Shattered Isles

Creation

The Shattered Isles are the floating islands created by the shattering of the crust of Illyria during Ascension. These islands were blown into the sky as The Sovereign escaped from the Godkeep and have remained suspended in the air all the way to the present day.

Description

The islands vary in size with some being no larger than small hills and others being large enough to support entire thriving cities. Since each island was sourced from the same type of rock and mineral, the composition of each is identical. After the blast, the islands most closely resembled asteroids, devoid of life and pockmarked with small holes from numerous collisions.

However, over the millennia many of the islands, especially the largest ones, have undergone significant changes. Though most of the soil was thrown off during the initial eruption, birds and other airborne creatures naturally deposited seeds and quickly small patches of grass and brush were able to grasp at what little dirt there was and blossom. Eventually, most islands reached a point where enough plants had grown, died, decomposed, and then returned to dirt that grasses, shrubs, and even trees were able to take root in deep soil and thrive on the topsides where the sunlight was strongest. It wasn't long before various funguses and more resilient grasses and mushrooms began to pop up on the undersides, where direct exposure to the sun was limited. In the modern day, most of the Isles are lush with both plant and animal life. Civilizations have established cities on the largest ones, and many more have been made into mining sites for precious materials.

Properties

Each of the floating islands stays aloft of its own accord and for their entire collective history, there has never been an instance of an island falling out of the sky. However, the exact reason for their levitation is unknown. It seems clear that divine magic is at play here due to the circumstances of their creation, but exactly where it is sourced from and how it interacts is a mystery. However, an intense magical presence has been discovered on several of the largest islands. Some believe this is where the divine magic resides while critics point out that this presence is absent from the majority of the isles.

Many of the islands which are not inhabited by intelligent life are home to wild populations of smaller animals, and alien looking plants. There are copious amounts of powerful magical crystals that can be be found in the rock of the islands and these have drastic effects on the flora particularly, and to some degree the fauna. There are also some islands referred to as Rogue Isles which are incredibly dangerous. The magic on these islands is corrupted and unpredictable and most float through the air as sort of slow-moving land mines that nations try to avoid.

TODO: Add details on the specific materials that can be found here and what is being mined from them

Cities

Among the most popular tourist locations in all of Illyria are the great flying cities perched atop the largest of the Shatter Isles.

TODO: Add more details on actual cities.

Division

The Shattered Isles are divided into two groups, the Core and the Fringe. The Core refers to the islands which remain in nearly the same place directly over the Dawn Scar while the Fringe refers to those which have drifted elsewhere. For nearly 100 years, there was no distinction since all islands were tightly grouped over the Dawn Scar, but after that time, many began to drift away. There are no rogue isles in the core.

The Core

Though the core islands drift slowly as all do, these ones seem to be confined to hovering directly over the Dawn Scar. It is unclear why some islands drift away while some always turn back towards their origin, but the Core Isles are more generally shared among nations because of their predictability.

TODO: Fill in information about treaties between nations or any feuds over core islands.

The Fringe

Eternally voyaging the face of Illyria, the Fringe Isles seems to have a mind of their own. They follow lazy, curving paths and predicting exactly where they will end up is nearly impossible. The larger fringe isles are often the target of conflict between nations as they drift out of the airspace of one which they have resided in for decades and into that of another. Nations covet these islands because they are both symbols of status and, more practically, resource dense.

TODO: Add specifics on any city states that exist and who currently has the most important fringe isles.

Rogue Isles

Among The Fringe are a small subset of Rogue Isles. The air around these floating land masses is dark and the soil is full of black rock. The plants here take on dark grayish hues and nearly everything appears wilted. People who have ventured there and returned have reported that the air is toxic and difficult to breath and that their movements felt sluggish and difficult. Then there are the monsters.

The Rogue Isles are home to insidious beasts that cannot be found anywhere else in Illyria. TODO: Add a few examples of monsters here