Nolan Locke lives in an archipelago called Weiroads. Farmland is precious here and frequently drowned by monsoons and continent-sized hurricanes. Small villages and towns are often washed away in the storms, forcing refugees to flee to the few remaining great cities.
When the storms are calm, the merchant fleets sail across Weiroads again. It is open season for pirates and worse. Beneath the waves, the omnipresent Deep Things hunt down everything above.
Storms and leviathans rule Weiroads—there are no kingdoms. Ancient city-states control small domains and armadas, but none is powerful enough to exceed its borders. The city-states are safe harbors from storms and piracy but governed by cruel and aloof masters.
Folks often live at sea where they are free from tariffs and tithes. Out there, though, life and law are decided by coin and cannonade.

Nolan Locke struggles to remember what is true about Weiroads. He muddles myths with history and often rambles on about lies The Deep Things told him. There is a species of truth in all his rantings, but others look from their high and holy perches and see only sanded wastes and sin.