Lore of Hy’ilrith: Veiled Lands

The third and final part of the lore dump for Children of Ruin! Next week we jump into the campaign proper!

Link to Map (as promised)

Transcript once again:

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Welcome back to this, the third and final lore episode in preparation of the beginning of our new campaign. Our preparations ahead of the new game are finally ready (and I am also done buying time for my episode buffer, but no one needs to know that) so it’s time to learn a little bit more about Hy’ilrith as it is today.

Now, a big part of what I’m doing is going to be trying to get a picture of the world in your mind before we get started, as well as trying to get everyone more familiar with names and places. To aid with that I am going to include a link to the map of Hy’ilrith into the description of this episode so feel free to take a look at that. For those of you who can’t do that, or who just want to visualize it yourself first, that is what we’ll be doing today. So, without further ado we’ll jump right in, starting with the most basic layout of the map.

Sanctum is the name used to refer to the land within the Veil and it is a roughly rectangular shape. The lands within are bisected by a mountain range that passes through the Veil in the north and passes back out along the eastern border. This range, known as the Del’rith Mountains, of the Spine of Ala’rith dives the north eastern third of the lands from the rest of Sanctum. Along the south is the coast of the Sea of Silent Echoes, and to the west is the coast that borders the Azure Deep, the Endless Ocean. As mentioned in the previous lore episode the peninsula that Mereset inhabits protrudes from the south west of the land and through the Veil at the southwestern most point.

The region of land roughly central to Sanctum, south of the mountains, is known as the Highlands. It is dominated by a series of canyons and ravines and valleys carved by the rivers that cascade from the Mountains to the north. South of these are the riverlands, a fertile area marked by beautiful lakes and rivers. East of this are the lands known and the coast lands, and east of that are the woodlands. The area north of the mountains is an arid savana-like region known as the drylands, and the area along the western coast is known as the broadlands and is well known for its rolling hills and herds of wild horses. 

The broadlands in the northwest of Sanctum are home to the Republic of Lothaeu. The capital of Vontheaos is a grand citadel built high in a mountain valley. Many of the major cities, including Thaenau and Felbron are fortified as well; a remnant of the civil war of the ancient past. Thaenau was one of the three capitals during that war, as was Aeras, each serving important roles in the country to this day. Ships of Lothaeu were once the best produced in the world, before the Occupation War destroyed most of their shipyards. To this day Lothaeu has never forgiven, and never plans to forgive, the invaders from Meraset.

East of Lothaeu is the country of Ebren which exists in both the broadlands and riverlands; southwest of Cethil and southeast of Lothaeu. The capital of Ebren is at Tandral, near lake Ebres, and is where the King Unahn and Queen Corrissa rule. It is a land well known for the crops it produces, along with the fishing industry along the coast and the bountiful rivers. It is also well known for housing the Archive at Ankardeth, one of the main archives of the Magic Guilds. The same archive that sparked off the Dawn Wars.

Speaking of the Dawn Wars, northeast of Ebren, in the highlands, is Cethil. The cities of Cethil are built upon the high plateaus broken up by the deep canyons and ravines that the area is so well known for. There are a rare few down nearer to the rivers and even a few built into the mountains themselves, such as the Capital of Vedrinn. The bridges that span the gaps here are something of a point of pride of the people, grand works of art in their own right. Breakhollow is a city built partially atop several of these bridges, and many other towns and cities claim a bridge as their own to maintain and watch over. They are something of a national pride. They are also the only country that hosts any of the Drakkenguard, the mounted dragon riders of Jestethos mar, with any regularity. It is unknown what events led to this seeming alliance, but the ties between them are impossible to miss.

South of Cethil, east of Ebren among the coastlands is the Nation of Analaia. The first city, Cal’drae, is the capital here, and is arguably the most notable city of the modern world. Cal’drae was the first cradle of civilization built by people after the Decimation, and where a large number of peoples of the world today can ultimately trace back their roots. The city is large, built on, in, and beneath Mount Drae and spilling out onto the foothills and plains beyond. It is a seat of culture and knowledge and magic, with many academies and guild halls calling it home. Their ruling body, Council of Ten, also meets and governs from Cal’drae whenever the need arises. Many of the rivers that start in the Del’rith Mountains and rush through the highlands of Cethil find their way here, creating vast, fertile valleys, and lakes teeming with life. The plains here are home to orchards and farms and vineyards spoken of the realm over.

