Inland Sea of Gha'rar

Place

Place Name:

Inland Sea of Gha'rar

Biome:

Inland Sea

Size:

1000 km2

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Inland Sea of Gha'rar is a very important place geographically. It is the transition point between the cold north, and cool south, and separates the southeast plains from the northern tundra and the western forest. The sea itself provides water for irrigation in the surrounding land and supports much fishing. Recently, the sea carries many large trading vessels between the towns on its coasts; trade has increased greatly since Clist Rodild's came to power.

To the north is the tundra leading into the Shauren Ice Plains, a treacherous place. Nomadic groups have moved up into the tundra in the past, but the only northern towns are on the coast. Everything in the north is kept well-insulated, to keep the inhabitants away from the fast chilling winds that sweep down from the ice-plains. The winters are particularly harsh, and large granaries are used to store up food for these times. From the north come valuable furs, especially from the northwest side of the sea. They are used to trade with the south and east in exchange for food.

West of the sea a small forest of large trees continues to thrive. This forest is called Maki'vha meaning "dripping ice" (icicles) named so since the end of the first ice age when the Shauran iceplains extended to the forest border and the forest was smaller. As the ice-plains creep south, the forest struggles harder to keep up with the local's logging. The wood from this area is hard and strong; it dries fast and burns very well. While the wood is optimal for the people who live around the sea and makes good ships, the sap does not have many uses.

Glue made from the sap does not hold, and the locals have given up on making syrup. Mushrooms that grow under in the loam around the thick trunks are an expensive treat which the locals hunt for persistently in early summer. There are some animals in the forest, which provide juicy raw meat and furs to the western villages. The Ahabu plains to the south are a wide expanse of tall grasses, which are known for setting on fire easily in the late summer as they dry up. There are many rodents and small game in the prairie, but most are hunted only as pests or for private consumption.

In some places on the far south side, the land under the grass is not flat: the ground is covered in dirt mounds inhabited colonies of biting insects. Few settlements have been made this far south, but some people are slowly moving closer as the northern lands get colder. There are many large towns on the south side of the sea. Firebreaks are a common feature in this area, and large swaths of the prairie are cut down every year in the summer to defend the towns. Roofs are often erected over public squares and markets, to protect the kin'toni during the hot summers.

There are a number of farms to the south, most of which grow vegetables for kin'toni consumption. When rain doesn't come, they are irrigated with water taken from the sea. There are many skilled fishermen in the south, and large fishing wharves dot the coast. Raw fish is a major food source in the south; big fishing rigs sail out into the sea frequently to drag nets through the schools of fish that live in the deep clear water. Although fishing is the main occupation of the coastal men, a few of them also catch crabs. The crabs are only found in the center of the lake, and quite deep, but are considered a delicacy in the towns all around the sea. Tsunamis usually appear every couple of years due to earthquakes under the center of the lake. The kin'toni who live here are accustomed to frequent rebuilding and maintenance of the towns.

More farmland and fishing can be found to the east, which is similar to the south in geography. One notable difference is that there is a small amount of quarrying in the east. There are not many minerals, but some cut stone and small amounts of iron come from this area. There are some existing quarries which are very deep in the northeast; these provide enough iron to build some farm implements. There is some coal in the larger quarries, and some of it is used as fuel, but most people still prefer cheap wood from the west.

There is one very large hill a couple of miles east of the sea, which is a famous landmark to the people who live there. On top of it is a large platform which holds up a large piece of metal. It has been visited by kin'toni scholars from around all the surrounding areas, who generally agree that it is the remains of anti-air laser turret. They suspect that the power source was removed long ago when the zu'aan lived in the territory; they probably used whatever power sources remained during their last stand. Overall the area surrounding the lake is a cool land rich in fertile soil and little game.

Plants

Most of the plants in the area grow either near to the sea or in the forest on the west. The thick prairie grass is used extensively in construction. It is cut, left to dry, then bound into bundles; then, it is tied onto wooden frames in thick mats. The kin'toni use plants from the forest for a number of purposes. Flowers and herbs are used by doctors for medicinal purposes; some that really work, and some that don't but bring money. Some types of berries or mushrooms are used as bait by fur trappers and hunters. The few vines that grow in the forest are used for making rope useful in the construction of houses or other structures. The trees are used mostly for construction; towns, ships, and carts are built with wood cut down by logging teams. A few vegetables that originated from the forest are cultivated, usually the ones high in vitamins.

The trees in the forest, known as bak'ta, are thick and tall. They are hard to cut down, especially because the wood is hard. It takes a sharp ax and plenty of time to get through. They are deciduous; their green leaves turn a blazing red in the fall and fall off before winter. Paintings of the forest in the fall are often placed on markets because the red makes them hungry. Because they grow close together, the forest floor is shaded, and tender flowers and herbs can escape the burning heat of the sun. The canopy supports some bird life, and now and then a large hornet hive. There are a wide variety of flowers on the forest floor, a few of them are especially notable.

