The Islands of Graecia

Attika

Attika used to be connected to the mainland via Boiotia to the north and attached to Korinthia via a land bridge to the west. However during the cataclysm the seas rushed in forming the region of Attika into an island. Attika is craggy, mountainous with little in way of land to grow crops or farm livestock. However even post-catacylsm it’s highly populated and prosperous due to industrious nature of its inhabitants. The finest ships to grace Graecia are constructed at the lively port of Piraeus, which serves as capital of the region.

Attika for long was governed by the Order of the Light, followers of Apollo Flamore and led by the charismatic Senator Fuego. Under his influence the state abolished slavery and became a beacon of democracy in the south. However under mysterious circumstances the Order, including its leader vanished overnight leaving a panicked populace and a void in Attika’s governance. Attika then passed into the hands of long line of Senators including Rehab, Crystal, Novak the Persian and then finally entrusted into the hands of Dr Al'kai E'darr, a controversial but popular figure.

Euboea

Sleepy Euboea was a long, snaky island split into two by the depredations of the cataclysm. The majority of the populace live on the far larger northern island, which is heavily forested and a popular source of timber for the shipyards of nearby Piraeus. The tiny island, sometimes known as Karistos after its only major settlement, is smaller and more barren.

Euboea retains its traditional place in the senate and are now led by the insightful Senator Matru Sohktan of the Iron Legion.

Ithaka

Wind-swept Ithaka juts out into Steel Sea with nothing to protect it from the elements. Most of the coastline consists of sheer cliffs that plunge deep into the ocean. The interior is mountainous and so the islanders mainly live of crabs and fish from the sea.

Ithaka is governed by a tribe known as the Juv-Worv who represent Ithaka in the senate, to the gratitude of the islanders who appreciate the stability they bring.

Rhodos

The fabled isle of Rhodos shines like a beacon deep within the Steel Sea. Its people live in harmony with the land in a near-theocracy to Apollo and Artemis. The islanders are cultured and civilized and host a sizable navy to plow the waters of Graecia. Rhodos is fertile and well-populated and the islanders live comfortably, leaving them much time for philosophical debate and discussion.

Adopted by the Order of Light, the Rhodians were proudly represented by Senator Fuego of Attika in the senate. Senator Fuego in fact went as far to unite Rhodos, Attika and other smaller allied territories into a political unit known as the New Chancellery of Graecia. However with Senator Fuego’s mysterious disappearance the Rhodians have all but disappeared from Graecian political life.

Keos & Kythnos

Keos is a tiny, rocky island to the south of Attika. Largely unhabited it suffers from a lack of fresh water that has to be imported from elsewhere.

Kythnos is smaller still, but more hospitable. As the last inhabited stop for ships setting sail south to Aegyptus, the islanders make a good living out of trading supplies.

Andros, Tinos & Mykonos

South of Euboea, Andros is a relatively large island more suited to goats than people. It’s famous though for the supposed healing qualities of its spring water; which gush out of the mouth of a mysterious lion statue, built by unknown sculptors.

Tinos houses a magnificent temple to Poseidon and attracts the attention of pilgrims throughout Graecia. High up on the cliffs, on a clear day, the sea stretches out for miles.

The balmy, peaceful island of Mykonos hides a violent past for it is said to be the site of the Olympians final, victorious battle against the Titans. There parts across Mykonos were plants inexplicably refuse to grow, leaving giant bald patches of cracked earth and stone.

Korkyra

Off the coast of Epiros the island of Korkyra is mountainous in the north, but consists of rolling hills and lowlands in the south, perfect for cultivation. Heavily populated, most of the islanders live on the eastern shore to shelter them from the fierce storms of the Steel Sea.

The island has a dubious reputation as the home of criminals and other miscreants from the mainland. It also harbours a sizable population of exiles from Korinth who wish to reinstate their leader as tyrant of the city before the merchant classes took over and installed democracy in the region.

