Here is some background info straight from the Pirate101 website...
If there is a bright center to the Spiral, Cool Ranch is the realm it is farthest from. A stark, beautiful realm of rocky islands and seemingly endless skies, Cool Ranch is a land of desert, cactus, and tumbleweeds, a wild realm where civilization can be as fragile as a cool breeze.The proud Bison tribes and the nefarious Toads are the original natives of Cool Ranch - all of the frontier's other inhabitants came here from someplace else. The proud Stallions, distant cousins to the Unicorns of Valencia, came to Cool Ranch long ago and built missions and villages throughout the skyways, but their heyday is long over, and now only Santo Pollo remains. The most recent arrivals are the Chickens, Cranes, and other Fowl who came to Cool Ranch from parts unknown - they rarely talk about their homeland, describing it only as "Back East." A steady stream of bold and enterprising Birds has come to Cool Ranch, hoping to make a new beginning or escape a troubled past. Their skill at industry rivals Marleybone's: the Birds brought locomotives, steam engines, and other modern devices with them. Life has been hard for the new settlers, however: many of the new boom towns soon went bust, and the great railroads now stand empty. But the honest ranchers and townsfolk keep working: there's gold in them there mesas, and there's good money to be made herding the sleepy Buffaloons. The steady demand for refined food and other niceties has nurtured a bustling mercantile trade for ship captains willing to sail that far.
Cool Ranch is a land of legendary figures: heroes like the Chicken Rangers, Wild Bill Peacock, and the masked hero El Toro, fighting lawlessness and standing up for the humble settlers; but the wild frontier has also fostered terrible outlaws like Libirdy Valence, El Guapo, and the dreaded Duck With No Name. Smugglers and pirates have always been drawn to Cool Ranch - far from everyplace, the dusty realm is an ideal place to hide. Indeed, Captain Barnabus Blood, one of the most infamous pirates in the history of the Spiral, is said to have built a hidden stronghold somewhere in Skull Island before his well-deserved end. Blood's treasure has never been found...
Shiver me timbers! This new world sounds exciting, and will be quite an interesting adventure for a pirate! Here are some pictures of Cool Ranch!
Don't Forget the Skull Island Concept Art!
Here are some cool new concept art images Kingsisle has released of Skull Island!
The jungles of Skull Island hide many mysteries, including ancient ruins, abandoned countless years ago. Many Pirates and Monquistadors have braved these tombs and temples, combing them for gold and jade. Too many of them have not returned. Who raised the great pyramids and dug the vast subterranean labyrinths of Skull Island?
Ominous rumors have come to Puerto Mico from the nearby Isle of Doom. It is said the Monquistadors prying the gold form the ruined cities there have disturbed... something. Several Monkeys, near death and driven mad with fear, have staggered out of the jungles raving of ancient tombs opening, and the scaly horrors that emerged from them. Surely these are nothing more than fever dreams!
Captain Ahab, mayor and skipper of Jonah Town, is a friendly old bird. He's been the leader in Jonah Town for many years, and the welfare of his people (and the Whale) are his greatest concern. They say old Ahab can understand what the Whale is singing - on some nights, he stands in the prow of Jonah Town and sings back.
A wonder of the Skyways, the village of Jonah Town is built on the back of a great Sky Whale. The humble fisherfolk who live in Jonah Town make their living catching sky fish and clams from the Skyways, but most of each day's catch is fed to the Whale - bad things happen if he gets too hungry...
Monquistan literature if filled with examples of the heroic quest, where a Monquistador overcomes all odds to right a great wrong or do some impossible deed. Alas, in the real world, some Monquistadors become so obsessed with glory that nothing can turn them from their quest - not even death.
Oh gosh, every time Kingsisle makes it harder and harder to wait! Well, I'll see you pirates around the spiral soon!
