Welcome to Ashen isles, visitor. Farideh's people welcome you. The Ashen isles are the proud empire of the Darlak, and its territories.
The mainland island, called "Timariss" in the Dar-tongue language, is home to the Capitol city of Mount Tiamat. The city is all carved out of the rock at the base of the mountains. Most residents live higher up, and all the business and leisure districts are below that. The volcano is still active, but the Darlak are immune to the volcano, along with all its soot, ash, lava, along with the filled air.
Most first time visitors cannot stand the intense air at the base of the volcano, so most traders and visitors will stay in one of the coastal cities, such as Bal-enar and Sharmash. If you should be headed towards the mountain, there are many different ways to breathe the air, such as special masks or even spells.
Just off of Timariss to the west is another island, and it's main city of Skirth. The island of Skirth is a lot more desert like in climate, as the heat from the mainland island is carried over. A lot of the special ash based agriculture takes place on this island.
South of the northern islands are the Akra islands, four islands that are territories of the ashen empire. The biggest of these is Perra, with its largest city of Perra. Perra is famous for its college, and for its exquisite cuisine. Most visitors to Akra islands head for the city of Farideh's respite, where they are most welcoming and many would find this place best for travel. To the east of Perra is Hava, an island mainly devoted to raising livestock and growing Bateril, a fruit that grows on special branches, which is mostly harvested to be cooked, pickled, or fermented into famous Bateril brandy, a popular export across the the continent.
The island between Perra and Farideh's island is Gathmik, which is traditional tribal territory for the Darlak. The best of the best of Darlak soldiers are summoned to Gathmik for training, or to be rewarded for battle, or even to heal their wounds in an enchanted lake in the centre of the island.
Beneath the Akra islands is the famous Island of Volth, a swampy and jungle territory that is part of the empire. It is the only known location in their Darlak empire to be home to non Darlak citizens. They are simply referred to as swamp folk, and the non Darlak swamp folk seem to be mainly elven, human, orcish and gnomish. It is said that they have evolved to have green skin tones to blend in with the lush forests, jungles and swamps of the island. The people of the other islands find them strange but well meaning at best, and blasphemous and wretched at worst, claiming they worship false gods and drink blood- though it isn't true. Explorers say the swamp folk don't drink blood- but a fruit whose juice resembles it. They also worship a combination of elven, gnomish, orcish gods and a group of ancient and forgotten gods from days before the empire formed.
Regardless, they have never taken any aggressive measures against the empire, and don't mind being under their rule, as long as they are generally left alone from inside and outside conflicts within the empire.
Currently, beyond trading and certain employments, the ashen isles are barren of visitors, because of the civil war. It began five years ago, and has been relatively ignored by the people outside the islands. The problem began because Prince Mashir, the rightful ruler of the islands, was usurped by her brother Tavith. Prince Tavith has been ruling for twenty years, and when he took the throne, he ruled the land with an iron fist and banished Mashir to the isle of Volth, who, five years ago, began the revolt.
The war is ignored by other countries, since war is sacred to the Darlak. So other nations have been told to ignore the civil war or altogether ignore it, even when it causes troubles internationally. The only non islanders who seem to care are the Waywollenite Pact-keepers, and they really only are about keeping Waywollenites safe on sea, so the occasional pact-keeper ship following the troops on the islands are there to make sure no civilian vessels are harmed by the conflict.
Culturally, Darlak society is fairly kept out of the spotlight. Their clothing is simple and functional. Since it is hard to make fabrics such as silk and cotton, the Darlak tend to wear mainly leather garments and armour, made from the rare metals that can only be found on the islands. They keep their smithing techniques away from the eyes of others, along with their belongings, and while Darlak do not prize material possessions as much as other nations do, they are very protective of what they do have to be proud about.
Since the land is not best for traditional agriculture, the Darlak have taken into harvesting the native plants on their islands, such as the Bateril, soot grass, which is a type of grain, and surprisingly- coffee. The ashen isles are home to very exclusive coffee plants, and the drink is popular among soldiers, royalty, and civilians alike. It is also exported in large quantities.
Certain animals, many of them just regular creatures such as cattle, birds, and reptiles that have adapted to the harsh climate are the chosen livestock of the people. The islanders do not out as heavy of an emphasis on hunting as their elven and satyr friends do, which is why they tend not to use ranged weaponry such as bows, and also have no divine representation of hunting or hunters like Matronans do.
The focus of the ashen isles is of course battle, and many would seek Darlak military training or hire Darlak mercenaries. Darlak, like their revered animal of choice, the dragon, tend to travel a lot to work, just as the dragons leave the islands to nest once a year.
The Darlak pride themselves on being the home of the rare and elusive dragons, who they make offerings to and sometimes even raise and befriend. The rare and shocking sight of Darlak soldiers perched upon the back of a dragon is one of the greatest displays of power in the continent, thought eh art of dragon taming is often debated among Darlak, as they believe beasts that fearsome and powerful should not be tamed by mere servants of Farideh, especially since the Darlak gods don't appear as Darlak, but as dragons. Some would see a tamed dragon as an enslaved demigod, while others would say a tamed dragon is a demigod who favours a mortal's cause. The art of dragon taming though, is so well guarded, it is almost being forgotten.
When visiting the island, it is important to note any natural phenomenons that occur and how to be safe during them. While the Darlak are immune to them, visitor may not be. If there is an ash fall, it is best to see shelter. Is there are craters from the volcano, it is best to avoid them and report them to the locals so they can be taken care of.
Remember to be safe while travelling the islands, and that taking boats whenever possible is the best way to travel the empire.
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The Night Jewel
Fantasy"It was said in ancient times there is a world beyond our own. A world of eternal youth, a land of peace and freedom." Women and girls have run away and never came back throughout history. But where did they go? Secret and ancient legends tells of...
