Aego Gastrinimer

Aego Gastrinimer (c. 311-254 BME), was a renowned navigator, explorer, merchantman, privateer and prestigious Cartographer-Royal to the Court of Sann'al. He produced the first great world map of the modern era, based on his supposed circumnavigation of the continent of Anásthias.

After much acclaim, in 280 BME he presented a huge, elaborately painted map to King Oalo Gvedoleth of Sann'al, which secured wealth and lasting fame.

Gastrinimer is controversial since his accounts of battling dragons in the Dragon Isles, wooing queens and courtesans in exotic foreign courts, and descriptions of giants and monsters are considered little more than tall tales.

Gastrinimer created many drafts of his world map, prior to the commissioning of the huge gilded and painted world map which hung in the Grand Hall of the royal castle at Perilth, capital of the Kingdom of Sann'al. This renowned historical treasure is believed to have been destroyed during the sacking of the city by Hartheranplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr forces in 1089 ME. Only earlier sketches of the map survive, in the hands of various collectors (pictured).

Like all contemporary Besoan maps, Gastrinimer's world map has the west at the top, with north to the right. This copy is reputed to have been sketched by Gastrinimer himself, based on his own voyages, along with tales from merchants and travellers. Whether true or not, it was certainly carried aboard a wealthy merchant trading vessel in the third century ME.

The coastline around modern Hartheraplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr and the near northern coast of Anásthias is broadly accurate, but more distant and inland areas are based on hearsay. The size of the continent was certainly underestimated. The inland and far south is based on myth and sailors tales. The “Argesh Aurga”, Golden Cities, is probably Veedormim, but the Orthe Rirba, “Dragon Isles”, are fanciful imaginings of the Grace Islandsplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigGrace Islands

The Grace Islands (Isjlas Grasja) are a chain of islands in the Sea of Grace, off the coast of southwest Anásthias, part of the Kingdom of Hesjbagaaia. The four largest islands are inhabited, from west to east being: Ayell, Agueda, Ameda and Arguila.

The islands were settled by the folkloreAnásthias. “Hurr Luocas Nenn”, meaning Great Southern Sea, refers to what is now called the Great Urash Ocean, while the “Vesemir Nenn” is the Vesmien Ocean.

Interestingly, Anrel, or 'Anrasard', is represented as a single land mass. It had been so a thousand years before, but Besoan traders only visited the southern ports, so may have been unaware of the change in coastline.

There are some later annotations, including the port of Tushal in Western Ororr, “Torthera” meaning Torthien, and the isle of Vetth to the north. 'Vrathe' is a mythical remnant of Miyarris, which noticeably has been scribbled out, possibly a confusion with the ancient realm of Traithe.

Later generations have suspected that his supposed circumnavigation of the “world” was entirely fraudulent. The map of Anásthias is correct in areas known to Besoan sailors at the time, but the further south and west the map goes, the more exaggerated and even spurious are it's descriptions, down to the Silver Cities and the Orthe Rirba, or Dragon Isles, placed far to the southwest - the very opposite end of the world to his home.

The “Dragon Isles”, though figuring in many subsequent legends, are entirely fictitious, though the Grace Islands do exist in that region.