**White Gryphon** When Urtho, the mage of Silence, knew that he was dying, he told his peoples to flee. Urtho knew that they were losing the war against Ma'ar. He also knew that when he died, his death would trigger a very powerful self-destruction spell and everything around him for leagues would perish. Now this spell may have seemed a bit harsh but it was put in place for good reason. If Ma'ar ever got his hands on Ka'Venusho (Urtho's Tower) he would have access to some of the most powerful and potentially dangerous creations that Urtho had ever invented. So he told his people to flee via Gate as far away as possible.
They spread out; each Gate going to different areas of Velgarth. Most of the K'Leshya Kaled'a'in, including Skandranon and many other important characters, wound up in a place far to the West of Urtho's Tower. They kept traveling to the West for a whole year after that until they could come to a place that was safe and defensible. Finally, they reached the Western Sea and built White Gryphon.
Because of the major Cataclysm that occured due to the two most powerful mages' deaths (Urtho & Ma'ar), magic was often unreliable. It took them nine year to get most of the city built but what they accomplished was spectacular.
Not only was White Gryphon safe and defensible, it was a city built into the cliff. Originally , they were to build it on top of the cliff, but General Judeth, the best General in Urtho's army, wasn't pleased with that notion. Being a mason's daughter, it was she who discovered that the cliff rock was soft enough to carve and yet hard enough to support homes. And because the snowy white rock just happened to resemble the shape of a gryphon with it's wings outstretched, they named the city White Gryphon. This was in honor of Skandranon Rashkae; He once was the Great Black Gryphon until he got stuck in the magics between two Gates and was bleached white because of it, so now he's the Great White Gryphon.
The policy in building White Gryphon must have been "Recover with dignity." If an object could be made beautiful, it was. "When a simple box would do, an ornamental box was better." This strategy increased self-esteem and made the people feel less like beaten refugees and more like proud homesteaders. The "streets" had all been paved with pieces of crushed oyster shells which caught the sunlight and made the city gleam. Ornamental boxes filled with earth were placed on each path and street. Some were filled with trees or flowers and bushes, but a lot were filled with vines that would artistically fall down to the next layer. From afar this made the stylized White Gryphon of the cliff look like it had patterns in it's feathers. Magic helped put in water and sewage systems when it worked properly. The water came from a spring in the cliff so it would be impossible for possible enemies to cut off the water supply. The paths had all been edged or walled so that a person with a bow could easily help defend that city.
Three-forths of the citizens lived in sort of cave-dwellings carved into the rock. Some of these dwellings went back twenty or thirty gryphon-lengths in the rock. Each citizen either built their own or paid someone to build their homes for them. The humans, kyree, and hertasi were the ones most comfortable with the cave dwellings. The gryphons and the tervardi, who were generally a bit claustrophobic by nature, preferred terrace-like structures. These homes did not stretch back into the stone for more than one or two rooms. They also had lots of windows and a balcony or two.
**Dhorisha Plains and Pelagirs Forest** The Shin'a'in are a people with no magic. Anyone born to a shin'a'in household who possess Mage Gift must either become a Shaman or leave to find their Clan Cousins, the Tayledras.
The Tayledras and the Shin'a'in used to be one tribe known as the Kaled'a'in. Though they separated into two groups with various Clans.
One group, the Shin'a'in, who had sworn off the use of Magic. They were ordered by their Goddess to protect the Plains from intruders and guard the dangerous magics that lie under the Plains...from back when Urtho, The Mage of Silence, created them.
The other group, the Tayledras, a people who embraced their magic to cleanse the damaged lands. They were ordered by the Goddess to return the wild magic-created lands back to "normal," they way they were before the Mage Wars of Urtho's time.
The Shin'a'in Clans took up residence on the Dhorisha Plains, or the Plains of Sacrifice, while the Clans of the Tayledras spread throughout the Pelegirs Forest.
The Tayledras are sometimes called the k'Varda, or the "Mage Clans." They are also referred to as Hawk brothers since they all Bond mind-to-mind with a bird.
The Tayledras (or Hawk Brothers) live in magically-made "Domes" called Vales. They stay in one place long enough to cleanse the lands (usually a couple generations) and then pack up and move on. The Vales are protected by "domes" of magic. This shield that surrounds their home informs them of intruders. At the heart of every Vale is a power source known as a Heart Stone. This is basically a very powerful node that has many ley-lines feeding it. But unlike any normal node, there are no lines leading out of it, the energy just builds up for use of the Tayledras. The knowledge to create this was granted them by their Goddess.
The Hawk Brother's houses are called ekele's. Picture a giant tree house up in a tree so huge it will be able to hold up to a dozen ekele's, each with a couple floors and living chambers.
Vales are very exotic places of plant growth and hot springs, magically sculpted waterfalls and serene views. Inside, The Vales stay "summer" all year long.
