Mazhan-- The Land
The island of Mazhan was 120 miles north and west of the coast of Druma. At around half the size of Endeiras, it is often out of sight and out of mind for the people of the mainland. The nation of Mazhan occasionally claimed a handful of colonies on the stony shores of Druma, but these faced fierce opposition from the native Nimori and other clans and never prospered.
The island was mountainous, with lush central valleys and ancient forests. Cities of austere grace grew there. The mountains gave forth stone and iron, the forests gave forth silkworms and timber, and the seas gave up fish and salts.
The great cities of Mazhan were Malachite, Crucible, Vision, Tower-Shell, Tempest, and Anathema. Malachite was a city on two hills, spanning a valley. Crucible stood at the foot of a long-extinct volcano. Vision was a city on the side of a mountain, with a monastery at its peak. Tower-Shell was a fishing city, named for a type of mollusk that inhabited its bay in large numbers. Tempest stood on the island’s northern, storm-wracked coast. Anathema, built centuries after the others, was on a tiny, nearly barren island near Mazhan. It took its name from its populace of exiled heathens and blasphemers.