Corrogo Archipelago

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The Corrogo Archipelago is a series of islands located in the tropical waters of the eastern Cobalt Sea.

## Description

The Corrogo Archipelago consists of countless tiny isles, six minor and one major island, the lattermost giving the isles their name. The island of Corrogo is most distinguished by the pair of volcanic peaks that have patiently but consistently billowed grey-black smoke since the lands erupted from the waters twenty years prior. Angular cliff faces make landing upon the main isle of the archipelago treacherous for all but the most capable captains, but the smaller isles are blessed with long beaches of yellow and red sands, lagoons filled with cool and clear water, and tropical forests laden rich with fruit. Smugglers have been known to make dens upon the coves of the archipelago, sustaining themselves on the natural bounties before moving onwards with their illicit goods for their intended market.

In the last few years, pilgrims have started to make their way to the island of Corrogo, believing the twin volcanoes to be a holy site of the deity Dur, known also as the Molten Crown. Claiming that the continent of Ahlus is entering another period of activity after long remaining dormant to fundamental change, as per the teachings of the God of Flame, settlements now dot the shores and crags of the isles, their residents seeking to prove their piety before the cycle of creation they believe now looms.

## The Islands

### Corrogo

The main island, making up around two-thirds of the landmass of the archipelago, is surrounded on all sides by stark cliff faces of angular black stone without any obvious shoreline of beach. Landing upon the isle is a challenge for all but the most capable captains, though to those that manage to do so, the island is a blessing of curiosities and interests. Lush forests sing and call with all manner of life, the same uneven black stone forming deep valleys and fissures filled in mineral-rich soil perfect for plant growth. At the heart of the isle are a pair of volcanic peaks that steadily spew grey-black smoke into the sky, with curious white barked trees found growing in their immediate vicinity, seemingly resilient to the continuous noxious ash.

Despite this, there has been renewed interest in trips to the isle, with numerous groups of individuals - including some associated with the Sect of Renewal - considering the island to be a holy site, pointing to evidence of ancient shrines throughout the forests, hills and volcanoes themselves as proof of this fact.

### Emershal

Northeasternmost of the isles, Emershal is a relatively flat island surrounded by numerous sandbars, atolls and cays. The waters east of the island are considered to define the edge of the Wavebreaker Reefs, while the waves immediately to the north of the isle also contain a wide number of shallows that provide continuous peril for ships traversing the region. Despite this, those few ships that instead choose to travel to Verdlicay rather than Qol on their journey through the Petal Bay frequently call port on the long yellow beaches of Emershal, taking on water at one of the three freshwater lakes contained within its boundaries. Despite this, the island itself is devoid of conventional arable land and thus undesirable for colonisation - however fisherfolk are also known to frequent its waters to exploit the bounties of the surrounding reefs.

### Boister

Nestled between the isle of Great Perianth to the north and Corrogo to the south, Boister is spared of the worst of the tropical storms frequent in the area, and thus supports a wide range of foliage, including a large mangrove forest along its northern coast, with a jungle home to exotic hardwoods and fruit trees located to the south. Amongst the mangrove forest are a number of huge stone slabs extending into the waters, claimed by some researchers to be proof of some hitherto forgotten civilisation, though others instead decry their presence as a natural occurrence.

### Gale's Bulwark

The western wall of the Corrogo Archipelago, Gale's Bulwark mimics the geological formations of Corrogo itself, albeit exaggerated further still. Mountains along the western edge of the isle rise to noteworthy heights of several thousand feet, comparable in their scope and density in some places to those found within the Ironfangs or the Bristlebacks. The presence of these peaks has a remarkable effect on nearby weather patterns, forcing winds and rain high, and thus acting in many ways as a buffer of sorts against the storms of the Temper Straits. To this effect, the waters between Gale's Bulwark and Corrogo are relatively smooth and predictable in terms of their weather, although choked with shallows, sandbars, reefs and other hazards. By contrast the waters immediately to the west of Gale's Bulwark are remarkably deep, a trough descending below the surface near as high as the mountains upon its shores.

A particularly large species of sea turtle has been observed making its nests along the eastern beaches of Gale's Bulwark, while the vibrant forests are homes to hundreds of species of birds and butterflies, including the Opaline Weave Butterfly, which is also found elsewhere in the archipelago and prized for the dyes and silks produced from their cocoons.

### High Pakulo

Named for Palakulo Peak, the lone mountain at the heart of the island, High Pakulo is the northernmost of the three islands on the southern tip of the archipelago collectively known as the Pakulos. High Pakulo is the most heavily populated of the three, the small port sharing its name with the island located on directly on the orange-red sand beaches that set the Pakulos apart from the beaches found elsewhere in the Corrogos. The trading post was started initially as a means for ship captains to take on food and water on the long journey between Viridell and the ports of the southern coast of Ahlus, but has since expanded to a small village on account of two commodities readily available on the isle - bat guano within the caves that dot Palakulo Peak, and the nests of the Opaline Weave Butterfly in the mangrove forests that alternate with the beaches to form the isle's coastline.

### Low Pakulo

Flattest amongst the Pakulos, and that of the Corrogos generally, Low Pakulo lacks in many natural features, being devoid of arable land, and supporting only a small forest on the northwestern edge of the isle. Despite this, there are signs that the island is at least somewhat inhabited, albeit by reclusive hermits likely engaging in a druidic lifestyle, having rejected the trappings of conventional civilisation and embraced the island following its emergence alongside the rest of the archipelago.

Noteworthy about the isle is the existence of a large disc of flat stone on the eastern coast, seemingly a singular piece of masonry nearly a mile wide in all dimensions. Like the formations on the isle of Boister, there is debate to the origin of the monolith, which only rises from the isle's ground level by a foot, but seems to extend as deep as researchers have thus far excavated.

### South Pakulo

The isle of South Pakulo, southernmost of the larger isles of the Corrogo Archipelago, has been an important geographical waystone since the appearance of the isles in 68WD. On the edge of the major shipping lanes between the lands of the Radiant Triumvirate and those along the southern coast of the Ahlusian continent, the cliff-faces on the southern edge of the isle form a number of natural coves that readily protect moored vessels from both passing storms and prying eyes. Impromptu trading posts rise and fall in popularity, rarely maintaining a permanent population, but nonetheless frequented by merchants, military and all else besides. The forests beyond the island shores are home to a breathtaking range of flora and fauna, and those wishing to restock their ship's hold with food rarely struggle to find suitable choices of fruit and hunted game.

The northern coastlines of the isle are, by contrast, a different affair. Still tightly packed, the waters and beaches along the shores are covered in shipwrecks, the remnants of the only true battle engaged between the Triumvirate and the Thrice-Damned.