Raila Deliean - Section V - Early History and First Settlements
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Isle of Winds, or Isle of Four Winds
From the Personal Files of Raila Deliean, Scholar
Section V: Early History and First Settlements It should first be established that Isle of Four Winds was not originally known as Isle of Four Winds. Before that, it was the Isle of Winds. And before that, it was originally only known in scrolls and legends as the Isle of Lost Scrolls. This is due to the scrolls in bottles or other safe-keeping devices that washed up upon sea shores across Elanthia every few hundred years. It is also quite clear that none of the writers or those who were on the island described ever found any means of permanently leaving it. Thus, for centuries, it was known by that name. Tales of the Isle were so similar that they were eventually attributed to the same island, rather than multiple and varied locales. It is probable that the scrolls do not all come from Isle of Winds, but it stands to reason that more than a few did truly find their original home there. Several of the aforementioned scrolls and stories are documented in Section XI of this report. Part I: Early History: Chronomage Discovery and Sale As documents show, around the year 4300 there were a large number of reports that tell of an entire Krolvin fleet that was out scouring the seas for a lost ship, one with an abundance of wealth and some certain property that, to this day, remains a mystery. That it was of immense importance to this particular fleet is all that is known. In their hunt, they were willing to dive headlong into skirmishes and use more violent methods than were normally attributed to the Krolvin of the time. It wasn't until several years later that a human ship came upon pieces of what was believed to be a Krolvin ship. They immediately sent a carrier bird to the mainland, saying they had reason to believe the ship from whence these artifacts came had found its berth on the Isle of Lost Scrolls – sailor-talk at the time that simply meant that the origin of the ship’s pieces were a complete mystery. When their own ship finally entered the harbor, it ran straight into the docks. It had not stopped, or even steered properly, because the entire crew had been murdered, and the pieces of the Krolvin ship that they had discovered were now missing. This was yet another strike against the Krolvins, for they were blamed for the murders, despite the mystery surrounding the entire event, which seem to have been washed out of all currently known official records – there are no mentions of it throughout the continent’s vast store of archives. The commoners of the time, however, had no qualms about spreading a tale of excitement and daring violence, and the story was soon enough popularized even among the nobles. It wasn't long after these stories started circulating that the Chronomages first became aware of the island. Scrying the expanse of Elanthia, they noticed a mist-covered isle and took interest in its obscure and disguised location and wealth of resources. Never ones to miss an opportunity, the Chronomages quickly claimed the isle for their own. After some time, during which they presumably spent researching and exploring, the Chronomages offered the island for sale, with the understanding that they would provide and collect fees on unique teleportation devices to a spot on the otherwise uncharted island. Whether or not this was the same island that all of the stories came from or not, the Chronomages had no qualms about promoting it as the Island of Lost Scrolls. And it was not surprising that they would quickly receive offers, given the lore and legends surrounding it, and the interest that such stories garner. Every sale, however, fell through when the prospective buyers set foot upon the isle. And over time, the offers stopped coming in. Finally, in 4594, a private buyer, who to this day remains unknown, closed the sale with the Chronomages. The buyer then anonymously bequeathed the isle to a small family, the Leiffens, who were of little note previous to their unprecedented inheritance. The buyer's only requests were that the isle remain largely preserved in its natural state, and that the name of the island be reflected as the Isle of Winds, rather than the Isle of Lost Scrolls, in the contracts. Part II: First Settlement: Leiffen’s Landing The Leiffens, as noted, were obscure up until this time. In fact, their obscurity has remained rather intact, given their quiet dealings with the island, which are generally only recorded in Leiffen family histories and scattered through private documents that only the governing bodies of the island are supposed to have access to. In 4594, the Leiffen family consisted of four brothers who had recently met with tragedy; their parents had just months before been killed by a fever that had run its violent and fiery course through the countryside. The boys had inherited all that their parents had owned -- a small farmstead geared toward grain. The eldest boy, Olivir, was a mere twenty three years of age. He was recently married to a young woman named Stylla, which had in and of itself caused