The Islands That Once Were Turtles are a group of three islands in The Arc region of the Wushanko Isles. Legend says they were once giant turtles that were somehow turned to stone.
Tortle portals form a teleport system between the islands, which are designated as the fort (first island), the divine energy merchant (second island), and the divination colony (third island). The portals require level 90 Divination (boostable) to activate, and 50 ancestral energies.
The second island has the divine energy merchant, who buys negative, positive and ancestral energies.
5 mushroom clusters are found throughout the islands. The middle island has a cluster on the east side without a Farming icon. The east island northern cluster is reached by walking on the east side of the island as there is a block on the west side; use the Islands That Once Were Turtles teleport tablet for quick access.
The message in a bottle to find the island of Quis-land is on the third island, on the western beach underneath the south-western rocks. Only the tip of the bottle can be seen under the rocks, looking from the beach side.
In First Contact the player sends a ship to make contact with a well connected trader on a ship docked north of the Islands That Once Were Turtles.
In High Spirits the player sends a ship to explore the forest covering the Islands That Once Were Turtles in search of resources. The player tells their captain to beware the old spirits that are said to haunt it.
In A Friend Indeed the player sends a ship to befriend an influential trader who operates from the Islands That Once Were Turtles.
In X Marks the Spot the player sends a ship to rich resources on the Islands That Once Were Turtles, located by a useful contact.
In A Cracked Skull the player sends a ship to raid a small fort on one of the Islands that Once were Turtles, belonging to a group of thugs called the Skulls.
In To the Skies! the player sends a ship when they learn that the Tengu has discovered a sky orphan bamboo cache above The Islands That Once Were Turtles. Help him to recover it.
These islands may be referencing aspidochelones, large mythological sea creatures that are often mistaken for islands.
When charging the Tortle Portal the game chat says "Reticulating shrines", a reference to the loading screens of The Sims game series which say "reticulating splines".
The examine text of the watch towers off the coast of the first island are references to the Jimi Hendrix song All Along the Watchtower.