Post by Greed on Apr 4, 2011 11:11:00 GMT -5
Kyril, The Land of Eternity
Kyril is a floating continent, hovering above the dense cloud cover of planet, Varrus. Now, to understand Kyril, you must understand Varrus. Long, long ago, millions upon millions of year ago, in fact, Varrus could have essentially been said to be Earth, but with magic. Barring a few differences, many of the same lifeforms existed. Humans, whales, bears, lions, dogs, snakes etcetera etcetera . Some marked differences include the fact that dinosaurs were never wiped out, and some species of mammals had new subspecies to match them (there were bears large enough to take on a t-rex and win). Magic spurred technology forwards, and humanity adjusted accordingly. However, that all changed, one fateful year.
It was as if the planet was dying rapidly, and without warning. City after city began to fall to an unknown… force. It was no plague, no magic, it just was. As a final last ditch effort, three of the most powerful mages in the world banded together to create a paradise from the apocalypse. This was the Eternity Crystal, an essentially infinite source of magic and power. In the end, they were forced to use said crystal to tear the continent away from the earth and create what is now Kyril.
Kyril itself is, for all essential terms, a land steeped it both technology and magic. All creatures living upon its soil live not until old age takes them, but until they are killed. The same magic keeping the land above the planet’s deadly surface was changing the world in wonderous, and sometimes deadly ways. Some animals evolved further, and some didn’t. Many more species of sentient life appeared to contest with the humans; elves, aves, orcs, lamia, beastkin, vampires, and demons all of that number. Humans evolved an offshoot in the form of the bluntly, yet aptly named “super humans”. In the end, many of the races still have not gotten over their differences, mainly humans, who blindly claim superiority simply for being first.
Of course, only so much can be told about such a diverse land on a whole… what of the various cities and environments on this flying continent?
Locations on the Floating Continent of Kyril
Devoid – A rather large country that is completely covered in a dense cityscape of impossibly huge buildings. Easily the most advanced “city” in Kyril, it has the backing of several super corporations, and the bloated Devoid Kyril Security station. It could hardly be described as a city; even saying city the size of a country does it no justice. It is a city, built on top of a city, ad infinitum. The upper layers mask the lower, seedier and poverty stricken layers, with fancy walkways, and massive building of metal and glass. The lower layers house a city which is constantly shrouded in the shadow of the mountainous buildings rising out of it, and is worse off for it. An interesting thing to note about Devoid is that it hasn’t expanded beyond its borders in several years, instead opting to build up. The entire population is made up of humans and super-humans, as racism and insecurity against non-humans runs rampant throughout most of the city. Mainly this is due to normal humans being completely unable to defend themselves against other races.
Edge City – The second largest city in Kyril in terms of population density and size. Built on the edge of the massive continent, Edge City houses a large amount of aves, winged humanoids that tend to fancy themselves above the other races, despite the fact that humans built Devoid, the single most powerful country on Kyril. Edge City is, however everyone else hates to admit it, maintained far better than Devoid, as the ground level of the city is mostly clean. Not only is Edge City second in size, it is second in technology as well, a fact that frustrates the winged inhabitants of the city. It is a common claim among the Aves that they would be the most powerful in the land had the humans not gotten a head start. The Edge City Security building is amusingly NOT the second largest building in Kyril. That goes to one of the many mega-companies in Devoid. As stated before, Aves are the primary inhabitants of the city, and harass any humans who enter. They will go so far as to let other races enter and leave them alone, based on the justification that they aren’t human. They are proud of this fact, and do not trade with Devoid because of their similar treatment of other species. They seem to not realize how completely hypocritical this is, either. Aves welcome vampires as well, predictably because they keep human away.
Arkus – While large, Arkus is a spread out collection of towns, villages, and suburbs in the Great Arkus Crimson Forest. Primarily inhabited by humans and elves, recently Aves who have grown sick of their own, more intolerant kin have moved into the area as well. Much more quiet than their larger neighbors, Arkus still has problems of its own in the form of some rather dangerous wildlife. There are very few tall buildings here, and most businesses are family owned, save a few chains from Devoid, Edge City, and Grand Divide City.
Malen – Like Arkus, Malen consists primarily of small towns and suburbs. Built below an unnamed mountain, the entire island has become something of a refuge for the races the larger cities won’t accept, and is almost the only place that will accept demons and orcs outside of their respective lands of origin, as long as they remain reasonably civil. Malen maintains good relations and trade with the lamia of Grand Divide City, who in turn do not tax Malen as heavily as they do Edge City and Devoid for their goods. A notable structure in Malen is the absolutely massive school that caters to every single grade of education, including college. It isn’t uncommon to see college students who are friends with grade schoolers and the like. Overall Malen is the most friendly place in Kyril, though it has its share of problems.
