View source for Forum:Global and regional issues/West Uletha - Grand Proposal for Sathria, Ghetoria and the Mesembric Sea region

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Hello, everyone! Some of you may have noticed that we are making some changes to West Uletha again. Before making a major, region-impacting change, we wanted to solicit any input on the proposed plan. As you can see on the map below, we are looking at moving a couple of territories, splitting off others, and reworking the coastline. The biggest change would be an expansion of the Mesembric Sea roughly along the lines shown below and the relocation of three territories. Other coastal adjustments are being considered but are not final.

[[File:WU admin plan Sathria.png|950px]]

We recognize that such a change is going to look major. One thing we are trying to balance is where we may be able to "reclaim" land instead of just perpetually sinking it into the sea. There has been an expressed desire for more coastal territories in the region, despite there being a couple still available. No doubt the dominance and inactivity of Sathria impacts this a bit. The relocation of Pohenicia is still something that will need to be fully worked out but is a part of this plan. The island portion of the territory is all that would be transferred, bringing its historic "Roman" core and Spanish-language mapping into a more logical area.

=== Rationale for the changes ===
On the proposed map, the main focus is the expansion of the Mesembric Sea and the clarification of cultural continua. As we searched the feedback on previous discussions and considered other (even passive) comments people made about the region, we realized that there were consistent issues that came up. Although the list here is wordy and long, we wanted to share our rationale. The proposal is an attempt to balance all of these goals with as little impact on existing territories as possible:
# &hellip;to find a cohesive and logically compact area for the "Roman" domain. By moving Romance-speaking and Romance-influenced Hellenic territories northeastward, we can limit what would have been more illogical expansion and holdings by any such "Roman" forerunner. It also means we can limit the "Roman" knowledge of the Liberan area, since the Saint Openge Strait can be reduced to known and intermittently used by merchants rather than heavily used by the empire at large.
# &hellip;to provide historical "Roman" access to Kalm and points northwest. With an extended sea, it allows for a coastal littoral area where Germanic and Romance cultures can intersect. This allows a creative space that has been asked about multiple times and provides a historic junction point between cultures that need to have interacted at some point substantially.
# &hellip;to strengthen and tighten the Romance-language continuum. The region already suffers from an artificial Romance continuum, but the stretching of it and separation of some related languages is a challenge to the realism. Romance-influenced languages like Eganian are also too far away from the rest of the continuum to easily explain away.
# &hellip;to create the opportunity for a true Hellenic area that is proximal to the Romance area while still having access to the sea. The Hellenic 'corridor' that is proposed retains the historical cross-cultural connections to the "Roman" forerunner, Sathria, and the ability to spread by sea in multiple directions. Keeping this corridor does not cut off western Ghetoria or northeastern Tarpehia while also serving as a buffer for major "Roman" influences that don't exist in ''en masse''. Hellenic-influenced areas further east in Uletha are just as easily accessible, if not more accessible.
# &hellip;to provide more room for Mazanic influences and other Middle Eastern cultures to be mapped. The restructuring of Ghetoria gives the ability for a wide-range of related cultures to pop up. This includes, but is not limited to, historic Berber influences (substrata of Castellan and Mauretia's cultures), Egyptian (with proximity to Ta Seti to the west), and others.
# &hellip;to allow more coastal access for Mazanic-influenced cultures to reach northeastern Tarephia. This has long been a goal to link the Mazanic and Serionic spheres across the two continents.
# &hellip;to adjust the presence of legacy territories on the Uthyran Sea to ensure northeast Tarephia can take on a fresh vision without trying to retrofit ancient, longstanding Romance and Hellenic cultures in such a dominating way.
# &hellip;to create a more historically-informed "balance of power" for Sathria. Sathria is not going away at this point. While still larger than other "historic powers" in the region (Valonne, Kalm, Plevia, Castellan, Mazan, etc.), the size and shape is more aligned with an Enlightenment doctrine of "balance of powers" that still impacts European borders to this day. Sathrian influence can still be exerted and felt in bordering territories, but it no longer dominates the map in a way that obstructs territory application processes.
# &hellip;to limit impact on territories as much as possible. Only Egani, Mauretia, Pohenicia, and Sathria are radically effected by this on a geographic level. Valonne has some indirect effects to its coastline, and other territories on the Mesembric Sea are only tangentially impacted on a geographic level by having a couple newer neighbors with no adjustments needed for anyone else.
# &hellip;to try to rework the area while keeping the geography and tectonic background of the area sensible and cohesive. This includes defining continent-wide mountain ranges, as well as adapting existing ones.

=== Name of the Roman Empire equivalent ===
In conjunction with the execution of this proposal, we will be reviving the question of the name for the "Roman" forerunner. The goal is to settle on a community-wide vote immediately hereafter. We are also proposing (separately) that UL08i, tucked between the border of Valonne and Plevia, be set aside as the former capital of the empire. We will have more information on that immediately after this discussion, as well. We believe that this issue may be tied to the naming of the empire. We will invite discussion of that ''on a separate post''.

=== Plans and community input ===
At this point, the plan is to institute these changes in two weeks. We wanted to open the forum for any feedback, in the event there is a major oversight or objection that we had not considered. We also did not want to force a sudden, major surprise on everyone given that this will make West Uletha look different. If you feel that these changes may affect your mapping or lore in a way that needs to be reconsidered, please don’t hesitate to raise the issue.

Thanks! &mdash;Alessa and Bixelkoven

== Discussion ==
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