The avroln mis'tis is a rare flower that grows only in early spring, but it is highly regarded by kin'toni in the medicinal practice. The plant has many stems which sprawl on the ground; they come up in early spring and their small, delicate, white flowers bloom for a short time. The flowers are picked, dried, and ground into powder. This powder is said to cure any illness if you can get enough of it, and it sells for a very high price in the markets. The abas bissum (red blossom) is the most culturally important flower. Growing on a single tall stalk among many wide leaves, the bright red flower is the first plant to sprout, but doesn't bloom until the middle of summer. It is often burned at meetings of the council, or at religious rituals, because of its pungent sweet smell.

The stalk contains a poison that does not take effect against a kin'toni but is very deadly to a zu'aan. It has been used once or twice in daring plots to take down nobles of that race. At the base of old trees grows another important plant. The bokok, as it is called by the common people, is a short mushroom that feeds off of underground roots. The tree, especially if it is wounded, can die if the mushrooms get very large. They can reach a foot in diameter if the rain is good. They grow in late spring to early summer when the rains come. They are cut into slices, cooked, and eaten with vegetables; the kin'toni have discovered that they improve eyesight. In the fields to the south and east, there are two major crops.

Many farmers grow lna'gag which comes from the word for "root". It is short and wide and becomes bitter if grown too long. It is planted in late spring and harvested in mid-fall. It stores well for long periods of time and is eaten throughout the year. It is usually put into a broth, along with fish chunks and small quantities of spices. It does not provide many nutrients, but it contains chemicals that neutralize poisons. The other vegetable, which is usually eaten raw, is a large leafy plant called Luttim. It grows very fast and is cold-hardy, but it is susceptible to sunburn in summer. The leaves are packed with vitamins that the kin'toni do not get anywhere else.

Animals

Animal life around the sea is heavily influenced by geography; weather patterns have a big impact on what can live where. Very few animals live in the northern tundra, but those that do are are mostly small and have warm furs. Some larger carnivorous creatures also live there. They are all good at conserving energy and body heat. The plains to the east and south are full of various types of smaller creatures which feed on small weeds or bugs. They are prey to the large birds that can almost always be seen circling the prairies on sunny days.

The forest has the widest variety of creatures. Many of the prairie creatures can also live in the forest, besides some larger carnivorous animals. The name of the sea comes from one such animal, the Gha'rar, which rarely will move into the prairies near the southern towns. Living in the tundra north of the sea is tough for any creature. High wind chill and lack of food are serious problems for life; however, a couple creatures do make their home here. Varha and k'lol-anhi are the most common creatures in the tundra.

The K'lol-anhi does not produce fur of much value, but Varha fur fetches a reasonable price. The varha eat the seeds of various hardy shrubs that grow in the tundra. They work hard to store the seeds in their burrows during the fall; if they don't store enough they will die during the winter. Sometimes, when they are running out of food, they will raid each others burrows, fighting to the death to claim the seeds that the burrow holds. The k'lol-anhi eat worms, and do not have to worry as much about food.

Eemyks are not very common near the sea, but there are enough to help control the population of the smaller creatures; they are almost all of the zyk breed. It is the eemyk fur that the most daring hunters seek for. If they fail to kill it immediately it may seriously wound them, but the fur is the most costly of all the furs around the sea. Some of the other breeds, although very rare in this area, have even more expensive fur. The south and the east prairies are inhabited by many smaller animals. Most of them live in social groups which can be small families, or expansive underground networks.

Most of them it insects, but a couple will also eat some types of weeds. They are the prey of large birds which roost in the forest. To the far south of the prairie there are some large dirt mounds underneath the grass. Inside the mounds, biting insects called maka-g'rupi (stinging worm). Kin'toni are not fatally wounded by the insects, but zu'aan can be killed if too many of the insects swarm them. Out of all the animals that live near the Inland Sea, one stands out very strongly to the kin'toni.

The name of the sea comes from the name of this animal: the gha'rar, or ghost. It is not really a ghost, but a small agile creature that lives in the trees. It is about the size of a small monkey, but has only a short tail. Very slight warps in space-time generated by their bodies bend light so that it is channeled through their bodies without reflecting off any matter. There are two types, translated as the white ghost and the blue ghost. The blue ghost is named so because it may appear as a blue haze right at dusk or early dawn.

This is because some light coming in at the right angle may reflect off of certain particles in its blood. Both are nocturnal and vulnerable on the ground. They eat fruits or berries, and require a large food intake to survive. The white ghost can turn off the space-time warping whenever it wants, to conserve energy. No one knows yet whether the blue ghost can do this; it's animal form has never been seen; however some lucky kin'toni have heard it chattering.

Like the white ghost it sounds like a squirrel. The blue ghost needs to eat even more. Because it eats many things that the white ghost does not, it's bite can be very poisonous. The gha'rar has been considered holy in some religions.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Ewther Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Inland Sea of Gha'rar

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This article is written by Miraheze user "AoleeAmbassador" (josiah_wi#9288 (discord)). Copyright 2026 AoleeAmbassador/josiah_wi#9288. All rights reserved.