Uiziao (oo-EE-zee-YOW)

Volcanic hotspot archipelago west of Strellek. Unilao is the only island specifically referred to by name, which is far away and very small, inhabited only by a colelctive of captiors and their collective caper.   People called "Uizis," which often degenerates to "Wheezies."   Uizis have been sailors for as far back as their stories go, but the forests of the islands have long since been stripped, both for shipbuilding and for agricultural/living space. Population has declined since then, and forests have begun to recover.   There is also a significant Uizi population on the west coast of Strellek, in the northern Falarra region, where the forests still provide materials for shipbuilding.   Uizi culture involves shipping children off to small-scale boarding schools shortly after they hit puberty, or into an apprenticeship of sorts, alone or alongside one other apprentice. Traditionally, children get no say in where they go or to who, but times change. These days, while parents still have the final say, the child's preferences are taken into account, because that's the best way to ensure the best eventual outcome.   Children attend school, and education continues at these apprenticeships/boarding schools. Different programs have different orientations, for magic, science, art, construction, and many are very specialized, because of how few students they have at any given time. The attitude is that such important life skills should be carefully instructed, by those who know both the material and how to impart it onto the next generation's young and moldable minds. It would be a great waste of time and effort to leave the students to founder and flail about like a drowning person, when they could easily have been taught to swim early, and spent their entire lives enjoying playing in the water.   All programs also include extensive, carefully supervised sex education, both with the teachers and with the other students, for exactly the same reason.