Originally named for the large mountain that sits in the center of the small fishing island, Shadow Island developed its name because of Orison Peak – a massive mountain that jaunts out of the land in the center of the island and as the sun goes by, Orison Peak casts a massive shadow across the island from the base of the mountain to the shoreline.

The tip of the Orison Peak, a height that many have claimed to scale, but so few are believed because it is believed to be one of the tallest mountains above sea level at just over 32,000 feet above sea level. Attempting to scale Orison Peak is perilous even to the most sturdy and prepared individuals. Not only is scaling the mountain perilous – there are a number of creatures who call this massive mountain their home, including rocs, perytons and other creatures looking for prey that is exhausted or tied to a line, scaling the face of the mountain. If that wasn’t enough, the snow gets extremely deep and susceptible to avalanches at around 18,000 feet. Beyond that, the level of oxygen becomes increasingly thinner, so that individuals will quickly tire and potentially become delirious. If all of that doesn’t provide a means of death, the temperature at anything above 18,000 feet drops from anywhere from -10 to -35 degrees, freezing most people before they can do much to keep themselves warm.

Orison Peak was home for a Storm Giant by the name of Halkron. The legend states that Halkron was the eyes of the world for the gods – and that from Orison Peak, he could see all across the world and report back to the gods what he observed.

Thankfully, during this time Shadow Island was not populated by mortals, for there would come a day that a massive red dragon by the name of Braor the Blood Vein arrived – with the intention of destroying Halkron to prevent his ever gazing eyes from seeing what Braor and his armies had planned. This resulted in a massive war – that involved armies of Metallic Dragons fighting the Giants, who put aside their differences, to destroy the invading dragons. The final victor of the battle remains unknown, even to this day – but there are rumors that either Halkron’s palace or Braor’s treasures – can be found at the peaks. This has drawn a number of people who have attempted to scale to the peaks – and most turn around. Those that didn’t – are never heard from again – assumed to be killed in some form on the mountain face.

The island was discovered 200 years ago, when a ship having endured a rough storm made landfall on the island – and sought to find others to get repairs. The island was full of fauna and wild life like none that had ever been seen before – a result of the war between dragons and giants that ripped at the very fabric of magical barriers on the island. Portals to the Feywild, as well as other planes (such as Water, Fire, Earth, and Air) exist through the island – some seem permanently in place, while others appear for brief peroids of time before closing again. As Shadow Island became more populated, it was primarily known for its warm weather and tropical storm, due to being at the equator of the world – but also its seemingly never ending supply of fishing in the ocean. (This is undoubtedly due to a portal to the Plane of Water, somewhere in the ocean floor near the island).

Points of Interest –

• Orison Peak – No one has climbed the top, where the Storm Giant Halkron once called home. But there are countless rumors of untold treasure and knowledge.
• The Searing Wastes – The story of the mountain range that is in the middle of the Searing Wastes desert is rumored to be the corpse of the red dragon, Braor the Blood Vein, who fell while searing hot, and turned the sand to glass, and eventually got beaten down by the restless sands, and now look like mountains. This is just speculation; other rumors state that a portal to the Plane of Earth opened somewhere below the surface and shoved the island’s rock, jaunting upward.
• Stormthunder – Named after the constant rumbling thunder of Orison Peak, the once small town has grown as Wizards came in hopes of learning more about what could be found in Orison Peak. As many flocked with the idea of treasure, the town grew expentionally, but once after repeated attempts and years of so many dying trying to reach Orison Peak, the town quickly collapsed on itself, and it is mostly barren now. People still live there, but there are hundreds of empty buildings.
• The Smiling City – Named because of the curvature of the buildings, the original name of the Smiling City has long since been lost. Similar to Stormthunder, The Smiling City was once a small fishing village that suddenly became extremely popular when hopeful adventurers sailed to Shadow Island in hopes of scaling Orison Peak. Now, much like Stormthunder, the town is barren with many empty homes, shopes and warehouses.
• Town of Garrison – Named after Revert Nawor Garrison, the town became a place of interest when a Plane of Water opened up besides the massive lake and trapped a unique creature there (after the portal disappeared shortly after depositing the monster in the giant lake). Though the creature is timid, people flock to the town in hopes of seeing it.
• The Whispering Wood – This is home to the Wood Elves of Shadow Island.
• The Shallow Green – This is home to the High Elves of Shadow Island.
• The Deep Shallows – This is a lake, whose depth literally goes from five feet, to a plunging 100 feet deep.
• Avador – This is a fishing village on Shadow Island. It became very popular when people discovered the amount of fish around Avador’s waters – this is due to several Plane of Water portals that were ripped open in the ocean, creating a vast and seemingly endless supply of large fish.
• The Cold Spine – This is a ruthless area of cold, that between the woods, where it’s barren ice, there is very little known life. The reason for the sheer cold was never discovered.
• Darkstone Mountain – There are numerous caves and caverns along the Darkstone Mountain which is home primarialy to goblinoid type creatures who often raid the Shallow Green or the Whispering Wood at night