![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
Alex's temporary home, the Ethershard Isles are 2 separate islands, and a few mini-islands that store a precious mineral - the Ethershard. Ethershard is a very expensive material that can be used in weaponcraft as well as basic things such as embroidery, but is more often just sold to others by the population of the people that live on the island. However, getting this precious metal isn't as simple as it seems, as the island is crawling with every ferocious monster known to man.
Map:
The far west is the human's side. Here there are the villages and tribes that house the natives of the island, while also welcoming those that are here on monster hunting jobs or just there for the sake of hunting down the precious Ethershard. These humans live together not in peace and harmony, but not in total chaos. Everyone is neutral because they know there is no point in being hostile. The threat of the monsters crawling around the island is enough risk to their lives, so they didn't need to attack possible allies in battle. That being said, they do realize Ethershard is a precious metal but it isn't running out anytime soon, so the people that live in the human side just stay neutral with one another. The monster hunter's band live in the outskirts of the main villages, represented by the different-looking patch of 3 houses. These are those people that aren't there for the Ethershard. They're there for the glory, the challenge of braving all of the monsters that stand on this island. Naturally there aren't many people in that area. In the center is the "Big House," which is a house for the leaders of all of the villages to come to to hold meetings. It actually functions as a large marketplace as well, with people selling hides, weapons, armors, items, etc around the Big House.
After clearing the planes, which are primarily empty from the wrath of the monsters, travelers reach the forest. The Densewoods, as they're called, is a giant dense forest that holds the weakest of the monsters on the island. While they may be the weakest of the bunch, they still have killing power behind them, and shouldn't be underestimated. Not to mention the animals have adapted to the environment far beyond the normal humans, and know every way around it. The Densewoods are where the humans get their food - fruits and vegetables from the fauna, and the meat of the monsters in this area. In this area, monsters are generally eatable and... actually taste quite good.
After crossing the Densewoods, travelers come across the Dread Mountains. This mountain range has the strongest of all of the monsters of the island on it, and shouldn't be taken lightly.
Everyone on the island have universally agreed that they just stay away from anything relating climbing the mountains, and they'd take the convinient path that leads out of the mountains.
This path is mostly safe from monsters, however those that are in this area are likely to either be monsters that wandered in from the desert or forest, or the rare likelihood of finding a mountaintop monster. On the latter option, most just try to run away and save their lives.
Otherwise, the path is safe. On the mountains it is the exact opposite. Everything will try to kill you, unless it's already in the progress of killing someone or something else. These monsters hold no mercy and will tear anyone limb from limb to make stew with.
After crossing the mountain path, travelers have hit the jackpot! On the opposite side of the mountains are mines, which were set up long before. There, people find the mineral they are looking for. Of course there is always the chance a monster or two wants to impede on your progress, but otherwise at that point, the Ethershard is all the traveler's.
Should the traveler be one that was braving the challenge of defeating monsters, the area beyond the mountain range is a desert. This desert is one home to stronger enemies and monsters than the forest, but weaker than the mountains. These monsters are, however,
mostly poisonous or have some ability that gives them the survival edge. This makes traveling in the desert a pain, because you never know when a giant scorpion will burst out of the sand and chop you in two, just because it can.... do that.
The second much smaller island is the Revenant Atoll, a small island that is home to the Divine Tree, which is worshipped by some of the tribes on the main island. This tree is known for being magical, however those that have ever told of the trees magical powers are second hand accounts, because those that go to the island for the tree's guidance never come back again.
Map:
The far west is the human's side. Here there are the villages and tribes that house the natives of the island, while also welcoming those that are here on monster hunting jobs or just there for the sake of hunting down the precious Ethershard. These humans live together not in peace and harmony, but not in total chaos. Everyone is neutral because they know there is no point in being hostile. The threat of the monsters crawling around the island is enough risk to their lives, so they didn't need to attack possible allies in battle. That being said, they do realize Ethershard is a precious metal but it isn't running out anytime soon, so the people that live in the human side just stay neutral with one another. The monster hunter's band live in the outskirts of the main villages, represented by the different-looking patch of 3 houses. These are those people that aren't there for the Ethershard. They're there for the glory, the challenge of braving all of the monsters that stand on this island. Naturally there aren't many people in that area. In the center is the "Big House," which is a house for the leaders of all of the villages to come to to hold meetings. It actually functions as a large marketplace as well, with people selling hides, weapons, armors, items, etc around the Big House.
After clearing the planes, which are primarily empty from the wrath of the monsters, travelers reach the forest. The Densewoods, as they're called, is a giant dense forest that holds the weakest of the monsters on the island. While they may be the weakest of the bunch, they still have killing power behind them, and shouldn't be underestimated. Not to mention the animals have adapted to the environment far beyond the normal humans, and know every way around it. The Densewoods are where the humans get their food - fruits and vegetables from the fauna, and the meat of the monsters in this area. In this area, monsters are generally eatable and... actually taste quite good.
After crossing the Densewoods, travelers come across the Dread Mountains. This mountain range has the strongest of all of the monsters of the island on it, and shouldn't be taken lightly.
Everyone on the island have universally agreed that they just stay away from anything relating climbing the mountains, and they'd take the convinient path that leads out of the mountains.
This path is mostly safe from monsters, however those that are in this area are likely to either be monsters that wandered in from the desert or forest, or the rare likelihood of finding a mountaintop monster. On the latter option, most just try to run away and save their lives.
Otherwise, the path is safe. On the mountains it is the exact opposite. Everything will try to kill you, unless it's already in the progress of killing someone or something else. These monsters hold no mercy and will tear anyone limb from limb to make stew with.
After crossing the mountain path, travelers have hit the jackpot! On the opposite side of the mountains are mines, which were set up long before. There, people find the mineral they are looking for. Of course there is always the chance a monster or two wants to impede on your progress, but otherwise at that point, the Ethershard is all the traveler's.
Should the traveler be one that was braving the challenge of defeating monsters, the area beyond the mountain range is a desert. This desert is one home to stronger enemies and monsters than the forest, but weaker than the mountains. These monsters are, however,
mostly poisonous or have some ability that gives them the survival edge. This makes traveling in the desert a pain, because you never know when a giant scorpion will burst out of the sand and chop you in two, just because it can.... do that.
The second much smaller island is the Revenant Atoll, a small island that is home to the Divine Tree, which is worshipped by some of the tribes on the main island. This tree is known for being magical, however those that have ever told of the trees magical powers are second hand accounts, because those that go to the island for the tree's guidance never come back again.
