Post by Head Moderator on Aug 22, 2013 16:28:34 GMT -5
The Rayyan Peninsula
The Rayyan Peninsula, or sometimes called "The Finger", is a largely uncivilized area of land, belonging to no one kingdom, though safeguarded by several other kingdoms. There are only a handful of what can be called cities in this area. Each city is ruled independently as a city-state, and the wilderness is ruled by those within it. The entire Peninsula is treated and held as the largest safe wild animal and natural habitat preserve in the known lands.
IMPORTANT CITIES, TOWNS, VILLAGES & AREAS
RAZORDAWN KEEP
As the world beneath the travelers feet shift from sands to sparse grass and finally to the tall grass and scattering of trees that mark the beginning of the savanna, they would come across the last mark of civilization and the border post between Thanes and The Finger.
Located on the cusp between desert and grasslands, and serves as a simple town offering trading goods and supplies for those that pass through. Aside from it's bustling market and the taverns for passersby, it is marked by a large militaristic style structure in it's center. This building houses those that act as border guards between the lands, as well as any emissary from the two countries neighboring and largely responsible for the foundation of the Finger - Thanes and Kir'viir. The most common folk seen, are the lycans that rule the Rayyan and the tribal heads of the desert. Unlike other lands where any number of Lycans can easily be found, the groups of Fera here are limited. Seeming to consist of those who have a more native habitat within the Savanna. The most dominant of the Fera in the Rayyan are Simba (lion) and Ajaba (hyena). Other commonly seen are the ; Bagheera (panther/Leopard) Nuwisha (coyote) and Swara (cheetah). While the more rare or hardly seen consist of the Ananasi (spider), Nagah (snake).
Razordawn Keep is known for producing dates, vegetables (including carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce), and fruits (including oranges, melons, and grapes). There is also livestock and poultry, as well as horse breeding in the vicinity.
PRISTINA
The most important plant to Pristina and surrounding areas is the palm tree. There are many different types of palm trees, but the two with the most economic value are the oil palm and the wine palm. The oil palm is valued for its nuts, which are crushed to produce meca (palm oil). These nuts, called diga, are gathered and crushed to extract the oil. Once the oil has been removed, the husks can be boiled and eaten, or used as firewood. The wine palm is valued for its sap, which is fermented and used to make jana (palm wine), a common drink. Palm wine is a milky-white liquid, and is very dry. Most people don't like it the first time they try it - it is an acquired taste. Visitors to the land are advised to try banana beer instead. What armor is worn is masterfully constructed, designed to reduce the effects of intense heat that would otherwise render it unwearable. Few work with steel, instead they consider iron a sacred element, and prefer to make items from pure iron rather than pollute it with other substances.
This is considered the capital of the Rayyan Peninsula.
Baai Van Tande
While the bay may seem to be a peaceful and relaxing body of water for those visiting Pristina, you will find no beach along it's edge. Tourists, often failing to notice that no native of Pristina goes into those waters, or bothering to ask why, find the bay irresistible when assaulted by the heat of the sun. These poor souls often become a statistic. For Baai Van Tande translates to 'The Bay of Teeth'. The bay is home to countless salt water crocodiles, most of which average between fifteen and twenty feet long weighing near a ton. There is a rumor that one salt water crocodile thought long ago killed lives still in the bay, Altyd Honger, Always Hungry. He is said to be near twice the size of his brethren and who's body is lined with the broken and rusted weapons of many brave fools that have tried to kill him.
CALAKMAR
This jungle city is made of elegantly carved rock, with carefully cultivated fields. One of the major jobs of its people is to keep the jungle in its place outside the city limits. At the center of the city is a pyramid where those convicted of capital offenses are sacrificed to the gods. Contrary to widespread belief, however, the numbers sacrificed are normally few except in times of war or political upheaval.
SAL DO SEEWIER
Sal do Seewier is a sleepy seaside hamlet along a forbidding and rocky coast. Most of the buildings here are all a bit awkward in shape and size, as they were constructed using timbers salvaged from ships stranded on the straights shallow waters. All the buildings have odd roofs of green moundings. The locals have taken to using seaweed, thickly piled, to thatch their roofs after most of the area's trees and reeds were harvested and burned by age old salt industry (used to salt the fish the locals catch).
AZULDAR
One could miss the city gate if one did not know what they are looking for. Along the shore there are many rocky formations. One of the broad flat black basalt stones serves as a plaza where the Gateway stands. The Gateway to the city is two elf sized standing stones. There are some very faint, apparently wind worn carvings on them written in Elvish, which hold the key to getting to the city. (There are six lines of poetry there, thought only the fourth line of the six is the key to open the gate).
