Tilal Ming lies at the head of the An-Kiu Delta, where the Coast Road crosses the river by ferry and the eastern branch of the Diamond Trail--the Lubana Cutoff--joins it.

In its day, Tilal Ming, too, was a capital--capital of the Empire of Pearls, or the Southern Empire, which preceded the so-called First Dynasty of Lirith Kai, the Dawn Empire. The Empire of Pearls once stretched from Zur to the Southern Sea, and the ruins of that ancient capital can be seen just to the south of the present city of Tilal Ming; rising above them, older than they, is a rocky hill crowned with ruined temples to gods now mostly forgotten--fallen pillars, cracked altars, and faceless statues are all that remain of this ancient holy place. The people of Tilal Ming, except for the occasional sage, do not go there. The gods are gone from there, they say, but it is a sorrowful place, and unlucky...

Tilal Ming today is a trade city, thriving on the traffic of the Coast Road, the Diamond Trail, and the shipping that goes up and down the An-Kiu through the heart of the Empire.

The province is ruled by Lord Governor Janishar ten Nala, and the city by Subgovernor Magistrate Ormon tan Salar.