**Iftel** Iftel is located North of Hardorn and East of Valdemar, South of the Ice Wall Mountains.
The people who first settled in Iftel were actually once part of Urtho's great army. When Urtho was dying he told his people to scatter across Valdemar for when he died a self-destruction spell would destroy everything for leagues. the people who Gated to Iftel served in the Third Army. After the Gate landed them there, they planned to keep traveling but had no strong mages to build another Gate somewhere else. So they settled and named the area Iftel.
Vykaendys, or The Holy Sun, created an impenetrable barrier around the borders of Iftel. Only priests of the Sun God and invited guests may pass. The occasional trader is allowed inside but they do not speak of it. If someone were to try and pass they would be forced back. If a mage tried magic against the barrier they would disappear, presumed likely dead. Anyone who wishes to leave Iftel may do so freely. When asked what it's like inside all anyone would state is that it is merely "boring".
Though they wage no wars, nor allow wars to be brought upon them due to the barrier, their military units train vigorously.
In order to keep from losing defense abilities over the years, the Peoples organized their aggressions into Games. These Games are very dangerous and verge on being blood-sport. Although no one has to participate, many do and it often results in serious injury and even death. So why play them?
The hierarchy of Iftel changes as the results of the contests change. And as the participants' ranking changes, so will the rankings of the various counties that they represent. That at year's end determines the hierarchy and tax distributions of Iftel.
After Tremane became King of Hardorn, Iftel opened it's borders up and sent a delegation to help him and be allies. This delegation was made up of gryphons so that they would make good time in flying over the land.
Tashiketh's wing (the leader of the gryphon wing sent) was formed entirely of Champions. They were considered the strongest warriors of their own counties. Tashiketh was the Grand Champion, the winner of them all. Not only do the winners participate in combat but the participate in intellectual contests as well.
The gryphons of Iftel don't look exactly like the gryphons of White Gryphon and K'Leshya. They are heavier of beak, neck and chest, like eagles. They are also a uniform color of dark brown with light brown markings, whereas the gryphons of K'Leshya and White Gryphon are all different colors with different markings such as masks and malar stripes.
A long time ago, Iftel used to send envoys to the Court in Valdemar but stopped for unknown reasons. Probably their need to keep peace drove them away from Valdemar and her numerous enemies at the time. Valdemar, traditionally, always left their suite open, just in case.
Iftel had always allowed one envoy from Valdemar into their land - but it had to be someone from the Merchant's Guild. They have never allowed any Mercenary Guild members or Heralds across their borders.
Had the Grand Duke Tremane not become King, Iftel would have sent the gryphon envoys into Valdemar instead. They preferred going to Tremane first because he was physically and magically bound to the land when he became King. So he would have to be a good ruler.
**Locations of Import**
When Urtho, the mage of Silence, knew that he was dying, he told his peoples to flee. Urtho knew that they were losing the war against Ma'ar. He also knew that when he died, his death would trigger a very powerful self-destruction spell and everything around him for leagues would perish. Now this spell may have seemed a bit harsh but it was put in place for good reason. If Ma'ar ever got his hands on Ka'Venusho (Urtho's Tower) he would have access to some of the most powerful and potentially dangerous creations that Urtho had ever invented. So he told his people to flee via Gate as far away as possible.
They spread out; each Gate going to different areas of Velgarth. Most of the K'Leshya Kaled'a'in, including Skandranon and many other important characters, wound up in a place far to the West of Urtho's Tower. They kept traveling to the West for a whole year after that until they could come to a place that was safe and defensible. Finally, they reached the Western Sea and built White Gryphon.
Because of the major Cataclysm that occured due to the two most powerful mages' deaths (Urtho & Ma'ar), magic was often unreliable. It took them nine year to get most of the city built but what they accomplished was spectacular.
Not only was White Gryphon safe and defensible, it was a city built into the cliff. Originally , they were to build it on top of the cliff, but General Judeth, the best General in Urtho's army, wasn't pleased with that notion. Being a mason's daughter, it was she who discovered that the cliff rock was soft enough to carve and yet hard enough to support homes. And because the snowy white rock just happened to resemble the shape of a gryphon with it's wings outstretched, they named the city White Gryphon. This was in honor of Skandranon Rashkae; He once was the Great Black Gryphon until he got stuck in the magics between two Gates and was bleached white because of it, so now he's the Great White Gryphon.
The policy in building White Gryphon must have been "Recover with dignity." If an object could be made beautiful, it was. "When a simple box would do, an ornamental box was better." This strategy increased self-esteem and made the people feel less like beaten refugees and more like proud homesteaders. The "streets" had all been paved with pieces of crushed oyster shells which caught the sunlight and made the city gleam. Ornamental boxes filled with earth were placed on each path and street. Some were filled with trees or flowers and bushes, but a lot were filled with vines that would artistically fall down to the next layer. From afar this made the stylized White Gryphon of the cliff look like it had patterns in it's feathers. Magic helped put in water and sewage systems when it worked properly. The water came from a spring in the cliff so it would be impossible for possible enemies to cut off the water supply. The paths had all been edged or walled so that a person with a bow could easily help defend that city.
