The Lost Isles

🏝 The Isles of the Lost


A scattered chain of mist-shrouded islands adrift in the northern reach of the Lost Sea—caught between Dunegrave, Serpentis, and the frozen cliffs of Snowspire.

Few who sail too close return unchanged. Some say the Isles shift with the tide, rearranging themselves like a living labyrinth of reefs and wrecks.


 

1. Deadwater Passage


A narrow channel cutting through the center of the Isles, known for its swirling fog and ghost-light reflections. Ships vanish without a sound here. Lanterns swing, masts creak, and sometimes—when the moon is right—laughter echoes across the water.


This is where Squiffy Planks, the spectral pirate, was last seen searching for his stolen sword—the Sword of the Seas.


 

2. Rumgrave Bay


Once a bustling pirate port, now half-submerged ruins where bottles still bob among the waves.

Those who dive beneath find coral-covered taverns, skeletal fleets, and barrels of long-forgotten rum. It’s said the scent of absinthe and other spirits can still summon Squiffy’s ghost.


 

3. The Bleached Shoals


Blinding white sands made from crushed bones and salt crystals. When the tide retreats, strange sigils appear, carved by unseen hands. The locals say they’re warnings—others say they’re maps.

 

4. The Hollow Keep


A fortress grown into a cliffside, now nothing but empty halls and echoing bells.

When storms roll in, its bells ring without wind, calling sailors toward their doom.

Some say the Keep marks the entrance to the spectral world beneath the waves.

 

5. The Wailing Mire


Swamps and mangroves that breathe mist. The trees drip brine, and ghostly lights drift among the roots. Beasts that die here don’t stay buried—their bones move with the tide.


 

⚓ Culture of the Lost Isles


1. The Driftbound


Descendants of pirates, wreckers, and salvagers who made the Isles home generations ago.

They tattoo their faces with salt-white ink and wear charms of bone and coral to ward off spirits.

They call themselves “those who remember,” believing every soul lost at sea finds its way back to these shores.


 

2. Trade and Survival


There’s little true trade—only barter among the living and the dead.

Rum, salt, and wood are the most valued goods.

Driftbound craft resin torches and bone lanterns that glow faintly blue, fueled by “ghostfire”—a spectral flame said to burn underwater.


 


3. Faiths and Fears


The Driftbound whisper prayers to The Drowned King, a ghost-deity said to rule the tides of death.

Offerings of rum and silver are cast into the water to keep his wrath at bay.

Squiffy Planks, though feared, is seen as a trickster spirit—neither saint nor demon.

 


4. The Lost Choir


Children raised in the Isles are taught to “sing against the fog.”

Their songs echo through the mist to keep the spirits calm.

On nights when the fog thickens, the Isles themselves seem to hum in return—a chorus of the drowned.


 

5. Pirate Factions of the Lost Isles

 

  • The Fogbloods: Marauders who vanish into the mist and strike unseen. Their ships bear no flags, only drifting lanterns.
  • The Salt Saints: A cult that believes dying at sea is a sacred passage; they take relics from wrecks as holy offerings.
  • The Bone Divers: Salvagers who dive for relics in Deadwater Passage—many return with riches, more with madness.
  • The Spectral Horde: Said to be led by Squiffy himself, a phantom armada glimpsed only when thunder splits the sea.


 

📖 Backstory of the Isles of the Lost

 

When the great storms tore the seas apart, hundreds of ships from Dunegrave and Serpentis sought shelter in the Lost Sea. They found the Isles—uncharted, calm, and eerily inviting. None realized the calm was a trap.


Over time, the Isles claimed them one by one. Crews went missing, ports fell silent, and fog swallowed the sun. Only the Driftbound remained, scavenging among the wrecks, learning the ways of the dead.


It was here that Squiffy Planks, betrayed and cut down by his own krewe, was cast into the depths.

But death could not hold him. Drawn by rum, cedar, and vengeance, he rose again—his laughter echoing across the fog-choked straits, commanding the spectral horde that now guards the Isles.


Sailors say if you light a lantern near the Deadwater Passage and whisper his name, your ship will drift…but it won’t be you steering it anymore.