World of Samardan: Isle of Shattered Temples...

Greetings, All:

Here is the ninth post of my A to Z Challenge series describing 26 different locations in the World of Samardan campaign setting, one for each letter of the alphabet. Today, I is for the Isle of Shattered Temples.

1536 Isle of Shattered Temples

Ambiance: Many crumbling temples rise from the jungle on this large island in the middle of the Milapand lake, each more grandiose than the next. Many of the interior temples are slowly being dismantled for resources to construct the newer temples closer to the shore. Great paths in the jungle, carved by the passage of stone blocks and laboring slaves, often lead from interior ruins to the temple currently under construction.

History: The Cult of Days, a sect of Rakrani doxologists, have been constructing shrines and temples on Tutarami Island for many generations, all in the hope of staving off the death of the world. Many of the original temples were constructed of stone brought in by boat or airship, but as the Cult lost their vessels to war or neglect, they have become forced to scavenge building supplies from old temples, supplemented by wood gathered from the jungles of the island. For this reason, Tutarami Island has become known as the Isle of Shattered Temples.

Encounters: Rakrani cultists live and worship here, isolated from the mainland and the rest of the world. In the depths of the ruins, a nest of nethdrakkomi (large, winged, feathered serpents with great intelligence and incredible psychic powers) dwell in relative safety, antagonistic to the presence of the Cult of Days. Common encounters and hazards include deadly molds, virulent diseases and poisonous creatures.

Treasure: While the Cult of Days does not possess any functioning technology of the Ancient Ones, the cultists have gathered a great number of parts and non-working examples that they move from temple to temple. The eggs of the nethdrakkomi are highly valuable to certain breeders, who train these psychic creatures from hatchlings to become dedicated guardians of vaults and other locations.

Adventure Hooks: Adventure hooks for this site could include the following:

• Burabamo Neranhen, a scholar of Ancient lore, requires a specific part to repair a device of the Ancient Ones, and believes that the Cult of Days on Tutarami Island possesses what he needs.
• Nago Balsanan, an animal trainer, seeks nethdrakkomi eggs to raise as guardians of the treasure vault of the Raganu of Mermak, City on the Moors.
• Suma Viraminan, a Sarran mystic, desires a valuable marble statue that once belonged to her clan, until it was stolen. Through her psychic powers, she has determined that it now resides on the Isle of Shattered Temples, and now seeks adventurers willing to undertake the recovery of the statue from within the nest of the nethdrakkomi.
• Tormadan Yarantor, a noted collector of molds and spores, is willing to pay for samples of three unique breeds of mold that he believes only grows in the collapsing temples of Tutarami Island.
• Yaranu Moro, Master of Assassins for the court of Kolgrat, will pay handsomely for viddrakkat venom collected from the Isle of Shattered Temples, for the poison of the local breed is purportedly highly virulent.

Planetary Romance series often have one or more isolated areas where unusual sentient races exist. I used that concept to design this particular site, inspired by the Couatl. Picturing a large serpent with rainbow-hued wings and psychic powers in an ancient temple, combined with the compulsive cultists, just seemed to tap into some visceral imagery for me. I look forward to exploring this site within a game or a story.

With Regards,
Flynn