Beyan Archipelago
"Nobody's quite sure how the Avadians managed to find themselves on the Beyan Archipelago. But we do know that once they found themselves there, their mastery of the sea was inevitable. We may conquer Arikanda one day, but we'll never get them off those islands and the sea will always be theirs."The Beyan Archipelago is a chain of islands located in the Calinan Sea, scattered over several hundred kilometres. They mostly cover from the southwestern Avadian Colonies to due south of Tanoron. While technically apart from the Arikandan mainland, the Beyan Archipelago is considered a part of the continent politically.
-An unnamed Kalriv scout, reporting on the Beyan Archipelago.
Geography
Most of the islands in the Archipelago are rocky and mountainous with tall white cliffs. The larger islands in the chain are more arable and often easier to access, and it is on these islands that the majority of Avadians live. The southernmost islands on the chain are somewhat more fertile and often have a vibrant enough range of crops for extensive farming.
Localized Phenomena
The portion of the islands in close proximity to the southwestern Colonies tend to experience similar climates to the area, with a subtropical climate that is considerably wetter than the other islands.
Natural Resources
In the northwestern Archipelago, crops such as sugarcane, bananas, coconuts, pineapples and mangos are farmed. In the central and southern islands fruits and nuts such as figs, apricots, hazelnuts and almonds are farmed. Wheat can also be found on the larger, flatter islands.
Fish of all kinds of varieties are ubiquitous among the Archipelago and feature prominently in the Avadian diet. On the more arable lands, cattle, sheep and pigs are commonly raised.
Limestone is widely available on the islands and used heavily in construction.
History
The Archipelago has been inhabited by the Avadian people for at least the last ten thousand years, and all indications suggest that the islanders are indigenous to the area. Civilisation on the Archipelago originally existed in the form of dispersed tribes across the islands during the late Stone Age. With the advent of the Bronze Age in the early third millennium, these tribes began to crystallise into small city-states, with a number of ports and towns being set up throughout the Archipelago.
At the beginning of the second millennium, the Avadian tribe emerged as the most dominant tribe on the Archipelago, with the formation of a large trade hub on the island of Isla Avadia attended by traders, explorers and fishermen. By the middle of the second millennium, the Avadians had spread through a mixture of diplomacy and commercial dominance across the Archipelago, subsuming most of the other tribes. This was formalised in 1279 DoM with the formation of the Avadian Sovereignty as the central government in the Archipelago.
Tourism
As the headquarters of the Avadian Sovereignty and the largest trade port in the Calinan Sea and Arikanda itself, the Archipelago is a frequent travelling destination for aspiring adventurers and merchants. Most merchants visit in the major islands such as Isla Avadia, but there is a growing trend of budding amateur adventurers travelling to the smaller and more isolated islands to develop their skills. Shipwrecks are also commonly sought out here by treasure-hunters, lured by the Avadian Sovereignty's laissez-faire approach to scavengers.
Type
Archipelago
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Related Ethnicities
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