One walks forward into the surf. While there might be a spray, one remains fairly dry as one descends the curving path. The walls of the path are smooth blue green water, slowly growing slightly darker as you descend. Only a dozen steps or so and the water flows over your head. It is oddly quiet.
The path brings you to the plaza. It a broad area paved with flat stone, the same stone as above. The entire location, and really the entire city, glows a soft blue light that filters down from the surface. This is somewhat dark for other species, but those with darkvision or low-light vision can see well. The edges of the plaza have coral walls with fish swimming around. One can reach out and touch the coral, but will discover that the sheer wall of water starts an arm span and a half from the beginning of the coral.
From here there are four pathways leading away to the four clusters of the city, all paved with the dark basalt rock. The paths are broad walkways, so you never should have to bump up against the sheer wall of water. The fish will watch you with mild curiosity as they swim by.
Note: if you examine the dark ground stones, there will periodically be Eirchaic Glyphs subtly carved in them. These glyphs are mixed in with other subtle etchings, so they will not stand out. There is just too much magic being used here to have a single cairn.
The pathways branch out into a net of nodes. There are symbols at each intersection directing people away from personal places. Each node is a good sized domed room where a family or person’s room is. The "walls" of the room are decorated with coral outcroppings (just out of reach), interesting rock formations, or fields of subtle sea grasses. Many nodes will be subdivided by folding privacy screens. A few will even put screens next to the walls, as they do live in somewhat transparent houses.
Folding screens are an art form here, as well as a major architectual element. The fabric is made with a combination of algae, kelp, various fish elements, and some local silicates. It can range from a matte white to a nearly metallic finish depending on processed. While beautiful in their raw state, they are so often painted with an eye for color and composition that only an Elven could produce. Clothes and other fabric products are made of this material as well, making for many colorful products here.
Note: some of these products might look "odd" on the surface. They are normally created with the bluish tint of the city’s day light in mind.
No matter how much magic is used, away from a hearth stone, it is quite cool here. The city is oddly quiet. The watery walls absorb so much of the sound floating about. There is no ambient noise prevalent in any large gathering of people. During the day and somewhat into the night and dawn a blueish light is everywhere. While brighter lights may be around, every corner is illuminated by the glow of the ocean walls.
The aquatic theme has been extended everywhere. It is in the small carvings of the furniture or the painting of the screens or the light blue tinge to the lanterns. In tasteful places throughout the city, there are what appear to be tall Kelp Fronds. In addition to keeping the air fresh, they add to the look. They are magically enchanted to stay "up" (though a few have grown tall enough to extend into the water out of the node) and to sway slowly in the "current". The artisans here also create colorful enchanted toys shaped like fish. These "fish" slowly float from room to room, hallway to hallway, wiggling (apparently swimming). They appear to be small colorful fish swimming inside the city. There are many shaped rocks and corals inside the city that are occasionally used as furniture, tables, and decorations, that were created by artisans. The city uses a prodigious amount of magic, even for an Elven City. If it was not built on a major ley node, it would be impossible to support.
There are several wet gateways that lead to and from the sea and reef. They are only accessible by those who are carrying a city seal. It is here that the Elven or those carrying Talismans of the Ocean gather and hunt in the areas around the City. Very little is taken from the surrounding areas, but most of the food and products are grown inside. Despite their love of the sea, very few Elven (save sea elves) wish to go out in it. It is there as a buffer from the world.
TOWER OF SCROW
Nestled down deep in the thick rainforest that consumes the northern tip of The Finger, stand one lone structure. It's surface is one smooth surface of stone that looks to have been formed naturally as opposed to cut and shaped by the hands of men. The tower reaching near three hundred feet into the sky, even breaking the very surface of the rainforest's canopy. From the ground this structure appears as one smooth finger of stone with no entrance and no windows. If one were to climb into the highest branches of the canopy and look up they would see that the top of the tower has a wide roof and a walkway that runs along the circumference of the tower. It is rumored that a mad wizard fashioned this structure before living in it.
