Wonders of The World

The world is home to an abundance of incredible sights both natural and man-made. Many reside within The Varolian, yet myths and rumours have travelled from the barbaric places elsewhere of great things far beyond the reach of this continent.

Constructed Wonders

In the centuries since mortal-kind was delivered from the terror of The Archons, many awe-inspiring constructions have taken place, especially within The Republic of Ósa.

The Colossus - Katarn

The oldest wonder on this list, believed to have either been constructed by ancient mages during the Archonomachy, or by the Irikos Empire that formed shortly after it ended.
The Colossus is a titanic construct of metal and stone, standing well over 200 feet tall and powered by incredible magics. It stands guard over Katarn, as it has done since before The Republic was founded, only ever animating when a great danger threatens the city. Such an event hasn't happened in more than a human lifetime, however, leading many to believe that the construct is nothing more than an enormous statue.
The Colossus has since been granted two siblings; one that rests in Olsíri, completed some 300 years ago, and one theorised to be guarding Tísma Minor for the Immortals, though no mortals know who built it or when.

Great Wall of Katarn

Built around Katarn during the height of the Irikos Empire when its ruler believed the Colossus may not be enough to protect its citizens from enemies and monsters. The wall stands some 90 feet tall at its highest walkway (though there are towers that reach higher), and 30 feet thick at its widest side. The walls even extend into the waters, protecting the dock just as much as the city itself, and the two gates at either side of the city require either a pair of ships or team of oxen to open.
As the city has expanded over the centuries, it has become a regular city project to demolish a section of the wall, only to rebuild it around new districts, or even just areas that have been marked for construction later. Many outside of the city mock this tradition, and the wall itself, for no settlement has bothered with walls in the Republic for generations. Yet those who call Katarn their home will likely continue maintaining the Wall until the end of time.
The Colossus stands over the water-side gate, eternally facing towards the city of Pelíos on the other side of the Strait, ready to defend the walls it has called home since the dawn of history.

Úrlos Palace - Olsíri

Since the earliest days of mortals, they have looked towards the sky; at the clouds and stars who populate it, the birds and beings who travel it. Some of the earliest records of magical studies speak of attempts to float and fly, and the first myths of giants mention how they descended from castles resting upon storm clouds.
It should come as no surprise, then, that this was one of the first great works of The Republic. After they officially named Olsír as their new capital, they built a decadent palace held thousands of feet up in the sky air by magic, emulating the flying castles of mighty giants. Shining marble is decorated with near every expense imaginable, from Lapis Lazuli painted walls to platinum and gold inlaid pillars, and some say the greatest works of magic in the world rest within its vaults.
Only higher mages have ever seen it up close, and it is said only Immortals regularly see inside. The only thing the common people know for sure is that it hosts an arcane weather device, ensuring Tísma Major has had perfectly controlled weather for hundreds of years.

The Colosseum - Chyreum

When Aesk the Ever-changing arrived in Chyreum two centuries ago, it was a modest place that cared about little more than its own survival, located next to the Shifting Isles as it was. For reasons unknown, the Immortal decided to turn the city into a metropolis of marble and entertainment.
With aid from The Lich King's endless forces, Aesk was able to transform Chyreum according to their desires, with the gleaming centrepiece being the largest Amphitheatre in the world. The Colosseum was built to fit a hundred thousand spectators - more than the population of the entire city at the time - and enchanted with transmuation magics that allowed the Colosseum's masters to change its terrain each new day, ensuring there are always new and exciting challenges to be had.

Gates of Kratis

Constructed just over a century ago and named after a foe killed a century before that, The Gates are a series of artifical islands constructed across the Strait of Varol, which connects the Sea to the wider Telíotes Ocean.
They serve as watchtowers to ensure that nothing enters or leaves the Varolian without The Republic knowing, and rumours claim they've even been enchanted to function as an arcane wall 500 miles long in times of need (though this has never been seen or confirmed.)