Equally full of life is the woodlands to the east of Analaia where the Esthyne Protectorate stakes their home. Milithin, their official capital, is located on the bend in the Bashthal River, among the vast, ancient woods of the Ishiril Wood. It is a sprawling city, built around the trees, in the canopy and on the forest floor. Trees that rise hundreds of feet into the sky are the home of those that live there. These ancient forests dominate the landscape, slowly giving way to the wilder jungles of the Wilds as they move towards the Veil. There are cities buried and consumed by the forest, but most people avoid them. While Milithin is the capital, that is mostly for meeting with other countries, as each city more or less rules itself and it’s area independently, though each working towards the same ends. Esthyne produces many things for the people of Sanctum, but are best known for the Wild Boar hunts during the Festivals of Hunts. They also produce the lumber used for so many of the ships that sail the Sea of Echoed Songs.

Farther north is the Kingdom of Jestethos Mar, the vast domain north and east of the Del’rith Mountains. Most of the cities are within the mountains themselves but many settlements dot the broad arid lands between the mountains and the Veil. The Capital of Ganarades Tarn is a massive cave system that stretches deeply beneath a large area of the Del’rith mountains.It is unknown if there are any passages that open up into other countries, but the main one is at the base of Kashiris Peak. Jestethos Mar does a great deal of trade with the rest of Sanctum, but they are the least involved with the politics of everyone else. Though they have never confirmed the tales, and despite being ruled by King Jorik Thaldane, many believe the Primordial Dragon B’tersael is the true ruler there. While some might point to the Drakkenguard as evidence, King Jorik has never said a word to confirm or deny those claims.

Last on our list of counties, and certainly least in public opinion, is the Sovereignty of Meraset. As I’ve said Meraset exists on a peninsula in the southwest of the Sanctum and is easily the smallest country despite recent territorial gains. The large city of Torant used to be used for shipping goods across the isthmus before the fading of the Veil, but power has always been in the capital of Borashta. Borashta is built in the ruins of a massive, metropolis of a city. It was once a city of soaring, thin, towers hundreds of feet tall. It encompasses a large portion of the peninsula to the far south, taking a good portion of the day to travel from one side to the other. Some portions are even sunk beneath the waves, an untold amount of the city lost to the unknown. Since the first days after the decimation people have, like hermit crabs, made this place their home. They restored the city building by building until it bounded with new life. Many things were salvaged from within the ruins, helping Meraset to grow to become technologically advanced more quickly than others.Since the war there is little contact between Meraset and the rest of Sanctum. It will be many more years of healing before the wounds and hurts between them and the rest of the world heal.
Now, I did say that Meraset was last on our list, but that was a little misleading. It is the last country, but one more place of importance still needs to be discussed. The City State of Osthmana.

The city-state of Osthmana is built in a bowl-like valley within the Lothan Peaks between Cethil and Esthyne. It is not a country, technically, but an independent city. It is the home of all of the Main Guild Halls, as well as the Main Temples to each of the Gods.It started off as only those that worshiped the gods following the Decimation, drawing away from the world that resented them. Slowly over time it grew into a small collection of communities as people gathered to live their lives. It wasn’t until the Guilds began to officially form, looking for a neutral place to work from, that the city began to flourish. It grew rapidly as the influence of the Guilds became more and more integral to the lives of the people of Sanctum, until it became the grand bastion that it is today.

And thus we come to the end of our lore journey through Hy’ilrith. There is SO much more of the world to discover and explore, and I hope that this very brief overview has done its job. My hope is that when you hear about Eowra, or Ardayn, or Meraset, or the Guilds, that knowing the context of those words helps draw you into the world, rather than taking you out of it. I am genuinely excited to share this story with you and, honestly discover it with you. I know where it’s starting, and I can see the road ahead, but fate only know where it will end up. So, next week (and yes, I mean next week), the journey begins and I can properly welcome you to Hy’ilrith.
I look forward to seeing you then. Until next time, please take care.

"Midnight Tale" by Kevin MacLeod, Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License, Incompetech;