The Dragon Isles are made up of eight individual self-sustaining islands, if you could only locate them. Buy the Tales of the Lance boxed Set: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/16961/tales-of-the-lance-2e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
You should count yourself lucky if you can even locate them.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Dragon Isles in the War of the Lance Era. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing The Atlas of the Dragonlance World, Tales of the Lance Boxed Set, and the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
The Dragon Isles are shrouded in mystery in this War of the Lance Era. There are sailors who claim to know exactly where they are located, and the individual islands that make up the Dragon Isles, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone who could actually deliver you to their shores. The name itself is also a bit of a misnomer, as only one of the islands is solely populated by Dragons. These eight islands are located approximately eighty miles north of the Cape of Nordmaar. The islands are individually named, from southwest to northeast as Tayol, Winged Majesty, Berann, Heart, Jaentarth, Misty Isle, Mind and Alarl.
Indeed even the creation and geological structure of the islands are unknown. Some believe they were created through prehistoric volcanic activity, being composed of shafts and shards of pumice and obsidian. But just as many so-called experts insist they contain various outcroppings of limestone and sandstone, which points to more sedimentary origins. This could be a result of the Cataclysm helping shape some of the isles or simply one more unsolvable mystery surrounding these mysterious isles. Each island averages about ten miles in diameter, each also contains every terrain from lush plains to high mountains. Each island is a beautiful and idyllic world unto itself.
As previously mentioned, locating these isles is near impossible. A captain may see the island out to sea, only to still be closing in on it by nightfall. Even the shape and size is said to change upon observation. Some sailors who have tried to find them will swear that they are in fact low lying clouds, and not islands at all. Others protest that they are nothing more than phantasmal visions not unlike mirages in the desert. In truth they are surrounded by a magical veil which shields them from view. Those few who would know the truth, claim that these islands are home to gold, bronze, and copper dragons in addition to huldrefolk, kyrie, Irda and shadowpeople. Only a true dragon can sense the call of the Dragon Isles and intentionally discover them.
As the Dragon Isles lay within the tropical equator of Krynn, they stay warm year round. The extreme hot season lasts from Rannmont to H’rarmont, with a scant two months for a warm season. During the long summers, the air is steamy and the skies a fierce blue. The waves lap gently upon the pristine white sands of the isles. This seemingly ideal climate is disrupted by monthly storms which unleash torrential rain and furious waves in the sea. The storms may last for days, tormenting the shores. These storms help feed the vegetation of the islands, making each a veritable shrine to dense plant-life. The mountain slopes give way to the rainforests which act as husbandmen to the fauna, maintaining populations in manageable levels.
Politically, each island is an ecosystem unto itself, with no actual unifying oversight. No resident of the isles is concerned with the world outside their communities, in fact many of them fled Ansalon to escape its prejudices and warfare. There are only a handful of settlements: Lief, Curriculum, Haedan, Watch, Perch, Vermis, and the City of Gold, also known as Auralastican. The last of which is the most organized society, as it is the place of dragons. And while they do engage in seemingly endless philosophical debate about philosophical ramifications of warfare and political alliances, none would ever act on them. And as the Dragon Isles have little need for trade, as each isle contains the food and resources anyone would need for a rich life, the islands’ finished goods all come from Ansalon, typically as scavenged or washed up from derelict ships and wrecks.
There is believed to be a metallic dragon population of under seven hundred amongst the isles, and a humanoid population of under seventy-three thousand. The dragon population is mixed by about thirty three percent brass, twenty five percent copper, eighteen percent are bronze with silver, gold and other making up the remainder. The humanoid population is made up of humans at sixty percent, elves at eleven percent, dwarves and minotaurs at eight percent each and the remainder being kyrie, kender, goblins, centaur and others. Most live in single and multi-racial villages of fifty to two hundred and fifty residents. Each community trades with each other and when disputes do surface, they are handled peacefully. There is no racial hierarchy, even the dragons respect the sovereignty of the humanoid population, protecting each other.
In two-hundred and eighty-seven Alt Cataclius, chromatic dragons under orders from Takhisis, and led by Harkiel the Red, entered the City of Gold, broke into the inner sanctum and teleported out the metallic dragons eggs as most of them slept, dormant or decades or more. This same situation occurred all over the Dragon Isles, and in two hundred and ninety-six AC, Takhisis woke the metallic dragons and issued her threat and withdrew their promise not to interfere with the coming war. With over a millenia distance from the last dragon war, the metallic dragons were more concerned with their eggs than anything else.
There is only one major settlement in the Dragon Isles, and it is the City of Gold, or Auralastican located on the Misty Isle. It has a population of just under eight thousand. In the Dragon isles it is considered a metropolis, even though it is sparsely populated compared to cities on Ansalon. Founded after the third dragon war around a library built by the metallic dragons, the city resides in a fjord and consists of shining white marble, polished silver, flashing bronze, glittering glass and crystal lines streets paved with gold marble. Murals of dragons are everywhere coupled with statues in public buildings and town squares. The inner city is known as dragonheights where most humanoids are restricted from entering. The city is ruled by the Council of Five, consisting of five ancient gold dragons.
There are a few important sites to note, beginning with Cloudpeaks. This is located on the isle of Jaentarrth. It is a range of ten massive peaks containing the only snow in the Dragon Isles. Highvale is at the center of Misty Isle, and is surrounded by hundreds of tall mountains, but its climate is the most temperate in the isles. The Isle of Alarl is a sylvan paradise. It features stunning vistas in every direction. It is a national park of sorts, and the village of Perch is inhabited by Kender, but the island is home to Kagonesti, kyrie and humans. The Isle of Berran is the home to the Brass dragons, but beneath their peaks, humans have villages lining the shores. The Isle of Heart is a refuge from the less social dragons. While human villages can be found here as well, it’s the only location of a goblin community living in content isolation.
The Isle of Jaentarth is a sparsely populated isle due to its numerous reefs. A diverse variety of Dragons call this their home. The Isle of Mind is primarily populated by copper dragons which prefer to practice wargames. The few humans that do live here often train with them. The Isle of Tayol is home to the bronze clan of dragons. There is a kagonesti tribe that lives here as well which travels to the other isles in dug out canoes. The Isle of Winged Majesty is home to the silver clan, and its highest mountain peak is home to the most wise of all dragons, Cornice, an ancient silver dragon. Finally the Misty Isle is the largest isle, and considered the center of draconic culture. It is one hundred and fifty miles north to south and the largest isle in the Dragon Isles.
Outro
And that is all I have to say about the Dragon Isles in the War of the Lance Era. Would you ever try to discover the isles? Are they too peaceful and isolated for an adventure? And finally, would you be able to change the trajectory of the War of the Lance by discovering the Dragon Isles and warning them? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
We will close our eyes and begin to dream our eternal dream.
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