Due to its underlying heat, snow will not stay on this island, but instead melts. Ice never touches these shores for the same reason. Odd, almost tropical plants grow here despite the northerly latitude, but beware living creature – the same underground heat which turns the snows to meltwater lets toxic gases seep from the ground, poisoning all who set foot here.

An active volcano, Silent Mountain stands blackly at the foot of Meltwater Island, smoking and trembling but never erupting with any force.

Rocky and beautifully desolate, Eastwatch was the first land in the West to be discovered. It is also the furthest east of all the islands in the Western Continent, and thus vulnerable to detection. The only vegetation on this island is lichen and spare grasses growing in the cracks. However, insect life is abundant, as is nearby ocean life in the rocky tidal pools.

Eastwatch is pirate territory

A dry and scrub-covered island, this relatively large island is difficult to hack one’s way through due to all the thorns and low-growing shrubs. However, the vegetation is perfect for caprines, and that is just what has been released there, both to tame the island and to serve as a food source for young dragons – and perhaps a practice ground for hunting.

This triangle-shaped black rock stands in monolithic witness to the power of tectonics. Like the keel of a ship, it cuts through the water cleanly.

The Keel is pirate territory

Almost directly to the west of the Keel, this island is clearly periodically flooded by seawater, as old stands of dead trees attest to. However, the vegetation is resilient, with a young forest growing atop the old. Young trees even grow out of hollows in dead ones, and grasses, bushes, and plants of all sort utilize the dead vegetation as the basis for their own life.

Bramblewood is pirate territory

Just to the north-east of east of Rudder Rock, this little island is an outcropping of dead, white coral from ancient times. Sparkling white sands held in place by switchgrass make this a lovely spot to visit on a warm summer’s day.

Corresponding to the eastward Keel, Rudder Rock is another monolithic dark stone. Lichen and moss are common on the interior, as are small, twisted spice trees.

Aside from Windward and Moonrise, Smuggler's Drop is the largest single island in the archipelago. The interior is covered in boreal forest, with ancient trees standing tall. The stumps of those harvested for masts by pirates are still visible, though young trees grow in them as they rot. The many small inlets are mainly shallow and grassy, or marshy. The one large harbor is rimmed with stone buildings. All bear old scorch-marks from a Turns-ago battle. The harbor is no longer passable, but filled with seaweed-covered wrecked ships which attract all sorts of marine life, including young leviathans. Nevertheless, Smuggler's Drop is once again a thriving town and trading port.

Smuggler's Drop is pirate territory

From this sandy island, it is common to see pods of shipfish (dolphins) cutting through the waters.