Far to the south of the western coast of Caelon lies an archipelago of islands referred to by sailors as The Untamed Isles. Located directly to the west of the Cataclysmic Lands, the tropical climate remains roughly the same temperature year-round. While this may seem like a perfect equation for an island paradise, the isles have earned their name through terrifying legends associated with them.
Mountains Like Fortress Walls
Covered by a thick mist that obscures the sky around them, the volcanic islands do not suffer explorers well. While the largest islands span hundreds of miles in diameter, the mountains offer almost no clear places for visitors to explore them. No matter where on the islands an eager sailor would venture to land, the terrain stands in opposition of outsiders. It is almost as if the mountains themselves were designed to keep outsiders away, or perhaps to keep something inside from getting out.
Jagged Rocks and a Ship Graveyard
The impenetrability of the isles goes further than just the high mountains, however. In order to even make land on any of the islands, ships would need to navigate through a series of high rock formations, jagged and pointed out of the ocean like chevaux de frise on a battlefield. While the stone formations are not impossible to navigate through on their own, the remains of countless old ships still slammed against them in their final resting place offers a dire warning for anyone brave enough to venture forth.
The Waves of Waheem
What makes the jagged rocks far more dangerous than anything else are the massive tidal waves that, according to the Warathi explorer Asir Waheem, appear suddenly as if reacting to the presence of an intruder, thrusting their ships hard into the rocks surrounding the isles. The explorer wrote about this phenomenon after seeing three of his ships meet their end while approaching the largest isle. While he narrowly escaped the same fate, the news of the failed exploration spread far and wide, causing several explorers to attempt to break the isles.
While some explorers have claimed to have conquered the isles since then, no hard proof of such victory has been submitted. Because so many of the supposed eyewitness testimonies have conflicting stories, no one can be sure whether anyone has actually achieved what the famous Waheem could not. Because of this, the Untamed Isles have appropriately earned their name. Who knows what truths actually lie in them.
