Iylaea

*old lore storage*
from intro:
, and one of those borrowed pieces is "ta" for he/she/it and "tar" for him/her/they, taken from Estonian and Finnish respectively. This is because they are gender neutral. For readabilities sake I've left English pronouns in for now but I may change it later. Just because I hate using "they" for those that don't fall under him/her.

From Ashfall:

I died here long ago, oh so long ago... but that would interest you little, I think. Now that I am only a spirit haunting the resting place of my bones, I protect this small outcropping isle. It's actually a peninsula, since it's connected to the mainland underwater, but it looks like an island. It's defined by a sharp cliff - softened by rising hills, weathered crystal peeking through moss, stubborn plant life, and birds nests - which is held up by sweeping, mossy hills, which begin around two straight pillars of crystal land that have shot into the air with Arcane magic. It is beyond these pillars that the land sinks underwater and connects to the main pinnacle and the land around it, where the Arcanist's observatory rests.

That defining cliff face that I mentioned, and which I haunt, crumbles on one side into even more hills and small overhangings and outcroppings, until it sinks completely into a marsh. Behind this and stretching backwards a small ways is another, even straighter and more barren cliff face, which falls off steeply into the hills that roll back behind.

On the other side, the cliff face breaks into various small pillars of crystal, making a complicated and jagged staircase of sorts. This land is full of such strange physical anomalies...


map by Skittles251

There is a split in this cliff face - this is what you are really interested in, isn't it? A clan lives there. They are called Eldsvada - no doubt you know this - and they have built all kinds of interesting things in there. They have also tethered a few of the smaller floating islands by satellite, to hold a massive telescope and a radio antenna. At the very back of this split in the rock, where the space is the narrowest, they have built a beautiful and complicated library. It's top portion, which rises slightly above the ground, is made of carved wood. It curves into the rock - part of the library is within the rock itself - and the domed roof has slanted windows to let in long shafts of sunlight into the rooms below. It has a small solar system ornament on top of the dome, which spins in the wind, and a covered pathway that leads to the nearby school. The bottom part of the library is what is most interesting - it's made of stained glass and steel, tapering down against and into the rock. There are benches built around, and hammocks hung, so that you can sit down in that glass tip and read.

At the bottom, below the library, is a sheltered glen where the ruins of an old temple sit. The clan brought it with them when they moved here, by magical means - it's overgrown and surrounded by the glowing trees that they brought from the Starwood. The priests and priestesses of this temple live in small alcoves within the forest and the surrounding rock face - the clan's psychics, Seer, and other spiritual leaders live nearby, or have their offices in the area at least, if they prefer to live elsewhere. This replanted grove spreads out throughout the flatter area within the split in the cliff, and into the surrounding hills. Closer to the outside of the cliff, but still within the glen and sheltered by a slightly overhanging and very overgrown outcropping, is the nursery and kinder school. Partly carved into the rock, and partly in a a few small buildings leading out from it, it's surrounded by a carefully tended yard bordered by picketed fence. There is a small climbing structure inside, as well as a garden that the little ones learn how to tend. The buildings are meant to be fun - none of them look the same, they're covered in murals made by the students themselves, and there are an assortment of whimsical windsocks, windmills, and weathervanes protruding from the roofs.

On the small cliff that rises behind that one, there are a few dens and burrows, and on the small cliff behind that, a towering building of nesting catacombs for the fae dragons (some of them live in the trees in the forest below, some live up here), and then rising behind that is the main rock face of the left side of the slit in the cliff. It houses various tunnels lairs and apartments, usually sectioned off with some space between, so that everyone can pick a sort of "community" to live in - I know for a fact that they rotate the spiral dragons around so that they don't tunnel too deep into the rock with that never ending energy of theirs, filling the rock back in with magic once they've moved out. The clan keeps a very busy repair team, between the spirals and the faes, so that the rock face doesn't collapse and the trees don't die.

There are also a few outcroppings on this side that host small buildings and flat spaces to house those who prefer that sort of living space, and there is a fissure in the rock close to the top which has various apartments going off to either side from within it. Their architects have really figured out how to maximize the space, I must say, and they have room to grow still.

