A plane based on the Caribbean + Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands). In spite of the gratitious use of spanish and portuguese, the aimed cultural and aesthetic influences are mainly oriented towards the natives inhabittants of these islands, the Guanche and the Caribs.


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Islamar is a plane dominated by immense, warm seas; no ice nor snow of any kind can be found except on some rare mountaintops, and coral reefs prosper, numerous atolls dotting the wonderous azure waters. It is said that long ago there were huge landmasses that sank due to catastrophies lost to time, and indeed many of the peoples of the plane claim origins from fantastical ancient continents. To be certain, many islands on the plane aren't of volcanic origin, and the unique flora and fauna had to come from somewhere.

Many archipelagos exist across the vast seas, but three are the largest and the focal points for civilisation.


Las Focarias

An archipelago composed of 6 main islands, extending more or less in order from East to West: Roja, Fuerte, Maestra, Chenet, Codiciosa and Blanca. Mountainous and some volcanic, they are largely dominated by arid wilderness, though all across the archipelago there are plenty of more fertile places, capable of supporting civilisation. While all of the islands answer to the same monarch, each bears a degree of political individuality, and each has several provinces within.

The islands are the ancestral home of the Foca, and were named after them. An endemic golden songbird species was in turn named after the islands. This bird features in the emblem for the nation, stylised and sorrounded by sunrays.


Roja

The most volcanically active of Las Focarias, Roja's landscape is dominated by barren mountains. However, this same volcanic activity also results in a very rich soil, so wherever plants can grow, they do, usually in the more stable slopes. A single laurel-dominated forest has managed to grow in the very central peak of the island, Mt. Verde, which hasn't erupted in 3,000 years.

Combined with the giant lizards that dominate the island, only a few settlements exist, along the coastlines. They are nonetheless prosperous, trading Roja's fertile soil and living off the rich sorrounding waters, fed well by volcanic sediments. The largest of these settlements is Recife, a large city that occupies an entire area around a protected bay. A relatively young settlement, it nonetheless has steadily gained political influence in the past few decades, competing directly with Isla Fuerte's Mahalo for control of the trade routes in the eastern sectors of the archipelago.


Fuerte

The second largest of the islands, Fuerte is naturally dominated by mountainous scrub and plains, with pine forests covering the inland valleys and humid laurel forests covering the coastoal lowlands. Most of the island indeed remains wild, but it is quite populated, farmland having claimed most of the more fertile areas. It is divided in three provinces: Mahalo, Rero and Plana, each represented by an eponymous central city and radiating into smaller settlements:

- Mahalo is by far the largest and most promenient, dominating the island's north and west. Its eponymous city covers the span between a mountain valley and the coastline, fertile farmlands spreading to the north. The largest focarian settlement outside of Chenet, it is easy to forget that most of the province's territory is still mountainous wilderness, and that most of its population is focused on its capital.

- Rero's territory spans Fuerte's south, a largely mountainous peninsula united to the rest solely by a narrow strip of land. Rero is the smallest province of the three, but second to Mahalo in influence. Most of its settlements occur along the coastline, along the numerous shielded bays and coves.

- Plana is the second largest in terms of territory, but third in terms of overall relevance. Although it covers a vast strip of fertile plains along the island's east, its rocky and elevated coastline means it has virtually no access to the sea, and thus it is forced to trade with the other provinces. Most of its non-wild territory is dominated by small hamlets and villages that live off farming, and even its capital resembles little more than a particularly large town.


Maestra

Maestra is an almost perfectly circular island (coastline raggedness nonwithstanding), dominated by a single, central mountain, its eight provinces neatly divided around it, like the slices of a pie. It is the base of operations of the eight military houses of Las Focarias, the martial governers of the island. Each province is basically the feudal estate for each house, the populace being at the mercy of the despotic generals that rule the land.

- House Macae is the oldest of the noble houses, ruling over the sector in the southeast. Its standard is the grebe, depicted with its wings open as if to take flight. Compared to the other houses, it is less active politically, but it still maintains austerity over the others.

- House Arma governs the west. Its standard is the lance and sword, the hilts overlaying each other.

- House Malar controls the south. Its standard is a shattered skull.

- House Timbre rules the north. Its standard is a bronze marlin fish.

- House Día commands the east. Its standard are stylised sunrays rising from the waves.

- House Viento keeps the northeast. Its standard is a tornado shaped like a tree.

- House Rosa despotises the northwest. Its standard is a black rose growing from a heart.

- House Escualo oversees the southwest. Its standard is a shark's tooth.


