The Alyma Archipelago (pronounced uh-LEE-ma) is a collection of islands of varying sizes in the southern reaches of Hellea. Nearly all the islands are quite rocky and mountainous, and some are even the sites of active volcanoes. The island coasts tend to be quite eroded, with sea caves, arches, and stacks rather common. A handful of sandy beaches in the archipelago are popular destinations, mostly in sites where they are protected from the sea by bays or seawalls. Most of the small islands are not permanently inhabited.
The climate of the archipelago is generally warm and dry, even in the winter months. In the taller mountain peaks, rainfall and even snowfall on rare occasions are more commonplace. As a result of the rockiness and level of precipitation, the islands are not well-suited to large scale intensive agriculture.
Alyman flora and fauna are similar to that of elsewhere in Hellea, but better adapted to life on the islands. Groves of date palms both grow wild and are tended for food. The islands are home to a large variety of birds as well as lynx, martens, and so on. Large colonies of cyphergulls live on the uninhabited Alyman islands, sometimes sought after by local mages as familiars. A multitude of different types of both magical and mundane sea creatures dwell around the archipelago as well.