Beyond the Aeries

✦ CONSTELLAFYR

Led by the White-Gold Constellate, an assembly of eleven elected representatives. The birthplace of the cult of the Extinguished.

When the Right Hand drifted behind the firmament, corrupting into something else, many within Lodestar continued to worship it. They believed that its original form still lived within the Right Hand somewhere, and named this aspect "The Extinguished." The heavily theocratic ruling clan of Lodestar at the time named this practice dissidence, outlawing worship of the Right Hand - in any form - and driving the cult of the Extinguished from its lands.

There people fled through the Vale, heading south, where the forests grew thicker and the mountains made it difficult for Lodestar's holy warriors, sannwaith (lit. truth-hunters), to follow. Here, they followed the White-Gold river eastward. But such an unprepared journey would no doubt have led to the death of all the refugees, had it not been for the trolls who approached them. Though at first wary, the group soon accepted the aid of the trolls, who taught them where to hunt, find resources, and camp, away from the haunts of more malicious fleshless. This allyship grew as the settlement did, too. Constellafyr established itself along the river, acting as a shield between Lodestar and the troll's home in Vidrtomr.

Constellafyr was a small but consistent settlement for many years. Then, 100 years ago, Lodestar's ruling clan was overthrown, ousted just as the worshipers of the Extinguished were. They, too, fled to Constellafyr, hoping to find refuge. Luckily, they did. Quickly, Constellafyr saw a boom in growth, the expertises of the original constellates and the new former Lodestarians combining. The size of Constellafyr's ruling assembly, the White-Gold Constellate, was increased from 9 to 11 to introduce the members of the ruling clan. There is now a noticeable variation in the population, between the original inhabitants of Constellafyr, and newcomers. However, despite the differences, the sociopolitical climate remains one of collaboration rather than combative. The constellates had learned to live alongside trollkind - who still freely walk the streets. Learning to live alongside others with different views or lifestyles was in their nature.

With their influence growing every day, Constellafyr has established itself as a growing power in the Boreal. It is the region's main source of stone and metals firstly, with logging coming second. They are also known for their masonry, and producing brilliant architects.

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VIDRTOMR

The black forest encompassing the lands beyond Constellafyr, Welkend and the Wrought.

Stretching southward from the mountains along the border of the Vale and Constellafyr, the Boreal's dark forest reigns. It rivals its springtime twin of the Gilded Downs in the sheer density of growth. Hidden among the sloughs of snow and undergrowth are myriad cliffs and crevasses. The elevation variation within Vidrtomr is vast, from craggy mountains and frigid plateaus to beautiful, low valleys.

While it may be inhospitable to people, there are others who find safety. Northern vidrtomr is perhaps most known for its boulder fields, the stone jutting out from the trees for many acres. Though the specific entrances to it are not known, this is Trollhome, the aptly named home of the trolls native to the area. Despite the usual perception of trolls, those familiar with the area will proclaim trust in these trolls. They are known to be fairly friendly with humans, openly interacting and trading with them. They'll even aid those lost at times. Just remember their favorite payment is not silver, but meats.

Of course, not all fleshless are so kind. Vidrtomr is dangerous, but there is beauty to be found too. Deep in the wood, in a location that never seems to match up no matter the story told, lies Vatn Evendelig - Lake Eternal. Tucked away between two cliff faces, the lake is ethereally beautiful, its waters clear, refreshing, and always the perfect temperature. Tales speak of its endless bottom, and despite appearing to have no river, waterfall, or spring to feed it, never raises or lowers in volume. It is known to be a favorite location of Huldufólk, who enjoy lounging and bathing in its pristine sapphire waters. You would do wise not to invade on their space without properly requesting permission, lest they drag you into its hidden depths.

As one travels further along Vidrtomr, towards the more welcoming lands near Welkend, they will find the Butcher Stretch. So called due to the high volume of animals in the area. It is especially favored during the breeding season, making it a hunter or trapper's favorite. It seems to act as some sort of divide between the rest of the forest and the autumnal realm around Welkend. The reason for this is uncertain, but as the animals here do not posses the curious intelligence of those in Breidrholm or further south, there most be something here that alters the world past. While many enjoy the stretch for its bounties, others spread stories of curses that befall those that take from the area. 

The vastness of Vidrtomr, along with its generally rough terrain, leaves it mostly uninhabited. Even travelers or merchants avoid the area, preferring instead to sail the coast to visit the southern portion of the Boreal.

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✦ KALDRLAND

The pleasantry-touched straight of the Lambent Sae.