a small scandal for both families. The marriage had been a business arrangement, lacking in love, between her family and his, where both families had been less than forthright with their current state of finances and holdings, each hoping to benefit from the union. When all was said and done, both families had been angry to discover the truth of things, and what was left was little more than a shell of a marriage between Olivir and Stylla. The other three boys, twenty, nineteen, and seventeen, were not yet married and still had much to learn of the world. The Leiffen brothers received word of their new acquisition, indeed a mystery even to themselves, by way of a representative for the Chronomages. Upon presentation of the deed, the representative merely added that the Chronomages would deliver more transporters as necessary. The representative did not leave any further information on how to contact the Chronomages, implying that the order was more than able to ascertain when communication would be needed. Before vanishing from sight, the Chronomage representative voiced one last warning to the island's new proprietors: that they would not be the first occupants of the island, and they would not be alone. Although they were completely unprepared for any venture of this sort, the Leiffen brothers put aside their grief for their dead parents to pursue what they hoped would be new and great riches. They immediately used the Chronomage devices that were gifted to them. They found themselves on a lonely stretch of shoreline that was populated with flora and fauna far more glorious than anything in their farm-born and bred imaginations. After just a few days of exploration, and a few bumps, bruises, and scratches, they had found several caches of gemstones and minerals not too far from their landing point. They collected small samples from each and returned to the Empire. Olivir set out to the nearest major city, Tamzyrr, which was a few day's wagon ride away, and there found that the known gemstones and minerals would fetch them a hefty price. The gemcutter offered a meager price for the unknown pieces, citing that he would purchase everything they found, even if it was considered worthless, so long as he had sole rights to buying it from them. The document was drawn up, and so it was that the Leiffens became the first known entrepreneurs for Isle of Winds. It must be remembered that the Leiffens were farmsteaders, not businessmen. So it would make sense that their initial encroachment of the Isle was not at all done with any finesse or smooth maneuvering. They drew up contracts where they paid too much. They drew up other contracts where they received too little. They didn’t consult with well-tuned businesses or plans of any sort, and they didn’t hire anyone to help them move forward with their new property. They went in virtually blind. From the start, Olivir declared that he would run their affairs at home rather than from on the island itself, and he made it clear that he was in charge; after all, the contracts and ownership fell to him as the eldest. His brothers, using the Chronomage devices, were able to move back and forth between the island and their small farmstead outside of Tamzyrr with little effort, and certainly with just as little fanfare. The Leiffens, with but little delay, built a small settlement on the island. Olivir engaged various individuals to come and work on the isle and live in what became known as Leiffen's Landing. It was a ramshackle settlement, with a few hastily constructed buildings comprised of living quarters, a large mess hall, a medical building, and several sorting shacks for all of the goods they found in the jungle and planned to export back to Tamzyrr. In fact, the Leiffens were already exporting some of the gems and minerals they had first discovered, and they began to also export some of the exotic fruits. There was one "road" through the middle of the Landing, and it was here that any major socialization took place. Most adventurers who came to the Landing were more interested in riches than in getting to know one another, greedy roughnecks that they tended to be. Only when the liquor flowed or the pipes were struck up did they really speak to one another, and as secret desires and plans were revealed and stolen, and alliances made or broken, more than a few fights broke out. It is worth noting that despite the positioning and competition going on between the adventurers, those who came to the isle remained tight-lipped about it to outsiders, as they did not intend to share the riches around to more people than were already present. The Leiffens determined that Leiffen's Landing was somewhere on the southern coast of the isle, but given that no one attempted to navigate the surrounding ocean, they never truly had a bigger picture of the island and its size or where they were on it; it simply never crossed their mind to chart their location when there were already so many riches to claim right in front of their eyes. Besides, none were sailors, and while some of the settlers fished from the ocean, they had no skill in boat making or how to get around a ship on their own. Despite the warning