Grand Divide City – The large city of lamia that is most heavily concentrated on the mainland end of the Grand Divide Bridge, but also extends onto it as well. As stated in Malen’s description, it has friendly relations with them, and as a result, is somewhat more accepting than Devoid and Edge City… somewhat. Grand Divide has an almost alien architectural style, mainly because it uses a lot of ramps and tunnels instead of stairs in its buildings. Lamia have a hard time stomaching the attitudes of people from Devoid and Edge City, and are thankful that they rarely ever stay in Grand Divide for long. The long parts of the city on the bridge are mostly shopping centers, ****s, theaters, arcades, and restaurants. Both Malen and Grand Divide use this place to draw profit from.
Ferin – A cold, smaller mining city built up the side of a mountain. Humans, super humans, and beastkin live here, and run the largest mining on the continent. Obviously and unabashedly a part of Devoid, there ARE a few lamia workers because of how comfortable they are working underground. The city is obviously well off because of its symbiotic nature with Devoid.
Devoid City Dock – A dual space port and airport for Devoid. Used to travel all over Kyril by citizens of Devoid, and humans in general. Devoid has actually sent manned expeditions into space, and set up a small base on the moon, known as Kanan. The docks are seeing less use nowadays due to the tension between the various cities and races. Ironically, this makes their airports much more bearable than real life airports!
Mount Farin – The largest mountain in the Farin Mountain Range on the 12 o’clock border of the continent. Easily the biggest mountain in the range, it has been dwarfed in recent years by the impossibly huge DKS tower.
Lower Isle of Rellinis – An underdeveloped mini island on the lower tier of Kyril. Home to primarily elves and beastkin, being so far detached from the mainland has left them far less dependent on technology, and more dependent on themselves and magic. Rellinis is primarily a rural area, with far less technology that one would call futuristic. Hover cars aren’t used here due to the high winds from being so close to the upper cloud layer of the planet below. Amusingly, this is why Rellinis gets few visitors; the cost of travelling there is so outrageous that Devoid and Edge City don’t even bother with trade, thus leaving Rellinis mostly isolated and self-sufficient.
Grand Divide Bridge – A massive bridge built long ago when the Malen sub-continent broke away from the main continent. A marvel of engineering held together by advanced technology, magic, and constant maintenance, Grand Divide Bridge is immensely long, and has massive walls on both sides to block the heavy winds from blowing hover cars off course enroute to Malen. Due to the city built on top of the bridge, a complex water system runs through it as well as a few visible canals for aesthetic and functional purposes.
Malen Forest – A rather dense and large forest surrounding Malen on all sides. Compared to the myriad of wildly different forests and jungles throughout Kyril, Malen Forest is the most average looking of the bunch. A lush green forest depending on the location of Kyril relative to the planet, the Malen Forest supports a wide variety of life, both monstrous and peaceful. Most of the forest has been explored, despite the extreme dangers from the more dangerous beasts that live there.
Lake Equality – The main water supply for Malen, positioned at 4 o’clock from the town. A relatively nondescript lake all in all, compared to some of the extraordinary creatures one could find in the forest. Lake Equality got its name not from Malen’s policies, but from the fact that it appears to be two equally sized lakes linked by a small river. The irony of the name is not lost on the people of Malen, though they appreciate the symbolism.
Great Arkus Crimson Forest – A gargantuan forest of trees with bright red leaves that covers a surface area so large, that it dwarfs even Devoid. Arkus has built into the forest extensively; roughly half of it is inhabited outside of the city, usually by tree houses in the massive trees. By the insistence of the elves, the 3 o’clock half of the forest has remain uncultivated, and is inhabited by many powerful beasts as a result of this. Despite this, it is rumored that witches, sorcerers, and mages live in solitude in the deep forest due to the high concentration of magical ingredients and creatures.
Lake Eternity – A rather large, almost crystal clear lake at 6 o’clock from Devoid. Essentially a massive freshwater sea, Lake Eternity is teaming with life of all kinds, and provides water for almost every major city on the Kyril mainland. The Eternity Resort is located on the largest of the islands in the center of the lake, and at its 7 o’clock end, is a massive waterfall that empties onto one of the lower islands.
Lower Isle of Mist – A lower island that is much larger than Rellinis, and almost impossible to explore. The massive waterfall from Lake Eternity empties onto the island, shrouding it in nearly constant mist and fog. Whatever isn’t water is a wildly overgrown jungle, home and paradise to demons of all shapes and sizes. Infact, this is where demons come from, not the vast cave system below Kyril. Demons have accessed the mainland through years THROUGH this cave system, however, and their true home has yet to be discovered… mainly because no one ever returns from beneath the thick fog.
