Silan is an island where homins emerged after many years of 'exile' in the Prime Roots.
This is where all characters start out in the game. From 18 May 2009 onwards a subcribed account is no longer needed to leave Silan.
Silan contains many different people with which the player can interact with, above all a trainers for fighting, magic, harvesting and crafting, mission givers for both factions the Kami and the Karavan and a set of missions for the Rangers. All missions given on Silan act as a tutorial for Ryzom i.e. Silan should not convey the idea that Ryzom as a whole is quest-centric.
For a more indepth look into missions and tutorials on Silan see Silan Guide.
This is the only PvP area on the island. As far as can be seen the arena is naturally formed and many resources can be found within it. It should be noted that the abundance of sources should not make you less wary of the Arena.
Where the inhabitants of the ranger camp hunt bodocs and other herbivores for food. Bodocs, yubos, izam, and rendor can be found here.
An uncharted area of horror and unknown dangers. It is rumoured to be inhabited by a kirosta.
A city which was built by the Matis when they resurfaced. The Matis began expermimenting with the intelligent plants in the region, namely the Slaveni, to make extracting resources easier. This eventually led to the city's downfall and the ruins are all that remain of it.
http://en.wiki.ryzom.com/wiki/Silan_Guide/Old for info in the quest inthe area