The World

In this world, the crescent Sun hangs huge and motionless in the sky. It blankets the world in the warmth of its dull orange glow. The transit of a moon is a rare and unpredictable thing. One moon, Yemoj, the bright queen, usually brings a brief respite from the relentless light, and is celebrated with nighttime festivities. The other, the dark king Aganj, is known to outstay his welcome – plunging islands into catastrophic darkness. The stars fled long ago, only remembered in myth.

The islands beneath drift on a sea of endless clouds. Some islands, like Jazirat, are populated by peoples who bend magic to their will, encoding it into a technological framework capable of reliable feats, large and small. Some of these are so advanced that they can alter their islands’ drift, and believe that their civilizations will be able to avoid the many dangers that have sent the great empires of the past to history and legend. Other islands are more comfortable with the chaos of natural magic, passing down talent and tradition through the generations.

Journeys between these islands is dangerous and unpredictable, since the islands are always moving. Some, like Jazirat, have developed technology to make it easier to find them. The great Lighthouse of Aynuk, largest city on Jazirat and perhaps in the world, allows ships to find their way home with accuracy far greater than any other technology to date. This has created a boom for Aynuk, now a major hub for trade and immigration from the other islands.

While journeys away from Aynuk are no less dangerous, the ability to find one’s way back has made it a very lucrative venture. Many crews set out on airships bearing goods for trade, or hoping to find the ruings of a shadowed island to plunder.