Akiokuwe is a volcanically active archipelago south of the main continent of Worrel, a lively region of verdant vegetation, colorful birds, and hearty mariners sailing the placid clear waters in yellow and orange-masted schooners. Though not included as part of the Golden Empire for reasons unknown to the inhabitants of the archipelago, the Akiokuwi have nevertheless maintained a longstanding kingdom. Sharing the namesake of the archipelago, the kingdom of Akiokuwe is known for their relative isolationism with the other powers of Worrel, witnessing the rise and fall of many princedoms. Though unwilling to entangle themselves with the troubles of heartland Worrel, trade does exist between the continent and the islands, and many exotic fruits and trinkets are shipped to the port cities in exchange for precious gems which the archipelago covets as the scintillating flashes of rubies and emeralds rolled through one's fingers captures the precious beauty of the shimmering warm ocean waters.

Akiokuwe is ruled by the Feathered Queen, a figure both bold and enigmatic, garbed in the plumes of many birds native only to the region and speaking rarely to outsiders, and it is said that she is immortal or perhaps reborn after each successive reign, her beauty so great that it is refuses to fade. Her wisdom and noninterventionism has allowed Akiokuwe to remain a bastion of civilization among a plane riddled with fallen empires, though some of the more cultured lands of Worrel may consider the island kingdom lacking in civilized inhabitants. Women often stroll through the streets of the capital wearing little more than a sash across a shoulder, one breast bare and bronzed by the sun, and perhaps nothing to cover below the waist. Men may wear nought but sandals on the hottest days of the summer and only to protect against the heated stones of the market paths. Modesty is seen as unnatural and even rude, and the sharing of one's body is a common, expected ritual marking a celebration of youth and health. Foreigners tend to either love or detest the Akiokuwi depending upon one's proclivities and prejudices.

Beyond the central capital the islands become more akin to the continent with people garbed in more traditional clothing, but the songlike quality of speech remains to most who dwell amid the archipelago. Life remains a great adventure, a pleasure to cherish, a love to embrace, and a story to tell. Few Akiokuwi consider more than their simple lives, and in the rare moments of inspection a mind can turn toward the outer seas.

Great mountains rise from the seafloor as one sails away from Akiokuwe, and beyond this barrier the sea is wild and dangerous, a deep blue where leviathans roam. Few sail beyond beyond the calm water of the archipelago into the outer seas for there seems to be no reason to explore when death is almost certain. "The treasures of the world are found in Akiokuwe!" a common expression said among the islanders. The legends surrounding the outer seas usually involve harrowing accounts of pursuit by shapes beneath the surface, too large to be real, and the stories are generally laughed at, especially by those who survived the tale and wanted to think no more upon their journey. One legend however which has been considered a truth among the Akiokuwe involves the tall humanoids sailing from the outer seas to the archipelago, their skin as blue as sapphire. They arrived many years ago, driving back or slaying many of the most fearsome creatures which prowled the shallow waters. Others they made pacts with to protect the islands, and these creatures and their children continued to honor their agreement when a time of great sorrow and evil entered upon the continental interior of Worrel. Incursions to the sea kingdom were stalled by the island's great protectors, and the beauty of Akiokuwe was preserved when many other places were burned to ash and corpses fertilized the plains.