Chenet

The largest of the islands, Chenet is de facto capital of Las Focarias, the part of the archipelago inhabitted by civilisation for the longest and where the nation was founded. While the central and eastern highlands still remain wild, most of the island has since been absorbed by a single city and its sorrounding farmlands. As the center of the nation, naturally it is the main processor of commerce, growing ever luxurious and wealthy thanks to being the nexus of trade routes that span the entire plane.

Over time, the bourgeoisie has replaced the classical aristocracy, and while the monarch retains absolute power, many are the ambitious minds that seek to destroy the position. With the military houses of Isla Maestra focusing on the nation at large - and quarreling amidst each other - the task to maintain order on the city falls strictly to the theocratic arms force. As such a civil cold war is being waged, the bourgeoisie pitied against the clergy, each side trying to undermine each other via assassinations and public support.

Some important locations:

- Palacio del Sol: The largest building in the whole archipelago, this massive gold adorned temple-palace is where the monarch and the clergy have their seat. Like most religions in Islamar, faith in Las Focarias is polytheistic, albeit with a henotheistic bent, with the solar deity being exalted as the ruler of the gods and of civilisation. The monarch is considered to be a son or daughter of the Sun, and as such they afford a divine mandate. However, an unjust ruler can be disposed off, as it breaches the covenant between the Sun and the people of Las Focarias.

- The Great Library: Another place of infinite value is the great library of Chenet. Here, knowledge from all over the plane has been stored in countless scrolls and tomes, copied and edited relentlessly. It's also the abode for many artifacts and relics, including some objects claimed to be evidence of the ancient continents.

- Gran Anfiteatro: Amphitheatres are common all over Chenet, usually as vehicles for entertainment or debate. As the name implies, the Gran Anfiteatro is the largest of the bunch, used as the vehicle for important politician debates and announcements.


Codiciosa

Adjacent to Chenet, Codiciosa is different from the rest of the Las Focarias for having a more humid climate and greener landscape, monate forests covering most of the island, while the coastoal lowlands are dry and arid. Access to the sea is limited, and accordingly only one small coastoal settlement exists, Laguna. Nonetheless, the island as a whole is far from inhabitted, and has been in fact populated for thousands of years. The local culture is rather independent from the mainstream Las Focarias culture, co-existing with the wilds and focusing on the worship of the local spirits. The island is said to harbour ancient treasures and relics, and many expeditions still take place here. For this reason, there is a degree of conflict and resentment on the part of the natives, who feel that their land is just one step away from being invaded. For all that's worth, the political powers in Chenet generally avoid open conflict with the island, as historical conflicts have proven that the natives are at advantage in the savage territory known only to them.


Blanca

The smallest of the islands, Blanca can seldomly be described as more than a massive sandbar, a desert in the middle of the sea, dominated by pristine white dunes. The only native life forms are nesting seabirds, but it is still a very treasured location. As the last island of Las Focarias to receive sunlight, it is heralded as the nightly abode of the deity, its sands blessed with holy light. As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims, the monarch him/herself having to reside on it for a week to prove his/her righteousness. Many try to steal the island's sands to make money out of them, but this is not without risk: whoever has the intention of doing so finds themselves targetted by violent sandstorms, and if they persist they are seemingly cursed, dying weeks later.



Alcas

Far to the north, the Alcas are at most only slightly cooler than the other major archipelagi, bearing a warm and wet climate all year long, without seasons. They are generally covered by dense, humid laurel forests, and many pristine lakes and rivers dot the landscape. Volcanism still exists, but is less of a factor in the older islands. 8 main islands make up the entire archipelago: Gralha, Rafael, Monte, Quarta, Sabia, Lua, Azul and Floresta.

The Alcas didn't originally have sapient inhabittants, aside from sirens, cilagos and merfolk. Over time, expeditions from the Las Focarias and Taina brought settlers to the islands, resulting in conflicts and open warfare for several hundreds of years. Eventually, about 500 years ago, the islands fought for their independence and became their own nation. A formal peace treaty between this nation and the others has been in place since, but the ruling body is largely paranoid of future take overs, and rightly so: the rich resources of the Alcas still interest the powers in the other archipelagi.

The islands were named after the auk, and the bird features promeniently in the nation's iconography.


Individual Islands: WIP


Taina

The largest of the archipelagi, Taina is much larger than Las Focarias and the Alcas, composed of around fifty islands stretching across the plane's western hemisphere. Three central islands are recognised, much larger than any other landmass on the plane: Coa, Ayiti and Xay (more or less in order from tha largest to smallest).

