Dal Shang is on the western coast of the Trier Sea, at the south end. The Trier Sea is a very large freshwater lake, deriving from glacial melt. It is approximately two hundred miles wide opposite Dal Shang, four hundred miles at its widest, and eight hundred miles long. It is drained by the Fatebringer River, which leaves the Sea about three hundred miles south of Dal Shang, joins the An-Kiu River at Daiyla Kiv (DM 74), and, approximately one thousand six hundred miles later, reaches the great Southern Ocean.

Immediately to the east of Dal Shang, about fifty miles away, is the southern tip of the great Skaithvarn peninsula. Skaithvarn is not part of the Empire of Lirith Kai and is not much known--it's just visible from high ground on a clear day, and is hilly or gently mountainous; that tip shows on the map of the Empire of Lirith Kai. The fifty miles of water between Dal Shang and Skaithvarn is the mouth of the Bay of Itril.

The coast of the Trier Sea where it forms the border of the Empire--from one hundred fifty or two hundred miles north of Dal Shang to the head of the Fatebringer River--is precipitous. There is, usually, a sandy beach with a width of up to a quarter or even a half mile in a few spots (but no beach at all in others), but behind that, all along the coastline, are cliffs. Sometimes they're high and steep, at other points lower and more gentle, but the cliffs extend for the entire four to five hundred mile distance. They are highest to the north of Dal Shang, along the Bay of Itril, and the most rugged along the southernmost hundred miles of the stretch. Behind and above the cliffs, to the west, are the Blue Hills, a range of low mountains. These are Appalachian-style, oldish, forested mountains. Sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, limestone, and slate are the most common, and there are some large deposits of bluish marble. (People say they are called the Blue Hills because of the marble, but it is more likely that they were named for their appearance when seen from a moderate distance.) Caves are fairly common in the Blue Hills.

There are numerous relatively small rivers that drain the Hills and then plunge down over the cliffs in waterfalls to join the Trier Sea, and along these river valleys are found most of the farms of the area. The farmers grow grains and vegetables, but they are mostly orchardists, and fruits from Dal Shang province are shipped all over the Empire and beyond.

There is a lot of fishing out of Dal Shang harbor and the smaller harbors up and down the coast. Fresh fish and shellfish can only be transported to the interior of the Empire with difficulty except in winter (for the Emperor's table, they are carried packed in ice by relays of fast riders), but dried, salted, and smoked fish are also exported from the region.

Dal Shang itself sits on the cliff where the Bell River plunges over to reach the harbor below. The site was chosen for the city because it is the best harbor on Lirith Kai's Trier coast. Most of the city, which is quite large by Ghean standards--population 25,000--is on the top of the cliffs and enclosed by walls; there is little or no building space available within the walls. At the foot of the cliff, on both sides of the river, is Dal Shang Harbor, a fair-sized town in itself. The cliffs here are relatively low and relatively gentle--more a series of bluffs from twenty to fifty feet high with terraces between them--and more of the city sprawls on these terraces between the City and the Harbor; the terraces and the Harbor are walled, also. In the terrace area, many buildings are built back into the cliffs. Streets in the terraced area may be fairly steep or may ascend in long stairways. Except for the main avenues and the streets in the warehouse district, the streets inside the city walls are generally fairly narrow--there is little wagon or carriage traffic through most of the city. Buildings are generally two stories or more, up to five--taller than that is uncommon--and are often built around a courtyard.

The whole city, from high ground to the harbor, is underlain by a system of drains--tunnels about six feet square in cross section which serve as both sewers and storm drains. A system of gates farther up the Bell River and within the tunnels makes it possible to divert part of the river into the tunnels to flush them into the harbor, a tactic which was used when the tunnels became a hiding place for zombies.

The arena is OUTSIDE the city walls on the high ground at the top of the cliff; there are numerous ancillary structures there as well--inns, bars, smithies, gyms, and some guildhouses. Other teams have rented or bought buildings inside the walls.

Outside the city walls on the beach north of the harbor is the area used every year for the Summer Fair.