This article is about the geographical region sometimes referred to as Corvidan. For the language spoken in this region, also referred to as Corvidan, see Corvidan Language.
The Corvidan Archipelago is an island group consisting of five major islands and several dozen smaller islets, located in the Southern Hemisphere of the Aequor Arcanus.
Within the Aequor Arcanus, the Corvidan Archipelago is located on the southern bounds of the Pelorus Gyre. An eastward current brings warm water, nutrients, algae, and phytoplankton from the equator, making islands in this region verdant despite their remote distance from other landmasses. Positioned over a submarine ridge, earthquakes are common but there are no active volcanoes. Tropical cyclones occur in the summer months, in rare cases causing long-term ecological damage; however, Corvidan peoples have mitigated the disastrous potential of cyclones through innovative structural engineering, durable protective wards, and even spellcasting that can manipulate weather patterns directly.
The Corvidan Archipelago has a humid subtropical climate; summers are hot with heavy rainfall, while winters are mild, with no snowfall except in mountainous areas. Summer temperatures average 198-234 Mh, with peak highs reaching 246 Mh. Winter temperatures rarely go below freezing, with 162-180 Mh being more typical. Temperatures stay relatively consistent throughout the day and night, with no significant cooling after sunset. Most years average 120-125 days of rainfall, mainly concentrated in summer but consistent year-round. Humidity ranges from 60-99%.
Five islands or island groups are recognized as the "major islands" of the Corvidan Archipelago:
In addition to these major islands, there exist many other islets, the majority of which are sparsely inhabited and are mainly used for agricultural purposes.
In Year 1 of the Corvidan calendar, a fleet of ships arrived in the Archipelago, carrying settlers from a distant landmass whose exact identity is never established in Corvidan accounts except as a vague "mainland". According to legend, these settlers were refugees fleeing destructive war and ecological disaster, seeking safety in an uninhabited land. The Corvidan Archipelago's remote location meant that after this first incursion of settlers, it was never again reached by other seafaring explorers, allowing it to flourish and develop free of outside influence. There is no cultural continuity between Pre-Corvidan society and modern Corvidan society; it is theorized by Corvidan anthropologists that the initial refugees came from a variety of distinct cultures, who combined their cultural practices and traditions into a new identity separated from the one which they had escaped from. The exact number of refugees is also unclear, with estimates ranging from several dozen to several hundred. Their pattern of settlement is more clearly attested; about 50 years after establishing initial settlements on Ardenei, they expanded further onto Septeiven and smaller islands in its vicinity. It took 150 more years for explorers to start sailing further afield, reaching Oxana in the 200s, Iryna in the 300s, and not fully populating A'olona until the 500s.
Each island in the Corvidan Archipelago functions as an independent city-state, but collaboration and trade between islands is frequent. Their governments send diplomatic envoys to reside on other islands and act as their native island's representative in political matters. All residents of the Corvidan Archipelago conduct business transactions using a single standard currency - coin-gold, or CG. Although the size and material composition of the CG is standardized, each island stamps coins with a unique design, so that a coin of inferior quality can be traced back to its island of origin. Most residents of the Archipelago will only ever see coins from their home island, but with increasing inter-island trade, a foreign coin will occasionally make its way into circulation. Every island’s coin incorporates its national symbol on the obverse, such as Septeiven’s bear and Iryna’s truss, with its denomination on the reverse. The Corvidan islands also share a flag design; all flags have a dark blue background, and the island's national symbol depicted in green at the center, surrounded by a green ring. Flags are used on ships' masts to indicate their port of origin.