The Splintering

The Splintering was a magical event in 403 that caused a piece of Illiria to break off of the mainland, becoming what is now known as Dark Isle.

Roggoth
After the Sylvan War, King Skaldor named his nephew Rogg the Bloody lord of the Harbor, a fertile stretch of land west of the southern jungles, but east of the Gnollish Desert. Rogg renamed the land Roggoth, and for many years the land was an important source of wheat and fish for the empire. The secret to Rogg's power lay in dark magic through use of an artifact, the Blood Drip. When the artifacts were ordered hidden away, Rogg gave his son the location. Centuries later, Rogg's descendant Daren the Pale stole the blood drip, angering the artifact's guardian, The necromancer Vosk the Eternal.

Vosk's Spell
Vosk, in his anger, remotely destroyed the blood drip, unleashing it's power. The magical force was so great that it tore Roggoth away from the mainland. Hundreds died by drawing. Mountains and dark forest grew where there was before farmlands.

The second part of the spell cursed the nobles of Roggoth, creating the first vampires. A thick fog rose around the island, blocking most of the sun from reaching it. Because of the magical nature of the event, Dark Isle's geography makes little natural sense, such as the backwards river, or the Widow's Pass.

=The Second Splintering= Many years after the Splintering, a second Blood Drip was discovered at the Dreadfort. Vampire Lord Daxos used it to cause a second splintering, forming the many small and oddly shaped island around the main isle. This event had the unforseen consequence of allowing Dhampirs to exist when a vampire mates with a human, at the cost of the mother's life. A second forest grows in Dark Isle, and the Isle as a whole drifted further east. Daxos blamed the event on his brother, who was swiftly executed, causing Daxos to become Lord Paramount of the Dark Isle, and Daxos led a crusade against his own kind so that he would be the sole sire to future vampires.

=Aftermath= The new location of the region changed the economy of Evermore entirely. The island technically falls on Elvish waters, causing many skirmishes and legal disputes over the centuries. Daxos is now one of the most powerful lords in the empire, and holds high influence with King Richard. Because no man on the Island can match Daxos' power or question his authority, and due to the isolation of the Isle, Dark Isle has strange laws and customs compared to the other parts of the empire. Because the fog prevents sunlight from reaching the isle, special crops are grown here with magic. It is the main source of spices, silk, citrus, and rice within the Empire, and profits greatly as a result. It is the only province to maintain it's own standing army (not counting militias and gaurds). When the Empire goes to war, Dark Isle's Dhampir population can be the most fierce fighters on the battlefield, and on one occasion a rebel army backed down under threat of Daxos leading the Imperial forces. It is unknown if a new Blood Drip can reform.