An island far to the northwest of Talibar, Ara'ki is a landmass roughly the size of the nation of Occitan, a land made legendary for its unbridled resources.
The island of Ara'ki is an incredibly rich and diverse place, housing multiple ecosystems with a wide range of habitats from multiple climates and environments. Due to this fact, the island is said to have the highest concentration of species per acre than anywhere else. Due to it's isolation, Ara'ki has the distinction of being the home of a variety of creatures not found anywhere else, even the vast Wastes. While the actual range of species is still far below the Wastes, the likelihood of encountering all of these creatures is extremely high, as the richness of the island's resources and soil has brought fertility to the animals themselves. This high concentration of both flora and fauna makes the island an Alchemist's paradise, with incredible bounties of rare magical substances just underfoot.
Ara'ki has long been told in stories as a place of unbridled riches, with rich bounties of precious metals stored just beneath the surface. Unlike other fanciful tales of wondrous lands, in Ara'ki's case it is undoubtedly true; vast quantities of precious metals can be found on the island, and even rare compound metals can be found with startling commonality.
The draw of such wonders has prompted innumerable voyages and colonization efforts throughout the centuries, and yet Ara'ki remains largely untouched. Ara'ki is one of the most isolated places in the world, distance exacerbated by high, treacherous cliffs and bizarre weather patterns. Titanic cyclones and terrible storms are said to drift around the sea lanes leading to Ara'ki, defying all conventional knowledge; most scholars claim a magical explanation, though no origin can be resolutely placed. In addition, tales of those few that survived tell of magical storms, arcane tempests, which flare to frighteningly destructive heights, guarding the way to Ara'ki. Despite the best efforts of the world, man and other species have braved the terrible danger to safely land on Ara'ki. However, the dangers of a return trip make trade next to impossible, though those few that do arrive safely have delivered incredible riches to whatever nation it calls home. Therefore, despite the danger, attempts are always made, year in year out, each captain hoping to strike it rich. Little succeed. Few actual colonies exist on Ara'ki, most attempts preferring to harvest the land for a short time before making a go at home. Those colonies that were established tend to cease to be colonies at all, growing away from their distant nation with each year. In the recent decade, however, advances in both the mystic and the mundane arts have made it possible to traverse the dangers far easier than before. The nation of Occitan was the first to establish a colony, with Talibar on it's heel. Apart from these, Ara'ki is riddled with powerful mages, Liches, and dark cults, with anyone skilled enough to traverse the dangers finding perfect isolation in Ara'ki's wilds.
Due to the unique and bizarre weather patterns of the island continent, there are eight regions to the island. The first is a snow-covered mountain and surrounding base, at t he far northeastern corner. Following that is a Tundra Just to the south and southwest, and a chilled riverbed to the southeast of the mountain. The area bellow the tundra is an alpine forest surrounding a lake, sheltered by another mountain. The lake leads a river south and southwest through grasslands. In the path of the river is a swamp, and beyond the swam on the western coastline are humid wetlands and long, flat beaches. The shore to the south has short, steep beaches caused by harsher waves. Directly southwest is the newest volcano on the island, one that seems to stretch in a linear fashion further southeast. At the southeast tip is a lush tropical rain forest, and it i the warmest spot on the island, excluding the volcano.
Ara'ki is also home to a sizable native population, split roughly into 3 tribes. Though little contact has been made and even less is known about their culture, they seem to partake in a form of ancestor worship, holding with great esteem the ruins which dot Ara'ki. The Tribes seem to utilize artifacts and imitations of artifacts left behind, and the few displays that have been witnessed have spoken of a magical grasp worthy of or even surpassing any modern nation. The ruins have been largely unexplored, and no claim can be made as to their age, though elven documents dating far before the God Wars speak of them, usually as 'Il Shar'el', 'Place of Darkness'.
