The Alagon Ocean

Brief Overview
Unlike other oceans, which may be more teeming with life and cultures, the Alagon Ocean is home to only a handful of nations, those who are resilient and capable enough to endure the ocean’s near-constant storms and chaotic currents, which grow worse towards the south. The south also features thick mist and boiling, churning currents. The Alagon Ocean is bordered by Castia, Arkanos, and Indoria.

Culture
The Lyranil Empire once spanned a great portion of Arkanos, Castia and the Alagon Ocean, but as provinces broke off, only the sea elves of the Alagon retained the name.

The sea elves of Lyranil have an alliance of necessity with Eadria, both facing the threat of Demograh and the Ashen Sea, as well as the other monstrous perils of the sea, but their relationship has warmed over time and both nations are currently friendly with each other.

The sea elves that live within the sea boundaries of Arkan and Teyrna are put in a difficult position, torn between the duty to their nation and the duty to their cousins in the depths. Many sea elven militias spontaneously form as impromptu reinforcements when ill news come from Lyranil.

Important Locations
Ariten, the Silverspire of the Sea
 * Ariten (Capitol, elven for Silverspire)
 * Simelisel (trade city, roughly translates to “Northern Azure Mountain”)

Ariten is the capital of Lyranil, the sea elf kingdom of the Alagon Ocean, the last remnants of the great empire of old. The main building of the city is a great silver shell that spirals, which is where the city gets its name. The shell is from some ancient leviathan of the deep, a great crustacean from many moons prior. The name of said monstrosity has been lost to the ages, but its shell remains, firmly embedded into the seabed.

Simelisel, the Northern Blue Mountain

Simelisel gets its name from the great mound of solid stone that it is based on, the stone itself an unnatural shade of blue, almost like it in itself is a massive gem. There are mines deep within the mountain where the Sea Elves mine out sapphires. They trade these sapphires with the surrounding nations, earning the elves from the city the nickname of Sapphire Elves.

Government
Monarchy.

Leaders
Alam Elitil, CG, Sea Elf aristocrat, King of Lyranil
 * Barely an adult by elven standards, the young prince was crowned King recently; merely 2 years ago, as a result of his mother’s assassination by an elite mercenary suspected to have been sent by the Haantar sahuagin.

Culture
Once one of the two “Twin Kingdoms of the Merfolk”, Eadria was the more diplomatic and cultural of the two, focused on advancing learning and other high-minded pursuits. When Eadresh succumbed to the corruption of Demogorgon, they had to become a militarised state in order to survive. However, the aid of the sea elves has allowed for a recent revival in ancient history among the inner cities, where many merfolk can actually afford the luxury of pursuing the noble professions of old.

Important Locations
Malresh, the City of Coral
 * Malresh (capital)

The City of Coral is the capital city of Eadria. As the name suggests, the buildings are made of coral. The merfolk of Eadria have found ways of shaping coral without harming it, essentially creating living buildings. The hub of activity as of late has been the great Coral Library, in use again after many years of the nation being a militaristic state.

Government
Monarchy.

Leaders
Scalar, LG Merfolk Divination Wizard
 * The venerable Coral Queen of Eadria, Scalar has ruled for over a hundred years. Kept alive by potions of longevity and other alchemy, her court is seriously considering turning her undead, so that she may rule forever. Under her premonitory guidance and keen intellect, Eadria’s population has flourished, their scholarly culture has been rediscovered, and the kingdom’s alliance with Lyranil couldn’t be strongest, as it was her repeated warnings to Queen Pyaruil in the days before her assassination that allowed her son to survive the attack.

Culture
During the Leviathan War between the ancient Dragon and Giant Empires, the seers and oracles of the Giants saw visions that warned them of how the war would end: neither side would win, but instead both would decline into oblivion, mere relics of a bygone era. While the war efforts had to proceed regardless, the sages built a massive flying city to safeguard the art, culture and lore of their empire, and cloaked it from any and all forms of detection. Giants of all types joined the city when it first took off, except for the Hill Giants, who refused to believe the war would end in anything but victory for their kind.