Kephalonia & surrounding islands

At the mouth of the Korinthian Gulf lie a chain of islands protecting it from the fiercest winds. They are all largely uninhabited, but the chains craggy coastlines make the surrounding waters dangerous for inexperienced sailors.

The largest of the islands, Kephalonia, is pleasant inland and the abode of farmers tending to their goatherds; although the islanders are also known for the quality of their olive oil. Desolate Ithakos is a tiny islet directly to the east of Kephalonia. The island is hard to land on due to the density of sharp, jagged rocks under the waters.

Peaceful Zakynthos is fertile and lush. The islands relatively mild climate has helped to protect a community of rare loggerhead turtles who are seen as sign of good luck by sailors.

The waters around Leukos are particularly choppy as the waters surges back and forth from the Korinthian Gulf to the Eastern Steel Sea. The island itself is holy to cult of Aphrodite and her followers met annually to pay homage to their lady.

Northern Palairos used to be connected to the mainland before the tidal waves of the cataclysm came crashing down on the surrounding lowlands. Nowadays few live here other than in the tiny port of Palairo from which it takes its name.

Bithynia

The Kingdom of Bithynia spans a dozen islands stretching throughout the north-east regions of Graecia. Far removed from the democratic leanings of the western regions, King Nicomedes VII rules Bithynia with an iron fist from his palace in self-proclaimed Nicomedia. Bithynia has little in the way of natural wealth and its poor live in squalor, eking out a mere existence from what little they can grow from the regions infertile soils. The rich meanwhile have done well for themselves trading in slaves and marble hewn from the mountains of the interior. To the west of Bithynia island are the smaller islets of Lesbos, Limnos, Imbros & Kallipos, which whilst beautiful, are mainly avoided by sailors due to being the centre of activity for slavery in the kingdom.

King Nicomedes VII would never demean himself to talking to fellow Graecians on a level pegging and so Bithynia has traditionally avoided taking part in the senate; however in recent years the king has seen fit to send a representative to the senate, most recently the determined ambassador Iokoles, to further the kingdoms interest.

Chios & Erythos

The twin islands of Chios & Erythos have always been largely uninhabited. Sandy and tranquil, there is little to disturb the locals from tending to their olive and citrus groves in the baking heat. Chios is famous for its resin collected from the mastic tree and used as a cure for snakebites.

Erythos used to be tiny until the surrounding seabed was dramatically heaved out of the water during the cataclysm. All sorts of strange wildlife have since started sprouting out across the island.

Samos & Ikaros

The island of Samos is littered with ruins stretching from north to south. The islanders claim a proud heritage of one of the earliest Hellenikan settlements in the Graecian Isles before their fledgling civilization was destroyed by mysterious raiders from the sea. Nowadays Samos is quiet and peaceful, although the few people who live here are renowned winemakers.

Ikaros is a wild, verdant isle, alive with the sound of crickets and birds calling amongst the trees. The island is holy to the followers of Artemis who maintain a great temple to their Lady deep in the woodland interior.

The Eastern Territories: Caros, Lydos & Mysos

Beyond Chios & Samos the cataclysm has had a profound effect on the seas stretching out to the east. Thrust from the bottom of the ocean a new, sizable island chain has formed; mountainous, unkempt and wild. All three are largely still unexplored. Due to the chains underwater origins plant life any larger than mere shrubs and weeds haven’t yet had a chance to establish themselves, leaving visitors with a strange sense of eeriness at looking out across the broken landscape.

Caros is the largest of the new islands, but the least hospitable. The waters around Caros are particularly treacherous due to the immense number of hidden rocky outcrops under the waters. The biggest of these have broken water to form a rocky spine of islets separating Caros from Rhodos to its immediate south.

Lydos is more hopeful, with sandy beaches facing west towards the rest of Graecia. The island consists of rolling plains to the west and steep mountains that rise in the east.

The most northern of the three islands, Mysos isn’t far from the southern shore of Bithynia and was the first for sailors to discover. The northern shore is difficult to land on due to the sheer cliffs plunging into the ocean, but the south has some beaches that the venturous could try.