of the Chronomages, which the brothers kept to themselves or possibly even forgot, everyone in the settlement, including the Leiffens, believed that they were the only people on the island now. The only indication of other possible occupants at all, in fact, was the body of the sailor that washed up on shore after they had been there for weeks. They had decided that they would bury the sailor's body, but when they went back to where they had pulled it up near the jungle, the corpse had disappeared. They decided that some forest animals had come to drag it away, though several of the men pointed out that there were no drag marks leading into the jungle from near where the body had been -- only footprints were visible on the stretch of sand. The others argued as to the exact spot of the body, and that the footprints were merely their own, and the matter was dropped and never thought of again. Part III: Serpentine and Firewheels It wasn't until the adventurers struck deep into the ground of the isle to pilfer a cache of scaly, green stone – which would later become known as serpentine, and that the gemcutter in Tamzyrr had declared worthless – that anything out of the ordinary occurred to anyone who lived in Leiffen's Landing. Upon this event's day, the youngest brother and all who were involved at the site that day fell severely ill. They ran massively high fevers, developed rashes, and started to bleed without any known reason or cause. Within several days, each had died. Their deaths were not silent and simple deaths, either; instead, each had gone on their trek through the Gate screaming in terror and pain. After this incident, much of the population that was contracted for work there left. There was fear of catching the same sickness, enough so that the financial incentives could not counter the threat of a horrific death. That left a handful of contractors, who stayed specifically because they believed that with less competition from those who left, there would be a larger share for them to claim from the island’s riches. Business continued after a short period of recovery, but was once again interrupted when one of the Leiffens, Kairm specifically, decided to export some of the exotic woods. A small stand of firewheel trees were cut down near Leiffen's Landing. Just after nightfall, the sky overhead rumbled with a pending storm, and lightning rained down over the sea. One streak of the sky's fire struck the entire stock of wood that had been cut down from the felled firewheel trees and set it alight. The flames spread across a third of Leiffen's Landing, killing several who slept soundly in their beds and did not hear the noise of the raging inferno until it was too late. As the fire branched out toward the jungle, and just as it seemed ready to engulf the remainder of the Landing, the clouds let loose with the pending rainstorm, and the downpour put out the flames within minutes. Kairm wasn't found until the following day. His house was the last to have been burnt before the deluge of raindrops plummeted toward the island, and some of the timbers had fallen down upon him. He was still alive and breathing, though he was so badly burned over parts of his body that he required a long period of healing, and even once he was past that, he was never able to move quite the way he had before. He returned home, vowing never to return to the island, despite Olivir’s harsh warning that he would not see a single silver of the profits if he did not come back. This left one brother, Aaron, on the island. Olivir insisted on continuing to run affairs at home; it is believed that he was quietly skimming some of the profits off for himself without telling anyone. Aaron, severely depressed over the death of his brother so close on the heels of his parents, and the abandonment by Kairm, took up the bottle. He was known around Leiffen's Landing as the town drunk and incapable of running the affairs there, even with the small number of people who remained, and it was reflected in the halt of exports. After a heated argument, Olivir put his foot down and took the reins away from Aaron. He sent his wife, Stylla, to look after affairs. This chaffed with Aaron, but Olivir held the power in the family, as well as the legal ownership of all of the contracts, so Aaron was forced to comply. Part IV: Stylla Leiffen: Renewal and Unraveling With Stylla's arrival came the revival of the Isle of Winds business. She was both a stunning and ambitious woman, and upon her reaching the Landing, it became clear that her husband's decision to send her was probably the wisest business move he ever made; she was exactly the type of individual needed to put affairs back in order. During the first few months of Stylla's reign over Leiffen's Landing, a very strict organization for all inventory and locations of caches and other resources was put in place. Stylla then marketed the island and its resources to other businessmen and importers, touting the unique properties of the items that would be coming from the island. She drew up intelligent contracts and worked with established businesses and traders. She also hired adventurers who were willing to put themselves in