Surrounded by the Rime-warm waters of the Lambent Sae, Kaldrland beckons crafters and creators alike seeking their newest source of trade or their next ephemeral muse. Rolling hills and ebbing waves of blooming flowers dot the land, a spectacle for travelers and a comfort for locals who reside among its humble woods. Among these rich lands grow sweet grapes used in many popular homemade wines or processed into beautiful and rich dyes. From its nigh all-around shores many fishermen make a proud living and Kaldrland’s own navy makes their home and their power known. With its port towns, Kaldrland has access to its sisterland Novhustor and other Aeries by ship, a welcome stop on anyone’s journey along the way to Umbragard or Geldbrei. Though with its much more temperate climate and well-protected land, many find it difficult to want to leave for unwelcoming lands beyond its shores.

Currently Kaldrland is considered a fairly safe nation due to its navy and the native Rime sources, but many believe that a piece of the land once drowned by Shade now sits at the bottom of Smarsaer, oft haunting the bay’s salty winds with its echo. Rumors persist of mirages of ships still sailing the waters that have long since been lost to the waves. They say that the marine folk of the little sea are more common to witness now, as they've moved into the ruins of the sunken land.

Founded by the furthest traveled of the Opal expeditions, Kaldrland had very humble beginnings. Even now, it remains small in comparison to the aeries, or even Constellafyr or Murkwyrd. Though sovereign in title, it is often considered to be a sattelite state of Novhustor, acting largely in its interest. Those with political knowledge might even claim that Kaldrland is merely the gatekeeper of Umbragard and Murkwyrd, surveying their actions atop their vineyard streaked hills, and reporting back to the Empyrean.

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THE BRIGHT HOLT

The well-populated, lively lands surrounding Novhustor.

Novhustor's lands are notably much more welcoming than others. The Rime flows of the Aerie are distributed far and wide along the currents of the Lambent Sae, warming the coasts and saturating the earth, holding Shade and tar at bay. This has lead to vast amounts of settled land beyond the Aerie itself. Perhaps the most populated wilderness in all the Boreal, established roads winding along the coasts are well traveled. One might dare even call them safe.

The Sterling Bay to the west houses the Beinn-brot Islands, an archipelago of dozens of small islands, and the larger Hoddfiskr Island.

While nearly the entirety of the west of the Bight Holt would be considered safe and populated, made up mostly of rolling tundra plains and sparse forest, the further north and east is beyond the purview of Novhustor's guard, leaving wildlife and fleshless to run unchecked.

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THE VALE

The ancient, ruin-filled and frozen lands surrounding Lodestar.

The Vale, considered the ancestral home of the Boreal, is a land shrouded in snow, ice, and mists. It is heavily wooded, hiding deep crevasses to swallow passerbys and towns alike. There is no place quite as crowded with ruins as the Vale. Ancient spires pierce through snowy mounds, leading deep, deep into the bowls of the Realm where no Man can survive long. Beware crumbling walls encased in volatile Rime crystals, and haunted by Afterglows.

The Vale's land is much too dangerous to settle, but it does not stop the adventurous from attempting to do so anyways. These settlements tend to be wary of strangers. The bearing of one's face out in the open here is viewed with skepticism thanks to the high volume of fleshless, and especially shadows.

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THE GILDED DOWNS

The deceptive, heavily forested elf-lands surrounding Geldbrei.

The actual populated lands of Geldbrei have never grown far beyond the glow of the aeries' light, due to political meddling and the particularly dangerous nature of the northern reaches. In an area known as the Scars, riddled with long, deadly deep lakes, Shade remains ever-present, oppressive. It is the remains of the flood 400 years ago, responsible for nearly collapsing the Boreal as a whole, which began in Geldbrei - originating from the Scars themselves.

The Gilded Downs are a particularly lush region of the Boreal, perhaps to be attributed to the Huldufólk, who find this sort of environment the most comfortable. It does, however, make it difficult to traverse, and easy to be lost within. Some even say that the land itself shifts at the hidden folks' whim. As such, much of Geldbrei's land remains unmapped, ripe for ambitious - or foolish - relic seekers.

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FENREACH

The perpetually green meadows between Geldbrei and Umbragard. 

Traveling south from the Gilded Downs, the trees begin to grow even taller, their canopies tangling together into  dense ceiling overhead. Instead, these branches are lined with strings of lamps, lit intermittently throughout the days by the resident of this area. Along the border of the Downs and Fenreach stretches an area of forest known as Toskr Run, referring to the Toskr that inhabit it. These intelligent squirrel creatures may be found throughout the Boreal, but they call this their home of origin. From here, they scurry about, ferrying items and messages to and fro for the elves of the area. Or any other fleshless who can entice them with something in return.

