[ geography: lands ] [ 6/6 update ]

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THESE LANDS

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VALMORDIA: THE WORLD OF MYST
Yes, once upon a time this world was not known for the Myst that ensconces it, choking the very life from the soil. The general weather is cloudy, and there is seldom sun to be seen; Myst prefers shadow in which to work. Myst has been working away for a century or two now; ample time for the various creatures of Valmordia to get used to the new state of affairs. It rains quite frequently, due to this heavy cloud cover, and the oceans are in a continual state of flux. Few people can actually go to the beach any more, as Myst surrounds most of the shores.

It must be understood that most of Valmordia is held under Myst's sway. More shall be told of this later, but suffice to say that the Myst's lands are a places where nobody, and again I say nobody wants to go.

Before we get any closer, hear of my world from space. One sun, orbited by fifteen small planets: three known to have life, but only Valmordia with sentient beings. The planet lost interest in the other lifeforms after a few years, becoming far more interested in what was happening closer to home. Our planet has but three moons: Jungsa (JUNG-sah), Timer (tem-ER), and Lillia (lil-e-a).
Valmordia has an almost perfectly circular orbit, meaning that there is little change in the seasons throughout the year. In fact, there are only two seasons, named after two ancient gods of light and dark: Sunwe (SUN-wei) and Yughan (yu-*Gutteral noise*AAN). The axis of the planet had little tilt, so, though one season is light and the other is dark, there is only a very small variation for each season. If the planet were a few million kilometres closer to the sun, the temperatures would be warmer... but the planet is often chilled, and even at the equator, creatures develop fur. Do not think sphinx-cats or lizards at any place other than this invisible center ring; their heat-dependant nature would be utterly impractical.

The world is, all in all, not to dissimilar from yours. Humanity likes to imagine itself a very localised pest, but in fact the infestation is widespread throughout the cosmos. If only one planet knew that, they would be much less likely to attempt contact in space.
But I'm not here to banter religion or science with you: that is for another time and a less factual interview.
Valmordia is mostly salt-water - that being its oceans- which are the northern Atropic (ay-TROH-pick), the southern Miatic (my-AT-ic), and the western Ospritic (os-PRI-tic). Most of Valmordia's lands are connected, though often by thin strips of land only a few kilometres across. Eventually, they'll break away, but the human race is unlikely to live to record it.

As there are three main oceans, so there are three main continents. At the top of the world, there is (so originally named) Atropia (ay-TRO-pi-a). This covers the whole pole.
To the west, Oshuma (oh-SHOE-maa), the consumer and the wild land. In the 'old days' it was a favourite tourist destination for its warm temperatures and amazing wildlife.
And finally to the south, Xiaden. A strangely out-of-place name, but only because they seemed so out of place.
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ATROPIA

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The people of northern Atropia, the forest lands, are generally introverted. Tight, pinched faces, tarnished consonants, and distrusting of foreigners, the majority could be claimed reminiscent of the medieval British persona. Lockdown City is by far the most common placement of such a stereotype: where once there was a bustling melting pot, now there is little more than a scared, cowardly commune of those trying to forget the inevitable...
Galshhoek is the home of the friendly but guarded ones, with a German bone structure and a Norse-like desire for welcome and good company.
Raleston and the land surrounding is full of the pinch-faced little conservatists. The kind of people who used to marry for wealth and luxury. To this day, marriages are arranged based on money, not love, and the breeding of more fishing-folk, with nimble fingers and pointed features.

