The Akrotirian Isles (pronounced ack-row-TEER-ee-an) are a collection of islands near the southern coast of the Chaska Sea. Built around the ruins of an ancient and little studied seafaring civilization, the small communities of the Akrotirian Isles draw upon the powerful spiritual and occult forces of the islands for guidance.
Geography, flora, and fauna
Geography
Off the southern coast of the Chaska Sea lie the Akrotirian Isles, an archipelago dominated by high mountain peaks. Many rock formations in the islands, and even entire mountains, jut from the ground in tilted, unnatural angles. Beneath the summits, and in the valleys between the mountains, lie the forests that cover much of the islands.
Similar to the rest of the southern coast of the Chaska, the climate of the region is quite stable. Summers are warm but not usually excessively hot, with cooler but not cold winters. The summer months are typically fairly dry, while the winter sometimes brings torrential rain. The taller mountain peaks maintain some snow cover year round.
The northernmost island in the archipelago, Peleset, collapsed into the ocean in Y6645.
Flora
In addition to the oaks, cedars, and pines, giant agathis trees thrive in the forests of the Akrotirian Isles. These massive trees tower above their surroundings and grow for thousands of years. Highly prized by the inhabitants of the Isles, the bright white wood of the agathis trees is sometimes used for construction or art due to its beauty and strength, though only if the trees have fallen by natural means. Many flowers and fruits of the Isles are poisonous, requiring a trained eye to distinguish them from their similar-looking but safe relatives.
Lotus trees
In particularly isolated valleys, amongst groves of other trees, grow the lotus trees of the islands. These powerful, sentient plants feed off the hopes of those that fall under their spell, an effect aided by the potent hallucinations they can induce. Highly rare, each lotus tree grows secluded, separated by others similar to it by dozens of miles. The Akrotiri have a complex relationship with these trees. Some lotus trees serve as wise guardians of their communities, while others seek to enthrall as many people as possible for their own benefit.
Fauna
Despite its relative proximity to the southern Chaskan coast, many of the creatures of the Akrotirian Isles are highly distinct. A huge variety of lizards inhabit the islands, including tuataras and shocker lizards. Mammals in the archipelago include those found elsewhere, as well as unusual ones like the solenodon. Snallygasters commonly nest in the mountains and cliffs, while moas roam throughout the forest floors. An uncountable number of species of snakes can be found in the Isles, from the most mundane to the highly magical, such as psyche serpents. Most of these snakes are venomous to some degree. The coasts are home to a number of animals, including multiple types of sea lions, dolphins, and drakes.
Shotalashu, commonly tamed by the region's lashunta, can also be found semi-feral across the Isles.
Thought eaters looking for hunting grounds often emerge within the Isles after crossing over from the Ethereal to the Material Plane.
Darklands
A large number of caves and tunnels lead from the surface of the Akrotirian Isles to the middle levels of the Darklands below. These routes are frequently used as convenient paths to the surface by not only by the aberrations of the depths, but by sapient beings like deros as well. Some of these tunnels eventually lead to the Spirit Apparatus, an ancient facility deep underground.
Psychic storms
The inhabitants of the Akrotirian Isles keep a watchful eye on the horizon for the formation of major thunderstorms. While these usually pass with little more fanfare than they would elsewhere in the world, occasionally the storms serve to heighten the strength of the latent psychic forces of the island. When this does occur, those with a level of psychic attunement find it much easier to hear the spirits around them - though sometimes beneficial, the uncontrollability of this effect means it is usually highly unpleasant.
Ley lines
Many ley lines cross the Akrotirian Isles, intersecting frequently. Akrotiri psychics rely upon these heavily.
History
At some point in the distant past, the Akrotirian Isles were inhabited by a civilization that built a number of structures, some of which continue to be used today. Most prominent of these are the extensive artificial harbors in Arrapha and Tharros, large enough that even in their decayed state they could berth dozens upon dozens of ships each. Some speculate the Spirit Apparatus to have been the creation of this civilization as well.
Though the Akrotiri ports have historically been open to all, that has changed somewhat in the last few centuries. Tirionite efforts to examine the possibility of colonization have not gone unnoticed - after a number of their ships were sabotaged or destroyed, the few Tirionite explorers that remain around the Isles are careful to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
When the island of Peleset sunk below the waves in Y6645, the survivors dispersed. Some resettled elsewhere in the Akrotirian Isles, while others banded together into the Peleset Union.
