Joswik occupies southern Ofrenia, a land of mountains, fertile valleys, and windswept plateau. It's the largest of the three Ofrenian sibling kingdoms by area—alongside Tornia in the north and Sylke in the center-west, all three ruled by members of the same founding house whose inheritance has curdled into a barely-managed feud. Much of Joswik's territory is difficult terrain: the Gnomestone Mountains in the south, the Oshkensi Plateau in the southwest, and rugged interior hills that have always made centralized rule difficult.
Prince Edric governs from Padena, the youngest of the three siblings, watching his sister Alisandra's armies sit on the contested northern border and bracing for the war the whole island expects. The landscape that makes Joswik hard to govern also makes it hard to conquer, and everyone knows Alisandra will try eventually. What the island does not know is that Edric has spent years trying to head the war off, sending offer after offer north to settle the border and share the Gulf tolls. Every one of them has failed, and he has never been able to learn why. The answer is that his peace overtures never reach his sister intact; they pass through Sylke first, and his brother Renato sees to it that what arrives in Catalina reads as bad faith. Edric does not suspect him. No one suspects Sylke.
The kingdom's settlements are scattered across the interior and coast: Bankstad, Elissmar, and Oysterton handle the western and southern trade; Clifton, Pastureton, and Treeton anchor the interior valleys; Croysten and Partsmouth serve the eastern ports. Smaller communities—Brown, Hart, Shadowfalls, Erin's Grave—are spread across the hills with no obvious pattern beyond the roads that connect them to Padena.
The Gulf of Joswik
The waters off Joswik's southeastern coast, opening into the Middle Sea. The gulf provides sheltered anchorage for the kingdom's fishing fleets and coastal traders, with Partsmouth commanding the best harbor on its shore.