The Dolphin Islands
The Dolphin Islands (or Les Îles Aux Dauphins) are, technically speaking, not real. They exist almost entirely within The Dream, and are only loosely anchored to the physical realm. They can only be reached by ships departing from Aerendel, and were effectively constructed from story by the Clarati sorceress Celestina.
Maps of the Dolphin Islands are common in Aerendel bookshops, but they tend to disagree with each other. The names of the islands and the kingdoms change dramatically from one map to the next, and even the number and shapes of the landmasses can vary wildly. One thing that remains consistent is the directions on how to reach them - you must set sail from Aerendel at the moment of sunset (regardless of the tides) and sail directly into the sunset. If you have timed your departure correctly, the sunset will seem to slow down, and you will sail into for three days (as measured by hourglasses). At the end of the third day of travel, the first of the Dolphin Islands will appear on the horizon, and the sun will finally finish setting.
The people of the Dolphins are strange and somewhat fey. They speak a language unknown to residents of The Islands. There are islands with talking animals, especially birds, and the people seem to be perpetually caught up in a net of stories. During her reign, Celestina spent a large amount of time and effort cultivating the information about the Dolphins, and volumes of stories about them still exist (collectively known as Histoires de fées et de dauphins in the strange language spoken there, or Scéalta Sí in Amhrán).
Visitors to the Dolphin Islands should be careful to avoid entanglement with the living stories found there. It is much like the situation in Aerendel itself, although much more pronounced. In fact, some people believe that the connection between the Dolphins and the city are what has allowed the power of story to be so powerful in Aerendel. However, it is possible to use the nature of the Dolphins to your advantage, if you are clever and cunning and have the will to impose your own story. If the laws that govern the island see you as the hero of the tale, you can achieve improbable and impossible things there - although not without a cost. Many who achieve their ends in the Dolphins are never seen again - those who seek them are told that they have settled into the 'Happily Ever After', and the only way to draw them out again is to force them into a new story.
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