ILTHAR

Ilthar is a commonly visited island, at least in part because of its strategic location at the join of the Windrace and the Crater. There are several harbors, each with a small community of pirates. Most landings here tend to be temporary, pulling out during winter to return to the Jakaa. The buildings are temporary, as the winter monsoons often wash the settlements away and they must be rebuilt in the spring.

Most of the harbors are along the eastern edge of the island. The southern edge is inhabited by cyclopskin, who herd sheep and goats. The cyclopskin live in caves on the high cliffs of the southern shore. Some keep minotaur lizards as pets and defenders, and there are rumors that the cyclopskin are subservient to a small band of ettins. In any case, the few meager harbors on the northern shore have not made it worthwhile for the pirates to drive these cruel but stupid creatures out. Legend tells that the cyclopskin are actually true giants, firbolgs, or other powerful creatures cursed by Aìlesca Wýra for their refusal to acknowledge her control of the vicious winter storms. Some travelers to the cyclopskin lands (always a dangerous undertaking) tell of a ruined stone city in the southern highlands, proportioned for creatures larger than either humans or cyclopskin. According to legend, the inhabitants of this city once dominated the Crater; there are even hints in the records of the Elven Court at Abiad that the "Great Ones of the Crater" disappeared in a cataclysm not of their own making. The truth of any of these rumors lies within the enormous walls of the ruined city of Ilthar Isle.