Gwynneth

The Isle of Gwynneth is the largest of the Moonshae Isles, filled with swamps, valleys, forests, plains, mountains, and all the wondrous variety of the natural world. Gwynneth is home to nations of the ffolk, norl, llewyrr, dwarves, and even fey creatures from other realms, but it is a wild and enchanted land far from the civilized places of Faerun.
Following Ashardalon's Coming, the Isle of Gwynneth was a devastated land. To counter this a deal was made with the Shadow Fey to combine the land with the power of the Shadowfell.

Geography

The sky of the isle appears as a perpetual smear of charcoal, only ever reaching twilight illumination. Stars gleam through the gloom for brief moments before strange clouds swallow them up again. There is no sun; a diffuse, weak, natural illumination has no discernible source other than the faintly luminous sky. Muted colors appear dull in Shadow. Even colors brought into the isle fade and wash out. If they linger long enough, their vibrancy fails to return even when returned to the outside world. If one could look down from a star’s-eye view, the isle would resemble the world as seen through a smoked glass mirror. Prominent landmarks have echoes in the isles, often playing host to similar, or sometimes opposite, essences. A population center in the original isles might correspond to a city or town where natives of the new one live and scheme. Or it could hold a blighted desolation of tumbled stones and salted fields where a settlement once stood.
The isle’s waterways—streams, lakes, and rivers—are even more disturbing. Instead of water, they contain rushing torrents or rippling tracts of pure shadow. Despite the overall similarities, a keen understanding of the old isle's geography does not provide a key to navigating its new form. The island stretches and twists, distorted in dimension and shape when compared to places in the normal world. Distances can deceive an unwary traveler, and directions become confused. Relationships between places in Shadow even change over time, the way a shadow lengthens and shrinks as the sun travels across the day. A mountain pass might lead to a vast forest one year and to a desert of black sand the next.

Ecosystem

Creatures of terrible intellect, complex society, and dark appetites make their home in the transformed isle of Gwynneth. These natives live and breathe the dark magical nature of the realm and aren’t susceptible to the corruptive influence of Shadow. Indeed, foolish or desperate mortals seek these entities for a quick path to power through pacts or bargains. The most powerful among these dark denizens are only too eager to dole out the secrets of shadow magic—the better to incite corruption and ensnare new servants. The dark natives of the isle are the shadow fey, umbral vampires, and a splinter empire of darakhul.
Though the majority of the sentient beings that call Gwynneth home are dangerous, if not outright vile, some goodness exists as well. Living beings who by their own good nature and resolve have learned the secret of resisting Shadow corruption carved out a home amid the darkness. Other creatures of contemplative mystery and inscrutable motivation live in Shadow as well. The enigmatic witchlights drift through the isle with no known home, or even a decisive origin. Similarly, a strange group of dark fey and celestial creatures dwell above the isle’s surface, in floating aeries with a clear view of the stars.
Beyond the physical locations with parallels in Old Gwynneth that make up this dark counterpart, twisted plants, and animals, as well as strange laws of nature, also exist in Shadow. The realm has no day and night cycle, but instead, a perpetual twilight cloaks the realm. This dim, ambient illumination deepens into full darkness in the valleys and canyons that crisscross the land. This illumination isn’t sunlight, and creatures that suffer in the sun, including vampires, can endure it without difficulty.
The natural life in Gwynneth survives as one would expect given the surrounding terrain. Trees and undergrowth fill the dark forests. Birds fly above and nest among twisted branches. Herd animals wander the plains. Fish swim through the black rivers and murky lakes. Every creature native to the Shadow Realm is at best a dark reflection of its counterpart in the material world, and at worst a barely recognizable mockery. Shadow taints everything. The owl-like but human-mouthed strix ghost glides on silent wings through dark forests. Shadow fey nobles capture and tend flocks of steel-winged eala, and the corrupted, unicorn-like shadhavar wander the woods and race across the plains. Predatory beasts such as wolves, bears, and hawks are more common than prey, but how they manage to survive given the lack of an abundant food source remains a mystery.
Finding fresh water presents the most pressing challenge, since darkness flows through the waterways instead of water. This inky substance quenches the thirst of the denizens of Shadow, but visitors find it bitter and unpleasant. That said, this inky liquid can be consumed and provides refreshment, but it carries the taint of shadow corruption. A few springs produce pure water, and sometimes a stream runs clear for a brief time before darkness fills it again. These precious resources nourish the few denizens of the realm that haven’t given themselves over to the corruption, and they guard them viciously.
As for food, fruit-bearing plants yield their bounty (though their produce appears black and glossy), and animals can be hunted for meat. Whether fruit or meat, food gathered in Gwynneth tastes bland and often hints at something unpleasant, such as rot or mold. Ability checks made to forage for food and water suffer disadvantage, yielding half the normal amount of edible food or potable water. Brave or desperate characters can choose to forage as normal (without disadvantage and for a full yield), but any creature who consumes food gathered in this way suffers exposure to shadow corruption.

Alternative Name(s)

The Shadow

Type

Island

Location under

Moonshae Isles

Included Organizations

• The Courts of the Shadow Fey

Owner/Ruler

Sarastra Aestruum

Owning Organization

The Courts of the Shadow Fey