Mar Dèkali

Dekàli Sea, The Western Sea

Those few surviving maps dating to the Andùl Illyra period, the great western sea was labeled Toryd Hirgydra (sea of the monster) for it was told that all ships that sailed into the West were devoured. The first Yrūni maps detailing portions of both the east and west coasts of the ocean were made early in the 1st century HK by Dekàli cartographers. The sea-spanning empire’s name was often written over the sea in these early maps and was later adopted by mapmakers from Tassèrus to Vulmùra.

The Mar Dèkali is notoriously difficult to navigate in the best weather and treacherous in all other conditions. Strong winds and shifting currents vie to pull ships off course. In the south, sudden and violent storms are common in the Spring and Summer months. These storms move northward in the Autumn and Winter carrying heavy snows and plummeting temperatures to otherwise temperate coasts. The most dangerous element encountered on the Western Sea are the frays, areas where the Tapestry has been undone. Even without sailing directly through a fray, it is speculated that these phenomenon contribute to the erratic nature of the sea. To combat these and other obstacles, the Dekàlyr developed a series of waypoints through which their ships might safely navigate from one port to the next. The waypoints instructed ship captains to navigate through a series of “harbors” until they reached their desired port. For much of the Old Empire’s span, these positions were closely guarded secrets. Since its fall however, some of the waypoints have been re-discovered, mostly from ancient map fragments. A merchant captain familiar with even a few of these waypoints can reach his destination more reliably than his competitors.

For much of the Third Age the Mar Dèkali was the world’s end for Yrūni explorers. Unaccustomed to long deep-sea voyages, the coast-following navigators rarely set out into the great blue expanse. The Elder Races did their part to discourage such exploration for fear of Yrūni expansion into the last bastion against Yrūn-kind, the western continent Teréðor. The Yrūn eventually found their way into the Uncharted Land via the Endless Sea. During much of the current age, the Mar Dèkali has served as a barrier between the Old Empire and the rest of the Yrūni world. That changed with The Allyri Campaign in the first half of the 8th century HK.

Regions, Geographic

The Mar Dèkali is bordered by the east coast of Teréðor, the west coast of Tassèrus, and the Hold of Vulmùra. It connects with the Mar Acentyri to the west and the Mar Sūlori to the south. Access to the Mar Nàrlori is possible through the Eylfāe-controlled (e.g., Arynzàlvya, Syðìsyril) Northern Strait.