On the outside corner of this side of the slit, they have built a watchtower for their security force. It's built into and towers above the rock. Running along the edge of the rock face inside the split is a building which is also partly within and partly without the rock - it's an elegant series of arches and pillars, leading pack into hushed studies. This is where the clan's astronomy team and magical scholars do their work. Above this, and sitting a little further back on the land that stretches back from the cliff face, are a trio of satellites: one that keep the floating islands they've built on in place; one which converts solar energy; and one that funnels the energy captured by water wheels on the other side, to this side of the split. I am of course fascinated by all of this - we didn't have this sort of techknowledgy in my day.

Between the satellite arrangement and the library (but closer to the library) is the radio station, with it's ground based radio tower sitting behind it's small station building. (they also, as I have mentioned, have an antenna on one of the floating islands) That is all for this side of the split, so let's make our way over to the otherside, arriving first at the grade school, which sits in a gathering of massive trees, whose roots cling to the rockface and the land above. The school is a series of treehouses, also decorated with lots of art and science projects, like the nursery school below but with obvious lesson plans behind the creativity. Besides the pathway connecting the school to the library, there is also a pathway leading the the gardens behind, where the clan grows much of it's food, and to the lake that sits just beyond and to the right of the gardens. Leading back from the lake is a river - between the base of the river and the garden plots is a hollowed out hillock where food is stored and distributed - and on the other side of the base of the river, there are a few more garden plots. If you follow the lake to the cliff face, you will find the water wheels sitting on either side as it narrows itself into a cascading waterfall. Beside the left hand wheel is a wheelhouse, where the energy from the water wheels is converted, and another satellite, from which the energy is sent to the satellites on the other side, as we've seen.

Alongside the waterfall but on the inside of the split, are, in descending order, the electrical center, the blacksmith, and the carpentry workshop. These all need large amounts of energy, which is why they're positioned close to the source of it. They are carved into the rock face, and feature wide openings. Further in, to the left along the rockface (and far enough to not be overwhelmed by the sound of machines, hammers, saws, and the waterfall) is a long outcropping and a large hollowing out, with buildings carved out of the rock. There's a small alley the winds back and around the few buildings carved out on the right hand side. The buildings feature shops and offices, and the flat space below hosts market stalls and traveling vender carts. This area is especially busy and bustling just after school lets out - the school sits just above it, and parents often stop by on their way home after picking up their younger children, while the older children (who are supposed to be taking themselves home) often stop in for sweets and snacks, and simply to have someplace to hang out with their friends. Some children also go to relive their parents of shop keeping... oh dear, now I'm getting distracted by the social dynamics of this place. Moving on...

Below the market area and a little closer to the waterfall - sort of central on the rock face - is the amphitheatre. The outcropping here has been hollowed out, featuring rows of descending steps that act as benches. In the rock face itself there have been carved archways leading back into sports equipment rooms, garrison apartments for those in training for the Arcanist, and theatre practice rooms for the productions that the school puts on a few times a year. This area is also used for clan-wide meetings, sports competitions, and concerts.

Just below and to the right is the outcropping the holds the athletics fields - used for sports training, some of the training for Exaltees, and for private exercise. To the left of this outcropping and descending below it, are more lairs and apartments, just as there are on the other side. The hills below host more dens and burrows. The forest which covers the floor moves from public park space closer to the temple, into treehouse territory, and then as it thins as the hills crowd it behond the opening, is sprinkled mixed with still more dens and burrows. One last feature, which I almost forgot, is the lab. It's dug into one of the larger outside hills to the left, Where the frequent tremors, weird smokes and vapors, and loud crashes won't disturb the clan.

Of course if you follow the hills all the way out and to their end, you find small sand dunes, the beach, and then the sea - the clan does have a few shacks there where they clean and dry the seafood they catch before bringing it back to food distribution, but these are temporary structures that can be moved depending on where the fishing is happening. The clan members often go down to enjoy the beach - the waters here are calm and perfect for swimming, with larger sea creatures not usually daring (or desiring) to swim this far in. The sands are pink and coarse, and the shore has various rocky projections perfect for curious hatchlings to climb and search for tidepools in.

Really, this clan couldn't have picked a more perfect spot; they have everything here. I wish I was alive to share in their daily goings on - as it, I try to stay out of sight. I wouldn't want to scare anyone, or inspire any would-be ghost hunters. I and my few companion spirits mostly haunt scrubland of the rolling hills and scraggly cliffs to the right of split in the cliff face. The others say I should spend less time watching Eldsvada and making myself wispful... I just can't help it. I'm sure, by now, you can see why, can't you?

I even made some sketches! I hope you like them! [click for larger size]