The large region known as the Isles of N'Tethas lie to the north of Fe'ansia, and to the west of Melarna. There are hundreds of Isles, many small and uncharted, some larger and more developed. They are a loose collection of small nations, colonies, monster-infested isles and pirate havens. Nelistan, Darbiya, and Kelevantia have ships in the area frequently, and several of the larger islands also boast respectable navies which are found in the seas. Several distinct and unique cultures have sprung up on these isles, and there are also many places of interest.
The isles themselves were formed thousands of years ago. Prior to this, the isles were all part of the subcontinent Tethasia, where a civilization flourished. Tethasia may have even been connected to the mainland of Fe'ansia. It is not known what happened, but in 254, this land was shattered. Most sages guess that Tethasia was either struck by a god-directed meteor or destroyed thru some other incredible calamity. Rumors of what occurred include: Ossav destroyed this land for resisting him, the gods grew angry at the inhabitants, a huge meteorite struck the land, a mage from Malazhi released tremendous power far beyond his ability to control, and that the entire region was whisked away to another place/plane of existence.
Little of the land from that era survived, and none without heavy damage. Scars from whatever happened: some sort of intense explosion: still are evident today. Near the center of the region, there are few isles, and the waters are incredibly deep. The central part of Tethasia is now one of the deepest part of the seas, and strange creatures are known to inhabit the deeper seas. The majority of the isles lie where the outer coasts of the subcontinent once were, and the ecology has once again settled into normalcy.
Some of the more notable islands are listed below. Many islands are uncharted, and some only partially so. Many strange occurrences and creatures have been seen in this region, and only seasoned sailing crews will dare certain areas.
Aegea: beautiful isle with extraordinarily high cliffs. Much of the island is sheer rock, climbing thousands of feet in the air. Upon this isle, idyllic small groves are known to exist, and trees are seen both at sea-level and high on the cliffs. Approaching the isle is impossible, for just off-shore are guardians which protect the island. Faces carved into rocky outcroppings similar to Aegea itself prevent intruders, by raising winds or rock to destroy vessels. Only a few have reached Aegea and returned; they have spoken of pleasant groves where they are cared for. It is thought that elves who reach a certain age make their final pilgrimage to Aegea to rest; the guardians' faces are decidedly dwarvish in appearance, which raises doubts about that idea.
Charta: desolate small island, with little to redeem it. It would not even be noteworthy except that it is almost directly between NNNN and NNNN. Winds occasionally push smaller sea-vessels onto hidden rocks near shore. It is also the home of a large flock of harpies, which prey upon vessels that approach too closely. Any people unlucky enough to be caught on the rocks usually falls prey to these savage bird-women.
Dondra: a human-dominated island, with the most ancient ruins in the region. There are several gates within the region that are well-documented. The small island is ruled by a council of Elders. Recently, one of the gates opened, and non-human beings have begun to raid sporadically. These attacks are slowly becoming more frequent and severe. The invaders are of a race calling themselves Colnari.
Mercinae: medium-large island in the southern region of the isles, named for an ancient city of the same name whose ruins litter a large part of the island. The terrain is mountainous; this region was rugged mountains before the calamity, and has remained difficult to traverse. The ruins of the city are on the south side of the island, near Eleyna Bay. The ruins of the city have many fine buildings, which are slowly crumbling. Thaumacie is a dwarven citadel on the northernmost peaks of the island. Following the catastrophe, Thaumacie isolated itself to avoid the human inhabitants, who rapidly degenerated into barbarism.
These barbarians, calling themselves the Horleen, pillaged Mercinae for whatever was of worth. Eventually, the Horleen raided into Jassiol and Nerth. In both cases, they were driven back by fierce resistance. About 100 years ago, the dwarves of Thaumacie decided to open contact with the Horleen. The dwarves educated the Horleen in metalworking, and the Horleen adopted some of the dwarvish attitudes. Axes became the favored weapon of the Horleen, particularly the dwarven-forged axes. The Horleen also began to fashion metal animal-masks, using symbolic depictions discovered in Mercinae and adopted as totems. Horleen wear these masks into battle; the sight of the Horleen frequently intimidates warriors of other lands
M'jorn: medium-large isle, A tribe of elves also dwells on the island, and have a thriving culture. They are friendly with the humans on Ulath, which is nearby. The elves keep a small number of horses for cavalry mounts, and wild horses roam over much of the island. The elves have built many notable areas of learning; there is a temple to XXX with a devoted order of healers. The northern-most region of the island has been taken over by Askmaths, and the elves fight constant skirmishes against them. The isle is also a site of a school of elemental mages, who remain neutral in the conflicts: the Askmaths once tried to sack the school, and lost most of their force to the mages.
M'ranth: volcanic isle primarily occupied by orcs. A red dragon dwells in the Valley of Fire, and is greatly feared by the orcs. Ogres and Trolls are also known to dwell on M'ranth, and an order of warriors calling themselves Death Knights have established a temple and training ground. There is a tower built by an unknown being, which hosts a gate from which monsters occasionally emerge.
Nerth: southernmost isle, near Jassiol jungles, Nerth is avoided by most travellers. Nerth was evidently close enough to Jassiol to benefit slightly from the magics used to promote plant growth; Nerth is covered by thick vegetation, and has a wide variety of fauna and flora. The isle has been claimed by weretigers to be their own domain. The weretigers and their feline allies are strong enough to enforce this claim.
Thanag: a small island, inhabited by humans and a few dwarves. They have a good shipyards, one of the best in the isles. They will repair any ship, no matter what the source of the damage. They are also a Spelljammer port. However, Thanag has hidden itself from most ships (it is one of several islands which are close together), to prevent any aggression against the small island.
Ulath: center of (healer religion). The clergy has adopted elves into its number, and XXX is gaining elvish converts on M'jorn.
Ulgar: dwarven-dominated isle. The dwarves have developed some rather revolutionary technological items and make use of smokepowder and steam to power these items. It is believed they have even developed something like a primitive helicopter, and definitely use cannons to defend their land. The island itself is moderate-small in size, and has a good amount of forests draped over the terrain. The dwarves are hill-dwarf stock, but some of their dwellings are above ground as well as below.