Rethykan Islands

Rethykan Islands is a town located in The Bay of Qadakh. It is known for its extreme elevations, rainy climate, and strange culture. The people of Rethykan are descendants of Qadakhis, but have split off culturally, making them recognized as their own identity. Rethykanis were originally Qadakhi criminals and smugglers, and they sought a place where they would not on their toes avoiding the law of The Free City. In turn, they sailed out east, and found the island towers of Rethykan. Initially, it was difficult surviving in Rethykan. The climate is significantly colder than Qadakh, often attributed to the icy southern winds of the ice sheets. The first settlers did not live full time in the inhospitable, rocky islands, and had to travel back and forth between The Free City, mainly for building materials. Due to sandstone and terracotta's low cost, it was picked as the primary building material for the city. As the settlement has came more developed, Rethykanis have been able to afford higher quality materials, like Qadakhi cypress logs and oxidized copper. In its current state, Rethykan is mostly a small town, with only one permanent resident.

Climate
Rethykan is mainly temperate, but becomes alpine at higher altitudes. It is also quite rainy, because the winds of the Desert of Qadakh meet the cold winds of the southern ice sheets, creating frequent storms. Due to the massive expansion of The Free City’s desert, the warm western winds have become dominant over the cold southern winds, and have caused a decline of rains in the Rethykan region. Also, much of the moisture that Rethykan sees comes from these warm, western waters, which are being transformed into desert. This has disturbed the highly specialized organisms of Rethykan, and may put them in danger in the future.

The Phloske Tree
The Rethykanis live off of fruits from Phloske trees, which are native to the area. They have blue trunks, and bear bright purple berries. These trees are accustomed to the rainy conditions of the area, caused by the warm winds from Qadakh meeting the cold winds of the ice sheet-covered waters south. These trees cannot dig their roots into the rocky surfaces of the islands, and instead wrap their limbs around protruding rocks to keep them steady. The rains that run down the side of the islands, picking up the minerals needed for the trees, then are absorbed by the trees exposed roots. However, there has been a noticeable decline in population from these trees in recent times.

The Rethykani Glowberry
The Rethykani glowberry is a glowberry commonly found at higher altitudes in the Rethykan Islands. It was previously grouped with the Qadakhi glowberry, however, it was later figured out that there are key differences that make it a distinct species. This glowberry is known to be brighter and generate more heat, likely to compensate for the colder conditions, and/or compete with the Phloske tree. Nesting around warm glowberries keeps Qadakhi seabirds cozy, while nesting in Phloske treetops provides better shelter and more nutritious berries. In terms of taste, Rethykani glowberries taste moderately sour when compared to the glowberries found in the mainland. These berries are mainly enjoyed by Rethykanis, as their taste is found strange to Qadakis, who are not used to consuming glowberries in the first place. However, the main use for Rethykani glowberries is lighting. Lanterns powered by lamp oil are very rare in Rethykan. Rethykanis instead opt to pack multiple berries into each lantern to produce similar levels of light. In some cases, Rethykanis simply plant these glowberries on their ceilings, and let that light their home. Efforts have been made to make Qadakhis use Rethykani glowberries for their lanterns, but it has not been successful, with Qadakhis remaining ignorant to their environment.

Qadakhi Seagulls
Qadakhi seagulls are known to travel to Rethykan during the spring and summer months of the year. The Desert of Qadakh can reach incredible temperatures during these months, so Qadakhi seagulls migrate to more temperate climates, which often includes Rethykan. The fruits from the glowberry vines and Ploske trees are plentiful at this time, which makes it optimal for Qadakhi seagulls. The seagulls distribute the seeds amongst the islands, where they can get lodged in rocks and grow. However, Rethykanis find them pesky, and shoo them away, which has made more Qadakhi seagulls migrate north to the mountainous Ar'Kath.