The Leviathan War ended as it had been foreseen, and for millennia Kovigh floated in isolation, watching silently from above as it circled the world. After The Warp that marked the end of the Age of Power, the Storm Giants decided their time of detached observation was at an end. They chose the area of the world they thought was in the most need, the Alagon Ocean, and revealed themselves to select groups in Castia, Indoria and Arkanos. Over the next Age, many mortals with an aerial affinity were invited to move into the city, and nowadays boasts a sizeable population of winged elves, air genasi, winged tieflings, aarakocra, harpies, aasimar and the like.

The giants of Kovigh have a loose caste system for themselves, and consider the other mortal races to be exempt from. The Storm Giants are the royalty, the highest authority in the city, but they are introverted and almost never seen by non-Giants. The Cloud Giants are the nobility, the day to day leaders that make the decisions that keep the city running smoothly. The Fire Giants are the smiths, craftsfolk and cooks, while the Frost Giants are the soldiers, guards and enforcers, and the Stone Giants are the laborers, artists, athletes and gardeners that look after the massive, life-sustaining hanging gardens of the city. The mortal races assist where they’re able and fill in niches like trading, bringing in resources from outside the city, and diplomacy.

Government
Oligarchy (Noocratic)

Leaders
Urukin Mistwalker, CN, Cloud Giant, Glamour Bard Vrakkis Stormseer, TN Storm Giant Cleric of Savras (Knowledge)
 * Urukin is a handsome and extremely popular leader, dubbed “The Duke of Dreams” both for his rare ability to dreamwalk and his lavish parties among the nobility, where illusions and enchantments flitter like clouds. However, many suspect he uses his powers to keep the population enamoured with his image as a benevolent and carefree ruler.
 * The least reclusive of the storm giants, Vrakkis appears whenever something serious is about to happen, with dire commands to be enacted without question. She is a dour and serious person, and completely unaffected by Urukin’s charms. The rare few that have seen her mention she is always running somewhere, chasing after a thread of fate only she can see.

Culture
Eadresh was the more practical of the Twin Kingdoms, focused on crafts and resource acquisition, perfecting techniques for digging into the seabed and unearthing precious minerals. However, it was this that eventually led to their doom. During the Age of Mists, the merfolk of Eadresh dug too deeply, and unearthed an ancient idol to Demogorgon, a relic from ages past. The idol’s magic took hold of the King’s mind, as well as those closest to him, and they slowly turned the nation to the worship of the Demon Prince.

In the culmination of a grand ritual in Demogorgon’s name, the merfolk were turned into what is now known as merrow, twisted and subservient to their god’s commands. They now terrorize the Alagon Ocean, though the merfolk of Eadria still cling to the hope that they might one day be cured or redeemed.

Government
Monarchy.

Leader
Sarless, Conquest Paladin of Demogorgon
 * Sarless is a huge Merrow, twisted by the vile power of Demogorgon, measuring at least 12 feet in length. Sarless is the same king whose mind was corrupted by the relic of Demogorgon all those years ago, his mind now twisted to crusade in the name of his Demonic Lord. He is always pushing to expand the boundaries of Demograh, sending waves of Merrow out at a time, always at odds with the merfolk and sea elves. He uses a longsword made of hardened coral and a shield made out of a part of a dragon turtle's shell.

Culture
The Ashen Sea is what mortals call the nation of Aboleths in the Alagon Ocean, its true name physically impossible for non-aboleths to pronounce. Named after the grayish mucus that aboleths secrete and which has been slowly tainting the unnaturally still waters of the nation, it is a place that many fear and which proves one of the reasons the Alagon Ocean is seldom visited.

The Ashen Sea begins off the western coast of Jaghai and extends a few hundred kilometers into the Alagon Ocean, with its capital city, a massive obelisk, floating a few meters above the surface of the waveless, perpetually calm waters. The aboleths once came through the Rift in Jaghai, and have been plotting against the nation ever since, forcing the Azure Wardens to fight battles on several fronts.

Important Locations
Xxiphu (Capital), marked by a massive obelisk

Government
Unknown (for now).

Leaders
Unknown (for now).