harm's way in exchange for a glimpse at a place that so few eyes had ever seen. Under her well-oiled grip, the exports were soon ready to transport out again. The only glitch in the entire system was the affair that seemed to be taking place between Stylla and Aaron. Stylla had been caught in a loveless marriage for several years already, and upon spending time with the emotionally devastated Aaron, seemed to find something that struck a true chord with her. Aaron, with Stylla's guiding hand and claims of love, not only stopped drinking, but also began to develop a better business acumen. As with all great love affairs, this one did not go unnoticed by the town, and eventually did not go undiscovered by Stylla’s husband. During one of his visits to Leiffen's Landing, Olivir finally discovered the betrayal and, swept up in a rage, viciously stabbed a fire poker through Aaron. At first he said that he had sent his brother home, but when his Aaron's body washed back up on to the shore, everyone knew what the truth must be. With no law in Leiffen's Landing other than Olivir himself, nothing was done or said about the murder; as far as Olivir was concerned, the topic was off limits. Following this, Olivir ran Leiffen's Landing with a heavy hand. Some of the contractors Stylla had brought to the Isle of Winds left, citing the harsh attitude and unyielding policies of Olivir as unbearable and not worth the trouble. Undeterred by these complaints and a slight dwindling of help, Olivir began to not only export more and more from the island through the means of the transporters, but he started to delve further into the island's interior, hoping that he would find more unique resources and treasures to sell off. Despite Olivir's violent action toward Aaron, Stylla remained physically unscathed by Olivir. Instead, Olivir ignored her completely. It was as if she had ceased to exist for him. He kept her barred from entering any of the areas where business was conducted or where items were being dug up or captured for exporting, and he also took her transporter away. It may have been the idea of being trapped on the isle, or perhaps it was being ignored by her husband, or it could even have been the unexpected and sudden death of her lover – but as time passed, Stylla went crazy. No one noticed at first when she was walking around, talking to herself. It was only when she started to be found in the middle of the night, barefoot on the one road that ran through the landing, or clambering through people's living quarters, that those who lived in and visited Leiffen's Landing began to take notice. Other stories began to circulate that painted her as wandering off into the jungle and coming back out hours later without a single scratch or mark on her, looking fresh as the dawn's dew. She would gaze off into the jungle sometimes and scream. Others heard her whispering to herself in strange voices. She also began to say odd things to the people of the Landing, sometimes dire predictions or a strange little poem, and her words always caused a chill to go through anyone who heard her. Every so often, she would call out the name of her dead lover and wave her hands frantically, as if she could see him in the distance. Despite these oddities, which were only lapses in the eyes of the adventurers, she seemed to be herself. Some of the townsfolk suggested to Olivir that he pay more attention to her, but he just waved them off. When Stylla finally disappeared for good one day, it was as if her leaving marked the true end of Leiffen's Landing. Stylla left a note the morning she vanished into thin air, though its contents remain a mystery – it is only said that her husband grew paler than a white sheet, and that he bit his lip so hard that when the blood ran down it, it flowed in a heavy stream of bright red. He looked up at the crowd around him and threatened them, warning that any one of them that tried to leave before the night was over would be cursed for a thousand years. That evening, a thick layer of mist crept in from the sea. It started out as a pale blanket that twisted along the ground, but it soon became a thick bank of pure white mist that was difficult to see through. Then, a storm began to brew, and as it heightened in clouds and cover, it became apparent that the storm would be the worst that anyone in Leiffen's Landing had ever seen. Many residents feared what was to come, and despite Olivir's strange threat, several left anyway. It didn't matter, however. Those who left the island were never heard from again. It was as if they vanished into thin air when they used their transporters. [The Chronomages have commented on more than one occasion that that is simply not possible and suggest that those individuals simply wish to remain unfound.] Those who stayed must have witnessed what was undoubtedly the most fantastic storm they'd ever seen before they met their untimely ends. When Olivir failed to return to the farmstead or communicate in any way, and days had passed, the only living Leiffen brother, Kairm, began to worry. He had no desire to return to the Isle, but he needed to know what had happened. And so it was that when he transported into