Like jagged islands that float amidst the endless clouds of the realms, the tops of these land masses look like picturesque countrysides or majestic, sweeping landscapes - each of them ripped from the continent and hurled into the skies. The underside of these islands is the jagged, uprooted crust of the earth, shards of rocks and dirt hanging over the clouds below.
Fractal is the commonly used name for the landmasses of old Shadar that have been cast into this realm during
The Breaking. These floating chunks of land have a wide range of sizes from small boulders to entire countries and support all of modern life and civilization on them. It is unknown how many there are in existence but it is estimated to be hundreds of significant land masses, which are grouped into the Imperial Fractals, the Holy Land Fractals, and the Diaspora Fractals - each owned and controlled by a civilization or society. The rest are considered unmapped or uncontrolled as a part of the
Nimbus Sea.
EFFECTS OF THE SHADEWEAVE
The Fractals remain floating amidst the clouds thanks to the immense amount of
Shadeweave magic that was infused within the land by
Shar during
The Breaking which continues to loft up the broken continent to this day. This infusion is commonly referred to as
Knotted Stone, which is mined for the construction of
Skyships, though the true knots of the
Shadeweave at the cores of some of the largest Fractals are of immense power and tampering with a knot of raw magic could have severe consequences.
The effects of this concentration of
Shadeweave magic significantly impact life atop the Fractals - turning the dead into
Undead husks and preventing any from being buried after death, should they rise again. This led to the devastation of the
Age of Darkness and the eventual practice of “cleansing fractals” which involved establishing practices of cremation and ridding the Fractal of
Undead - something that often required the killing of thousands of
Undead husks.
BLACK TAILS OF FRACTALS
As sunlight continues to rotate around these landmasses from a distant source, the Fractals themselves cast long shadows that rotate in darkness opposite the light source. The strength of this darkness seems to be linked to the strength of the
Shadeweave knot within.
Skyship sailors - particularly of the Coalition Archipelago - have recalled these “Black Tails” being filled with ghosts and empowering the
Hollow.
