Steaming Isles

The Steaming Isles, located in the southeast of Zakhara's Crowded Sea, were very unusual. Unexplored by denizens of the mainland, these islands, shrouded in mist and covered in sub-tropical forest, were inhabited and ruled by intelligent, talking animals.

Geography
The chain was made up of six large island surrounded by numerous smaller islands. From west to east these major islands were Jaqal (Jackal), Baz (Hawk), Gazal (Gazelle), Hayyat (Snake), Sunn (Swallow) and Nimr (Tiger). Though these names were only known to the inhabitants of the Steaming Isles &mdash; beyond they were largely unknown to Zakharans and thus were unnamed.

Flora & Fauna
Besides the animals that each of the Steaming Isles were named for, creatures that could be found on them included foxes, groundhogs, nightingales, monkeys, leopards, and bears.

The Steaming Isles were host to a sub-tropical rainforest, where bamboo grew throughout. A variety of different palm trees could be found on it shores, including those of bananas, betel, coconuts, and mangroves. On the higher slopes of these islands one could find trees that included cedar, coffee, mahogany, pine, teak, and walnut.

Society
The animal inhabitants of the Steaming Isles in general acted like normal animals, but still had formed society structures similar to those found in Enlightened Zakhara, with a Shah ruling over each island. Each Shah was of the species of the island's name. The supreme ruler was Padishah Jaqal.

Any outsider(s) that murdered an animal and dutifully pleaded its case to an island's shah could be sentenced to make an oath, such as to treat all animals as equals or to take up vegetarianism, or they might be sentenced to take up servitude to the family of the slain. In addition, a shah would demand an oath of secrecy regarding the Steaming Isles.

Notable Locations

 * Madinat al-Mumin, a small settlement of humans and demihumans.

Trivia
Any oath made to the native animals of the Steaming Isles had the binding force of a geas spell and all animals throughout Zakhara could sense if someone was marked by such an oath.