Recently the volcano has been more active and more ominous. The past few earthquakes have been closer together and more devastating. Plumes of ashes and smoke are billowing forth from the top of the mountain. Geologists and wizards are starting to get worried. Volcano worshippers say that the titan of magma is waking up and needs to be appeased. For most people, life continues as normal, but everyone is starting to get a bit worried.
| How long? | Omens | People are... |
|---|---|---|
| Months | Earthquakes on Volcano Island. Plumes of smoke billow from the Volcano. | Trying not to talk about it. |
| Weeks | An earthquake that collapses buildings. The hot springs are boiling. | Hoping it won't be that bad. |
| Days | Cracks in the ground open and sulfur gas spews out. Avalanches and rockfalls from the constant tremors. | Trying to get away. |
| Hours | Clouds of ash billow across the landscape. The ground bursts and fire spews out. In the distance, the mountain seems swollen. | Panicking or giving up. |
There are a few islands on this island chain. I should probably come up with names for them later.
- The main one, with the volcano on it. This is the capital of the archipelago. A large trade city of humans, a few small villages that subsist on farming and mining and fishing. This is where you will do most of the buying and selling things. Ships from outside the Archipelago usually stop on the docks here. Working name, Volcano Island
- The skull-shaped one, full of pirates. Ships that don't want to pay the trade taxes or that are smuggling illicit goods stop here. A council of seven pirate captains rule here, but they are not unified and infighting breaks out regularly, over perceived insults or to seize choice bits of treasure. The only reason people stop here is to avoid going to Volcano Island. Working name, Pirate Island.
- The one with a dragon on it. There are steamy jungles here, full of giant scorpions and dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are being hunted to extinction by the Dragon Emperor who lives in a blasted citadel carved into a rocky cliff, surrounded by soldiers and worshippers. Tribes of wood elves try to resist his rule, seeking way to break into his city and kill him. The Dragon Emperor pays a cabal of snakepeople to assassinate citizens who oppose him, and people cower in fear when they leave their temple and walk the streets of the citadel. Working name is dragon island.
- The tropical paradise one. Time moves slower here, the hours fly by but every hour spent there is an hour worth spending. The water is crystal and refreshing, the sand is smooth and wavy, the forests are sunlit and quiet. A group of elves inhabit this island, living peaceful and happy lives. Elven ruins dot the landscape, from back when this was part of some great elf empire. Strange flowers grow in the fields, strange flowers which possess the same temporal properties of the island. A gang of smugglers have set up shop in caves under the island, brewing the flowers into haste potions to sell on other islands.
- The one full of ruins. This one is barren and smooth, with twisting spires along it. The only wildlife here are the flies and scorpions, both regular and giant sized. Some spires are pearly elven ruins that sing songs when the wind blows through the fluted holes carved into them. Other are sinister and serpentine, relics of the snakeperson empire that was here long before the elves. Both types of spires are full of of strange creatures, dangerous enchantments, and ancient magic.
So I will probably figure out more stuff to put on these islands, I will need to figure out how boats work since you need those to get between islands, and I might add a few islands if inspiration strikes. I also need a list of potential ways to get off the island before a cataclysmic volcano devastates the whole place.
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