Gerrim Sea

The Gerrim Sea is a large body of water that lies between the major continents of The Northland and Gerrim, and was named by the explorers from The Guild that first discovered Gerrim after sailing east from Haven. Unlike the ferocious and storm-covered Ukrat Sea in the west, the waters of the Gerrim Sea are mostly calm, making for easy sailing. Trade ships are numerous in the Gerrim Sea's waters, sailing in criss-crossing routes between Haven and Cruzando in the west to Gerrim in the east, and stopping along the way at the islands that dot the sea. Notable islands include the strange and heavily forested Inismona and the arid and windswept Bilraqighan, although many smaller inhabited islands are scattered across the sea. No ship is ever more than a day's journey from a port of some kind.

The Gerrim Sea is also home to the ancestral home of the Phulubits, Phulubolopolis, which lies at the bottom of the sea in the shallow coastal waters not far off of Haven's eastern shores. While the city has diminished in size somewhat due to Phulubits leaving for opportunities in Phulubos, it remains the second largest Phulubit settlement.

History
In Haven's early history, the Gerrim Sea was known simply as the Eastern Sea, and it has always been fairly well-mapped and well-traveled due to its tranquil waters. Havenic settlements dot the small islands all across the sea, and trade relationships with Bilraqighan have been in place for many decades, despite the Bilraqighani people wanting very little of what the Havenic merchants bring to their ports.

Inismona was discovered soon after Havenic ships took to the sea, but exploration efforts of the island have been marred by its dense forests and attacks from unknown natives. Reports from explorations attempts are confusing, with the nature of the landscape and the natives seeming to change with every report. No major effort has been made to explore the island interior in years, but several small ports have been built on the relatively safe coasts.

In 30 HE, an exploration vessel crewed by members of the Guild and adventurers that would one day be a part of the Iron Helix Syndicate sailed past the eastern-most mapped regions of the sea, eventually landing on the shores of a new continent. To the explorers' surprise, this continent was populated by a race of sentient humanoid elementals who had founded a civilization remarkably similar to that of Haven. The explorers learned from these natives that their land was called Gerrim, and they were the Gerrimites. Trade and cultural exchange deals were soon forged between Gerrim, The Guild, and Haven, and ships took to the newly renamed Gerrim Sea. These routes would soon experience an unexpected hiatus in the following weeks as every Gerrimite took part in a mysterious mass journey back to the heart of their capital, Gerrim City, and to its central landmark, the Soulforge. This unexplained isolation of the entire civilization lasted roughly one year, and afterward when the Gerrimites emerged, business continued as though it had never stopped.

The Gerrim Sea remained a relatively peaceful sea of trade and travel for 20 years until the Leviathan Impact destroyed Haven. For years afterward the sea was little-traveled, until the Gerrimites made contact with the Phulubits of Phulubos and began trading with them. As Haven began to rebuild, the Gerrim Sea returned to its normal busy state, and in modern times is busier than ever as enterprising Havenites sail outward to reclaim the small outer island territories that had also been lost in the Leviathan impact.