Shattered Isles (concept)
The bluntly descriptive name given to the massive archipelago which lies north of the Sea of Empires. Somewhat reminiscent of a finely crafted pottery disc, thrown violently against the ground to splinter into countless sherds. Perplexingly, some smaller islands have a frustrating habit of shifting position, even rising from the sea or falling below it as if pushed by an unseen hand. Hundreds of Marcher and Aversarian mapmakers have lost years of their life (and even their sanity) in vain attempts to count their number, and most modern scholars dismiss such endeavors as wasteful attempts at knowing the unknowable. Modern estimates put the number of islands in the high thousands or even low tens of thousands.
Some scant evidence exists to suggest the isles were not always thus. In a few areas can be found the time-worn remains of nameless cities and temples, whose ruins sprawl across dozens of individual islands. In other areas, locals note that certain collections of sheer jutting rocks will, if gazed at from the right angle, appear to form into a recognizable and contiguous mountain. Intriguing clues to be sure, but most Aversarian scholars have trouble taking them seriously. If the Shattered Isles were once consolidated into one or more large landmasses, what manner of force could possibly be capable of breaking them asunder? It would be a feat far beyond the ken of any Magi's wildest imagination, and even surpassing those spells now known only in myths and legends.