The Sinister Empire, often Telf (Telfish: Soliok, "Leftland") for its main ethnic group the Telfs (an anagram of the word "left," from Telfish Soli or "Left Ones") is an empire located on the Sol Kalkmak Peninsula west of Flotch, south of Lobott, the White Waters (the sea between the Grey Sea, and the Escerdish Sea), and the Escerdish Sea. Its capital is the Eyes-&-Ears deep in the Mind Mountains, though both Witewing (on the White Waters), and Blachorn (on Palm Bay across the Black Strait from "the Strait") have higher populations. The Telfs claim that Escerd is theirs, that the Strait belongs to Blachorn (calling the Black Strait "the Bullseye Strait"), and that Grollville, the city on Asel's Gate, belongs to them and should be called Soldak (Telfish: "Sinister City"), Kaldak (Telfish: "