Squall Islands

A sprawling archipelago of jagged rocks and wave-swept beaches lying off of the west of the Wexan mainland. The island chain shelters The Nesses from the worst effects of the vicious ocean currents and the frequent storms that give the archipelago its name.   The craggy, broken western faces of the outer islands are the eroded remains of once towering pink granite and quartzite massifs brought low by wave and by storm. The volcanic rocks mark the islands as a part of the Aspideas mountains of north-western Wexe. The edges of the islands facing into The Nesses are typically dominated by wide, curving sandy beaches. The southern most part of the archipelago is dominated by extensive beds of columnar basalt that forms an isthmus connecting the southern islands to the mainland at low tides. This isthmus is walk-able, if studded with countless tide pools and made treacherous underfoot with a dense mat of slippery algae and seaweed.   The straits and channels between islands are narrow and treacherous with submerged shoals and powerful currents. Only a few channels are safe to navigate at any time other than high tide or a rare calm day. The islands are popular with scavengers, looters, and other outlaws who take advantage of the misfortunes of ships that run aground and break up on the hard volcanic rocks. There are many Lighthouses constructed across the island chain to mark out both the hazardous and safe channels. To man the lighthouses is a harsh, miserable task due to the equally harsh and miserable weather, and is given primarily as a punishment to criminals caught in towns along the shore of The Nesses. Lighthouse keepers rarely last long in this role, with many abandoning their posts before long to join a looter or smuggler crew.   Some local fishermen say that on the frequent dark, stormy nights, The Hollow, the waterlogged bodies of drowned ship crews lured onto the rocks by outlaws, arise from the shallows to enact their revenge...    

Notable Islands

 

Hebral

  Hebrel Island was famous for the largest sea arch in the Squall Islands. It extened half way into the channel between Hebral and the island immediately to the north. There was a lighthouse on top of the sea arch, until it suddenly collapsed into the sea one day. The channel is no longer navigable to all but the smallest boats.    

Hiben

  Hiben Island is the largest island in the archipelago. Most of the island is dominated by a pink granite massif that is split into two peaks. Like other massifs along the island chain, the ocean side features sheer sea cliffs while the bay side gently slopes down to a wide, sandy beach. The island is home to the largest permanent settlement on the Squall Islands, the small town of Hiberness, which is famous for its waterproof coats and hats.    

Jollyrock

  Jollyrock Island is small and unassuming, located between two far larger islands. It is little more than a sea pillar with a lighthouse on top of it. Jollyrock Lighthouse is said by the people of The Nesses to be a cursed place. It is said that no lighthouse keeper has ever lasted more than two days there, and the lighthouse is the subject of dozens of ghost stories told in taverns.    

Sturmrock Crags

  The Sturmrock Crags are a cluster of islets and sea pillars that sit at the northern most part of the island chain. The channel between and Sturmrock Crags and the Wexan mainland is the widest and of all the channels, and is the main point of entry and exit for ships passing in and out of The Nesses. Even then, only the mainland side of the channel is safe to navigate, with myriad shoals lurking under the waters at low tide on the Sturmrock side. The imposing fortress of Tempest Keep lies on the mainland side of the channel.