Shanin Islands
Geography
The Shanin Islands are a grouping of island chains formerly known as Hawaii during the Human Era, and all the volcanic islands created in the boundary of the Hawaiian hotspot. The island chain as it is known today is formed from the caldera of O'hanu's last major eruption, during the The War of Black Ash. Most islands in the chain are volcanic, however only the main island of Shanai, Kauii, and Twin Islands, formerly known as Hawa'ii's Big Island, are currently active.
Volcanos in the Shanin Islands that are active are incredibly so, often erupting daily with minor lava flows and gas eruptions. The islands have an extensive shallows area and massive coral reefs, hosting a wide variety of fish and invertebrates. Earthquakes are incredibly common on the islands, most often caused by minor eruptions and create small tremors that cause very little damage between 1-3 times per week. Larger earthquakes are quite rare, only happening a few times a year. It is thought that the God of Fire, due to constantly controlling the islands' volcanoes, is able to keep quakes to a minimum in both their frequency and damage the majority of the year.
Ecosystem
Shanai is well known for having a diverse yet fragile ecosystem. Many plant and animal species local to the island chain are not found anywhere else in the world and many of the larger mammals and birds do not have natural predators, making them vulnerable to invasive species. Escaped cats and dogs are a problem on the islands, as they both can do incredible damage to local species, the birds in particular, and spread diseases not naturally found there such as rabies and distemper.
Painted Boar in particular are the largest land animal found on the islands and completely lack predators, and are unafraid of people. They do not react to animals such as dogs or livestock and rarely move out of the way for cars or traffic, instead congesting the roads when crossing. The boar will generally forage for native plants and raid farms and gardens, being fed by tourists frequently, however will also prey on shellfish and carrion.
Amphibians and reptiles are a common sight, with the islands' other most recognized animal being the Six-legged Lava Salamander. There are an estimated 340 species of frogs on the largest island alone.
Ecosystem Cycles
Due to being so close to the equator, the islands do not have 4 seasons, instead only having two- Storm season and dry season. Storm season coincides with winter in the northern hemisphere, with much more frequent rainfall, large pacific storms, hurricanes, and frequent flooding of the nation's rivers. Dry season coincides with summer, having much less frequent storms, sunny weather, and higher temperatures.
Fauna & Flora
All of the Shanin Islands are infested with Six-legged Lava Salamanders, with large breeding populations and so integrated into the ecosystem, the species is impossible to remove without further damaging the ecology of the islands. The salamanders are a great source of local meat, which is hard to come by due to limited space for agriculture.
Tropical birds, fish, and reptiles are in abundance here, many of which are not found elsewhere in the world due to their location separating them from other landmasses. Due to the shallows and massive reefs around the islands, they host an incredible variety of fish, invertebrates, and mollusks, along with sea birds such as the Painted Gull and perhaps the islands most iconic species, the Painted Boar.
Individual islands that can be swam to without aid of a boat may even have entirely different subspecies of animals to one another, making them an incredible location for study on the evolution of new species and genetics of population fragmentation.
Natural Resources
Volcanic rock and stone are one of the islands largest exports, due to the frequent but stable eruption of their four largest volcanoes. After a lava flow, the stone is cooled using sea water or Water Mana, then harvested to be sold or used for building projects on the islands themselves. The stone is used frequently across the islands, often with most buildings having a base made from them, as are fences and retaining walls.
Pineapples are a notable food item grown on the island, and the national plant.
History
In the human era, the islands were known as the Hawaiian islands. Once the dragons arose, they were ravaged and suffered heavy population losses due to the ongoing conflict, and the people living there left mostly separated from what remained of the United States in all forms of contact and the native people of Hawaii segregated from the rest of the nation due to their turmoilous history. Some time in the Age of Gods, Fire God Vega found the islands and still learning to harness his power, accidentally caused their destruction through earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that sank many of the islands. In the year 6263, he rose them from the ocean once again and began using the islands as his home, building his primary temple on the largest island.
For many hundreds of years Vega had quelled the eruptions, but his grasp on them faltered during a period of war with Nagi, God of Water, as the story goes, causing a massive eruption that nearly destroyed O'hanu, creating a massive caldera and sunk much of Hawa'ii island and all of Ni'ihau island. After the eruption of the Yellowstone Basin, Vega rose other smaller volcanic islands in the pacific as an attempt to cut the region off from the world, and protect it from ships by making the sea too shallow for many large ships.
Today, the islands are known as Shanai, or the Boar Islands, for their name in Common False Dragontongue. Vega's influence as a major god has brought the nation onto the world stage, and its convenient location a trading hub between Asia and Laramidia, along with massive amounts of tourism.
Tourism
Tourism is perhaps the greatest economic factor, with wild and long lasting festivals, beautiful tropical weather, and local culture being major factors to draw people in from all over the world, but primarily from Laramidia. The greatest source of tourism is the festival occurring on the first day of summer through to the summer solstice, in honor of Fire God Vega and the Cult of Fire.
The largest of the islands are dotted with hotels and tourist traps, many of which offering 'authentic' experiences as advertised, however these are often crafted to suit the expectations of the tourists rather than fit the culture of native people.. There is a large divide between transplant populations and tourist locations and those of native and local peoples, often with bitter rivalries between the groups, who have often wildly different cultures and ideals, putting them at odds with one another. Often, tourists are regarded poorly by the native and local population due to their often poor treatment of them and the ecology of the island, or the businesses that bring them there having poor practices and putting money above all else.
Maps
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Shanin Islands
Alternative Name(s)
Shanai, 'Boar Islands': literal translation from Common, Hawai'i
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Island
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