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Ember Island is a large tropical volcanic island located in the Ring of Fire, a great circle of dangerous volcanic islands in the seas between the The Free Lands and The Empire. Measuring roughly 50 miles from end to end at its longest point, Ember Island is too large to be seen in full from most coastal vantage points and is dominated by smoking ridgelines, black lava fields, jungle-choked valleys, and active volcanic flows.
Though beautiful from a distance, Ember Island is a dangerous place. The waters surrounding it are plagued by pirates, slavers, Imperial warships, smugglers, and mercenary fleets. Unless operating on a specific mission, the Navy of Skyfall generally avoids the region, leaving the island and its surrounding waters to those bold, desperate, or well-armed enough to survive there.
At the island’s most important fortified coastal position stands Iron Sky, the headquarters of the mercenary company known as the The Iron Sides.
Ember Island is one of the most significant islands in the Ring of Fire, not because of a great city or kingdom, but because of its strategic location and the presence of the Iron Sides. The island sits amid major sea routes between eastern and western powers, making it a natural refuge for privateers, mercenary companies, black-market traders, and military expeditions unwilling to sail under a formal national banner.
The island’s geography is shaped by constant volcanic activity. Rivers of lava crawl across old basalt fields, steam vents burst from cracked stone, and entire stretches of coast are bordered by black cliffs and sharp volcanic rock. Yet the island is not barren. Tropical forests, coastal palms, hot springs, and fertile ash-soil valleys support pockets of dense life, creating a strange contrast between paradise and disaster.
For the Iron Sides, this contradiction is useful. Ember Island is rich, defensible, isolated, and dangerous enough that casual enemies rarely attempt to land there.
Geography
Ember Island lies within the Ring of Fire, a chain or circle of tropical volcanic islands. It is approximately 50 miles across at its longest point, with a jagged coastline of black stone, bright lagoons, and treacherous reefs.
The island’s major geographic features include:
- Active volcanic peaks dominating the interior.
- Recent lava fields cutting across older jungle and coastal roads.
- Steam vents and sulfur flats where the ground is unstable.
- Tropical jungle valleys fed by volcanic springs and frequent rain.
- Black sand beaches and hidden coves used by smugglers and raiders.
- Cliffside approaches that make large-scale invasion difficult.
- Fortified coastal landings controlled or watched by the Iron Sides.
The island’s terrain changes often. A road or trail that was passable one season may be buried beneath cooled lava the next. Local guides, mercenary scouts, and old Iron Sides patrol maps are often the difference between safe passage and death.
The Ring of Fire
The Ring of Fire is a dangerous circle of tropical volcanic islands located in the seas between The Free Lands and The Empire. The region is infamous for unstable weather, volcanic activity, pirates, slavers, and Imperial patrols.
Because of its hazards, the Ring is not well-policed. Imperial warships may appear suddenly, but their patrols are inconsistent and often politically motivated. Pirates and slavers use hidden harbors and volcanic coves as staging grounds. Skyfall’s navy generally avoids the region unless dispatched for a particular mission, preferring not to risk ships in waters where enemies, reefs, lava-heated currents, and storms all compete to destroy them.
This has made the Ring of Fire a natural home for irregular powers: mercenaries, private fleets, exile companies, smugglers, and groups willing to trade safety for independence.
Iron Sky
Iron Sky is the great coastal fortress of Ember Island and the headquarters of the Iron Sides mercenary company. Built on stable volcanic ground above the sea, the fortress commands a defensible harbor while keeping the worst of the island’s active lava flows at a distance.
Iron Sky is both fortress and military settlement. Its walls protect barracks, training yards, storehouses, armories, docks, signal towers, contract halls, and portal chambers. Its design reflects the Iron Sides themselves: practical, intimidating, and built to survive siege, betrayal, and disaster.
From the sea, Iron Sky appears as a massive stone stronghold rising from the volcanic coast, with the fiery heart of Ember Island smoldering behind it. The fortress is positioned to watch the surrounding waters while remaining close enough to the island’s interior for training exercises, initiation trials, and hidden company rites.
The Iron Sides
Main Article: The Iron Sides
The Iron Sides are a major mercenary organization headquartered at Iron Sky. They are known for discipline, hard campaigning, and a willingness to operate in dangerous regions where conventional armies hesitate.
The group is led by a rugged human mercenary captain known as Taylor Reese. Reese is a practical commander rather than a polished noble officer, respected for survival, results, and the ability to hold a dangerous company together in one of the most unstable regions of the known seas.
Another significant leader within the Iron Sides is Hando, a veteran mercenary commander and senior officer. Hando is regarded as one of the company’s old hands, a figure associated with field leadership, hard lessons, and the practical realities of mercenary life.
The Iron Sides have also held other major fortified positions beyond Ember Island, most notably the Crimson Keep near Skyfall.
The Valkenbane Portal
One of Iron Sky’s most important secrets is its working portal leading to Valkenbane Academy in distant Wintershield. This portal gives the Iron Sides a connection far beyond the Ring of Fire and allows them to maintain a relationship with Kaulder, a senior mage at the Academy.
The existence of the portal makes Iron Sky much more than a regional fortress. It gives the Iron Sides access to magical support, distant counsel, emergency travel, and potentially sensitive political or arcane arrangements. For this reason, the portal chamber is heavily guarded and rarely discussed with outsiders.
Settlements and Holdings
Ember Island has no great civilian kingdom. Most permanent activity on the island exists because of the Iron Sides, smugglers, scattered labor camps, hidden anchorages, or temporary expeditions.
Known holdings connected to the Iron Sides include:
- Iron Sky — Headquarters of the Iron Sides on Ember Island.
- Crimson Keep — A major Iron Sides holding near Skyfall.
- Hidden Training Grounds — Used for trials, survival exercises, and field discipline.
- Coastal Watch Posts — Small fortified positions overlooking anchorages and approaches.
- Portal Chamber of Iron Sky — The guarded portal connection to Valkenbane Academy.
Hazards
Ember Island is dangerous even before its politics are considered.
Common hazards include:
- Sudden lava flows.
- Unstable volcanic ground.
- Steam vents and poisonous fumes.
- Pirates and slavers using hidden coves.
- Imperial patrols operating without warning.
- Smugglers and hostile privateers.
- Dangerous jungle predators.
- Treacherous reefs and black-rock shoals.
- Old battlefield ruins and abandoned camps.
- Iron Sides patrols suspicious of trespassers.
Adventure Hooks
| The Missing Sheep | A promising recruit has vanished during the Gold Sheep Trial. The Iron Sides are unwilling to cancel the rite, but Taylor Reese quietly wants outsiders to determine whether the recruit is merely lost, dead, or taken by someone using the trial as cover |
|---|---|
| Fire on the Water | Imperial warships have entered the Ring of Fire in unusual numbers. The Iron Sides claim neutrality, but pirates, slavers, and Skyfall agents all suspect that something hidden on Ember Island has drawn Imperial attention |
| The Portal Falters | The portal between Iron Sky and Valkenbane Academy begins producing sparks, ash, and fragments of voices from somewhere else. Kaulder believes the disturbance may not be coming from Wintershield, but from beneath Ember Island itself |
| The Crimson Keep Contract | An old Iron Sides contract tied to Crimson Keep resurfaces near Skyfall. The document suggests that Ember Island’s mercenaries once accepted payment for a mission they never completed |
| Beneath Iron Sky | Workers expanding a lower vault beneath Iron Sky uncover pre-Iron Sides stonework. The architecture predates the fortress and appears to have been built around a sealed volcanic shrine |