Deverelli

During the royal audience, Courtlyn orders Violet's party executed and his guards attack. Violet forces negotiated terms, gives him Andarna's irid shell as compensation, and secures Deverelli's support for the search while Halden is barred from the isle.

Hedotis and Zehyllna both have advance notice of the expedition's travels. Violet and Xaden infer that Courtlyn informed the other isles after the Deverelli negotiations.

Deverelli is the southernmost isle and the last isle with which Navarre had known communication, making it the first practical southern lead in the search for Andarna's kind.

The isle lies across the ocean from Cordyn, with Tecarus estimating that his fastest ship can reach it in two days and that an aerial route runs due south. He directs the party to land at his estate on the northern coast, about ten miles east of the capital, because the rest of the shoreline is defended. Crossing the ocean toward Deverelli also removes or nearly removes access to magic before landfall.

Deverelli can serve as a launch and recovery point for travel among the isles, but wind, distance, and gryphon endurance limit its usefulness as a base. The expedition rests there before pushing onward without magical support and departs from the southwestern coastline.

Deverelli also functions as a sea correspondence route among the isles, since ships bound there can carry messages from places such as Hedotis.

Deverelli is a hot, lush island with white beaches, turquoise and aqua shallows, soft green hills, stone structures hidden among trees, and a busy port. Its shoreline includes a long stone wall armed with enormous metallic-tipped cross-bolts capable of threatening dragons.

The capital city is Matyas, built beneath enormous trees so that only the tallest structures are visible from the air. Its residential streets are spacious and tree-covered, while the areas near the port and city center grow denser, with stone roads, open shops, cloth awnings, produce, wares, horses, wagons, pedestrians, and the smells of salt and fish from the nearby beach.

The palace district occupies a hillside setting with old aqueduct remains, outdoor formal rooms, moth-lit paths, and a palace carved into the slope.

As a merchant isle, Deverelli trades in more than goods; Violet considers it a place where information might be bought for the right price.

Asher Sorrengail's instructions describe Deverelli as safe beyond the reach of magic, but they also warn that traveling under Navarre's banner risks the king's grudges and profit-driven judgment.

Access to King Courtlyn is transactional and restricted: he agrees to one meeting limited to noble blood in exchange for the Amelian Citrine. Halden's orders send the expedition there to seek an alliance, establish a foothold for the wider isle search if needed, and report back.

Access to information and legacy material on Deverelli depends on tests, brokerage, and trust. Narelle's shop holds Asher's books, and Deverelli neutrality is associated with the isle's rejection of gods.

Deverelli treats broken word, theft, and public insult as economic and legal threats. Its neutrality is handled as a profitable position rather than a charitable one.

King Courtlyn rules Deverelli and controls royal access through bargaining. Asher warns Violet that Courtlyn bears grudges and speaks in profit.

Narelle Anselm is a Deverelli merchant whom Asher directs Violet to seek quietly. Her shop holds Asher's books and makes her part of the isle's guarded exchange of information.

Deverelli's military presence is presented as guards, but Violet describes it at Basgiath as effectively an army.