The Frontier-lands

The Frontier-lands is the catchall term for any areas that lie outside of the mapped world. It is common knowledge that, for some unknown reason, the further from the three largest continents of Yrdde the worse the storms and magical radiation become. Exploration quickly becomes deadly, and most explorers prefer to map the countless small islands within established territory that, for one reason or another, have never been fully scouted. Even the smallest floating rock could bear some rare spice or undiscovered breed of skydrake, after all.

The Southern Barrier

While the northern, eastern, and western skies have been largely mapped by the intrepid explorers of the Empire, the Sanctum Alliance, and the Free States, the south remains a tantalizing mystery. Stretching across the southern edge of Yrdde sits a seemingly endless wall of perpetual storms and lethal waves of magical radiation. This barrier has claimed the lives of countless explorers, but on extremely rare occasions small gaps can be seen. Through these gaps, some explorers have claimed to have seen a vast, unexplored continent.
Tales abound of expeditions that dared to venture too far south, their ships vanishing without a trace, swallowed by the storms or perhaps finding a fate even more unsettling in the lands hidden beneath the impenetrable clouds. Some whisper of ancient civilizations that dwell in those shadowed lands, their magic far more potent and their technology unlike anything known to the current world. Others tell of monstrous creatures, born from the chaotic energies of the storms, that prey upon any ship foolish enough to stray from the established sky-lanes.
A top-secret initiative within the Imperial Aetherium has dedicated themselves to developing advanced shielding technology capable of protecting airships from the deadly magical radiation and the unpredictable storms that shroud the southern continent. While they’ve achieved limited success – small-scale shields that offer protection for brief periods – creating a vessel capable of withstanding the concentrated energy of the southern skies has remained elusive.
Despite the risks, the Empire continues to send heavily armed and shielded scouting vessels towards the southern frontier. These missions, shrouded in secrecy, are rarely discussed, and the fate of many remains unknown. The crews of these vessels are typically made up of officers and sailors that have dishonored themselves in some way. Despite being clear suicide missions, there is no shortage of prisoners seeking a more noble death than public execution or tortuous manual labor in one of the many prison mines that dot the Imperial frontier.

The Rainbow Reef

In the skies at the eastern edge of Sanctum Alliance territory floats a colossal and breathtakingly beautiful structure of stone, shimmering crystalline coral, and abundant flora and fauna. Its most striking feature is its coloration – vibrant hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet shift and shimmer across its surface, creating an ever-changing kaleidoscope of light. This luminescence is not merely a reflection of sunlight, but an intrinsic property of the Reef itself – a manifestation of the Aetherial Flow coursing through its crystalline structure, its energy pulsing with a gentle, hypnotic rhythm.
The Reef is not a solid mass but a complex network of tunnels, chambers, and open-air spaces. These interconnected pathways provide shelter, breeding grounds, and hunting territories for the myriad creatures that call the Reef home. Some tunnels are narrow, barely wide enough for a skydrake to pass through, while others open into vast, cathedral-like chambers filled with an ethereal light and the gentle hum of the Reef’s energy.
The Reef’s shifting colors, unpredictable aetherial currents, and the disorienting effects of its energy make navigation treacherous. Even experienced pilots risk crashing their airships within its maze-like structure, becoming prey to the Reef's guardians or lost within its depths. Reef Guardians – powerful, winged creatures resembling manta rays with scales that gleam like polished gemstones. They are fiercely territorial, defending the Reef from any intruders with powerful blasts of wind magic and a venomous sting that can kill in a single blow.
Legends whisper of a chamber at the very heart of the Rainbow Reef, a place where the Aetherial Flow converges, creating a gateway to other realities. This chamber, however, is said to be heavily guarded, protected by a powerful and mysterious being.

The Sunken Archipelago

The Sunken Archipelago is a sprawling chain of islands on the western frontier of the Empire. It is a realm shrouded in perpetual mist which hides a vast, seemingly bottomless ocean of water suspended amidst the clouds. This unique phenomenon is attributed to a powerful, localized nexus of Water magic.
Peaks of islands, once towering mountains or perhaps even remnants of a shattered continent, rise from the water’s surface like the skeletal remains of forgotten giants. The air above the sea is thick with humidity, the sky a canvas of swirling gray clouds. Rain falls almost constantly, a gentle drizzle that can quickly transform into torrential downpours, creating waterfalls that cascade from the islands’ peaks and vanish into the swirling mists below. The Aetherial Flow within the Archipelago is dominated by Water magic, creating unpredictable currents and pockets of intense energy. Compasses malfunction, airships struggle to maintain altitude, and even experienced mages find their abilities amplified or disrupted by the ever-shifting tides of magical power.
On the outermost fringes of the Archipelago, where the Water magic’s influence is weakest, a small community known as Avani has carved out a precarious existence. The inhabitants of Avani survive by collecting and trading the Archipelago’s unique water, which is rumored to possess potent healing properties. This water, when consumed or used in alchemical preparations, is said to accelerate healing, soothe burns, and even alleviate the symptoms of magical exhaustion. They’ve learned to adapt to the unpredictable environment, building their homes on stilts or upon the highest points of smaller islands, their movements guided by a deep understanding of the currents and the rhythms of the rain. They view the Archipelago not as a hostile wilderness, but as a sacred place, their lives intertwined with its ethereal essence.
Rumors circulate among the explorers and traders who frequent Avani, tales of Aquatic Chimera who dwell in the deeper regions of the sea. Some describe them as merfolk-like beings, with shimmering scales, webbed hands, and voices that echo the whale song. Others say they take more monstrous forms – shark-like predators with rows of razor teeth or kraken-like entities with tentacles.