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Unhartaren
Located about 350 miles east of Manusia, Unhartaren has been
used as a prison for 240 years. Geographically, the island is split
by ragged, inhospitable mountains. The southern half is rocky and
barren, while the weather of the northern half provides a fertile
climate similar to Manusia.
Before the Manusian humans arrived in Lur-Asko, they
landed on Unhartaren for several years and replenished their supplies.
When they concluded that the island was too small to sustain their
population, they continued west. In
the years that followed, the humans were confronted with several
troublemakers intent on reestablishing some of the more
distasteful practices of Wynthia. Unwilling to execute their own
people
but aware that they had to be dealt with, the Manusians sent
them into exile on Unhartaren instead. The prisoners were
confined to the southern half of the island under constant
guard, while a small town was established on the northern
half.
Today, several cities from other realms have
negotiated with Manusia to exile their own prisoners here.
Patrols and ships from Fort Faber prevent the inmates from
leaving by sea or crossing the mountains. The town on the
northern shores is home mostly to the families of the guards,
along with a few enterprising frontiersmen and eccentric
hermits.
Myrabilis
The island of Myrabilis lies around 1,800
miles east of Lur-Asko.
Home to the largest known Alacrian city-faction, Myrabilis was
a bustling
center of activity in the Second Aeon. After the Fall of the Alacris,
the
city gradually crumbled into ruin, like all the other fortress-cities.
In recent times,
however, Myrabilis has again become a center of attention.
Whereas
mainland Alacrian cities are predominantly underground, almost half of
this one is on the surface, allowing much easier access. The
sentient species of
Lur-Asko, particularly the elves, travel frequently to the island to
study its
ruins and recover any surviving Alacrian technology.
Geographically, Myrabilis is dominated by Vyrtis Mons, a
massive, constantly erupting, but rather gentle volcano located in the center
of the island. The existence of volcanic activity was a primary reason for
the building of the city - the Alacris preferred to harness geothermal
energy. Because of its great distance and far greater energy, Myrabilis never fell to
other factions during the Third Alacrian Era.
Most modern arrivals to Myrabilis pass into the calm
of the western bay, docking easily at the small research village
established on the coast.
From there, expeditions depart into the old ruins and farms.
Well-equipped
adventurers dare to venture beneath the surface, forcing their way into
the
fascinating but often treacherous ruins within the mountains. Both
underground and surface ruins
are often infested with either haywire technologicals or savage fiends,
both
of which know the ruins far better than the newcomers from Lur-Asko.
Myrabilis’s hidden treasures can be very valuable, but actually
reaching
them is a challenge. Not everything about Myrabilis is terrifying and
dangerous,
however; the safer outskirts of the city, as well as the research
colony itself, can be an exciting visit for any traveler.
The red dragons have also made this island their primary
home since the Fall. Uuranoss, the center of modern red draconic
society, is located on and around the large plateau of Vyrtis Mons. Here the dragons
and their most honored Vicars and elder acolytes gather for
important ceremonies and grand discussions. This is also where privileged acolytes are
transformed into seraphs for further service. Finally,
when mortals are not present, Uuranoss is the meeting-place of
the Red Synod, the supreme governing body of the red dragons.
Actually reaching Uuranoss requires either draconic know-how or
sufficient power to fight through the deadliest Alacrian defenses
on the island; as such, it is generally only attempted by permitted
acolytes or those who desperately seek the dragons.
The Far Remote
The Far Remote, as its name would suggest, is
extremely distant to Lur-Asko. The continent lies somewhere to the
west,
and is the original home of the Koh-Trr. Supposedly, the Far Remote is
ruled by
a glorious Koh-Trr empire, and this empire sought to expand by
establishing
overseas colonies. Some of these colonists arrived in Macska in 992AF,
and thus
the Koh-Trr were introduced to Lur-Asko. However, the mind-boggling
distance
between Lur-Asko and the Far Remote prevented the colonists from
reestablishing
contact with their mother country. Today, no further information has
been
obtained about the Far Remote, and all that we know about the continent
is that
which has been passed down in the culture of the Koh-Trr.
The Deep
The Deep is a long trench in the ocean floor east of
Lur-Asko,
apparently heated by volcanic vents. The massive underwater canyon
begins just east of the Gelid Isles, then curves southeast for many
hundreds of miles. No land-based species can survive at its crushing
depths, but the Therbolgites have called it home since time immemorial.
The Deep is just as mysterious and unknown as its ambiguous name
would indicate - only Therbolgite Exiles and Sojourners have seen it,
and all of them have been purged of any memory of it. Visiting the
Deep would be a monumental achievement for any land-born, but they
are sadly not as adaptable to the depths as the Therbolgites are to the
air.
Therbolgite methods of traveling to and from the Deep are largely
unknown, though it is hypothesized that Sojourners have some means
of summoning transport when their time in Lur-Asko is over. The
Therbolgites’ defenses are apparently sufficient to prevent the return of
their Exiles, so it seems very unlikely that any uninvited guests will ever
reach the Deep.
Wynthia
Wynthia was colonized by the Alacris during their Golden
Age, and nearly all humans were relocated there. Today, Wynthia
is remembered almost exclusively for its descent into corruption
after the Fall. The Wynthian Republic was once a peaceful
union of human peoples, but it slowly became more and more
tyrannical until all that was good about it was lost, and the land
fell permanently into evil - or so the story goes. Almost nothing
has been heard about Wynthia since the year 834 AFA, when a
group of principled humans fled the oppression of the continent
and sailed west. After over a year of treacherous weather and
starvation, the weary refugees stumbled onto the shores of
Unhartaren, and from there to the realm now called Manusia. The Manusian chivalric
code is in large part an effort to avoid the fate of Wynthia.
The ex-Wynthians reported that at the time they
left, authoritarian tyranny, a revival of ancient sexism and intra-human racism, mass genocide
against non-humans, and a host of other offenses were the
norm in their old country. The Heritage Ascendant philosophy had
overtaken the nation, led by a lich named Eulissis. Ostensibly the
Republic's chief executive, Eulissis has occupied a position of
absolute leadership for centuries, and is afforded titles such as
Creator-Blessed and Vox Leviathan (an ancient Ascendant term not seen
since the most extreme reactions to the Alacrian Revolution). Some
Lur-Asko military planners
worry about a future invasion from the power-hungry Wynthian
Republic. Others feel that the nation has probably collapsed
under the weight of its own offenses by now.
Geographically, Wynthia is estimated to be
approximately
4,000 miles east of Lur-Asko, and is thought to be
larger. A massive, constant system of thunderstorms west
of Wynthia means that only the extremely lucky, such as the
Manusian settlers, have ever survived a journey between the
continents. The Alacris often used Worldmirrors to travel to and from
their city of Fortyservus in Wynthia, and discovering these devices
would be the best hope
for any future expedition.