Floating Bands of Olsíri

Airships as an idea have existed in the minds of mages since the Palace above Olsíri was constructed. In time, they would become a reality, first for the Immortals as little more than a status symbol, and then for the wealthiest of mages as a true means of travelling the world. But there were many issues, from the impracticality of maintaining them to great difficulty landing them, to say nothing of the area required to build them in the first place.
And so a project began, the only one of its kind; an entire dock and shipyard constructed entirely in the air. Helmed by Zarligantír Dragonlord, the initial plans were of a single vast ring suspended above the city, with facilities to build and maintain the four or five ships in existence at the time.
Since it's initial construction, the Skyport has gained two more rings; each larger than the last, with bridges between them and buildings atop them. There are now dedicated staff who never leave the band, their homes and needs are met within the town that occupies the largest hoop, while some of the greatest mages of the age continue to work on maintaining and equipping the now score of ships that sail the sky.

Waterways of Kanios

The youngest finished wonder on this list, completed less than a decade ago by the combined efforts of Vhul'xo The Undying and many other mages or builders. The Wonder is not a single piece of architecture, but a network of canals and aqueducts that stretch for thousands of miles across the face of the region, in an irrigation system that waters a larger area than some thought possible before the project began.

The Aetherius Pillar - In Construction

Located in Amphousa and helmed by Katamenos Xanómenes, The Aetherius Pillar is an ambitious (and possibly hubristic) project to build a tower so tall that it reaches into the heavens themselves.
The Pillar began construction around four years ago and currently stands taller than most of the spires in the city, yet is still potentially decades from completion.

Natural Wonders

Even the mightiest buildings and most powerful magics often pale in comparison to the works of the Gods. Before the Archonomachy, mythology speaks of acts of such destruction or creation that they permanently changed the face of the world.

The Shifting Isles

"Wonder" may not be the most appropriate word for these islands, for they are the source of much strife across The Varolian. While there are several areas that move and drift throughout the sea, there is a great archipelago of such islands in the region of Teráka; thousands of alien, monster-infested pockets of land that seem to operate under their own rules compared to the rest of the world.
Mapping the isles has proven near impossible, with mages spending a lifetime simply tracking one or two out of hundreds, possibly thousands. Some teleport, some drift, some even appear to sink for years at a time before breaching the surface again. A few of the islands are known to move in patterns, repeating the same routes every few years, but the vast majority act in such seemingly random ways that none alive can predict them.
Their existance is often attributed to Fidain, under the belief that the islands were once used as his breeding grounds to create new and terrible forms of life before his imprisonment an age ago.

Forgemaster's Steps

When the world was young and Gods still asserting their place in Creation, it is claimed that The Builder descended from The Aether to establish a forge in which to work. He travelled from the Southern Lands; wherever he walked grew mountains of fire and lava.
The volcanic mountain range that runs through Kanios into Prótos is said to be the results of his route, with the mightiest volcano that sits in the heart of Prótos serving as The Godforge.

Great Crater of Lofsjarna

The source of this 150 mile impact crater has been the source of many theories by many people over the centuries. Some claim it to be the site of The Champion's ascension to full divinity, others that it was where The Dread Serpent destroyed Beloved Kiderha, and others still that it was some part of the Sun that fell down to Éda during the early days of creation.
Regardless of the cause, the crater itself is now home to its own nation and culture, even its own ecosystem. It is the homeland for Dwarf-kind, and thought to be the only source in the world of the indestructable Adamantine.

The Weeping Cliffs - Source of The Díta River

Rumour has it that far, far beyond the Western edges of The Varolian is a land of mountains and trees so vast that it would take weeks to fly to their peaks. It is said that this is the original homeland of Giants and their Gods, before it became the stage on which an ancient battle took place between The Storm Lord and these ancient beings.
Lútus slew his deific rivals, and interred their bodies into the mountains they once ruled. The faces of of these Gods - their names lost to history - form the starting point of the largest waterfall in the world.