THE NORTHERN FORESTS: LOCKDOWN CITY
Once upon a time, in a land not so very far away, there was Theranse. As with much of Valmordia, names change. Lockdown City, I confess, is far more apt than such an elegant name could ever hope to be. But I digress; forgive me. You have much to learn and little time to learn it in.
This place has never been terribly happy, but it was always commonly acknowledged as Valmordia's chief jewel, its prize of economy and of science. Today, it is its chief city, merely because it is one of the few still inhabited and run by sapient beings. Misery seems to pervade it, cloying like a mist. The sick lie in its alleys, begging the passers-by for death they cannot provide. Shops, their lights flickering with half-hearted fluorescence, still open, though they stock wares that in better days, the denizens would have thrown out long ago. Behind the crumbling façade, the black market flourishes. Policemen are corrupt, a dying breed. The fact of the matter remains, however, that the city is overflowing. When the Myst first began to spread, those who were nearest fled to Theranse. When half the globe was believed consumed, Theranse was where the world turned to for advice, for shelter. Many of the survivors of the Myst, the only survivors of their city, have tried to rebuild their own culture within its walls, and fierce fights often break out between conflicting groups. The city is one time-bomb, and the terrorists have left the shut-off code at home, stuck to the fridge.
Not all terrorists, however, are so absent minded. Quite apart from all the gangs, diseases, and pestilence that pervades the lower quarter, there is a higher class of being who reign in the upper reaches. It is here that the wealthier citizens of Theranse reign supreme. Take a look into these upper stages, and you see nothing of the disease or warfare. Why? It's those famous Theranese scientists again. Their technology keeps the air clear, the water drinkable, the food as fresh as if it were fresh-grown. And the price the citizens pay for such luxury? Ask no questions; hear no lies. Awkward questions, someone dies.

Even further back into the city, the scientists hold full dominion. Though the Council who 'run' the city don't admit it, they know who pulls the strings in Theranse nowadays, and the puppets are happy to dance. Inside the laboratory, the unspeakable occurs. In fact, it's so unspeakable that those who speak it are doomed to speak no more. Various experiments here are... created? Born?


OUTSIDE THE CITY
As can be imagined, there is little to see outside the actual city. Lockdown City spread well outside its normal walls long before it achieved the name, and being perpetually in this state doesn't really help to expand the outer city. From the outer reaches, Theranse is effectively a dome, and not much more. A semi-transparent dome, but a dome nonetheless. Smoke wafts from a grill-covered chimney atop the who structure.
These outer reaches are severely overgrown, and are a breeding ground for the few normal creatures left. rats, mice, birds of brey, feral cats and feral dogs... Not to mention various other creatures. All of them thrive here, as if the human race no longer existed. There's about 1000 kilometres' drive from the city to the Myst. Not much, considering Myst used to barely cover a space about as wide as a ten cent piece.


SOUTHERN PLAINS: GUREA
Thanks to Axl for this town!
On the edge of the edge stands a city. They were lucky, here in Gurea: the Myst... was... furthest from here than from anywhere else on Atropia. Thanks to Dr. Psylin, however... Slight changes have occurred. Gurea itself has moved about a hundred metres left of where it once stood, owing to the entire area having been destroyed by the parasite. So it stands that the lucky folk on the plains of Atropia know more about the effects of Myst than most.
It's a popular tourist destination for the scientists, and quite a few of their test subjects come from here. (It being more convenient to stock up on the screamers, while also benefiting from reasearch.) In the city centre -the new one- a building has been set aside for their use.

The well-known city of Gurea lies in the heart of the continent's swamps. The whole place is half grass-filled land and half swamp, and thus generally difficult to access, unless you take the main road. The council take great pains to keep it free of highwaymen, but despite their best efforts... well, there's always a black mask or two on the horizon.
Black trees sprout up from the bottom of the swamp and block the sun from shedding any more than a sliver or two of light.

Technology-wise, you can safely assume that Gurea is as advanced as the next city. But while cities like Lockdown City, Gurea and Mkhandi (capital of Oshuma) are filled to the brim with modernity and high-tech materials, these are generally kept from the smaller towns. It wasn't meant to turn out that way... It just sort of happened. The smaller towns around Guera come here for a change, when they want to see what their world has come to, but most return shaking their heads. "What witchcraft the world is coming to!" they say, and warn their children not to stray from tradition. You'd think that this bred a generation of travellers, rebels and adrenaline junkies to a man. Who knows, maybe it has.

So Gurea. How can I portray this city for you? Words are seldom accurate to convey any great place on Valmordia, but in my experience, Valmorida comes with its share of acceptable, logical boundaries. For example, I'm sure you can imagine a clustered, yet broad sort of city. A floating city. Surrounded by marsh, overhung by trees, anything else would be impractical. It's a very poetic place, too, and many great writers -the sort with a haunting or bloody twist to their work- have originated here. And it can be described poetically, and yet completely truthfully, in the same manner: blood-red skies at dawn, walls that appear to have grown from the very gods' gardens, itself reflected in myriad pools of shadow, that sort of thing. And really, that is Gurea. A beautiful city, in its own dark way. The nestled jewel of our marshes, perhaps.