Because of its size, the Taina nation is a formidable power in Islamar, possessing a vast wealth of resources and yet unoccupied territories. While this lends them nigh complete self-sufficiency, this hasn't stopped multiple epochs of conquest, in which the nation has had the vicious upper hand, almost seizing the entire world. Even to this day, after at least 500 years of peace and prosperous trading relationships, the other island nations greatly distrust the Taina, and not without reason, as the island rulers still have expressed interest in the Alcas and many parts of Las Focarias.

While the Taina is technically presented as a single nation, in truth it's really more of three kingdoms loosely aligned - one of each island -, competing fiercely amidst themselves for hegemony and territory in the remaining islands of the archipelago. Indeed, the rivalry between these nations is so fierce that alliance is speculated to be possible only due to the common desire to take over the other archipelagi, and would almost obviously fall apart once their interspecific enemity outweighted the benefits. To these ends, other nations try to subtly influence the mutual distrust between the Taina kingdoms, hoping to instigate a civil war eventually.


Coa

The nation of Coa reffers both to the main island and to its external territories, which are pretty much all of the northern Taina islands; rather isolated from the rest of the archipelago by a sea known as the Deadman's Strait, they form an archipelago of their own, and are known as the Coahani. "Main Coa" is the single largest landmass on Islamar, and as such has a wide variety of terrains, from inland plateaus dominated by thorny scrubland and montane cloud forests on the ragged mountain peaks - some of which bearing snow and ice, a rarity on the plane - to rainforest dominated valleys and coastoal lands, vast savannas, swampy lagoons and caustic salt lakes. The Coahani, being much smaller, are usually just covered by coastoal pine forests, with the exception of the central ring, which is composed of rocky isles protecting a crystalline, shallow lagoon, united by mangrove expanses.

Coa is divided in 15 different provinces - individual Coahani nonwithstanding -, and is in many ways a microcosmos of the Taina as a whole. There is no central leader, just a common banner, and each territory competes fiercely amidst themselves, though there is at least enough common civility to arrange for leader councils, in which a common consensus is reached for decisions concerning the nation as a whole. The common symbol of Coa's people is the falcon.


Ayiti

The second largest of the Taina, Ayiti reffers both to the central island and to its external territories, the twenty islands to its west. The exact number of external islands has varied significantly in the last few centuries, as Ayiti is in direct competition with Xay for territory. In its size and scope, Ayiti has a variety of different landscapes, but is primarily dominated by various types of broadleaf humid forests and swamps, with scrubland and tropical meadows occuring in the interior.

Compared to Coa, Ayiti is a lot more politically stable. While the main island is divided in five provinces, these aren't at each other's throats and are more willing to cooperate amidst themselves. As with Coa, a common political council is recognised. The symbol of the island is the crane.


Xay

The smallest of the Taina territories, Xay controls some twelve islands besides the main one, located to its west, the number of which having been lower in the past, due to intense competition with Ayiti for territory. With the main island also being the smallest of the three largest islands, Xay makes up for its small size with complete political unity: petty interspecific divisions have been done away for, having not withstood the scrutiny of pressure from the rest of the Taina or from external invaders. All the people of Xay are united by their common monarch, and by their symbol, the tody.

Races of Islamar:


Humans: Humans were the ones to form the main nations, though the integration from the other races has taken away most of their privilege in society. Two main human cultures were originally present in Islamar, the one that came to colonise the Taina and the one that came to take over Las Focarias, both claiming origins in the long sunken continents; both cultures mixed in the Alcas, as the nation formed from settlers from both archipelagi.

Merfolk: Merfolk are the ancient masters of Islamar's oceans, and indeed have colonised all the archipelagi before humans did. They take residence in a variety of environments, but have a special prefference for coral reefs, which both offer easy contruction materials and have an aesthetic beauty greatly apreciated by these people; some of the greatest merfolk settlements in Islamar are artificial atolls, rings upon rings of coral-made buildings rising from shallow waters. With tails instead of legs, Islamar Merfolk can't venture into land by natural means, but keep a close contact with the island nations, making their residence within their waters and forming systems of trade with humans. These merfolk as a whole are more passionate than most of their cousins from other planes, and indeed a lot of their export are beautiful masterpieces made from coral or other marine materials.

Foca: The Foca, as the name implies, are anthropomorphic monk seals, their legs divided in order for them to walk on land. Natives of Las Focarias and granting the islands their name, the Foca have since spread across Islamar, and are naturalised citizens of the other nations. Traditionally, the Foca lived in aboriginal communities in the seagrass plains in the shallows waters of their home archipelago, coming to land mostly to raise their children and to engage in passage rituals. Some do indeed still attempt to reconnect with their roots, even if living elsewhere, but most have joined civilisation at large. While the Foca can walk fine on land, staying too much time out of the water can lead to health problems like arthritis, so most preffer a coastoal lifestyle, which does indeed benefit them, as they often lead the aquatic military defenses and as such are awarded with a degree of respect from the human populace.

