The Inner Ring is a cluster of islands on the southern end of the Archipelago. It is made up of eleven outer islands all forming a ring around the largest, central island. Of all twelve islands in the Inner Ring, only the central island is uninhabited.
Though the islands vary in size, all of them are technologically advanced. Half of the islands are members of the TTC. Despite being members of the TTC, they remain neutral towards any wars or issues outside the cluster of islands and refuse to lend assistance to any nation. It is not that they are stubborn and uncaring. Instead, they are too busy fighting with the other islands of the Inner Ring. Potencia, Trubos, Black Peak, Red Mountain, Hazy Cliffs and almost all other islands are caught in a constant state of political turmoil that escalates into at least one battle per year.
For centuries, the islands of the Inner Ring have quarreled like siblings. As for the details of the quarreling, it varies from tariffs to weather and everything in between. Currently the major conflicts are in regards to the center volcanic island in the Inner Ring. While precious stones are common on most of the islands, the central volcano holds the greatest quantity and quality. Unfortunately for the Inner Ring islands, the volcano, depending on whom you ask, belongs to either all the islands or none of the islands. Since the minerals and gems are strewn almost evenly across the entire island, none of the islands can come to an agreement on who should be able to mine what. Some say that everyone should get an equal portion since the island belongs to no country in particular. However, others say that if the island is free, then whoever can get the gems out quickest is entitled to them. Under this rule, the largest islands would by default gain a monopoly.
Atla has tried to step in and assist the diplomatic negotiations several times. Unfortunately, any time an Atlan representative docks on one of the islands, all the others immediately believe that Atla is favoring the given island. This in turn leads to greater hostility between all islands. After a few years of Atla’s involvement, the Inner Ring islands have refused any help.
Despite the unrest and animosity between islands, each one is more than happy to trade with the rest of the world. Each island has at least one special export. Hazy Cliffs for example, is known for its emeralds. Red Mountain offers up some of the finest rubies on Velwythe. In addition, Potencia is famous for some of the world’s best coffee beans.
Travel to the Inner Ring is in no way prohibited by Atla, the TTC or the Inner Ring itself. As long as the people aren’t part of the government, most Inner Ring islands enjoy having visitors sample their coffee or browse their fine jewelry. In fact, more engagement bands are bought in or imported from the Inner Ring than anywhere else on Velwythe.
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