Nations of the Shattered Isles

1. The Lost City of Tondo Talestro - lun’Aeldvari
2. The Gloaming Islands - Nagvari
3. The Wilding Lands - wyl’Aeldvari & Urkvari
4. Twins of Splendor - sol’Aeldvari
5. Demonsfall (The Ruins of Kelaldor) - no kinvari, previously Aeldvari
6. Mallenhall - sol’Aeldvari
7. Beasthome - Urkvari
8. The Land of Pearls - Nagvari
9. Breitho (The Sown) - mixed kinvari
10. The Crescent Nation - lun’Aeldvari
11. Mooncall Peninsula - lun’Aeldvari
12. The Eclipse Accord - cel’Aeldvari
13. Watchers’ Refuge - mixed kinvari
14. The Thirteen Kings - Hymvari
15. TBD (forested peninsula)
16. Salthammer Lands - tem’Duovari
17. The Ringfields - wyl’Aeldvari
18. The Lushest Sands - Nagvari
19. TBD (sparse forest + grasslands)
20. TBD (coastal wetlands)
21. Abalone Province (colloquially The Lonely Kingdom) - Hymvari
22. The Wind-Raked Stonedom - Duovari

The following text has been excerpted from a gazetteer penned by ". . . provided by the Sun-Kissed Regency of Liras Mitheniel for the use of any kinvari traversing the Shattered Isles for business or pleasure. Painstaking care has been taken to ensure utmost accuracy of the information herein, but the Regency will not be held responsible for inaccuracies, nor for any consequences of misusing this information."

Kinvari Nations of the Shattered Isles

It would be the work of a much larger book than this pamphlet to list, let alone describe, every single major and minor group of kinvari on the Isles. Instead, we provide a short summary of the most important and largest groups, and make briefer mention of the smaller groups that, for whatever reason, are noteworthy.

Aeldvari Tribes

. . .

Duovari Clans

While there is a long-standing Duovari presence in the Shattered Isles, they have not built nearly the enormous infrastructures that one might see on the mainland. They are small in population, though stable and self-sufficient, and generally hospitable towards travelers when encountered.
Tem’Duovari have a small patch of land in the central-east of the Isles, nestled up against the Hymvari kingdom of the Thirteen Kings. The Duovari do not have a name for their territory, so most refer to it as the Salthammer Lands, as the Salthammer bloodline is the primary family of the area. Smaller families accept Salthammer decisions as their own, so they function as an extended clan. As on the mainland, tem’Duovari have a spread-out and loosely-connected series of smaller settlements reminiscent of prairie dog warrens; it is not difficult to find Duovari on Salthammer land should a traveler require aid or shelter.
There is only one mountain range in the Shattered Isles, so of course, there is one gran’Duovari clan who has laid claim to them. Their territory is called the Wind-Raked Stonedom and is ruled by a fairly-balanced alliance of several powerful, deeply-established families. Accordingly, the Stonedom is run by a council of elders from the primary families and seems perfectly stable to outside eyes. The only part of the Stonedom that can be easily traversed by non-Duovari is a patch of rocky shoreline to the southwest of the mountains. Ruling families in the Stonedom include Oreborn, Shorestone, Cragforge, and Hornbow.

Hymvari Kingdoms

Hymvari in the Isles are considerably more sophisticated than most of those on the mainland, due to their isolation from the rest of their unpredictable brethren and their nearness to enlightening Aeldvaren culture. While they are still short-lived and frequently short-sighted, Isle Hymvari possess more of a cultured bearing that makes them moderately more tolerable neighbors.
Hymvari hold two large sections of territory, the first being the more important of the two and set to the middle-east of the Isles. This “kingdom” is referred to as the Thirteen Kings and functions as a collection of allied city-states, each of which with their own hierarchy, politics, and society. The Thirteen Kings are trustworthy and may be counted upon to be welcoming and honorable to travelers, though exact reception will vary from state to state. At the time of this penning, the Thirteen Kings are Reignolde, Sagarus, Androu, Maucolyn, Gaufroi, Jurdanus, Teffania, Athelis, Rychyld, Imaigne, Oriolt, Aanor, and Jhone.
The Lonely Kingdom is a Hymvari nation that is the southernmost land that any prime race holds in the Isles. Hymvari refer to it as the Abalone Province; it is a heavily naval culture, and Hymvari in this province have close trading relations with neighboring Nagvari groups. It is highly unlikely a traveler should find themselves so far south as to encounter these seafaring Hymvari, but should one do so, one should tread lightly and stay to the inland areas of their small nation.

