Yuriba (island)

Yuriba is a small island located in the Devil's Triangle in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 200 to 400 kilometers off Yokohama in Japan. Though it is impossible to find on a map it is located within a temperate climate zone, and though it has been plotted only ambiguously by the locals it is not particularly sizeable, roughly comparable to most average-sized islands in Oceania.

Geography

Yuriba is a volcanic island. It was raised out of the sea by the volcanic activity of Inishie-san, though it is something of an oddity for a volcanic Pacific island in that most of its landmass rose to the southwest of the volcano. The island is roughly 1000km² in size and is heavily primeval. The northern edge of the island is dominated by mountains. Yuriba's highest peak is by far Akibimi-san, with Engetsu-san a close second; Inishie-san lies further to the northwest and is only accessible with great difficulty. The Aysuna Cliffs sharply mark the northern boundary of the island.

To the south, rolling foothills are covered by the Yuriba Forest, which covers almost all of the island beyond the mountains. The Yuriba River cuts through the forest. Near the mouth of the river stands the village of Yuriba, the island's main population center, home to a fluctuating population estimated at around 1500-2000 people. In the southeast, a chunk of the island has broken off; this small sub-island is known as Maboroshi. The only other population center of note is the abandoned ruin of Ravensport, an inaccessible city built around a cove in the northwest.

Climate

Given its more northern latitude Yuriba tends to be mostly temperate, with high precipitation owing to its Pacific location. The island tends to experience high levels of rainfall, with hail and sleet common during the winter. Yuriba experiences long, damp winters and short, hot summers. The island is hit by occasional tropical storms and the odd typhoon now and then, but such inclement weather tends to avoid Yuriba most of the time.

International relations

Despite its geographical orientation Yuriba is not considered a part of the nation of Japan. It is not politically recognized as a nation by any government entity. In fact, its existence is largely unknown to the world at large. This is because Yuriba exists as a dimensional constant across numerous planes of existence yet enjoys some degree of planar separateness thanks to the convergence of ley lines at the island's coordinates; the ley lines cause dimensional distortions across innumerable parallel universes, causing them to intersect at Yuriba. What this means is that in most worlds Yuriba's existence is not officially recognized, though it may be known through myth; in fact, in many standard iterations of Earth, Japanese and Filipino sailors occasionally tell tall tales about a lost island inhabited by kitsune women who kidnap men and turn them into women. Generally, though, any knowledge of Yuriba beyond its own boundaries is extremely scant and highly inaccurate.

Yuriba is not a resort and has no facilities for handling tourist groups, ferries, ships, commercial aircraft, vehicles of any kind, or cargo shipments. Most people arrive in Yuriba via time-space disruptions or magical phenomena, such as slipping through a dimensional membrane, crossing a ley line, teleportation, sailing into the Devil's Triangle, or diverse other means. While it is possible to travel to Yuriba via small watercraft or planes no larger than a crop duster, it would require foreknowledge of the island's coordinates; as such, reaching Yuriba by vehicle is not necessarily common.