Once you've made it past the Run, the lands open up. Fenreach is largely composed of rolling meadows and beautiful groves tucked away in sparse patches of woods. It has the curious property of remaining ever green. Even in the dead of winter, blanketed in ice and stone, flowers bloom below and green can be dug up.

As pleasant as Fenreach may seem, beware the island off the coast in the Smársaer. Hafbakr, the Sea-back, is known to disappear during some echoes, only to reappear later. Many believe that it is a creature of gargantuan size, only resurfacing to gather air before vanishing once more below the waves for decades at a time.

Even further south, as one approaches the Pitchmire, the air will become more humid, and the land less soft. Still green, except for one notable exception. A massive, wood-branched plant, whose position has shifted according to myths and records, sits with its limbs stretched tall and far. This is the Dead Arms. Some even curve back round, into the ground. It is devoid of any leaves, flowers, or fruits, but rumors speak of the Arms only being roots of a tree, flipped upside down. Its leaves bloom instead far below the ground. When stumbled upon, it is not uncommon for the Arms to be capped by the skewered bodies of humans or animals. No one can say for certain whether the Arms does this on its own, or if perhaps this is the work of local fleshless.

Still, if one treads carefully, and does not disturb the peace of the elves said to live beneath the ground, travel through Fenreach can be a pleasant journey.

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BREIDRHOLM

The autumnal, homely land surrounding Welkend.

Welkend's lands sport a much warmer climate than the northern Boreal. Only in the deepest winter does it fully freeze over, with snowfall one day, and melting banks the next being far more common. Though spring brings green leaves, the flora is usually seen in a permanently autumnal state, painting the land in beautiful warm hues. Breidrholm sports both unique flora and fauna, which can only be found within its lands.

Here, the plants come alive in a much more literal sense than in other areas of the Boreal. Man-eating plants must be watched out for. Animals that reside in this area also seem to possess an increased intelligence, some going so far as being able to speak, or walking upright. 

It is believed that the many years of Shade-infestation on the surface trapped Light within the ground, which is what has given rise to the unique environment. Welkend has taken it upon themselves to study this phenomenon, with a heavy focus on alchemical study within the Aerie.

The further southwest one travels, the more the trees spread out, land flattening into dry brush, scraped earth, and hot springs.

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PITCHMIRE

The dark marshes surrounding Umbragard.

The Pitchmire does not receive snow often, the cold instead much more humid. Freezing rain, however, is common. The skies are blanketed in grey clouds, the earth brittle. Where it isn't, it is instead pocked with bogs and swamps. They are infested with fleshless of all kinds, especially Shadows and valravyns, who feast upon those too foolish to wander beyond the roads. Tarring and corruption are normal for the populace, with those seeking fleshless patrons finding frequent success among the dead gloams.

The entire area, by virtue of its danger and corrupt nature, is shrouded in mystery. The ruins here may even predate the first aerie, suspiciously preserved half-sunken into the earth. The Umbragard aerie's temperamental nature leaves the land dark than other areas of the Boreal, mist hanging low.

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✦ MURKWYRD

Led by a plutocratic council of merchant lords called the Silver-mete.

When Umbragard was established, it didn't take long for people to grow weary of the militaristic regime. Ink tar was highly profitable, and gentry from across the Boreal caught wind. Criminals' social debts began to be bought out just so the thanes could be sent southward, working their bones weary on ink trollers or dying to the leviathans. Naturally, some of these captives sought freedom. When a black storm rolled in from the Ink Deep 150 years ago, one troller mutinied, fleeing around the Wrought into the Lambent sae. There, they stopped to rest at the cluster of islands north of the accursed land. 

Murkwyrd was born of a desire to leave behind the strict laws and secret corruptions of Umbragard. They are strictly against consolidated political power, leading to a constantly rotating council of individuals to guide the colony. Over time, as Murkwyrd established itself as a center for trade beyond the usual regulations of the aeries, it become a proper plutocracy.

As opposed to Umbragard's hidden corruption, Murkwyrd wears its on its sleeve. Well known as a lawless land, crime and punishment exist only on an individual scale, not governmental. It is up to each individual member of the council to provide their own watchmen, deciding what their laws are and how they are enacted. Because the distinctions between each council-member's territory is vague at best, this often means residents of Murkwyrd must obey overlapping, conflicting constitutions. Yet it is this chaos which draws those seeking escape from their pasts, keeps criminal producers and unethical alchemists within the islands, and spurs Murkwyrd's innovative - if immoral - spirit. 

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art by my friend Worm, used with permission

THE WROUGHT

The shade-infested lands stretching between Umbragard and Welkend.