Viashino: Native mostly to the Taina, several have also established themselves on Las Focarias, particularly in Roja, where the volcanic, lizard dominated landscape is much to their liking. Islamar Viashino resemble rhinoceros iguanas, having brown scales, a stout built and a small horn in the snout. Herbivorous in diet, they are largely content to lead simple, unambitious lifestyles, within and outside of civilisation.

Cilagos: Islamar's batfolk, Cilagos are natural doted with powerful wings, which have carried their kin across the seas into most islands, which also double as their hands; with fast regenerating membranes as they have, flightless is usually caused by some serious damage to the musculature or arm bones, and individuals incapable of flight are more likely to be additionally afflicted by mental and physical trauma, which doesn't help their already despairing condition. In normal, healthy conditions, cilagos are generally carefree and hedonistic, which doesn't make them particularly trustworthy to the population at large, though their usefulness as aerial messengers, assassins and soldiers ensure a degree of acceptance. The Cilagos themselves often adopt a friendly disposition, much to the surprise of those who don't know any better, though some have taken to live as homicidal recluses, particularly those stripped of their ability to fly. Cilagos are mostly specialists in sangromantic magic, which they see as both pratical and refined, taking a special disdain towards necromancy; they are, however, not solely blood drinkers, being naturally omnivorous. Some also take to elemental magic, particularly in regards to controlling darkness and air.

Sirens: Often mistaken for angels from other worlds, Islamar sirens are beautiful winged women with golden feathers and hair. However, they are treacherous and manipulative beings, using their alluring bird-like songs to get their way. Nonetheless, they are more higher minded than the sirens of other worlds, and many have their own agendas, believing their actions to be for the betterment of society as a whole. They are particularly blessed by the religion of Las Focarias, and many sirens in the archipelago work as priests and religious leaders, though one, Lady Francisca, is the mayor of Roja and personally manages Recife, being one of the major controllers of commerce in the archipelago.

Seraphim (dragon angels): Seraphim are mysterious beings, taking residence high in the skies of Islamar, though frequently sighted in the plane's mountain ranges. They resemble great luminous serpents with six feathery wings, and are sapient. Presenting themselves as agents of the plane's solar deity, their true agenda is currently a mystery, but they are known for favouring Las Focarias slightly more than the other nations, and to great dislike the trolls, and obviously the horrors.

Trolls: Islamar trolls are rather unique for their amphibious habits, living either at land or in the sea, and have webbed feet and hands and a wrinkled, wet skin, which they use to extract oxygen from the water. They are mostly recluses living in the plane's wild places as ascetics, often guiding the lost. They also occasionally bless farmers and fishermen, granting them generous bounties.

Homarids: Islamar Homarids lead their lives in small communities in shallow waters, taking a special liking to lagoons, shielded coves, mangrove expanses and reef caverns; some populations are also rumoured to live in the depths. Fierce rivals of the merfolk, homarids compete with them for territory and trading relations, and find their manipulation of nature abhorrent. Living mostly as seafood farmers and underwater miners, Homarids are largely pratical, supplying the surface dwellers in exchange simply for safety and some luxuries like favoured food items. Homarid knowledge in the dark arts also tempts many human magicians, particularly in the necromantic arts, and some have made dark pacts with these crustaceans, with grave consequences for those that fail to satisfy them.

Horrors: Horrors lurk in the dark depths of the oceans, inhuman monstrosities that drive many to madness... and just as many seek their dark power.

Leviathans, Hydras, Krakens and Drakes: Random wild beasties.

This plane is pretty cool. I love the homarids and seraphim in particular. "Islamar" might be a misleading name though.

I assume the plane is home to plenty of pirates and naval escapades?

Indeed. No Caribbean plane is complete without pirates.

I like the concept of an island-chain plane, and the Caribbean area and Spanish Main seems like a pretty cool way to accomplish that. I will not have time to look at this in-depth until probably Monday at the earliest. I am a little concerned about the name, however. I realize you were probably going for something combining "island" and "sea" in Spanish, but I wonder if having "Islam" in the name of a fictional plane, particularly one that is in no way based on Islam, is a good idea...

Yeah, I could use some better name suggestions.

Waterworld! No, wait...

I'll try to think of some suggestions.

Mundo de Agua?

Nah, too long...

Mundagua?

Sounds very good, yes. It is trisyllabic as well, so it's catchy.

I think the repetition of the U sound isn't ideal, but it has potential with a little more work. It might actually be the repetition of the A that bothers me more since it's closer together and both uses are kind of a flat sound.

Well, for the moment I decided to keep the name as it is.