But no degree of beauty can deny that the stone-walled city is... Well, it stinks a bit. A lot, maybe.
That's what comes of living near swamp, were all sorts of unfortunate creatures have died, and the most you can hope for is not to be next. Still, inside the stench dissipates a touch: 'ritual' incense is hung on every corner, supposedly an offering to the gods of the marsh, who would otherwise question why they brought such dull creatures into the world.
The city is cut by water into five main slices: the metal district, food district, paper district, Gods' district, and the living district. Although people can sell food, praise their religion, and build a home anywhere, the citizens have mapped their city; as they cannot force the swamp to rearrange itself into a manner that best suits them, this is the next best thing. What divides the city into these fifths is the swamp. Deep, thick arlazily swim the canals around it, and occasionally you wil


RALESTON
Ah, the last-standing fishing community in all of the Northern Forests. Surrounded now by the forest the citizens so rightly fear, this place is a breeding ground for creatures of the night. Why? Only a few kilometres upstream, the sewers of Theranse vomit filth into the river. And can you imagine what filth the scientists flush down the drains? Not just empty chemicals... But sometimes failed experiments, too.
What was once so pure and clear now houses all manner of flies, parasites, and creepy-crawlies... Not to put too fine a point on the place. Most families live in terror; the patriarch stands guard by the door each night, rifle in hand. But they are proud -if nothing else- and life goes on. They fish the river; once to remove the trash, once to catch what's left. They still marry, give birth, and die... Though 'unnatural causes' is becoming a common coronary report. Electricity is used sparingly, but for lighting, as there's nothing really to generate it. In fact, it's possible that a battery is worth more in Raleston than anywhere else in Atropia.

Occupations Available:
Bounty Hunter (Contact your local hunting outpost, please)
Fisher
Innkeeper
Shopkeeper


SOUTHERN PLAINS: LITHISTA
Said lith-ISS-tuh
This is a small town, off the beaten track. Nestled into the side of a mountain range, this town sits about as far south as it is possible to go now; no-one remembers it, no-one cares. It's weeks' walk to anywhere, and much of that involves travelling near the Myst. Too near for comfort.

Lithista is an ancient community, and has only recently added internet, phones, and electricity to its list of utilities. It's quite an odd combination of old and new. A few buildings inside the city were built by the missionaries who rediscovered it, and these are quite obviously older; the town hall, the mayor's quarters, and a few others are their work. But more and more, Lithista is a modern city, and most buildings are only four years old; constantly being pulled down and rebuild to keep up with all the newness.
The 'old' is outside the township, it's original location. These humble little buildings hug the mountainside, and each has its own farm. Though some of the buildings are new, and house very new machinery, all are intricately worked in accordance with the people's love for the elegant and embellished.

Tattooing is a central part of society here. Everyone who is anyone -or at least is originally from Lithista- has some. The tattoos tell you who you are, what you've done, where you're from and who your parents are. At birth, all babies are given a tattoo with their name, year of birth, and parents' names in it. Generally designed and done in the most intricate way possible, it is completed slowly as the child grows, to prevent too much obvious stretching.


THE NORTHERN FORESTS: GALSHHOEK
[Pronounced 'galls-GHO-eckh'][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

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SOUTHERN CONTINENT

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OSHUMA

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Oshuma... Part of the world overtaken by Myst. In fact, the entire continent is devoted to all creatures great and Mysted. After infecting this continent, it went on into the southern lands and north into the west of Atropia. Slowly but surely, Oshuma is being emptied of all the creatures here: they are needed elsewhere in Myst's domain.
The people who got out before things really got heated can be easily told apart from Valmordia's other inhabitants. They are of medium or tall height, and most have coal-black skin, owing to the West's close proximity to the equator.
Oshumans are long-legged -evolutionary development tells us they ran down their prey- and have long, wise faces. Usually, they eye colour is darker than the skin, but some genetic throwbacks, who are of lesser height, have piercing blue eyes. Other than this small deviation, long faces and rounded features are the chief hallmark of any Oshuman descendant.

