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SENDARIA
GEOGRAPHY
Sendaria, or the lake country, is one of the smallest of the twelve
kingdoms. It lies on the northwest coast and encompasses those
lands to the west of the Algarian grasslands and north of the Greater
Camaar River. It is bordered by Arendia and Ulgoland to the south,
Algaria to the east, the Gulf of Cherek to the north and the Sea of the
Winds to the west. Although there are mountains along Sendaria's
eastern side, they are largely uninhabited, and the bulk of the
population lives on the fertile plain extending from their western slopes
to the Sea of the Winds.
Because of the abundant rainfall and rich soil, Sendaria is the
breadbasket of the western kingdoms, and her agricultural exports
provide one of the pillars of commerce. Sendaria is also one of the
more thickly-populated kingdoms. It is, above all, a tidy nation,
with neat farms and well-scrubbed cities.
The population is largely dispersed, and there are more towns
and villages in Sendaria than in the other kingdoms. The roads are
well-maintained and provide a useful network for the rapid
movement of farm produce to market.
The two major cities are Camaar, the major seaport of the north,
located on the southern border at the mouth of the Camaar River,
and Sendar, the capital, located on the coast just below the westward
jut of the Seline Peninsula. Like most seaports, Camaar is a
brawling, rowdy town, but Sendar is prim and proper and has a great
respect for the civilities.
There are fairly extensive gold deposits in the mountains which
have drawn generations of fortune-hunters who have added to the
melting-pot nature of Sendaria.
* This section is more detailed because 'Our Hero' is raised in Sendaria and
believes that
he's a Sendar.
THE PEOPLE
Perhaps the best way to describe a Sendar is to repeat the old joke
wherein one man asks another, 'What is a Sendar? and the other
replies by asking, 'Indeed, what is he not?' In truth, Sendaria, the
crossroads of the north, is home to virtually every racial stock to be
found in the west. Because of the enormous fertility of the land,
settlers from every kingdom have found their way there. It is even
possible in certain remote villages to find certain strikingly pure
Angarak strains. The land is settled by Alorns from the northern
kingdoms, Arends and Tolnedrans from the south, and even an occasional
Nyissan. To prevent the kind of bickering and even open bloodshed
such a volatile mixture might very well engender, the Sendars have
developed an elaborate and strictly-observed etiquette. No mention is
ever made of a person's race or religion, and the open proselytizing on
behalf of one's God is considered the worst form of bad manners.
Sendars will discuss crops, weather, taxes and other practical matters.
but will never discuss race or religion. They are hard-headed, practical,
and their kingdom operates at a profit so that taxation (which they all
complain about) is extraordinarily light. By some happy chance, the