Three-forths of the citizens lived in sort of cave-dwellings carved into the rock. Some of these dwellings went back twenty or thirty gryphon-lengths in the rock. Each citizen either built their own or paid someone to build their homes for them. The humans, kyree, and hertasi were the ones most comfortable with the cave dwellings. The gryphons and the tervardi, who were generally a bit claustrophobic by nature, preferred terrace-like structures. These homes did not stretch back into the stone for more than one or two rooms. They also had lots of windows and a balcony or two.
**Dhorisha Plains and Pelagirs Forest**
The Shin'a'in are a people with no magic. Anyone born to a shin'a'in household who possess Mage Gift must either become a Shaman or leave to find their Clan Cousins, the Tayledras.
The Tayledras and the Shin'a'in used to be one tribe known as the Kaled'a'in. Though they separated into two groups with various Clans.
One group, the Shin'a'in, who had sworn off the use of Magic. They were ordered by their Goddess to protect the Plains from intruders and guard the dangerous magics that lie under the Plains...from back when Urtho, The Mage of Silence, created them.
The other group, the Tayledras, a people who embraced their magic to cleanse the damaged lands. They were ordered by the Goddess to return the wild magic-created lands back to "normal," they way they were before the Mage Wars of Urtho's time.
The Shin'a'in Clans took up residence on the Dhorisha Plains, or the Plains of Sacrifice, while the Clans of the Tayledras spread throughout the Pelegirs Forest.
The Tayledras are sometimes called the k'Varda, or the "Mage Clans." They are also referred to as Hawk brothers since they all Bond mind-to-mind with a bird.
The Tayledras (or Hawk Brothers) live in magically-made "Domes" called Vales. They stay in one place long enough to cleanse the lands (usually a couple generations) and then pack up and move on. The Vales are protected by "domes" of magic. This shield that surrounds their home informs them of intruders.
At the heart of every Vale is a power source known as a Heart Stone. This is basically a very powerful node that has many ley-lines feeding it. But unlike any normal node, there are no lines leading out of it, the energy just builds up for use of the Tayledras. The knowledge to create this was granted them by their Goddess.
The Hawk Brother's houses are called ekele's. Picture a giant tree house up in a tree so huge it will be able to hold up to a dozen ekele's, each with a couple floors and living chambers.
Vales are very exotic places of plant growth and hot springs, magically sculpted waterfalls and serene views. Inside, The Vales stay "summer" all year long.
**Iftel**
Iftel is located North of Hardorn and East of Valdemar, South of the Ice Wall Mountains.
The people who first settled in Iftel were actually once part of Urtho's great army. When Urtho was dying he told his people to scatter across Valdemar for when he died a self-destruction spell would destroy everything for leagues. the people who Gated to Iftel served in the Third Army. After the Gate landed them there, they planned to keep traveling but had no strong mages to build another Gate somewhere else. So they settled and named the area Iftel.
Vykaendys, or The Holy Sun, created an impenetrable barrier around the borders of Iftel. Only priests of the Sun God and invited guests may pass. The occasional trader is allowed inside but they do not speak of it. If someone were to try and pass they would be forced back. If a mage tried magic against the barrier they would disappear, presumed likely dead. Anyone who wishes to leave Iftel may do so freely. When asked what it's like inside all anyone would state is that it is merely "boring".
Though they wage no wars, nor allow wars to be brought upon them due to the barrier, their military units train vigorously.
In order to keep from losing defense abilities over the years, the Peoples organized their aggressions into Games. These Games are very dangerous and verge on being blood-sport. Although no one has to participate, many do and it often results in serious injury and even death. So why play them?
The hierarchy of Iftel changes as the results of the contests change. And as the participants' ranking changes, so will the rankings of the various counties that they represent. That at year's end determines the hierarchy and tax distributions of Iftel.
After Tremane became King of Hardorn, Iftel opened it's borders up and sent a delegation to help him and be allies. This delegation was made up of gryphons so that they would make good time in flying over the land.
Tashiketh's wing (the leader of the gryphon wing sent) was formed entirely of Champions. They were considered the strongest warriors of their own counties. Tashiketh was the Grand Champion, the winner of them all. Not only do the winners participate in combat but the participate in intellectual contests as well.
The gryphons of Iftel don't look exactly like the gryphons of White Gryphon and K'Leshya. They are heavier of beak, neck and chest, like eagles. They are also a uniform color of dark brown with light brown markings, whereas the gryphons of K'Leshya and White Gryphon are all different colors with different markings such as masks and malar stripes.
A long time ago, Iftel used to send envoys to the Court in Valdemar but stopped for unknown reasons. Probably their need to keep peace drove them away from Valdemar and her numerous enemies at the time. Valdemar, traditionally, always left their suite open, just in case.
Iftel had always allowed one envoy from Valdemar into their land - but it had to be someone from the Merchant's Guild. They have never allowed any Mercenary Guild members or Heralds across their borders.
Had the Grand Duke Tremane not become King, Iftel would have sent the gryphon envoys into Valdemar instead. They preferred going to Tremane first because he was physically and magically bound to the land when he became King. So he would have to be a good ruler.