The Bones of Sun-and-Moon

In a warm sea near the middle of the world there floats the corpse of an entire civilization. Twelve seasons past, folk far and wide craned their necks to look up to the sky. They watched as, with a horrendous moan like a thousand dying whales, the flying continent of Sun-and-Moon plummeted into the ocean below.
Many are the tales of Sun-and-Moon's origin. To some it was lifted out of the earth, bringing a favored people closer to their celestial god. Others claim it was actually from the stars, a viewing platform for unknowable creatures. Various local legends say the flying landmass was a prison, an afterlife, an advanced civilization, a primordial lost world, and a hundred other explanations. With no contact other than the occasional strange bird or falling rock, people simply accepted that there was a giant island that floated randomly through the sky.
When Sun-and-Moon crashed into the Free Seas, both men and vermin scrambled to see what had transpired to bring it down. They found a shattered archipelago lush with unusual plants and rare minerals laid bare by the catastrophe. Structures of peculiar design proved that someone did live on Sun-and-Moon, though most of the buildings were ruined by time long before they were ruined by the Fall. In any event, no one has seen hide nor hair of its former inhabitants. The scholars have officially named The Fallen Archipelago and declared it uninhabited and therefore open for colonization. The cultures who had already been exploring, plundering, and colonizing for three years laughed and underlined "The Bones of Sun-and-Moon" on their maps. Those who ply the seas and work the land of the region just call it The Bones.

Welcome to The Bones

A falling continent and unclaimed (potential) riches draws interested parties from all over the world, but several cultures have made serious claims on The Bones.

• The islanders of the neighboring Gembright Isles to the west were the first settlers by almost a month. They are familiar with the seas of the area, but are currently dealing with a "too many leaders" situation.
• Several floodlands clans from the Endless Marsh to the north have uprooted to seek their fortunes in The Bones. Some of their more dangerous "pets" have escaped and bred, making things much more dangerous for rats everywhere.
• The Kingdom of Fivver lies across the Greybeck Ocean to the east, in the coldlands known as Needlewood. After their first colony was overrun, they returned with the largest naval force The Bones has yet seen to ensure their second chance.
• As if living in the darklands of Claspvine wasn't enough, the citizens of Glowbough awoke one day to find their entire city had been transported north across the sea to The Bones. They've made the best of it, sending excursions out to the various ruins to try to solve the mystery of their former inhabitants.
• The chiefs of the far western sunlands, The Pillars of Gold, have sent a number of expeditions to The Bones. They claim to be searching for a flower seen in a prophet's dream, but the fortress they've built has many thinking otherwise.
• Relatively recently, the Fire-Eye Dynasty has sent ships and colonists from their farlands home of Ranquist in the far south. They work tirelessly to send goods back home, and rumors speak of war gone on too long.