The World of Tjarral

Tjarral is in fact a planet in a binary system—its home sun is in turn in a loop with another, smaller star, over a period of hundreds of years. When the Second Sun rises during the night, it overshines even the moon, which appears dull and dim by comparison; during the day, it brightens the sky, and if close enough will cast a second shadow.

Despite being smaller, and even despite the gravity being roughly half that of Earth, Tjarral is considerably more tectonically active. The island chains all across the world, and the frequency of volcanoes and earthquakes, are a testament to this.

The Isles

Yandjee

Yandjee is the largest landmass on the planet, a little larger than Australia. It sits in the southern hemisphere and is mostly temperate, with some jungles to the north and desert occupying most of the interior. The rivers in the south, although irregular, are still more than capable of supporting fairly large civilizations, if worked correctly.

Mocueyoh

Mocueyoh is large, subtropical to tropical, and is crisscrossed by mountain ranges. Less than half the size of Yandjee, it nevertheless possesses considerably more fertile land.

Sinyi

The third-largest landmass on the planet comprises Sinyi proper—a vast, frozen tundra covered with glaciers; Palena—cold and barely hospitable, helped and hindered by volcanic eruptions, home to dragons and the Yanik who depend on them; and Einir—a large temperate peninsula stretching down between Mocueyoh and Aion.

Pumirna

Pumirna is long and tropical; a mountain range running across the island provides a monsoon climate for the grasslands of the north and ensures rainfall in the coastal jungles of the south.

Tehapu

A pair of islands with a climate ranging from temperate to barely tolerable in the Southern Hemisphere, home to some of the largest birds ever to walk the earth. It was only reached and settled something like 400 years ago, by the Malehinese, who have since created multiple kingdoms vying for power both at home and at sea.

Aion

Aion lies to the north, and is comparatively hot and dry—practically Mediterranean. The plates around these islands are small and packed together, and earthquakes are a common occurrence in the region.

Chunar

Chunar (locally Chúnar) is the capital island of Mgángohi, where the Eight Empresses dwell. Tropical and surrounded by reefs, it is famous for its pink coral palaces.

Verna

Verna forms a bridge of sorts between Sayintha and Yandjee; mountainous and craggy, ironically it was in this place that equatorial agriculture first evolved.

Yo

Yo is small and somewhat isolated, but remains the primary homeland of the Giving Trees, who have linked the local humans to the Plant Kingdom in genuine symbiosis. The population remains fairly small, although occasionally colonists will head forth (with a sapling of the Giving Trees) to create a home on a new island.