When Things Go Wrong Between the Gods
Located in the midst of the
Ur Hilgarria northwest of Arrhynsia, the Shattered Isles are a region whose existence is a testament to the power of the immortal gods to wreak havoc in the material plane. Before the arrival of humans in Arrhynsia, the Dragon god
Saynleh became disgruntled and chose to engage the goddess
Jiisho in a confrontation over her rejection of his pursuit of her person. Thus began the
Dragon War during which Saynleh destroyed the flow of magic through large portions of the north west corner of Arrhynsia, lifting the surfaces towards the heavens, and shattering the land with deep crevasses. This destroyed the stately Coalleche Forrest, killing the northern tree elves who made their homes there. The deep wounds in the world gave room for the greedy Ur Hilgarria to expand its reach and the small isles were isolated from the rest of Arrhynsia by it's forbidding waters.
The other Voices including
Lameravis whose lands and people had been decimated by the impact of Saynleh's attack joined with his sister and with the
All Father to constrain Saynleh and bring his violence and aggression under control. Saynleh was divided to contain his passions, and his aspects
B'hamat and T'iamat were established to rule in his stead and confined to the home of the dragons on the
Chromatic Continent.
The impact of the conflict to the elven lands was severe. Where once a broad land of mountains, rivers, forests and plains stood, now the forbidding deep blue waters of Ur Hilgarria ruled the space, and the land which was once green and filled with life, was now rocky and barren. Travel to and amongst the islands was perilous.
The Circle of Life - Aided by a Godess
But even here in the Shattered Isles, after cataclysm, life will have its way, and
Jiisho would not allow the dragon god's works to stand unchallenged. Previously contemptuous of Lameravis for his hedonistic ways, his obvious anger and care for his people for their suffering at the hands of Saynleh's violence changed her opinion of the lover of beauty, and they formed a strong attachment. Jiisho acted to restore what could be restored to his broken land.
The Ur Hilgarria for all it's vaunted magical danger teems with life. The sun of
Sol shines giving light and life to the plants; the birds overfly and land, dropping seeds in the rocky soil and the food to nourish them. Even some species native to the now destroyed Coalleche Forrest survived on a few of the islands. The small animals that weathered the destruction and found a home flourished unchecked. The plentiful food attracted predators who feast, originating first from the Ur Hilgarria itself and then from shipwrecks originating from the mainland to the south, and washed up on the shores of the closest islands. After a surprisingly short time, the Shattered Isles, once a place of barren death, became a place of life.
A Lost Land
But this sea of small islands remains a place of loss. Each island is a small part of a broken world, bereft of the the peoples whose stories were destined to be told upon it. And while the land mourns, each isle offers its voice to echo the memory of the elves who will never again tread its shores or sing their songs. The voices of the dead, it is said, are now aching cries of sorrow heard in the midst of the dark storms that swirl through the maze of tiny islands.
And here people who are lost come to become even more lost - or perhaps to find themselves. Small communities of explorers and misfits come to discover, to rule themselves and create a new life free from their pasts and whatever bondage they choose to leave behind. This land of small islands is the land of opportunity, where there are no others with their bothersome rules, and the only metric for success or failure is life and death, and no one cares if you succeed - or die.
Here on the Shattered Isles, your fate is your own.
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