Codex XII·The Narrows
The Narrows
Not simply a strait, more like a chasm. It has its own weather, its own sound, its own reputation.
The Chasm
The thin strip of sea between the main body of Aldor and the Valdmere Empire to the north. Sheer cliffs on both sides. The sea compressed between them, dark, deep, and cold in a way that feels geological rather than merely climatic.
Character
The Narrows is not a body of water people cross casually. The cliffs make overland approach impossible. The sea is compressed and unpredictable, with its own weather patterns distinct from the open sea on either side.
The Valdmere Empire cannot easily invade the south by land because of it. Zarenthor sits above it, and The Watchful guard the clifftops. A crossing in daylight is spotted immediately.
Strategic Significance
Zarenthor sits at the most strategically significant point on the continent precisely because of The Narrows, simultaneously a natural fortress keeping the empire out and the one crossing point that, if breached, opens the south to everything north of it.