The Gulf of Timakal (pronounced tee-mah-KAHL) is a semi-enclosed body of water that joins with the Mhasmuth Ocean to the southeast. Though for millennia the nations around the Gulf were under the control or at least strong influence of the Sangiran Empire, for the last several hundred years they have been fully independent, with all the uncertainty and opportunity that brings.
Most of the Gulf of Timakal is under the control of Vothan, though the internal instability of the nation has led to their inability to patrol the waves for pirates, many of whom operate out of ramshackle docks and outposts in the Khahre Archipelago. On the northern and western coasts of the Gulf lie Matarsah and Bukran, both of whom are largely more concerned by their own matters than on those who travel the Timakal.
The lands around the Gulf are broadly tropical and sub-tropical. Though hot and humid for much of the year, monsoons annually make landfall in the coastal regions, bringing changes to the seasons with them. The waters of the Gulf itself themselves are comparatively shallow, providing many opportunities for pearl divers - lagoons around the Vothanite island of Senarena are particularly renowned for their purple pearls.