Geography

Islia is an island in the Sea of Glass, a day's journey by boat from the southwestern coast of Aleron, and no farther than that from the northwestern coast of Samara. It is not a very high island and is, in fact, fairly flat, with a warm, balmy, tropical climate and a great deal of sun. It is to some degree protected from storms by the sea walls which ring it, keeping high waves from crashing into buildings near the sea.

Islia is an island city-state. The island itself is only big enough for a single, somewhat sprawling city, ringed by sea walls to protect it from storms, but rather than being under the government of Aleron or Samara, Islia rules itself by way of a Lord Governor and a small council of wealthy merchants.
Islia is a trade city. It attracts ships from all over--not only Aleron and Samara, but Melanos, Torrigan, the Ring of Tears, and more exotic, less-known locales from across the Sea of Glass and the Sea of Hope. Because of this, Islia thrives despite its somewhat precarious location, and is a center for trade--and thievery. It is a boisterous, vivid city, full of all manner of people and all manner of entertainments. It is often boasted that anything anyone could want can be found in Islia, for a price. Art objects, jewelry, arms and armor, rare spices, exotic animals, magical objects and artifacts, music, dance... all can be had in Islia, as long as one is willing to pay for it.
Under all of this color and gaiety, however, darkness lurks. Islia is also the center of the only major thieves' and assassins' guilds on or near the continent, and slaves and drugs are sold just the same as cloth and jewelry. The unwary can run afoul of the forces involved in these trades and be caught up in them with fatal ease.

Copyright © 1999 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.