The volcanic island chain known as the Islands of Silk and Spice appear to be a continuation, beneath the ocean, of the Spine of the World Mountains, the range that divides Rokugan into its northern and southern halves. This island archipelago stands apart from mainland Rokugan not only geographically, but also has a substantially different climate. While the mainland is generally temperate, with seasons defined by hot summers and cold, harsh winters, the Islands of Silk and Spice are semi-tropical. This warm character is further enhanced by the emanations of volcanic heat from their bedrock. As a result, these rugged islands are largely covered in exotic forests – rainforests near the coasts, giving way to thick jungle in the interior regions, traversed by many small winding rivers. The lush vegetation is thick with exotic flowering plants and alive with the chatter of colorful birds and strange animals. True to the islands’ volcanic nature, their beaches are often covered with thick black sands, while hot springs and volcanic fumaroles bubble on the surface. Earthquakes and even volcanic eruptions, while not common, are frequent enough that the inhabitants of the archipelago have learned to remain wary of even small tremors, keeping watch for the possibility of landslides, damaging tsunami, or even lava flows. They have also incorporated design features in their buildings to help minimize damage from earthquakes and facilitate reconstruction when the ground settles back into quiescence.
The Islands of Silk and Spice comprise an archipelago of several hundred islands. However, only a few – less than twenty – are of appreciable size. The largest of these, Shima no Kinu, the Island of Silk, is several hundred square miles, while smaller ones such as Tempest Island are only a few tens of square miles. The vast majority of the islands are often less than a square mile, and many are really little more than rocks that protrude above the ocean surface. To assist with navigation and avoid hazards such as reefs and shoals, the Mantis have thoroughly mapped the locations of all the islands in the archipelago; however, the interiors of many of them remain largely unexplored.
For administrative purposes, the Mantis divide the Islands of Silk and Spice into a number of “provinces”:
- Gotai Province, closest to mainland Rokugan.
- Koutetsukan Province, to the northeast of Gotai Province, and the northernmost of the provinces.
- Kaze Province, to the east of Gotai Province.
- Tokigogachu Province, to the southeast of Gotai Province, and the easternmost of the provinces.
- Inazuma and Irie provinces, both to the southwest of Gotai Province, with Inazuma being the westernmost of the provinces.
- Maigosera Province, south of Inazuma and Irie provinces, and the southernmost of the provinces.