For many ages the world that lies beyond Thedas has been largely unknown to us. Rumors and Legends exists, tales of hardy sea captains crossing the ocean in search of treasure or ill-fated forays into the wilds, but they have always been buried under hearsay. Any serious attempts at exploration have been foiled by either the devastation of the Blights or the discouragement of waters plagued by both pirates and Qunari dreadnoughts.
Still, with so many ages having passed since the Fourth Blight, the nations of Thedas are slowly pushing at the edges of their borders. It is inevitable that interest will turn outward, and that both landless settlers and intrepid kings will seek new lands to claim. The question, then, is what will await us when the shadows lift and the age of human exploration begins in earnest?
To the North and South
The first thing we must consider, before casting our eyes beyond the shores of Thedas, is that we have not even explored our home completely. Most maps stop at the forests of the South and the jungles of the North, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that considerable territory lies beyond both these borderlands - inhospitable as it may be.
In the South, most knowledge stops at the expanse of wilderness in southern Orlais and Ferelden. This is not true for the Chasind people who live in those forests, however. According to them, if one travels far enough to the south, the trees give way to "sunless lands" that spend much of the year covered in snow, and places even farther, filled with mountains of ice. As inhospitable as this sounds, there are already people who live there. My first impression is that these were other Chasind, but I was harshly corrected on that point. Considering the Chasind word for them, Agadi, is also their word for "exile", my suspicion is that these are groups who were expelled from the forests and have since splintered off into their own culture. Certainly bad blood lingers, and the Chasind consider the sunless lands to be dangerous and forbidden.
In the North, one must first survive the dangers of the Wandering Hills in the Anderfels before reaching the northern jungles known as the Donarks. The threats there, aside from disease and savage wildlife, include Qunari out of the enclave of Qundalon. Tevinter sailors report that the jungles extend far to the north, although accounts of just how far vary wildly. The Tevinter word for this expanse is Viridis - "the Green" - and it is the word that adorns the few nautical maps that include the region. Anything beyond the coastline is a mystery, however, and if the tales of flying chimera and wingless dragons have any truth to them, it is no wonder that the jungles hold little interest to most.
The Boeric Islands
Most people of Thedas are aware of the islands immediately to the north of our shores. Par Vollen, home to the dread Qunari, and Seheron, a land that has been in constant contention for many ages. Few are aware, however, that the Boeric Ocean to the north is littered with islands, some of which are quite substantial in size. Some provide haven for pirates, while others have colonies belonging to either the Qunari or the Tevinter Imperium (and which change hands as war between them rages on), but there are many reports of other islands far beyond the reach of both nations.
Of particular interest is the possible existence of a large island called Par Ladi. Legends suggest that the inhabitants of the island, Parladians (for lack of a better term), are an insular people uninterested in contact with outsiders. According to one detailed account, the Parladians are said to have a capital with coastal fortresses that rival any in Thedas. The people there are "bedecked in gold and jewels, as cultured as any Tevinter nobleman even though they spoke an unknown language," and are quick to expel any foreigner who approaches - even, according to the account, a crippled ship that limps into their ports.
The interesting question, if these Parladians do indeed exist, is why they have no attracted the attention of the Qunari. Perhaps they have, but their fortresses are enough to hold their enemy back, and we in Thedas hear nothing of their battles. Other sailor tales, however, raise a more interesting possibility. They speak of Parladian witches, reminiscent of Rivaini seers, who have cloaked their island in a spell that discourages any who seek it out. Superstitious nonsense, or an explanation as to why no serious effort to contact these people has ever occured? Whatever the truth, the lack of a berth in the Boeric Ocean (whether by virtue of the refusal by Parladians to offer it or the lack of their existence) has prevented Thedosian ships from ranging further north.
The Mysterious West
If one journeys west across the Anderfels, one will reach the settlement of Laysh. Once a sprawling port town, Laysh largely fell to ruin after the Third Blight... but not, as one might suppose, due to darkspawn attacks. The entire purpose of Laysh was to receive ships from across the Volca Sea, odd-looking cargo vessels that would arrive laden with wares and spices of a like never seen in Thedas. The trade was lucrative enough to justify Laysh's existence even in such harsh territory, at least until the traders stopped coming in the early Black Age.
According to Ander legend, these traders were called Voshai. There were also said to be hostile to the people of Laysh, completely uninterested in learning the king's tongue for anything more than barter, and almost obsessively interested in acquiring lyrium. Also of interest are the tales that said the captains of every Voshai ship were dwarves, treated with such deference that it implied dwarves held a place of profound power in their society... or, at the very least, among the seafarers of their culture. In contrast, there are no reports of elves on the Voshai ships.
While Laysh was hardly a port of sufficient size to build sturdy ships, it is said that several Tevinter merchant houses banded together to mount an expedition, with the thought, "If they won't come to us, we'll go to them." The expedition did not return, and neither did the few vessels that followed, until eventually all interest in the Voshai faded. Reports in recent years suggest the Voshai ships may have returned to Laysh, supposedly carrying tales of a "massive cataclysm" in their homeland - the reason for their absence, perhaps? - though the truth of these reports is questionable at best.
Across the Eastern Ocean
The Amaranthine Ocean, lying to the east of Thedas, is a massive body of water plagued by terrible storms, as well as sea creatures. According to Antivan legend, however, a few daring sea captains have made the crossing... and found an untouched and verdant land. Universally referred to as "Amaranth" in these tales, it is said to be completely uninhabited by any civilized race. Indeed, the descriptions attributed to these captains suggest the land is almost a paradise, completely devoid of creatures larger than a small bird. True or not, at least one captain suggested that Amaranth held great promise for future settlers, willing to make the dangerous voyage.
It is at this point that the legends regarding Amaranth become questionable. One story suggests that a group of Old God cultists departed for the land aboard a trio of ships in the late Storm Age. Another suggests that several groups of settlers sponsored by Free Marcher merchants left from the island of Estwatch in the Blessed Age. Still more claim the same is true for several pirate lords of the Felicisima Armada. All such tales end the same: with the expeditions never being heard from again. One tells of a Marcher lord's valiant wife commandeering a vessel to cross the ocean in search of her lost husband, only to find his settlement mysteriously abandoned and a lone survivor so crazed with terror that he killed himself rather than be taken from the cave in which he hid.
It is entirely possible that such tales are exaggerated, the sort of common legend that spreads and changes with each passing, and that Amaranth does not exist - the idea of a paradise across the ocean is an alluring one, after all. Some scholars have advanced the notion that, should a land exist to the east, it is most likely where the Qunari came from.... and thus why would such a land be uninhabited? Did the Qunari abandon their homes completely, leaving no trace of their former civilization? Or did they come from elsewhere, and Amaranth is simply another land with a mystery that will one day be solved by future explorers?
you guyyyys keep my brain cogs so busyyyy....
Retour en haut
(maybe NSFW,..he's in his undies)
I haven't really looked though.
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