The Rhine Rhombus is a series of islands in the A region of Jaern. During the latter half of the year, The Rhine experiences The Freeze, causing the ocean between the islands to freeze over with solid ice allowing people to walk across it.

Most of Jaern falls under the hegemony of the island of Centralia. Centralia City acts as the capital of the Rhine, with most of the other governments of The Rhine answering to Centralia City. There are exceptions, of course, such as Prall or Scourgetide. However, the majority pay their dues to and receive benefits from Centralia City. The islands under Centralia still run their own governments, either as viceroys chosen by officials in Centralia or as governorates elected by the people of the island.

In the Rhine, whether one takes their shoes off inside the home is dependent more on the flooring a person has than anything else. This is especially true in areas under Centralian influence, as the lower classes may still have dirt floors, while most of the middle class and upper classes have proper wooden or stone floorings. It is expected that one takes their shoes off during fancy events such as galas or soirees given their high-class nature.

The Rhine is a vast archipelago composed primarily of volcanic islands. As such, the islands are surprisingly fertile due to the soil’s youth. This has led to the islands being covered in a dense temperate rainforest composed primarily of firs, sequoias, and cedars. Despite the fertility of the soil, many islands are not suitable for large scale farming due to a lack of space, more than anything. The islands of the Rhine are usually quite small, so supporting anything beyond individual farms on the larger islands is near impossible. These farms are usually owned by wealthy families due to the low availability of farmland.

The Rhine is reasonably far north compared to other Jaernian continents. As such, they are one of the few areas of Jaern commonly subjected to harsh winters. Most of the Rhine freezes over during the middle of the Sekafojo season, specifically during the months of Napen and Obern (the eighth and ninth months of the year, respectively), creating massive sheets of ice that bridge the islands together. Some have been known to walk from one end of the Rhine to the other during these months. It is during the Freeze that the islands of Northpoint and Southport come into their own. Despite the bitter cold of Rhine winters, many travellers visit during this time of year to participate in Centralian holidays and watch the popular skimmer races.

Dividing the Rhine by geographical regions is, perhaps, a folly, as it ignores the cultural differences between the islands and who rules them rather than taking the culture of the nations into account, whether individual or ruled by some other island in a hegemonic fashion. Despite this, geographers have attempted to create solid lines to divine the regions.

Due to most of the Rhine’s trading partners lying closer to the south, the Northwest of the Rhine have not been as thoroughly explored. While Northpoint is an important trading location, this is purely due to the convenience of accessing it during the Freeze rather than anything else. This area of the Rhine is populated mostly by old military forts turned into towns and lively coral reefs hidden by rocky coves treacherous for most ships. A few of the smaller islands, much further north than Northpoint, become inhabitable during the coldest weeks. The rest of the year is less eventful. The oceans thaw and life returns to its more normal state.

In contrast to the northwestern part of The Rhine, the Southwestern region is the most heavily populated, both in terms of islands and people. It is also one of the most central locations of the Rhine for crime. Pirates have set up a few cities, outside of Centralian control, and fences for stolen goods are common in most towns, despite the efforts of the T’orites and the local guards.

The Eastern Rhine is much colder than the rest of the Rhine. Given much of the Eastern Rhine is further north, a lot of it is closer to the poles and thus the most heavily affected by the Freeze. The land here is rich in natural resources greatly important to the rest of The Rhine.

The Centralian Isle is the main hub of the Rhine, for better or for worse. In the past, the Lords of Centralia conquered much of the Rhine, serving as its hegemonic rulers. In many cases, they hand-picked people to rule over selected islands once forcefully taken. Current Centralia has improved in such a manner, slightly. Most of the Centralian Lords have been ousted and replaced. Despite this, centuries of damage were done and reparations cannot happen overnight.

The Centralian Isle is home to a number of cities, including Centralia City as the capital. It is the most affluent place in The Rhine, serving as the main cultural center and effective governing body over The Rhine. In recent years, other cities such as Prall have gained their independence, indicating an intention for the current Centralian nobles to back away from their iron fist of control.