THE RAYYAN GRASSLANDS
The Rayyan Grassland, a massive area of land that has remained largely untouched by civilization. There are only a few large established cities on the Rayyan. The rest of the Rayyan they have let nature and those creatures born into it, shape and mold the land. The few people that live there are wandering minimalist nomadic tribes, taking only what they need to survive and returning to the earth what they can. It is spoken that out in that sea of grass are several tribes of Lycans, those who's animal side favors the hot savanna climate. The truth is long ago, the elves founded this place and handed over the security and responsibility of it to those Lycan tribes. Giving them the role of acting as protector, guardian and keeper. The elven armada keeps other sea going vessels from landing upon the shores of The Finger, all save in Azuldur. The rest of the Rayyan is left to the shifters to keep free from intruder, who are tenacious in their efforts to do just that.
As most grasslands, this one is positioned between forest and desert. The northern most tip of the Rayyan ending where the thick rainforest at the tip of the finger surrounding the Tower Scrow begins, and it's southern most tip slowly fading into the shifting sands of the Thanes desert.
This massive stretch of land is covered mainly by grass, with some trees here and there and some herbaceous, or perennial flowering plants. Some trees are the baobabs, the euphorbias, or spurges, and acacia trees. The trees usually have small leaves, and lots of times, thorns. As mentioned there are hardly any flowering plants on the Rayyan Grassland. The reason for this is the climate of this area. The Rayyan Grassland has two main periods following each other; there is a period where lots of rain falls. After this rainy period or season comes the dry season, whence no rain, or just very little falls for eight months. Since most plants, besides grass, need "constant" rainfall, they would not be able to grow there, so they don't even try. The dry season, which is in the winter, most of the plants shrivel up and die. Some rivers and streams dry up. Most of the animals migrate to find food. The grassland gets all it's rain in the summer months, known as the wet season. In the wet season all of the plants are lush and the rivers flow freely. The animals migrate back to graze.
There are numerous animals that claim the Rayyan as their home, everything from predator to prey animal. Small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects adapted to the long dry season have found their niche within this vast untouched land. Herds of hoofed herbivores such as various types of gazelle, antelope, buffalo and deer roam this savanna. Larger animals such as rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffes and elephants also make their home here. Where there are grazing animals there will be the predators, lions, cheetahs and leopards ranking the top of the list, while other scavenger types such as jackals and hyenas are not to be counted out.
The Great Migration
The Great Migration is the longest and largest over land migration in the world. The Rayyan Grasslands account for over 19,000 square miles and the migration itself travels 500 miles on the path from just above Razordawn to the edge of the rainforest in the north of the Rayyan. The Rayyan is home to over seventy larger mammals and approximately five hundred different types of birds. Probably the most impressive part of the migration is the herds of wildebeests and zebra that blanket the plains as well as the predators that anticipate the Great Migration.
Huis Luiperd
On the western side of the Rayyan there is a thick copse of forested area known as Huis Luiperd, in common it translates to Leopard's Den. It is named such for the high population of the great cat living in those shaded woods. Many of the indigenous nomadic tribes try to avoid going into or even near Leopard's Den, no matter how hot the day or how desperately they wish to be under the tempting shade of those trees. While the leopards of the Rayyan are found throughout the lands, it is here that one is guaranteed to see the majestic, tree dwelling hunter.
Diep Dors
Diep Dors, known in common as Deep Drink, is a massive lake that serves as a promised watering hole for the animals of the Rayyan. No matter how long between wet seasons, the Diep Dors is never dried up. It's waters always run deep and cool. The elves believe this is the work of druids of ages past. Those that pray to the Six, believe that it was a gift from Dannui to show her mercy for those beasts living in such a dry climate. Some geologists think it is because the Diep Dors is fed by an underground well, but cannot stay free of the beasts long enough to excavate and find out. So the truth of Diep Dors is to remain a mystery.
Krans Rook
There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys which might be expected to create a waterfall in this area of the Rayyan, only flat plateau extending hundreds of miles in all directions. The Krans Rook, or Smoking Cliffs, are a massive series of falls formed as the full width of the Diep Dors plummets in a single vertical drop into a transverse chasm one and a half miles wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the plateau. The depth of the chasm, called the First Gorge, varies from three hundred feet at its northern and southern end to seven hundred feet in the center. The only outlet of the waterfalls is a four hundred foot wide gap forming at the end of the twisting gorge in the eastern end, through which the whole volume of the river pours and flows towards the sea.
There are two islands on the crest of the falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood: Leeutand Island (Lion's Tooth) near the northern bank, and Laaste Gebed (Last Prayer) Island near the middle. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. The main streams are named, in order from north to south: Leaping Water, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Earth's Tear.
Island of Mythily
Mythily is a land of ancient rainforests, massive waterfalls, and myriads of rivers and streams.
Clarsaku
Swansea
Rhossili
Klachan Rei