Intro:
SURESS is a large western barony positioned below Fyd and Valsar. It is a land of rolling hills and fertile fields, the heartland of Hurvan agriculture. Suress is the home of a small high elven kingdom, with whom the Suressians are quite friendly with. (though only on a formal, diplomatic level - elves are not welcome in most human cities) Baroness Gelia is rumored to be at least 1/4 elven.

Borders:
Suress occupies the southwestern quadrant of the Hurvan mainland. It's borders run along the Shipsbane Sea coast (including the Barrier Islands) all the way to the beginnings of the Boar's Head Peninsula. From there, the border heads ENE, then NE before resuming a ENE course which takes it towards Geston. It crosses the Sceptre River about 120 miles upstream from the capital. It then parallels the Couronne River — staying about a day & a half's walk from it — until the Couronne bends towards the East. Then the border heads almost due NW until it comes to the foothills of the Palims. It then follows the foothills SW until it comes to Déarn's Pass. It follows the pass to the west, and then continues due west to the coast of the Celestial Sea.

General Feel of Placenames:
Anything outside of the general area of Istur could have elven names or even human derivations of Elven or Middle Elven names—especially to the south and east in and around the Suresanti Forest. Istur & it's surrounding area tends to have a generic fantasy feel to it's names. Even though native Isturians tend to have Italian sounding names, there are not many like-sounding place names around Istur. Human place names from the Wydendeep River east towards and the Barony of Gessel will have Anglo-Saxon sounding names. As you look closer towards the capital of Geston, you'll begin noticing a shift towards French or Flemish sounding names.

Other Nomenclature:

Suress: "Suressian". Some humans have chosen to attempt to even further distance themselves from the elven roots of the region, thus the term "Surian" used in contexts such as "Surian Leather" and "Surian Cheese".

"Suresanti" only refers to the high elves & elven things of Suress.

Istur: "Isturian"

Major Geographical Features:

Major Rivers:

Wydendeep River
This 1,145 mile long N --> S flowing river cuts the southern branch of the Palim mountain almost in half. Many rapids and waterfalls can be found there. It then snakes its way for some 200 miles cutting several gorges across the open plains before entering the Snakebite Marsh. I finally reaches its destination in Tritherion Bay.

Couronne River (actually in Gessel)
Sceptre River
These two rivers come together in Geston to form the Melachean River (named after Meleus Achea, first King of Hurva) All three of these rivers were renamed in or around HY 557 when the capital was moved to Geston. That means they have older names - probably elven, though the early hurvans & barbarian nomads around Palk probably had their own name for the Melachean.

Chablis River
A major tributary of the Wydendeep which snakes its way through the rolling hills of Surian wine country before entering the northeast corner of the Snakebite Marsh.

Aydindril River
The Aydindril flows out of the Suresanti Forest and empties into the Wydendeep in the southernmost reaches of the Snakebite Marsh.

Suresanti Forest
Located in SW Suress this sylvan paradise averages about 500 miles in diameter. Named by humans after the Suresanti high elven kingdom which is somewhere in its borders, the elves would have their own name for it. All manner of faeries dwell there as well as many other sylvan creatures.

Lake Oskari
This 200 mile long lake is about 70 miles at its widest point. It sits in the NW section of the Suresanti Forest. The view from its shores is said to be one of the most beautiful spots in the known world - not that humans see it very often. It's actually big enough to be called an inland sea.

Snakebite Marsh
This wetlands is renown for being warm and sticky. Perfect for the lizardmen and who knows what else that dwell there. On the more elevated sections sub-tropical forests thrive. Lower areas are quick to fill with water and be covered by aquatic plants. Three major rivers (the Wydendeep, Chablis and Aydindril) flow through the marsh despite being almost totally obscured by reeds once they enter its boundaries.

Bittor Quagmire
To the east of the Snakebite Marsh lies an area of mud and muck. During the stormy season, large parts of Bittor Quagmire form lakes that attract migrating birds. But for most of the year, this area is seemingly devoid of life.

Spikestone Desert
A rocky wasteland SE of Istur that's wedged between the Palim mountains and the Suresanti Forest. It's some 185 miles long but only 30-50 miles wide. Mentioned (though not by name as you choose not to go there.) in Temmer's journal.

The Barrier Islands
Somewhat like the islands off the coast of the Carolinas, although a bit more brush and a few trees grow there and they are significantly wider and somewhat higher above sea level. These help protect this part of the coast from the occasional hurricanes during the stormy season. There are four really big islands and two smaller islands in the chain.