Dimon Jungle – A large jungle at 8 o’clock from Devoid. A very distinct and unusual jungle in that the tree have dull, grayish colored trunks, and by contrast, light blue, almost crystalline leaves that pulsate occasionally with light. An extremely dangerous location in its own right, due to the fact that many of the mystical creatures who live there are akin to evil spirits and elementals. It was rumored that all the undead in Kyril originate in this cursed place, ripped from the land of the dead by a cult of Necromancers. While no proof has been given of this, Devoid considers it “not their problem”… to the chagrin of almost every other city on Kyril. The elves of Arkus are the only ones who take the problem seriously.
Ancient Farin Barrier Forest – A large forest surrounding the Farin mountain range. With ashen trunks and leaves that range from white to black, this forest feels dead, and without life or color. Traversing the forest on foot is a fool’s errand, as the primary predator of the Barrier Forest is dragons. Infact, some of them are so dangerous that airships going to Ferin must have a battleship escort. Within this forest also live a tribe of somewhat larger than average arachne, who have tamed a large number of these incredibly powerful beasts to be used as their steeds.
Farin Valley – A valley which the Barrier Forest extends into. Possibly even more dangerous than the main forest, Farin Valley is a breeding ground for dragons from all over Kyril. Being extremely intelligent and territorial, these dragons will attack anything that dares wander near their nests. One of an estimated five breeding sites for dragons, Devoid wisely decided to leave them alone after a whole battalion of battleships was ripped clear out of the sky above the valley while on an extermination mission. It is rumored that villages of dragon-taming arachne live within the thick undergrowth of the valley, but few have returned from them to tell these tales.
Lesser Kyril Grasslands – A large expanse of grassland between Devoid, The Farin Barrier Forest, and the Arkus Crimson Forest. A normally peaceful and quiet place where many herbivores graze, and carnivores hunt. Untouched due to Devoid’s policies; most of the herbivores are extremely peaceful, bordering on naturally domesticated.
Greater Kyril Grassland – A massive expanse of grassland at 4 o’clock from the Lesser plains. More wild than its lesser neighbor, and one of the prime hunting grounds of dragons. Despite its outward peacefulness, and rolling hills, it is an extremely dangerous place where anyone can be picked off by predators at a moment's notice. Tends to be avoided by basically everyone but orcs and demons.
The Wind Tunnel – A massive canyon and bridge separating the Argenon continent from the mainland. Appropriately named, for the fierce and unbuffered winds that tear through the center of the canyon at literally hundreds of miles an hour have the potential to blow a man who has almost passed through it all the way back to the Greater Kyril Grasslands. The wind elementals make this matter worse. Orcs love the damn place though, and think it’s the most damn fun that can be had outside of fighting. They even made a sport out of it, know as wind surfing. This is part of the reason every other race thinks they are all batshit insane.
Man-Eating Jungle – Exactly what it says on the tin. A large jungle of vibrant colors, and various plentiful poisonous and carnivorous plants right outside of Argenon. Another one of the many dangers for anyone traveling to Argenon, the carnivorous plants of this jungle have been seen growing almost into the swamp in an effort to surprise travelers. The orcs of Argenon have on more than one occasion tried to cut back the jungle to clear to road, even though it rapidly regrows itself. Some orcs like that it keeps weaklings out of Argenon, others dislike the fact that it handles the orcs problems when they would prefer to do this for themselves. One orc, when asked why the jungle had such a simplistic and straightforward name, simply answered “Well, what else would we call it? It freaking eats people!”. A fitting name indeed.
Argenon Swamp – A large swamp, located across from the jungle. Once considered far less dangerous than the Man-Eating Jungle, many of the jungle’s carnivorous plants have germinated and grown there in recent years. Coupled with the natural and huge snakes and crocodiles, a lot with various other deadly creatures, makes Argenon more than a chore to reach.
Argenon – The City of Orcs, or the land of warriors. A large city made of metal, wood, and…. well, almost anything the orcs felt was useful. Contrary to popular belief, the orcs use much of the advanced technology that the rest of Kyril enjoys, just… without depending on it. Argenon is, at first glance, a violent place with fights breaking out almost constantly. This is simply how orcs do things; almost any dispute can be settled with a good brawl. Surprisingly, there is a healthy population of super humans, lamia, demons, and beastkin as well, all of whom heard rumors of the Argenon lifestyle, and found it too hard to resist. Much of Argenon resources come from the extremely dangerous lands around them, with a lot of technology being brought in by rowdy foreigners.
Ruined City of Delfinus – The former home of the aren race, wiped out after being suspected of trying to assassinate the president of Devoid. Now nothing more than a ruined wasteland, it seems as though a branch of the Dimon Necromancers has set up camp here; as a result, the ruins are absolutely infested by the undead guards… it is unknown what the Necromancers want here, though it can’t possibly be good…