Suspira

Overview

Suspira is an almost uninhabited volcanic island at the eastern end of Asgartha, made of black stones and sands. The island bathes in an unreal end-of-the-world atmosphere and is called the “whispering island” or the “isle of murmurs,” referring to the sulfuric vapors that almost constantly exhale from the ground.

Climate

The island has a cold oceanic climate.

Geography

Located far from Arkaster, Suspira features numerous hot springs and sulfur farms. The volcanic nature of the island creates a landscape of black stones and dark sands.

Political Status

The territory of Suspira is directly under the control of Arkaster, rather than being part of one of the five autonomous Caers.

Kelon Industry

The main importance of Suspira comes from its high concentration of Kelon, making it an industrial asset for the Asgarthans. Axiom has established numerous mines and refineries on the island to collect this precious resource.

Suspira is of vital importance to Axiom, which has bet everything on Kelon to fuel the furnace of its industrial revolution. However, the Prospector Guild knows that the mines of this precious material are running dry. While current stocks will sustain Asgarthan society for a few years, a solution must be found to maintain the pace in the long term. Despite the general concern, some miners dream of an altered island where vegetation can finally flourish when it is fully stabilized.

Transportation

Historical Maritime Routes

For a long time, maritime transport was the main means of transporting Suspira’s ores to the capital. Ships initially passed through the Southwest Passage, crossing the shallows of the Shawl and navigating through narrow fjords between Anthea and Kirighai. The Season of Mists forced boats to take the Biela and bypass Anthea to the south, extending the journey by several weeks. When crossing was possible, the passage created such a bottleneck that the estuary was completely crowded, forcing many vessels to anchor off Sojourn for days.

Sundström Route

Maritime traffic cleared up when the Sundström Route was inaugurated. By winding through the Undersea, previously considered too impracticable by pilots, ships could drastically reduce travel time and charter much larger tonnage vessels called Mistbreakers. On this channel, Dusk remains an almost obligatory stopover, as does the port of Gusta on the Abelena archipelago.

Air Routes

Today, although maritime routes remain most favored for transporting Kelon or Aerolithe, Axiom Guilds increasingly resort to air routes. The mining cities of Utval and Vatigest have recently been equipped with aerodromes to more quickly reach Arkaster or Sadracca, and in future all other cities on the peninsula.

Relationships

• Arkaster: Capital city that directly controls Suspira
• Axiom: Faction operating mines and refineries on the island
• Prospector Guild: Guild managing Kelon extraction
• Kelon: Precious resource extracted from Suspira
• Sundström Route: Maritime route connecting Suspira to Arkaster via the Undersea
• Dusk: Obligatory stopover on the Sundström Route
• Utval: Mining city with recently built aerodrome
• Vatigest: Mining city with recently built aerodrome