As a culture, most are guarded. Understandable, given the close proximity to so many dangers: snakes were a chief fear. However, they love new technology, and were always eager purchasers of whatever new and exciting gadget came from Atropia. Many of the cities stand without rust, completely pristine, thanks to the buildings' owners' careful maintenance. Even the fish in the tanks are still swimming happily; their water is cleaned automatically, and every day at exactly five o'clock, the pets are fed everywhere in the city. Naturally, all the animals are infected, but occasionally food takes precedence over searching for the perfect one.

OSHUMA: MKHANDI
Ah, the capital city of Oshuma! A fine, well-established city, the whole place is a mass of glass-fronted buildings and tall, glistering spires. They shimmer in the midday heat.
Every building is perfectly cool, silent but for the hum of all the machinery that keeps it so, and the occasional buzz of the cleaning and feeding robots. Every pet is kept in perfect condition: it's a city entirely populated by the metal man. All the humans, the lovely infected humans, are sent out on the Myst's ever-increasing searches for the Perfect One, so they have no time to bother with their beautiful, pristine cities. Mkhandi is in far better shape than Theranse; its gardens are green, the streets clear, everything that can be polished shines like a star. Beautiful... If only we could be there to enjoy it.

OSHUMA: JUNGLE
Home of the jaguar, the python, the tapir and the elephant, this is the only place that the Myst is safe to explore during the day. This jungle lines Oshuma's northern and southern coastline, stretching a few thousand kilometres inland, before petering out in an almost perfect line, due to the baking heat. Most creatures that live here are no longer of any use to the Myst, and so they tend to behave as normal animals; their mindset has been gently released... But each creature knows (or would, if it was capable of sentient thought) that the thing in its head can reclaim them at any time.
The jungle is thick, inhospitable, and humid. It's not the kind of place you willingly adventure in to. Hanging vines grasp, thorns twist and main, and everything that can bite or blind you does so. Sure, it has its beautiful side -the occasional pristine waterfall, the odd sunlit grove- but in the long run? Don't go there.

OSHUMA: NIDIAN SETTLEMENT
The Nidian are a small subculture of the Oshuman race. Their great ancestors were lazier than the general Oshuman, and so they are small of stature, but no less dark of skin. Generally, their eyes are green or brown, and they used to be very skilled with the old poison dart. Now, their little village is a happy center-point of the Myst's Oshuman domain.

OSHUMA: DARKLANDS
Ever since the Myst's takeover, this continent has become a place of little import. The Darklands is merely the name given to the plains. It is always hot and humid here: even the Myst has taken to coming out only at night, and hiding under the ground. During the day, temperatures can reach scorching levels, and many have been known to die of thirst in a mere day. Unless you have a guide from one of the old tribes, you're dead. It doesn't really matter now though, as to get near Oshuma would mean instant infection. No-one comes here any more, and so the Darklands are freely inhabited by all the animals of this continent; ironically, in greater peace than before their infection.
The whole area is flat, with the occasional river-side oasis to break the monotony. Animals here are familiar; the lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, hippopotamus, and all the other farmyard friends. If you could still walk through uninfected, you might find an old village dotted every two hundred kilometres or so. But you can't, so there's no use in the statement. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

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MYST

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MYST LANDS: THE FOREST
Much of Valmordia is under Myst's sway, and the lands that are enshrouded by it... Places in which only the Chimera or the infected may travel. Only those are safe from Myst's chilling embrace.
These forests are all under Myst's sway. (You may read more about our favourite parasite here) Trees, animals... Everything is infected, and everything is searching. The trees whisper in their sleep. Searching... Searching... Ever creature no longer has a mind of its own; the mind of the creature's original owner is shoved, screaming, into the background. Each of them searches for the perfect one. The only one who will dim the pain and burn the misery away forever.

These lands are treacherous for the unwary; the grasses grasp at passing feet, and the paws of the dissatisfied forest dwellers unsheathe their claws. Myst wants none to wander free of its embrase; not until the perfect one is found. A few bodies of the experiments litter the forest's outer reaches.

MYST LANDS: WASTELANDS
The Myst has dwelt here too long.
The ground is a warren of holes and tunnels, dug by the desperate creature trying to escape the Myst.

MYST LANDS: CITIES
Xiadong
A people of Asian appearance, but of towering height, once dwelt here.
Xiadong, now ruins, was once a beautiful city, a veritable epicentre of all things architecturally astounding. There was little that the people here did not command, even in ancient times, and with the addition of modern technology, [/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]