Urkvari Territories

Like the beasts with which they share their blood, Urkvari do not form civilized social structures, defaulting instead to small, oft-nomadic packs or herds. As a result, Urkvari territory has no ruling individuals or governing body; it is merely an area where Urkvari are dominant, and dozens of Urkvari packs roam and hunt. It is rare on mainland Ysireth that an Urkvari pack grows to any considerable size, and such is even less likely in the Isles.
“Beasthome” encompasses a large portion of the north-central Isles, and it is the one country-sized area that Urkvari hold without question. Travelers may pass through this fertile and prey-stocked land at their own risk, as Urkvari packs decide their levels of hostility independent of one another.
The other notable concentration of Urkvari is alongside the wyl’Aeldvari of the Wilding Lands, a crescent-shaped island in the very northwest area of the Isles. They would be beneath notice if the wyl’Aeldvari made a governing body for this large island out of their own people, but alas, the wyl’Aeldvari are as small-grouped and as independent as the Urkvari. The two races live alongside each other in relative peace.

Nagvari

Most detailed information that we on the mainland have of the Shattered Isles Nagvari comes, surprisingly, from the Hymvari of the Isle, not our fellow Aeldvari. As a result, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or relevancy of any of the following information, but it is all we have for this section. We can, at least, confirm that the geography is correct.
The Gloaming Islands are a handful of small to large islands to the southwest of the Isles proper; they are exclusively controlled by Nagvari, and it is unknown if Nagvari live inland or only along the shorelines of these landmasses. Hymvari claim there is a queen who lives on the largest island, but this seems extremely unlikely. Those Nagvari living near the Gloaming Islands are known as the Gloaming Nagvari and primarily trade with the Hymvari of Abalone Province.
The Land of Pearls is an island-sized swath of land barely anchored to the rest of the Isles by a small land bridge. Like the Gloaming Islands, it is unknown if the Nagvari make use of the inland portions of their claimed territory. Hymvari claim that the inland area is uninhabited by kinvari and ferociously dangerous. In keeping with their creative and eloquent names, Hymvari call the locals Pearl Nagvari and do not know anything about their greater social alliances that undoubtedly exist beyond the shoreline.
There is a spit of land southeast of the mountain range that the Nagvari have claimed and named the Lushest Sands. It is a delta-riddled area that host a surprising number of seemingly permanent Nagvari residents, and they will trade with any kinvar who comes near or into their lands. As one might have guessed, Hymvari call these Sand Nagvari. This group of Nagvari are the most friendly and hospitable towards the other prime races, and if a traveler must consort with a Nagvar, it is advised they seek one of those in the Lushest Sands.

Lesser Races

The structure, hierarchy, and social mores of the lesser races are beneath Aeldvaren attention, so this will be an extremely short section. The southernmost sixth of the Shattered Isles is under the control of the lesser races, but thankfully, a traveler has no need to venture there.
. . .

Languages of the Shattered Isles

The Shattered Isles are home to a dense variety of languages and dialects, not all of which are instantly grasped by speakers of their mainland versions. A well-prepared traveler will be fluent in multiple languages, should bring a translation spell with them, or, most advisably, both.
One of the commonmost languages of the Isles is, unsurprisingly, High Aeldvaren. Though kinvari of the Isles speak an older dialect of High Aeldvaren, they can understand modern High Aeldvaren; travelers likewise will find the dialect mutually understandable. Nearly all Aeldvari, most Isle Duovari, and most Nagvari have at least a basic command of High Aeldvaren, and almost every magician, regardless of race, is nominally fluent.
Due to the heavy population of lun’Aeldvari in the Isles, the language of the Moon--lun’Aeldvaren, often shortened to Lunvaren--is also one of the most frequently-spoken tongues. However, Isle Lunvaren is an ancient form of the language and may not be mutually understood by even native speakers of modern Lunvaren.
Wyl’Aeldvaren is the third prominent language, shared not only among Aeldvari but among several other lesser races. As witnessed in other parts of Ysireth, Wylvaren is a collection of dialects stemming from the same timelost source but differentiating across geographical distance and between population groups. Even on the mainland, dialects of Wylvaren are not mutually understandable at all times, but regional forms are no more or less likely to be comprehended on the Isles.
The last prevalent language is, unfortunately, Urkvaren. This primitive tongue is shared between Urkvari on the Isles and many other lesser races. It is unknown how similar it is to modern Urkvaren, due to lack of interested translators among the Aeldvari willing to compare the two.