Banner of Cothique
The Kingdom of Cothique is a coastal realm, inhabited by shrewd and hardy seafolk. It is a cold realm, battered by chill northeastern winds, and little-loved, save by its own people. Yet even these folk of Cothique are renowned for their wanderlust, and reputedly spend as little time within their own land as possible. Their graceful vessels plough the turbulent northern waters in search of goods and trade with different lands. This is a highly dangerous area to sail, not just because of the perilous waters, but because the seas contain many monstrous creatures stirred up by the collapse of northern Ulthuan centuries ago. Kraken, huge shark-like Megaladons, Behemoths and even the dreaded Black Leviathan are all known to lurk in the waters north of Ulthuan.[1a] The sailors of Cothique actually seek out these monsters in great sea-hunts, matching their skills and the speed of their light craft against brute strength and animal cunning. The brunt of Norse raids from beyond the Old World also fall upon Cothique and the elves of Cothique have been toughened by centuries of warfare with these fierce human warriors. The small harbours that line the rocky coast of Cothique hold many craft which double as warships in times of need.[3]
To survive in such waters requires great skill, but the Elves of Cothique are the finest sailors in the world. Sleek, alabaster war-catamarans prowl the coast, their lookouts ever alert for deep-spawned perils. Sky-ships, their timbers infused with magic, scout the reefs and archipelagos in search of Dark Elf raiders, while messengers mounted on the giant flying fish of the outer isles carry news landward.[1a]
In these dwindling days, most of Ulthuan's realms are inward-facing, concerning themselves with the wider world only when not doing so would invite disaster. Only the nobles of Cothique look to the wider world as a source of opportunity. This is why the later voyages of Finubar the Seafarer were conducted on ships from Cothique, for no other living mariner on Ulthuan could match the breadth of knowledge found within that realm. Cothique's cities and fortresses are more practical and of much sturdier build than those found in other realms. After all, they were designed primarily to survive the weather, rather than serve as aesthetic examples. Indeed, the realm's true treasures can be found underground, amidst the network of caves and caverns that honeycomb the region's cliff faces and valleys. It was to here that the folk of Cothique retreated during invasions of times past and, over the centuries, that which was born of necessity became a way of life.[1a]
Now, many of Cothique's palaces lie beneath the surface. Their walls are the land's alabaster rock, brilliant polished and decorated with a web-work of finely wrought silver and star sapphires. No shadow falls here, for darkness is a fit companion only for Goblin warrens and the grim redoubts of the Dwarfs. Instead, Cothique's grottoes and halls are lit by the most accomplished mages of the realm. Anywhere else in the world, underground halls such as these would be under constant threat from the Skaven – but to Ulthuan, which rests not on bedrock, but is rather held upon the waves by magic, the ratmen can make no subterranean passage. Alas, as glorious as the halls of Cothique are, the finest were lost during the dark days of the Sundering. The waters of the Eastern Ocean rose up in a mighty wave and flooded the palaces nearest to the sea. Though the waters mostly retreated – as it did not in Tiranoc and Nagarythe – no Elf will lightly enter those chambers, for the bitter tang of the sea and the stench of the wave-rotten dead hangs heavy about them. Indeed, Cothiquan mariners tell that the spirits of the drowned still haunt those passages, holding court amongst tapestries of tangled kelp and hoards of tarnished treasure.[1a]
Cothique has rocky coasts and treacherous seas, so it comes as no surprise that its inhabitants are all skilled seafarers. In the coastal cities half the Elven warriors are at sea at any time, while the other half are at home guarding the coasts. Elves whose families came from Cothique can be found in all the great Elven colonies overseas. The warriors are also sailors who spend much of their time at sea and fight most of their battles against seaborne enemies and raiders. Encounters with sea monsters are regular parts of a warrior's life, and some wear cloaks made from the hides of these creatures or armour styled in the fashion of sea serpent heads. Armour is often tinted with shades of blue or green.[2a]
Trivia
- In Cothique, the sea is noted for being a shimmering blue that stands in stark contrast with the green of the land. Rich and fertile fields are worked by yeomen, whilst glasshouses cultivate enchanted fruits within magically controlled environments. Here and there, on higher ground, mansions still dot the kingdom. Tyrion noted that such buildings could fit his father Prince Arathion's villa twice over. That said, even some of the yeomen cottages are more luxurious than Arathion's mountain home, and while he may have been the richest land owner in his area, the same could not be said of those settlements still in view of the sea.[3a]