The Pirate Isles
This archipelago of 14 larger and countless smaller islands is only 170 odd miles down the coast from Istur. A perfect hiding place for pirate vessels with numerous sheltered coves and many thorps and hamlets that have no traces of government whatsoever.

Sanellor Isle
The Artair Island Retreat can be found in a sheltered cove on the southeastern side on this island. The entire island is enchanting and bedazzles anyone with its beauty.

Rodrick's Isle & Tyrone Isle
Two islands some 200 odd miles north of Istur. Rodrick's Isle is the larger one and is covered with medium forests. And Tyrone, the lightly wooded and smaller one, is closer to the coast.

___________
The rolling hills of central and northeast Suress have a couple of named subdivisions. Some of it is wine country; other areas are used as pasture lands but much of it is still uninhabited wildlands.

Southwest Coastal Region
The area near the coast, buffering the Suresanti Forest from the sea and extending across much of the southernmost reaches of Suress and Gessel, is chaparral. Parts of it in southwest Suress resemble the southern parts of California - but without the technology of irrigation, much of this land is uninhabitable. A few fishing villages scratch out a survival in this area, but they are all quite small and are few & far between.

Darkwood
Fills most of the tract of land between the Palims and the Celestial Sea. A dense forest that is not a safe place due to the numerous goblinoids, humanoids, dangerous animals and magical beasts that call it home.

Palim Mountains
A branch of the Palims cuts southwest deep into the heart of Suress. Several subsections of these have distinct names. The ranges that are west of the Wydendeep River and south of the Sceptre River are smaller than the range which is east of the Wydendeep and north of the Sceptre, which is tall enough to have a tree line.

Draugamon Hills
The Draugamon Hills are the foothills of the Palims near Istur. Some of the lower footihills have human settlements - others further up are home to humanoids such as kobolds and orcs. Other monsters often encountered in these areas include basilisk, trolls, giant lizards, peryton and the occasional giant.

Deception Pass (was known as Reception pass years ago) is the primary trade route through the Draugamon Hills. Stirges are a regular nuisance to caravans along this route. Enormous gates that mark both entrances to the pass. The ancient gates are works of art, carved with runes and intricate scenes of long-forgotten dwarven warriors. A dwarven stronghold at the midpoint of the pass has been abandoned for centuries. No one really knows how deep into the earth it goes. Many small caves dot the length of the pass, which are occassionally serve as homes for wandering monsters.

Reefs
There are two major reefs off the Suress coast. The larger, Jvengar's Path is found between Sanellor Isle and the Pirate Isles. The other is east of The Barrier Islands on the edge of Tritherion Bay.

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Istur (M)
Visited by characters many occasions; base of campaign; perhaps most densely populated Hurvan city as other comparable sized cities (Geston & Palk) have more of their population scattered in out lying villages. Climate resembles that of the Virginia or Carolina coast. The city hasn't been quite the same since a grouping (clutch?, pack?, pride?,...gazebo?!?) of gremlins got loose from Dorvin's Ice House in HY 1083 and have been multiplying faster than they can be killed off.

Grydykar (H)
About 185 miles NE of Istur. In Temmer's journal - base town for rescuing Branod Kolnet.

Karpesh (H)
A long days walk SW of Grydykar (thus closer to Istur). Mentioned on 1/3 page of Temmer's journal as the place where he was tried for not paying spellcasting dues in a makeshift courtroom.

Amril (V)
135 miles ESE of Istur on the eastern side of Deception Pass. The pass is extremely important as it's the first of several passes along the primary overland trade route that connects Istur with the Wydendeep River valley. The Iron Horse Inn is the place for travelers to eat or stay.

Claveria (ST)
On the western side of Deception Pass. Was Duke Evensong's town. Also, the location of the RHA outpost where Kariya, Gil & Rosencrantz were stationed.

Whitehart (ST)
A fishing community on the southern coast just east of the last of the Barrier Islands; Temmer & Co. went there to catch a boat to Istur.

Pelargir (ST)
This town of about 1,700 people sits at the furthest upstream navigable reaches of the Sceptre River. It does a thriving business in the construction and rental of keelboats for traders headed to Geston and beyond. Caravans traveling upstream often sell or trade oxen that helped pull their keelboats upstream for draft horses and mules to cross through the mountains. There is a RHA post here (staffed solely by troops provided by the local duke), to help protect this vital link on the trade routes from the dangerous creatures in the surrounding mountains (although the town has been virtually destroyed several times over the years by various monsters). There are shrines to Azkal, Jvelto (Abedi's 'side' altar is larger than the main one to Jvelto) and Wajen here.