where Leiffen's Landing had stood, he found himself standing on a long, familiar stretch of beach that was devoid of all signs of any civilization. Some of the storm-wrecked trees and ocean debris still littered the beach, but there was no ramshackle town, no structures or foundations, and no people. Kairm wasn't certain that he was in the right place, so he wandered down the beach for quite some time. It is there that he claims he looked out into the jungle and saw Stylla. He called her name, but she didn't respond. When he started toward her, she turned away and ran deeper into the jungle. Kairm followed as best as he could, working up a sweat until he was a fair way's into the jungle, further than he had ever been, and there it was that he says he saw her once more, much further ahead of him. She turned toward him and told him, "If you ever loved your brother, and if you ever loved your life, leave this place. Leave it as it was, and don't return!" She then turned on her heel and ran away. He was so struck by the sincerity and fear in her voice that he was frozen on the spot for several minutes. And as the jungle began to shake around him, he slipped on his transporter and winked away off of the island. Kairm felt, knew in his very bones, that the island bode nothing good for his family. All he had seen from it was a small profit and the death of his three brothers and the crazed behavior of his one sister-in-law. And so it was that he gathered all of the remaining transporters that he could find and locked them away. Effectively, Kairm made it so that the Isle of Winds remained closed off to transport and growth for several hundred years, well past the time of his own death, at a ripe old age, in a simple farming accident. Part V: Kiyia Leiffen: Rediscovery In 4914, a young woman named Kiyia Leiffen, Kairm's great great granddaughter, came upon Kairm’s chest, and it was not until that time that the Isle of Winds was re-visited. It was here that Kiyia was first introduced to the tales that had been passed down through her family, and she researched other information on the Isle of Winds and the Isle of Lost Scrolls. [To note, some of her research provided further depth to our own documentation found here in this report.] After deliberation and further thought, she sought out the Chronomages. After some discussion with them, she was granted the ability to transport a full ship to the island with their help. She gathered up a few healthy companions and a ship and asked to be transported just off-shore of where the transporters were originally attuned. It is true that Kiyia's ship ended up somewhere near where Leiffen's Landing had been, though the natural and untouched beauty of the shoreline would have never betrayed that. She and her companions landed on shore nearest them, a small patch of sand with vibrant growth at its edges, and there built a small shrine to Jaston. They prayed for his guidance in finding a suitable landing spot and exalted to him the beauty of this place. They then returned to the ship and let the winds take them where they would. When they next landed, it was in large harbor-like area. The beach was pristine, and though jungle grew in dark heaps all over, there were some clear areas that would easily support a small settlement. Part VI: Second Settlement: Mist Harbor And so it was that Kiyia found and began to settle the area that would later be known as Mist Harbor. Although she invited adventurers and explorers, her initial push was for people who wished to make a home on an island that offered beauty and mystery. In order to keep the population small and intimate, she kept a tight hold on the distribution of the transporters. She also worked out an extension to the existing contract with the Chronomages: in return for resetting the transport spot for the teleportation devices to several areas near where she would build a town, she would grant the Chronomages commerce rights for merchanting facilities within a mutually agreed upon area of the island. The Chronomages warned her that some parts of the island were unstable and would not allow an exact pin-pointed transport spot, but Kiyia felt that it was a fair trade overall, and the contract was signed. One thing that Kiyia expressed in her own personal journals as being odd was the lack of easy navigation of the waterways beyond some areas of the harbor. She could navigate around the island only so far, and was unable, after a point, to go further around it -- it was as if she hit a wall, where the rocks jagged up or the swirls on the ocean were just too great to overcome. She had certainly come around much of the island to get to where she was, but she was unable to traverse that same path again, and she was both saddened that she could not return to the shrine she and her companions had erected and pleased by the idea that it would remain protected and untouched. Kiyia is also known for popularizing the name of Isle of Winds as, instead, Isle of Four Winds.
Raila Deliean - Overview and Table of Contents
Raila Deliean - Section II - Location of the Isle of Winds
Raila Deliean - Section IV - Lore Regarding Origins of Isle of Winds' Unique Properties