Al Amarja is a small island in the Mediterranean south and a little east of Italy. It is roughly oval, about 80 km long and almost 60 km wide. Of volcanic origin, the island has a single, low mountain at the centre. The landscape is rough and convoluted, featuring dry, slow-growing forests and fields of scrub, small coves, cliffs, twisting streams, and sandy beaches.
The climate is typically dry and sunny in the summer, cooler and sometimes rainy in the winter. Temperatures are always moderate, and the sun shines clearly most every day.
On the western tip of the island lies the urban centre where most island inhabitants live. Circling a bay is the ancient port Skylla. Just to the south is a city called the Edge; it is actually poised on the edge of cliffs that overlook the sea. Monique D’Aubainne built this city up when she liberated the island, and it is the heart of Al Amarjan culture. Just south of the Edge lies Traboc, a city that expanded greatly during the prosperity of the Sixties.
Along the coast of the island stand private mansions of the very wealthy, along with the occasional resort, catering to wealthy and decadent tourists. The centre of the island is wooded and primarily undeveloped. Private mansions, sometimes virtual fortresses, also dot the hillsides that slope up to the central volcanic basin.
On the far eastern end of the island is Freedom City, the capital of the island. Here Monique D’Aubainne and the various legislators, bureaucrats, functionaries, and lobbyists live in wealth and luxury. Freedom City is heavily guarded.