The Lojem Region is located about 2 months to the southwest. Ageron is located even further southwest, taking about a 5 month journey by ship to reach. Kratal is loacted about 4 months to the southeast.

The Rhine Rhombus is an area of the Rhine Archipelago that is notoriously dangerous for ship travel. Until recently, no one who had ventured there had returned alive. A recent expedition to the Rhombus discovered a giant item on the bottom of the ocean there, which sucks down ships, trapping them and their passengers forever. The group managed to deactivate the item long enough to escape but it could start up again at any time. This region of seas is located to the southwest of the Rhine with the Rhine being the eastern point. It covers approximately 375 sq. mets with the western corner 30 mets away from Taegel. The northern point is 19.5 mets to the northwest and southwest.

The predominant language of Rhine is Ferric. In most cities Ferric may be the only language spoken. On Centralia Island, it is becoming increasingly likely to run into someone who speaks Paroli, caused by the influence of southern trading companies and the influx of refugees after the Siege of Karfelon. Other islands have a mix of different languages depending on their populace. There are many lizard settlements that speak a mix of Sel'ict and Paroli, especially in the reefs and atolls of the Rhine.

A few groups have a social, political, and/or economic influence over large parts of the Rhine. These factions wax and wane in strength over time, some dying out entirely, others forming anew. Currently, these are the existing factions in the Rhine:

The Knights of Neptune was founded by Akvo’ka, the Ekvilibri of Helmrest's Natatorium, and a couple of their crew in the 2520's. It began as a small regiment of 3 ships, but quickly became known as folk heroes after saving a colony ship from a group of ruthless pirates. For the next 20 years, they’ve gained more in repute around the southwestern Rhine but are still limited to a handful of ships, crewed by firm believers in helping the common sailor and protecting the seas of Neptune. Recently, the movement has been gathering followers and equipment, and now has about 2 maraujos, 2 metioujos, and 4 kurujos, as well as a small number of patrolling attack ships. Their main focus is on protecting those who cannot protect themselves, or afford to hire the expensive services of the Stormfin Sharks.

Leaders: Akvo'ka (also goes by Akvo)

Heraldry: A white trident inside a seashell, emblazoned in the center of a dark blue field.

Based in Centralia, the Stormfin Sharks guild acts as mercenary ships for hire, protecting the interests of anyone with a bit of coin to throw around. Often, they have been hired by the Centralian Lords to follow their ships around to provide protection. They always fly a pair of flags, their main flag above a secondary flag that acts as a sort of “taxi light”. When acting as ships-for-hire, they fly a flag that looks like a ship’s silhouette with a deep blue background, as opposed to when already on a job, they fly flags that look like a ship’s silhouette with a bright red background.

Most of the Sharks act as 9-to-5 workers, bodyguards or insurance for merchant ships. They get annoyed when people mess up their name, since their brand is important to them. People sometimes mistakenly call them “Sharkfins” which they are quick to correct.

The Sharks have a working radius of 200’ before attacking ships that approach too close, firing a warning shot when a ship comes within 250’. This policy is made very clear, as they advertise this policy as much as possible.

Leaders: Oliver “Oli” Sharpe

Heraldry: A black shark fin facing the right, cut through by a black lightning bolt striking from the upper right to the lower left, in the center of a gold field.

The Pirates of Scourgetide name themselves as such because they believe in and uphold the agreement and pirates’ code established at the pirate town of Scourgetide. This code values honor and mercy, taking only what they need from those that can afford to lose it, and not killing unless it is absolutely needed. They believe that all pirates under this banner have a form of brotherhood and kinship, and that betraying that is condemning oneself to a lonely deserted island far away from any trade routes.

Leaders: Katura Jax (“Cap'n on High”), Fatima Abiduan (“First Mate”)

Heraldry: A white skull facing the right above a white cutlass (facing left) crossed with a white olive branch (facing right), in the center of a black field.