Glass Mountains
The Glass Mountains are a jagged volcanic range that runs west to east across the middle of the Main Island of Senecia just beneath the 30th parallel. These mountains are named for their abundant deposits of silicates and volcanic glasses such as obsidian, as well many rich deposits of gold, lead, and copper, and rarer metals such as zink and aluminum.
MGS Triangle
The MGS Triangle is named for the three cities Malfincia (42S x 117E(, Gamania (36S x 103E) and Sandante (34S x 114E) that roughly form the geographic perimeter of the region, as well as its major trade centers. This region, south of the Glass Mountains, is a high rocky plateau, and the driest region in the entire continent. The region is defined by a mining industry centered around the exploitation of relatively easily accessible deposits of gold, silver, copper and lead, as well as rarer metals such as platinum, zink and aluminum. The indutray here is made up of literally thousands of small independent mines, often fighting for struggling to maintain autonomy from large industrial guilds (and often as a consequence beholden to the private militias or criminal syndicates who 'protect' that autonomy).
North Coast
The North Coast region of the Main Island of Senecia, extending south to the Glass Mountains is the wealthiest region of the continent and remains the seat of the Senecian Empire. The region has a warm, subtropical climate, with precipation captured by the Glass Mountains feeding rich, volcanic soil and supporting a thriving agricultural sector.
Because sailing across the middle of the Widow's Sea is inefficient and dangerous, most trade with the archipelago come via the main island, and most of that comes from eastern Tulosz by way of the North Coast.
Povescia
The island of Povescia takes its name from the largest city on the island, located at 20S x 75E. It is separated by the Strait of Povescia from Southwestern Tulosz, only 250km away, and Carovente (29S x 89E) on the Main Island is only 325 km away across the Fairwind Passage. Geographically the island is situated beneath the Sea of Pearls between the Main Island of Senecia and two major subcontinents of Tulosz. It is also situated between the Widow's Sea and the King's Sea, where routes lead to the Passage of Miga. This central location connects it to many critical global trade routes, and makes it an important hub for sea trade across the entire southern half of the eastern hemisphere.
Senecian Archipelago
The Sencecian Archipelago is an 'an archipelago of archipelagos, inside an archipelago'. It is generally considered to include eight major island groups as sub regions, arranged in a semi-circle from Poglia in the north, then descriping a clockwise arc sweeping 180 degrees down to the isles of Stagia and Sancelia in the south.
Ciopral
The volcanic island of Ciopral gets its name from the city of same name on its western shores. There are many dangerous active volcanos on this island, and while it is not the smallest land mass in the Archipelago, it is the least populated. Port Flotsam (9S x 148E)and Ciopral(11S x 153E) are the only significant ports, with the lush tropical coast surrounded by many treacherous reefs and shoals. The entire population of the island lives with 10km of the sea in small fishing villages which are frequently displaced by volcanic eruptions.
Coral Isles
The Coral Isles, located between the Coral Strait and the Squall Strait take there name from the city of Coral (10S x 165E). These islands are sparsely populated tropical volcanic islands where exotic plants, fruits, nuts, dyes and animal and insect products (particularly poisons and venoms) are produced. Several dengerous active volcanos on this island periodically destroy villages, but the larger coastal cities are not particularly threatened by active volcanos.
Mount Furia
Mount Furia is an island named for a single enormous peak that dominates a huge volcanic range in the center of the island. Mount Furia is the tallest peak on Tear, rising over 9000 meters above sea level. It is an active volcano, constantly spewing magma from its peak. It is surrounded by dozens of major volcanos over 5000m high which are also constantly erupting, and the mountain may be growing taller by more than 1m every year. Mount Furia is beleived to either be the remnants of a supervolcano that exploded with the Upheaval in 2050 BCB, or it is a new volcano that formed as a result of that exposion and the subsequent collapse of the volcanic dome that now defines the Widow's Sea.
Due to constant and extreme volcanic activity, the central part of the island is uninhabitable. The only major port, Furora (9S x 132E) is considered to be the only safe city on the island (with safety being a relative concept here). The cities of Fondra (6S x 138E) and Silversword (11S x 139E) exist to exploit the resources produced by all this volcanism; precious metals, silicates, glasses and minerals are abundant, and even volcanic soils are exported to enrich and fertilized depleted lands in regions that have been overfarmed.
Mount Umbra
The island of Mount Umbra is named for a tall, active volcanic peak in the center of the volcanic range that makes up most of the interior of the island. Mount Umbra rises to 6000m above sea level, making it one of the tallest peaks on Tear, but still only two thirds the height of Mount Furia only 1700km away. Similar to the island of Mount Furia, the island of Mount Umbra has many active volcanos in the interior, and most of the safely inhabitable regions are along the coast. Below the fourth parallel south, the island flattens out into a floodplain where rich volcanic soils and rainwater cascading down the southern slopes of the mountains nourish a lush, tropical rainforest.
