Maoro (ma.o.ro)
"The strange ruins of Maoro have similarities to those on Koa'ki and elsewhere, but they also have a variety of unique features as well."
Maoro is a part of the Nofo Islands, and the northernmost island in the Mangimoi Archipelago. It is a part of the Kingdom of Pagi, and is best known for the strange megalithic ruins that form a line from east to west across the island's southern hills.
The ruins are a series of ascending pillars, each made from a single massive block of stone. The shortest pillar is on the island's eastern shore, and is about twenty feet high. Every thirty-seven feet to the west is another pillar, and each one is taller by about an inch. There are nearly four thousand pillars in the line, extending for about twenty-eight miles across the island, and the pillar on the western shore rises to over 480 feet in the air.
The inhabitants of Maoro believe that the pillars were created by some ancient civilization, although they do not know what purpose they were intended to serve. Today, they mostly ignore, the massive edifices, except when foreign scholars and travelers come to study or marvel at them.
Notable Spirits
The island of Maoro is strangely devoid of gods, but filled with ghosts. The spirits of the deceased tend to linger on the island for days, weeks, or even years before finally vanishing across the sea to the south. They are generally not visible during the day, but at night they can sometimes be seen as shimmering outlines, especially by those who were close to them in life. They are not generally harmful or distressing - to the people of Maoro, this is just a normal part of dying. Occasionally, there will be an angry spirit who attempts to wreak havoc upon the living - when this happens, the living people will try to determine what has upset the ghost and rectify it. In extreme circumstances, they will enact a Folk Magic ritual which banishes the spirit to the underworld, but this is considered a last resort.
Geography
Maoro is a rugged island, covered in hills and low mountains. Most of the island's population lives along the southern coast, and the rest of the island is heavily forested. Unlike most of the islands in the Mangimoi Archipelago, Maoro is not a producer of spices - their most significant export is lumber for shipbuilding.
Geographic Details
Location: Southern RegionLatitude: 2.18 degrees North
Longitude: 16.05 degrees West
Average Elevation: 374 ft
Highest Point: 3,842 ft (Gunung Saba)
Lowest Point: -3 ft
Area: 874.9 sq mi
Related Articles
Nofo Islands
The northernmost portion of the Mangimoi Archipelago
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
The ruins are so interesting to me. I wonder if they have anything to do with the lingering dead.
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
It could be a coincidence, but it doesn’t seem likely, does it?