History of The Stratosphere Islands

Geography
The Stratosphere Islands were formed around 10 billion years ago after eruptions from the now extinct supervolcano of Mounta Del Pasa formed six volcanic islands. 700 million years later a tectonic plates formed six other islands. The Stratosphere Islands was on the edge between the North Pacific and the South Pacific for roughly 9.99 billion years before the caldera of Mounta Del Pasa, the supervolcano that had formed the southern half of The Stratosphere Islands, exploded and then imploded, sealing itself and destroying most traces that it existed. The six southern islands, Gurungdu, Hobilastin, Tongbysta, Releger, Sohntin and Boloibom were completely destroyed by the eruption. The six northern islands, Paraila, Ricalos, (insert), (insert), (insert) and (insert) were unaffected. The Stratosphere Islands was since classified to be in The North Pacific. The Galvation Mountain Range, on the southern edge of The Stratosphere Islands, was also formed over the next 2 million years by a fault line caused by the eruption and a smaller volcano also formed in the range, however it is now dormant. Around 5 kilometres from the edge of Paraila Island, the current southernmost island, you can see the remnants of the caldera and a few bones at 50 metres below sea level, preserved by the silt and the sediment.

Early Inhabitants
The Stratosphere Islands remained uninhabited for roughly 9.8 billion years before being inhabited by Walawalamokians from Pranca around 200 million years ago. Based on historical records found carved into caves and Prancatta in Walamonki, the native language of the Walawalamokians, they had been fleeing a bloody war between the Pranstankians and Kranemians in Pranca that had resulted in the demise of every single Pranstankian and Kranemian in Pranca. The Walawalamokians originally settled on Ricalos Island, where the geographical center of The Stratosphere Islands is now, before moving out onto the other islands. More than half of the Walawalamokian population was wiped out by the eruption of Mounta Del Pasa but enough survived to slowly replace the lost. After that, the Walawalamokians were cautious never to venture anywhere close to the Galvation Mountain Range, believing it was the teeth of a beast that had swallowed half of their world. They thus abandoned everything on Paraila Island and never ventured anywhere close to it. The most complete examples of early Walawalamokian architecture can today be found on Paraila Island due to the lack of humans populating it.

Colonization
The Stratosphere Islands was colonised for a decade by the Dutch around 2 centuries ago. They ransacked the islands and enslaved much of the local population, destroying the flora and fauna by introducing invasive species like rats and pigs. Half a century later, the Walawalamokians had had enough. They staged a bloody coup and gained independence. The Dutch were ousted from power and forced to flee on their boats while their own rifles were aimed at them. By that time two quarters of the flora and fauna had already died due to the invasive species. The Walawalamokians had learnt much from the Dutch, even though they had been enslaved by them. They had been taught English and lots of other stuff and would go on to use them to modernise. The Dutch stayed away from The Stratosphere Islands ever since, telling everyone to avoid it. Meanwhile the Walawalamokians had found the Dutch blueprints for machinery and began industrializing. 30 years later the French would discover The Stratosphere Islands and make peace with the Walawalamokians, helping them in return for being helped.

Endemic Species

The Pranca Palm
Walawalamokians are known for building most of their buildings out of Prancatta, a material made from the sap of the Pranca Palm which is almost impossible to move once solidified. Prancatta solidifies after being left for 48 hours in temperatures of more than 27 degrees Celsius and vice versa. The inside of the Pranca Palm is kept at 25 degrees Celsius by a natural coolant known as Canapra that is also found in Glowing Golden Pheasant. Prancatta can only be destroyed if it goes back to its liquid form or by the wood of the Pranca Palm. Temperatures on Paraila Island are almost always between 29 and 31 degrees Celsius. The temperature has never went above 34 degrees Celsius and below 27 degrees Celsius. As a result of all this, most of the Walawalamokian architecture was preserved. Even when the Dutch colonised The Stratosphere Islands and ransacked most of it, they staunchly refused to step foot on Paraila Island, warded of by the warnings from local tribes and the forbidding geography of the island. The Walawalamokians had brought along the tall Pranca Palm from their home country of Pranca to plant. Most of the palms were planted on Ricalos Island but they died out as the soil conditions were not right. After the Walawalamokians moved out to the other islands, they planted the palms on Paraila Island and the other southern islands and they flourished on the fertile volcanic soil from numerous smaller eruptions by Mounta Del Pasa that had been too small to reach the other northern islands. When the supervolcano destroyed the southern islands most of the palms were killed. However on Paraila Island they still flourish to this day, it being the only island that managed to survive the eruptions yet still had fertile enough soil. The palms established a monoculture on Paraila after thousands of years as they were taller than all other plants and became so closely packed at some places that not even a mouse could pass through. The tree cover over Paraila lets in decent amounts of light but it is still a little dark in there and together with the closeness of the trees gives it a foreboding sense. Thus every piece of architecture in there that was made of Prancatta was perfectly preserved, except in places where the Pranca Palm had grow through it.

The Planari
The Planari was a yellow bird native to The Stratosphere Islands. Not much is known about it as it was wiped out by what was probably a plague almost immediately after the Walawalamokians arrived. In Walawalamokian records it was described as a beautiful bird with lush yellow feathers and multicolored eyes. It was about as big as a coconut. Records go on to talk about how these birds suddenly started dropping from the sky with black spots all over its body. It would whistle out a melancholy tune before simply dying.