¶ The Sun Grove Islands
¶ Sorla (AKA King’s Island) (CENTER)
- no one family has more control than the Grantus Family. The king, and lord regent, operate from this central island. The Sorla Palace, and the surrounding city is home to many other powerful families, some old power such as the Cambridge Family, and some, like the Low Family, are only recent additions to the power struggles surrounding the palace. Sun School, built by the Cambridge family, is set into one wall of the palace, providing protection but also easy access to educated advisors the one way, and the ear of the ruler of the land the other.
- once prosperous, suffered the most when a tsunami damaged the infrastructure of the whole east side of the kingdom. The party found evidence that other islands defrauded the relief effort to redirect supplies meant for Gren to themselves. Gren quickly fell on hard times, and the citizens resented the Mash family. The family lost popular support and then went into hiding. The Mash family were also the victims of an invisibility, and silencing curse preventing them from clearing their names. Of the Orchard, farming, and fishing industries on the island, only fishing is still viable. The orchard- and farm-land are now highly salted, and much landmass was washed away. Distilleries also were destroyed, costing the Mash family, AND the commoners income, and supplies. Mash Family: Collin Mash (father), Lace (Wife) Ken (son) Kara (daughters). Gren also houses a small shrine to Silvanus that the party visited.
- the Gale family, (leader Chapman Gale) following the tsunami, built their island back surprisingly fast. A more mountainous island to begin with, the tsunami did damage some roads and homes, the economic centers (lumber, stone, farming) were only minimally impacted. The Gale family employed some magicians and inventors to devise pumps to help drain the bottom of their quarries and mines.
- Pirates have been harassing merchant ships passed Staren, specifically targeting ships flying the Stonerinde colors. The Stonerinde family are the managing family on Staren. Antoinette “Toni” Stonerinde. the face of the family in both business and politics, is an accomplished tradeswoman. Her father, Angus Stonerinde, was a shipbuilder before the unification wars. Stella Gale Stonerinde (Antoinette and August’s mother) died in her old age, and her passing caused Angus to hand over the reigns of his business and retire. August Stonerinde, brother to Toni and Son of Angus and Stella, was injured in an accident when a mast of a ship in the dry-dock came lose and crushed him. He is a recluse these days. One other shipyard, Lendbough shipping, also set up shop on Staren. Darian Lendbough lost his life in the accident that crippled August, and consequently his company found its way into the hands of Saul Timble, despite Lendbough having three sons who expected to inherit the business and succeed their father. In addition to trade and naval prowess, Staren houses a large prison for the kingdom, Starehouse. High risk cases, political prisoners, and war criminals call this house a home. The prison itself is operated by Kings’ Island guards, led by Rex Lardi.
- the Wilds of Aethus are mostly uninhabited, but still fall within the bounds of the kingdom. Often obscured by dark clouds and rough seas, Aethus is said to be a simple forest island that would tolerate life if it was more easily accessible. It is farther from Sorla than the average distance of the other islands, and lacks a defensible harbor like Faircoat has or the sturdy bedrock that supports Staren. Currently their is no official ruling family or group, but the land is under the thumb of Jeth Guilding, who manages available real estate within the boarders of the kingdom. It has mostly fallen out of the current political and economic conversations.
- The scholars and educators sponsored by the Faircoat family were spared from the tsunami from their placement on the far side of the Grove. Faircoat houses the second of the Sun Grove Islands’ (non-religious) prestigious schools. The Raiment School is only partially a for magic. It also trains Historians, botanists, naturalists, philosophers, and mathematicians. The Raiment school also houses a grand library containing maps, old tomes, and a great repository of wisdom, Morlingal, the keeper of the library and the headmaster of the school. Morlingal apparently has access to a portal which Angus went through in a search for answers. Besides the Librbary, Faircoat also boasts a well defended port, a fine tournament ground, and a system of crisscrossing cart lines that allow quick transport across the city. Other noteworthy locations on Faircoat include the Faircoat Manner, Tester's Drop, and Buried Treasure.
- another un-familied Island within the Sun Grove, the Dragon Spine is a series of sharp cliff faces and steep mountain tops that pierce through the surface of the sea in defiance of its crushing strength. Mining operations happened more frequently there pre-unification, and myths say that Dwarves made tunnels deep in the search for ores and resources. The party suspects the pirates harassing the Stonerindes may be camped out in the old tunnels. Dwarves have not been seen in that area in a long time, and rumors range from cave-ins flooding the tunnels to hiding dwarves closing themselves off, to great nightmares stalking the depth.
- The Highguard family rose to power on Refuge following the unification, because Kolter Highguard lead a number of soldiers and sailors under Chur’s leadership. The highgaurd family’s history surrounds distrust of magic. Korey Highguard is a scolar and public figure. Her brother, Artemis, is a loose cannon and has a reputation for stirring up trouble. Despite the island’s reputation for poor weather and colder people, Refuge boasts of some of the most famous bakeries in the kingdom.
- the Vandrey Family. Hummerling holds one of the magical academies of the Sungrove Islands, The Hummerling school. Unlike the Raiment school on Faircoat, the Hummerling school is notoriously closemouthed, tightfisted, and abrasive. Little is known about what goes on behind closed doors or down in deep dungeons. Golden, the major city on Hummerling spans a split in the rock, which makes up the island, with feats of engineering prowess that rival Faircoat's road systems. the Vandreys publicly praise this split in the rock for the reason they were not affected more severely by the tsunami that impacted the eastern islands.