Demographics
In addition to the humans, tengu, elves, and half-elves that account for most of the population of the Akrotirian Isles, the archipelago is the only part of the world in which astomoi and lashunta can be found in any significant numbers. The lashunta tell stories of having long ago been isolated on this planet, alien and strange to them. Today they live within Akrotiri society, though maintain some practices of their own, such as the domestication of the shotalashu. Astomoi, very few in number, often serve as highly valued and respected psychic and spiritual advisors to their communities.
Akrotirian communities are generally quite small. The largest by far is Arrapha, with roughly 15,000 inhabitants, though this is an outlier. Most of the rest of the largest towns are home to only a few thousand each.
Culture
Religion
The gods of the common pantheon are widely worshiped in the Akrotirian Isles, especially Gozreh, Erastil, and Shelyn. Most temples tend to be rather austere, as the Akrotiri generally believe far more in worship by deed. The Isles are also one of the few regions of the world to have a sizable population of Monad cultists, as they enjoy a level of acceptance in the archipelago that is hard to find elsewhere. One of the Monad cultist holy sites lies within the Isles, in a secluded grove north of Armuta.
Many Akrotiri are also adherents of various occultist philosophies. Those that follow occultism do not necessarily discard worship of deities, though some do. In particular, some believe in some type of cosmic biology, the idea that everything up to and including the base material of the planes is alive. Esoteric beliefs in the Isles are highly varied, and often down to the particular ideas and motivations of individual practitioners.
Languages
Most Akrotiri speak Chaskan as a primary language. Common, Elven, and Lashunta are also widely used. Other regional languages, such as Telan and Ishtaran, are spoken by a considerably smaller segment of the population.
Any items, magical or otherwise, that inhibit the use of telepathy are frowned upon by most Akrotiri. As the astomoi of the Isles rely on their telepathic abilities to communicate, any interference is seen as a great affront.
Society
A not insignificant number of Akrotiri, especially astomoi, embrace ascetic practices. By abstaining from pleasures they believe they can better attune themselves to the spirits and occult forces that surround them. While a few go so far as to become hermits, living in remote parts of the mountainous islands, most simply practice self-denial in the course of their everyday lives.
Akrotiri communities are somewhat insular, and many inhabitants of the islands are slow to trust those they do not know. Outsiders are sometimes expected to show some gesture of goodwill before being permitted free access to the towns of the archipelago, especially those that are more remote. In the large port cities of Arrapha and Tharros, these expectations are lessened somewhat.
Food and cuisine
Akrotiri cuisine emphasizes strongly contrasting flavors, often mixing ingredients and spices that would be considered highly unconventional to people of other cultures. Many Akrotiri enjoy a level of carbonation in their drinks, whether that be water, teas, or alcohols.
Magic
Practitioners of magic in the Akrotirian Isles disproportionately use psychic magic. Psychics, spiritualists, and occultists are particularly common. Other forms of magic widely used as well.
Spirit Apparatus
See also: Spirit Apparatus
The Spirit Apparatus is an site located in the Darklands deep under the Akrotirian Isles, accessible through an entrance near Arrapha. The ley lines in the Isles converge to a great degree at this point, something many Akrotiri believe to be connected to the Apparatus. The Apparatus is essentially a labyrinth of unusually shaped halls and rooms in which a large number of spirits seem to be contained. Most spirits seem to have complex routines they follow, though their motivations are poorly understood. At the core of the Apparatus lies the Perplex, a room hundreds of feet across containing intricate clockwork mechanisms, ticking away for an unknown purpose. The tunnels of the Apparatus run for miles, and many explorers have gotten lost and trapped inside.
Ancient wrecks
Scattered across the Akrotirian Isles, as well as in the waters surrounding the archipelago, lie the decaying metal remains of ancient vessels. The lashunta of the Isles claim they are descended from the crews of these ships, who used them to travel the void of space. Today these ruins are picked over by scavengers and adventurers.
Government
Most towns in the Akrotirian Isles govern themselves using some type of local council, though they generally also have a leader who is responsible for directing activities and facilitating discussions. These leaders are almost always psychics, spiritualists, or occultists, who tap into otherworldly forces for guidance.
Economy
Akrotiri communities are generally self-sufficient, aided by their active trade with each other. Foreigners sometimes make port to trade for various items produced by the towns of the Isles as well. The venoms and poisons of the archipelago's flora and fauna are particularly sought after, both for medicinal and alchemical use as well as for nefarious means. Despite attempts to buy (or directly fell) the agathis trees, the islanders fiercely protect and defend their ancient forests, refusing to allow any to harvest them at scale.Template:CitiesAkrotirianIsles