Geography

The Ring of Tears is a circle of twelve islands lying just outside the mouth of the Bay of Winds, off the coasts of Torrigan and Melanos. Its climate is temperate, verging on cool, and somewhat wet; a common sight of the Ring is that of a circle of green, vaguely mountainous islands, wreathed in pale mist.
The Ring is somewhat isolated; though it is only a long day's boat trip from the mainland, not too many travelers tend to journey there, perhaps because the inhabitants of the Ring prefer their privacy. For whatever the reason, the Ring is as shrouded in mystery as it is in mists, and is associated with the exotic.

There are a large number of cultures and races living on the Ring, possibly the highest concentration of varying peoples anywhere. The most prominent culture on the Ring is the Shenmiri, who reside in communities on five of the islands in the Ring. The Shenmiri are the most publicly known of the Ring's cultures, and many people believe, mistakenly, that the Ring of Tears is inhabited only by the Shenmiri. Other inhabitants of the Ring of Tears include a race of elves called the Nevia, and a knot of the Ilear, in one of their rare cities.
Most of the peoples of the Ring of Tears live by trade, and some of the finest craftsmanship in the world comes from the Ring of Tears. Artisans of the Ring send their goods to ports on the mainland to be sold, or traded for materials not to be had on the Ring. Some consider it odd that there are no trade ports on the Ring of Tears.

Copyright © 1999 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.