The Isles

Legend

“From countless void gardens, it became the soil on which we grew.”

“Twice close to dissolving due to divine intervention in their internal struggle.”

~Skjald Ulrich

 

Description

‘The Isles’ is a collective term for the nine major isles considered a single entity although splashed across several tectonic plates. Geographically they span almost a quarter of the entire world, north of Darin and the equatorial belt known as the rim, and opposite the outlands.”

Thus, the isles offer all types of climates and terrain types. From frozen tundras and icy peaks to humid swamps and lush jungles; over vast green meadows and roughlands to savannas and grand forests, and steep highlands and burning deserts.

Flora and fauna are a plenitude of species, far more than any imagination can comprehend. Humans, archaic species, and N-erectus coexist in various forms, ranging from harmony to outright hostility. All islands also have a wide variation in cultures.

“The lush plenitude of things from the Void still thrives.”

~Skjald Valgrif

 

History

First Age

The Void Gardens were hauled into a carpet enclosing the holes into the Astral. This spherical entity at first lay in utter darkness but soon became lit by the sun and moon, revealing the magnificent creation to its inhabitants.

In the middle of the isles lay Midgard. To the west laid Dalip, Naldar, and Utari. To the north laid Mealis, Talan Eden, and Findon. To the east lay Markeoy and Dalari. To the south lay the great isle of Fjella, unbroken from Dalip almost to Darin. Between Fjella and Darin lay Ljostaria. There was no parting equatorial rim, and Darin is said to have stretched far south into now-forgotten lands.

At some point vampires became the centrepiece of pawns in a divine plot, and the 1st Cataclysm tilted the world, sank Talan Eden and Dalari, the middle of Fjella, and raised mountains at The Rim. This cataclysmic world tilt changed world rotation, but the Stoicheian twins Sun and Moon stayed on their paths. Thus, climates changed dramatically.

“All mortals eventually pass away, but for many, their ends have been horrific.”

~Skjald Vinotis

 

Second Age

Regarding the isles themselves, nothing really changed in this age. It was mostly a slow, steady evolution of cultures and technology. There was a constant rise and fall of lords who claimed land and adjusted borders. It was not until the wave of wanderers flooded shorelands and cultures that things changed so much that a new age was called.

“Under their sails came many a sabre and greedy mind.”

~Skjald Sigurd

 

Third Age

A bull-headed creature, who some claimed to have divine powers, appeared and roamed the lands. Shortly after, many of the southern isles were flooded by humans of the Jomzaar, Rimzir, and Vular races, collectively known as the Wanderers. At first welcomed and generally given spots to settle in good faith, but forceful land claims or outright exterminations occurred increasingly.

Up through the age, the Rimzir generally came to be welcomed and trusted neighbours; the Jomzaar trusted business and oaths; and the Vular grew into an unwelcome force, always plotting and conquering what they coveted. Eventually the Vular would become a major pawn in divine plots and ignite the chaos that would elevate their bull-headed god, leading to widespread conflict and upheaval among the other factions in the region.

“The problem with narrow and self-indulged minds is that they are easily fooled.”

~Skjald El Mary

 

Fourth Age

The age started with the loss of Ljostaria and the emergence, if one could call it that, of Mt. Vula. In addition to the deep blue tsunami creating a whole new force known as the Arisen across most of the isles, other significant changes occurred. As locals destroyed or adapted to these new settlements, liches began to appear in the borderlands between the living and the risen, as well as in remote and isolated locations.

Some claim that these old power uprootings motivated certain local families or individuals to take action. They slowly formed themselves into the new powers of the land. These new individuals, families, houses, and groups grew from 350 to 1250 into ‘the hordes’, creating a monumental power-shifting time that became known as the ‘Age of Hordes’.

In 1249 a swift but brutal conflict ended the official time of hordes, and in 1250 a high king was crowned. This high king, elected for a four-year period among 128 grand rulers, oversaw the grandest empire ever established. Unfortunately it only lasted 27 years, as its weak administrative scaffolding crumbled in 1277 due to The Great Invasion, a previously unseen divine power play that exploited the vulnerabilities of the empire’s governance and led to widespread chaos and conflict.

“Had the divines not preyed on mortal minds, our realms would still be at peace.”

~Skjald Yell'a'Beard

 

Fifth Age

The people of the isles are once again recovering, not from a watery sweep, but from glowing hot ashes. Call this new chaotic time “the Scorched Dawn’.

“We hope this new age will bring peace once more and eyes beyond the Rim.”

~Skjald Vinotis