#sonn downs

Arldon has a multitude of geographical features and varying climates for such a small island. To divide up this description it’s best to describe how the island is divided (both socially and climate-wise.  Arldon is largely referred to via the North and the South (although these regions aren't specifically due north and due south., the north being everything roughly north and east of the centre bottleneck of the Island and the South being everything south and west.

The South - The South Is largely a warmer climate that the North. A large part of this region is taken up by the Scablands, a large area of desert with a few rivers running through, though they are far apart, so it is incredibly difficult to cross the Scablands without proper preparations. During the summer months, the rivers largely dry up, leaving a few oases dotted in the sand. The only prosperous city in the Scablands is the fishing port Summercrest, which is only fully functioning as it was built around the estuary of the rivers that cross the Scablands.  Due north are the Sonn Downs, a vast grassy flat land that farmers, originally from the Kingdom Sonn, claimed as their own. It is a moderate temperature, occasionally receiving hot, sandy winds from the south, or colder winds from the mountains in the east and south east. During the winter, storms stir off the northern coast, and the farms will be bombarded with torrential rain and missile strength winds. Occasionally a tornado will form out to sea, but rarely makes it to land.   To the south east of the Scablands, is Mawwald. Marshes. The majority of the mountain streams run off into the Mawwald marshes, the warm air from the desert helps heat the hair and water, although the hill just north of the marshes shield it from any strong winds. Rather than the dry heat of the Scablands, Mawwald is moist, sticky and humid. Flies buzz around the flooded grasslands. Few live in Mawwald. Few can. There’s an unreliable, infrequent trade of cheap, black market freshwater and salt water fish out off the marshes. Some swear by their cheap prices, others curse their poor quality products. Finally, apart from the Island bottleneck, the only thing separating the North and the South are the South Mountains, running from Mawwald to the Sonn Downs along the spine of the Scablands. Not as tall as the North Mountains and situated in a warmer climate, they only occasionally receive snow and are therefore more easily inhabitable and can be successfully crossed on foot.

The North - The North only really becomes much colder than the South on the very northern coasts. The land just west of the North Mountains, along the bottleneck is probably the most pleasant climate, still with the warmth from the south, but away from the desert air and with coast to the north and south to provide ventilation. This accounts for the placement of the main city of the North, Crestyl Bay. The low hills also provide fertile land for small scale cattle grazing and harvesting, though as the land is the most densely populated, anything larger than personal sized farming is unattainable. To the East are the North Mountains; the highest range on Arldon, and are topped with snow year round, however during the winter months, they are uncrossable; luckily they aren't blocking any area of land exclusively, travel is just slightly harder. South of the mountains are mainly coastal towns and villages, experiencing slightly warmer weather than the coastal settlements north of the mountains, although apart from a slight shift in mean temperature, climates are almost identical. However, following the eruption of Mt Arre, south of the mountains received deposits of ash. Most infrastructure was able to be rebuilt, and luckily that ground was never used much for farming anyway, but now trodden down layers of ash are part of the land.  The northernmost peninsula, is almost entirely flat, and occasionally floods, therefore most buildings are build on either high ground or stilts. Settlers of the peninsular live off fish and water trade from the Sonn farmers. Lastly, the far east. Boasting the greatest beaches on Arldon, they also boast the some of the coldest temperatures on the island, excluding the mountain tops. Also on the east coast is Moon Cay (on a low tide, the peninsular is a perfect circle connected to the mainland. On a high tide is is a small crescent moon shaped islet), but usually, the walkway is only partially submerged and still easily crossed

Off Arldon: Koul is a small island just south of Crestyl Bay, it originally housed a large boarding school, for ages eleven to sixteen for both boys and girls. A success until the eruption of Mt Arre, when the large deposits of ash rendered the school, unusable until the island had been cleared. There were no fatalities, but the deep ash piles on and around the school made it unsafe for permanent residence. The remains of the school are still intact, and slow renovations and improvements are still underway, as workers can spend a maximum of a few days there at a time.  The Eastern Rock is a large Island of the south east edge of Arldon. Originally a fertile, large island, taken up largely by a dormant volcano, Mt Arre, the rock also features grasslands, high cliffs and beaches. However, not long after a small settlement of disillusioned Arldoners went to live on the rock, Mt Arre erupted, enlarging the rock’s size considerably and covering it in metres of igneous rock and ash, rendering it completely infertile and uninhabitable. Although, somehow it still contains sustenance as some of the rock Islanders managed to survive the eruption.