The largest city on the island, Mostontoga (5S x 159E) is largely safe from volcanic threat and serves as a major port. Precious and rare metals and minerals mined in dozens of camps in the high volcanic mountains are brought to down to Violpa, Whitebar and Cambicela to be smelted and refined before being shipped to Mostontoga where most of the island's exports are centrally managed by powerful industrial guilds.
Pirate Isles
The Pirate Isles are a small chain of islands, surrounded by treacherous reefs and shoals, situated between the Vercian Isles and the islands of Stagia and Sancelia. The islands are named for the pirates that have long raided shipping lanes in the Shearwind Strait, the Pirate's Channel and into the Sea of Sancelia. Many attempts have been made to crush the pirates operating in these waters over centuries, but dozens of small islands, with hundreds of coves, all surrounded by poorly mapped shallows and couring with dangerous riptides have made it impossible to root out pirates.
Only the cities of Aggli's Cover (31S x 154E) and Rum Barrel (34S x 149E) are reliably approachable by sea using details nautical charts dating from the early Imperial Era, and these cities - while not entirely lawless and anarchic - remain largely beholden to organized criminal groups who drive an economy based largely on piracy. Every other significant settlement can only be reached by crews with intimate knowledge of the reefs, the tides and the effects of shifting weather, and all of these are considered firmly under the control of whatever pirate captain has risen to the top of the heap.
During the orcish conquests, the pirates in these waters made privateering pacts with city states across the Senecian Archipelago and constrained their piracy entirely to attacking orc vessels. It is generally held that orcish progression around the archipelago was greatly stymied by this effort. With the creation of the Elvish Empire in 471, commanders of the privateer fleets were offered amnesty for previous acts and commissions in a newly formed Imperial Navy. Many accepted, and most of these who refused were assassinated, but the attempt to eradicate piracy in the region through diplomacy, subterfuge and assassination failed also.
Poglia
The island of Poglia takes its name from the largest city on the island, located at 17N x 132E. It is one of the larger islands of the continent, and is almost as large as continental Waeyron. It is separated by the Surging Strait from the island of Mount Umbra, only 140km away, and the southeaster tip of Tulosz is only 300km away across the Passage of Poglia. Except for a peninsula to the south, the entire island is in the northern hemisphere.
Despite being situated on the equator, Poglia maintains a fertile subtropical climate everywhere, year round. While the island has several active volcanos, none of them are deemed to be threatening to the major population centers. Major industries here include the production of paper, rope and textiles, as well as a wide range of rare inks, dyes and spices. Cultural and commercial connections with Whirling Sea and Plains of Bulostioi regions of Tulosz are critical, and the majority of trade between these regions and the rest of the Senecian Archipelago goes throuhg Poglia rather than through the Main Island.
Stagia and Sancelia
The islands of Stagia and Sancelia are cross the Sea of Sancelia from the Main Island of Senecia and mark the southernmost extent of the Senecian Archipelago. These two large, hilly, volcanic islands likely existed in some form prior to the Upheaval of 2050 BCB, but long dormant volcanos across these islands are beleived to have been reactivated by this major geological event, leading to an expansion of the islands, fusing them into larger, contiguous land masses. Following this period of increased volcanism, the volcanos on these islands largely went dormant, with only a few, small, non-threatening active volcanos remaining.
The two major islands, Sancelia (to the north) and Stagia (to the south) are separated by a narrow channel less than a kilometer wide at its narrowest places, and crossed by multiple bridges. The channel is usually navigable, but occasional extremely low tides make the route impassable. As with all tides on Tear, these extreme tides are not predictable more than a few hours in advance, and so can be quite disruptive to certain shipping routes and extremely dangerous for ships traversing the channel when this happens.
The northern island, named for the city of Sancelia at 43S x 140E, is somewhat flatter and drier than the southern. The coastal areas are sub-tropical rainforest, while the interior areas are dominated by rocky hills and grasslands. The southern island is named for the city of Stagia at 48S x 127E. Here the majority of the island, both coast and interior, is given over to temperate rainforest. Located at 50S x 139E is the city of Shoal, which is the southernmost extent of the entire continent.
Vercian Isles
The Vercian Isles are the southwesternmost group of islands in the Senecian Archipelago. The chain extends from the city of Squall (24S x 167E) on the Squall Strait and the Sea of Tears in the north, stretching some 2300km south to the city of Shearpoint (45S x 160E).
Similar to the islands of Stagia and Sancelia, this island chain likely existed in some form prior to the Upheaval of 2050 BCB and were fused into a larger, contiguous land mass in many places by increased volcanic activity following the event. After this, the Vercian Isles stablized considerably, and while there are still several small active volcanos on the islands, none of them is considered an imminent risk or a direct threat to any populated area.
The Vercian Isles are covered in idyllic, sub-tropical rainforests in the north and temperate rainforests in the south. The land here is exceptionally fertile and productive, and these islands are the most populous and most densely populated islands in the archipelago. The island is also important to global trade as the city of Colrigna (171E x 28S) being the further eastern port on the Sea of Tears, and providing the shortest route (1900km) to Inik, Sekhu and the other southwestern continents of Tear.