⚠ [Description] Suldaza

Suldaza
a land of contradictions and contrasts where opposites meet​

Suldaza is a continent of immense contradictions, where the Great Gardens of the Elves and the Deadlands of the Cindersend occur side-by-side. The vibrancy of life outside the Deadlands is attributed to the thickness of the Shroud throughout the continent compared to elsewhere throughout the known world. This is because the Shroud seems to naturally congregate and replenish itself faster in Suldaza than Ilica in the west. Many Weavers have attempted to discern why Suldaza is such a wellspring of the Shroud, to little success. But what this means is that most of Suldaza is natively friendly to Weavers, who find it significantly easier to wield magic in the continent, find that their spells are stronger, at a lower cost.

Of course, the thickness of the Shroud varies from location to location. The Shroud is thickest in the south, almost breathable in the Kaikias Desert, giving rise to vibrant and flourishing oasis communities and untold monsters in the ever-shifting sands, while its utter absence in the Deadlands due to constant abuse of magical technology results in a grey wasteland where even the wind itself is absent. To the north, the everyday use of the Shroud by the Elves to craft a land of perfection thins it somewhat, but their Gardens still hum with energy and life itself, lush and green in stark contrast to both the burning deserts of the south and the barren Deadlands just to the west.

The peoples of Suldaza are as varied and as contradictory as the land itself. The southern half of the continent are occupied by various nomadic tribes that make a living amongst the harsh, if vibrant, desert environments, with various scattered cities and towns around the large oases that pocket the region. The northern half of the continent, in contrast, resembles a carefully cultivated garden that acts as a battleground for the hundred elven clans in their never-ending wars to determine who amongst them would be the next High King of the Elves. And to the west lies the barren wastes, dominated by the city of Cindersend, outcasts of the elven clans who have sought to increase their power through the abuse of magical crystal-technology, creating the barren Deadlands as a result of their efforts.
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The following locations can be found within Suldaza:​

• The Gardens of Silmorael, home to the Elven Hundred Houses​
• The Barren Deadleads, drained of life by the Elves of Cindersend​
• The Kaikias Desert​
• The Dragon's Teeth, where there be vestiges of (you guessed it!) Dragons​

 

[Arani]

The Great Gardens of Silmorael
a land arranged to perfection​

Silmorael is the Mother of Elven Magic, and wife to the First High King. It was she who laid down the rules and prescriptions of magic that all Elves follow, to preserve the forests and fields that their kind claimed as their own. And it was she, who first turned the Elves towards the perfection not only of themselves, but also of the land that they conquered. What was once wild forest and overgrown fields, has in many places been tamed into gentle and orderly gardens and plains, a perfect blend of order and chaos. And thus the Great Gardens of Silmorael were born.

Of course, different High Houses have different notions of perfection. Some prefer to keep their territories more natural, preferring to blend their designs and their lives with the surrounding forests. Others are more heavy-handed with their shaping of nature, clearing out the deep forests for more artificial gardens and fields. This makes for a harmonious assortment of landscapes, as opposed to a harmonious whole throughout the Hundred Houses, and is sometimes a point of contention between different Houses that have very differing ideas on what constitutes “nature perfected”. Summer Wars have in fact often been triggered by the komen of a House taking offence at the landscaping artistry of another House whose lands border theirs.

Most of the Gardens of Silmorael, therefore, are considered to be domesticated. Unlike the rest of Suldaza, the Elves have ensured that there is little in the way of monsters within the Gardens, except perhaps, around the foothills of the Dragon's Teeth where the rule of the Hundred Houses is somewhat contested. As if to make up for the lack of monsters however, the Elves have in turn cultivated a range of unique and exotic plants and herbs within the Gardens that cannot be found or grown elsewhere in the known world because the Shroud is not thick enough outside of Suldaza. These plants and herbal remedies are widely-sought after by healers around the world for their powerful restorative properties when distilled into various elixirs, something that has brought vast wealth to the Elven Houses that deign to trade with the outside world.
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The following landmarks can be found within the Gardens of Silmorael:

• The Twin Lakes
  • The Untamed Lake, the northern of the Twin Lakes, where many monsters still roam underneath the surface
  • The Red Lake, the southern of the Twin Lakes and the site of many battles between the current High Houses
• The Grove of Gladfrond, where the Ent Gladfrond lives in the middle of the Red Lake, an oasis of peace in a storm of battles

The following cities can be found within the Gardens of Silmorael:

• Telpelrion, the ancient capital of the Elves, and the Seat of High House Nalthiön
• Mevenua, widely considered the most beautiful city of the Elves, the Seat of High House Ielheä
• Zeraselda, the rival to Mevenua and its opposite in the concept of perfection, the Seat of High House Falwing
• Lorinan, a coastal city and important trading hub, the Seat of High House Elarmiel
• Alirycas, an island offshore just to the west, the Seat of High House Thálion

 

[Arani]

The Deadlands
a land drained of life and light​

The Deadlands

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The following landmarks can be found within the Deadlands:

The following cities can be found within the Deadlands:

• Cindersend, home to the Forsaken Elves, outcasts banished from the Hundred Houses
• Ramenthiali, last of the major Elven cities of the Hundred Houses, the Seat of High House Saimoriel

 

[Arani]

The Kaikias Desert
a land of burning sands and lush oases​

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The following landmarks can be found within the Kaikias Desert:

The following cities can be found within the Kaikias Desert:

• Miradj'Dah,

 

[Arani]

Dragon's Teeth
a land of untamed mountains reaching to pierce the sky​

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The following landmarks can be found within the Dragon's Teeth:

The following cities can be found within the Dragon's Teeth: