The Three Cathaya

The three Cathaya are large, island-bound independent nations to the South-East of the Ischindar Sea. Though they are major trading partners of the nations around the Emel Sea and have even colonised the continent in places like Niwhaven, the Cathaya do not allow close contact between their homelands and foreign nations. Apart from a handful of specified ports, visitors are generally not permitted to land on Cathayan soil.   The native peoples of Cathaya are known to include numerous lizardfolk, humans, gnomes and dragonborn, but elves and dwarves do not inhabit the islands. The three main ethnicities of humans in the region are the Darphaner Cathain, the Ischiner Cathain and the Jeupaner Cathain.   Cathayans speak different dialects of Cathain, a language that is very different to the common tongue of Casiphon. Their culture is often viewed as mystical and learned by continental folk.