Dotting the skies of Atroa are many and varied "islands" of earth called earthmotes. These free-floating, air-borne land masses are a fairly common sight throughout the world. Sizes range widely, and the motes are mostly stationery, though some are known to "orbit" Atroa or even move in erratic patterns. Some nations, like Akanul and Minz, are composed predominantly of earthmotes. While some cities, like St. Balthas Airspur and Midara, are settled on larger motes. Their appearance on Atroa can be traced back to the great cataclysm and the "death" of Io. The same earth-shaking event that sparked the civilizations of Bael Turath and Arkhosia, created the Sea of Io the Landscreen and the Maelstrom. In the aftermath, and the following decades, pieces of land broke free of Atroa to float in her skies. New motes are rare, only being created by powerful rituals. Most earth motes that exist now have been aloft for centuries.
Some fables persist of a massive mote, larger even than St. Balthas, that orbits Atroa under a veil of storm clouds. Stories tell of a lost nation still existing on this floating haven; others describe an air-borne land of demons, confined to the mote by epic magic.
