The Animus Isles, officially known as the Mandate Overseas Collectivity of the Canine, Ovine, and Galline Islands, are a triad of islands in the South Aphelian Straits under the economic control of the Dreiton Exchange Mandate and the partial military occupation of the Knights of Dreiton. Historically populated by a unique oceanic diaspora, they have been the subject of fascination to many social scholars on the Aphelian continent. Today, their futures are intertwined with those of the Dreitonese peoples, even if they are at most distant subjects of the Commonwealth of Dreiton.
History
The modern-day Animus Isles were once bound to the southwesternmost reaches of the Kilranian continent, becoming separated and split amongst themselves during the Great Desynchronization. Their oceanic inhabitants, small in number, became heavily concentrated on the two greener and larger islands of Sareem and Okkares and formed an economic interdependence. The loose government blossomed into a full thalassocracy, adapting to island life and integrating it as a defining aspect of its citizens' culture. Fishing, lumber farming, and subsistence agriculture came to heavily predominate the economy, leaving next to no room for developing a mining industry or a foreign trade sector.
For centuries, even as the population of the islands grew to a formidable few thousand, it remained almost completely isolated from the rest of the world. The only recorded contact with the outside world was during the Hundred Year Darkness and after, when it was visited by Dashari emissaries warning of the war on Aphelian and urging them to accept a military regiment, which they soundly refused. They were largely ignored by the Nightmare Legion due to their nonexistant geopolitical influence, saving them from certain doom.
Their culture would be challenged greatly following the end of the Aether War, the aftermath of which saw a heavy influx of settler to the Aphelian continent. As the new people coalesced around the Free City of Dreiton and formed a national identity and a lust for power and wealth, the Dreiton Exchange Mandate sought expansion overseas. An elite team of explorers headed by a mysterious alchemist found the oceanic paradise and noted it in their logs, piquing the interest and avarice of the Mandate. They became known as the Animus Isles for their high ecological diversity, each island being named after its most predominant animal; Canine was named for its abundance of dogs, Ovine for its many flocks of sheep, and Galline for its odd number of chicken families.
Eventually, the Mandate integrated the islands into its economic sphere of influence without militarily usurping control, largely due to the strong anti-colonist sentiment possessed by the discovering team. Throughout the days of Mandate control, there has been extraordinary growth in the mining and agricultural sectors, as well as an expansion of building projects designed to stimulate the islands' economies. With this, they have become known as the Mandate's first overseas project.
For now, the Animus Isles are largely independent of the Dreitonese people, retaining much of their culture and experiencing minimal emigration. Even so, there remains apprehension as to whether the Mandate will continue to respect the sovereignty of the islands, given that those in favor of its independence back in the mainland are aging and shrinking in number.