Overview of Halyren

Halyren is a continent that spans 5,067,000 million square miles (13.1 million square kilometers). A unique continent, Halyren is generally split into four separate sectors. The inhospitable mainland, known as Halyren Proper, the southern Hundred Isles of the Cyclops, the temperate islands of Cotioolichand and the massive tropical Archelin Isles, which form a distinct climate compared to Cotioolichand. The Archelin Isles, which stretch from the equatorial maritime border with Ærellion to the end of the tropics are a diverse place, filled with tropical flora and fauna. Their diversity and productivity may be lost on those who fight over them, whether they be pirates, smugglers, or simple traders, as money flows through the golden sea. The more eastern of the Archelin islands are defined by a tropical jungle, which eventually fades into diverse savanna, as befits a warm, wet current. However, the more western islands have a much cooler and drier climate, leading to desert climate, savannas, and monsoon climate. Monsoons strike this region in summer, drawing moisture and making the summers of western Archelin comparably drier, in a reversal of the rest of the year. Moving south into more temperate latitudes, the Cotioolichand is a sector of islands forming a distinct chain within Halyren, benefiting from warm currents flowing throughout and leading to a warm oceanic climate. With cool wet winters and hot, drier summers, agriculture flourishes throughout the islands, and their fertile plains host many great dwellings of gnomes and halflings alike. Such climate also touches the north of Halyren Proper, making it, too a productive region. Besides this, Halyren Proper is mainly composed of the vast Argelona Plains, which range from steppe to desert, though most of the eastern coastline is rather moderate and quite developed. These vast and dry plains owe their existance to the huge Sköddoran Mountains, which prevent western weather from reaching the plains, while the islands off the coast generally absorb much of the eastern weather fronts. The far western coast of Halyren is very much the benefactor of this, as it recieves great amounts of precipitation in its temperate rainforests. Moving southeast to the hundred isles, which some consider among the most beautiful parts of the world... at least when it isn't raining. All of these islands recieve rainfall throughout much of the year, supporting a wide array of life adapted to the damp and cold. The islands are often covered by a foggy marine layer, but when it burns up in the rare summer sun this creates a stunning effect, especially from mountain vantage points (as the islands are quite rocky). The Hundred Isles are very cold in winter, with even the most temperate recieving large amounts of rain. As the Hundred Isles taper off towards to south pole, they become glacial in nature, and few among even the Cyclops dare to reside in these southernmost standouts of Halyren. It should also be noted that while there are many more than 100 islands in this chain, only the hundred largest have names.
Halyren is considered to be a medium magical zone and is populated by a wide variety of races, including the native Gnomes, Halflings, Cyclops, Kobolds, Anemoi, Goblins, Gnolls, and some Humans. At the current year, Halyren can be technologically compared to the Late Renaissance, with the Gnomes being one of the main drivers of innovation. Therefore, much of Halyren is a bustling society on the verge of great discover. However, Halyren is a very divided place, and many of its races lag far behind, so this classification only really applies to the civilized states, primarily those of the Gnomes, Anemoi, Halflings, and Dwarves of the region. The rest of the continent is more similar to the Imperial Age of An'seidna, or is tribal.