Gapp's Reign

Gapp's Reign is a violent, volcanic region. While volcanos are associated with earth, and Gapp Keobo is the Syimlin of Earth, he isn't known for violent rages or exploding temper. His is the earth of sandy beaches and soft meadow soils.
I suppose the area doesn't need to reflect his personality. What is important, is that Gapp's Reign is the place where the Evenacht is expanding. The pace is slow, but Uka's Lament will surpass Fading Light in size.

--Qira, avatar of Light

Research:

Gapp's Region

by our new scholar, Yvazhera

In this Research Document:

all images by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated

Myth

Uka's Lament has always had volcanic activity in its southern regions. In fact, the most ancient of ghosts in existence remember when Intersection did not exist, and how eruptions of the volcanos added huge chunks of land to the continent.
Ghostly myth claims that a long-ago Earth named Devall bemoaned the lack of volcanoes in the Evenacht. He tickled the rocks beneath the ocean where the Parley Mountains and the Elfiniti Rainforest kissed the expanse of water, and the rocks, overcome with laughter, were unable to contain their mirth. Lava spewed forth from their wide-open fissures and filled the surrounding ocean. Now clogged, the rocks could not re-close their fissures, and the volcanoes were born.
Earth acolytes flocked to the new lands, believing it the best place to worship their chosen deity. They built temples near still-active sites and started the first communities near the lava-filled edges. The living joined them and farmed the fertile soils, forming faelareign/umbrareign communities based on joint respect and ventures. They provided an example of how ghosts and the living could co-exist in harmony.
Local rainforest myth claims that a violent volcanic region has always existed in the south, but Khimbak, the Parley Mountains earthen deity, wished to add to his beloved peaks faster, so he stuck his fingers into the ocean floor, puncturing the surface and allowing more lava to flow through the new holes. The Elfiniti deity, Esems, saw a threat to the rainforest and attempted to halt Khimbak from creating more fissures.
The two fought, and Esems fell to Khimbak. The victor, driven senseless by the thrill of victory, started puncturing the rock below the ocean's surface at a faster rate. Traditionally, an ocean deity seduced him into stopping, and their love affair continued for eternity; after ghosts arrived, bringing their respective syimlin with them, the syimlin of Earth took the ocean deity's place, and instead of seduction, he preferred battle. Echoing the Evenacht's 'fall' into ghostly hands, Khimbak fell to Earth and his influence wiped from Uka's Lament. He remains a hermit deity, watching the syimlin gain religious traction while his name fades from memory.

The largest recorded eruption was of Me Imbati Island, some thirteen thousand years previous. It spewed chunks of rock into the air as large as one of Evening's skyscrapers and sent ash high into the atmosphere. Already cloudy Evenacht dimmed to nighttime darkness for three years after.
Normally, crops would have failed, wild plants and animals would have perished, and many of the living would have died, but acolytes of Sun created beacons high above the land, which gave light relief from the darkness. It is a sore spot for umbrareign, who felt their native religions and deities should have done something, rather than leaving it to ghosts.
Me Imbati is still there, but only as a half-ring remnant of itself, with a new volcano growing on the inner shore.

orig image by pawopa3336, Envato Elements

The Reign: General

Myths aside, the area has 123 distinct volcanoes, of which 97 are presently active. There are scattered communities throughout the region but most populations dwell in the transitional landscape between the fertile Intersection and the volcanic Reign. Basically, the Reign is too active for comfortable living.
The volcanos begin where tectonic plates are moving away from each other, but many have formed far enough away from the border, that scholars consider them hotspot-created. For those of religious leaning, the hotspots give credence to the 'shoving fingers into the crust' myth.
The largest city is Bubble Springs, which I think is a ludicrous name, but accurately describes the large natural spring boiling away on its outskirts. It began as a temple dedicated to Gapp Keobo, and grew from there. It has twenty-five thousand living residents, and anywhere from 50-60 thousand ghosts. It's an oversized farming community and one of the fertilest in the Evenacht.

orig image by haveseen, Envato Elements

Points of Interest

Gapp's Reign has few residents, but thousands of tourists. Both the living and the dead enjoy walking through lava fields and feeling the heat of the earth surrounding them. Guiding hikers to the craters of tall volcanos is a lucrative business, as is manning the 'healing springs' that litter the region.
The Volcanic Society of the Reign keeps tabs on volcanic activity and leads scientists and curious tourists to erupting volcanoes. This is dangerous (obviously) but they run the most popular excursions.

Many points of interest are popular because of the amount of ryiam in the area. Ryiam, or magic energy, fuels everything in the Evenacht, so attracts the living, the dead, animals, and plants. Other than mist-laden forests, Gapp's Reign is the most ryiam-heavy place in the three continents and the Sunderlands.

Fireflower Valley

Fireflower Valley in the northern parts of the Reign. Fireflowers grow on the slopes of active volcanoes and gorge on ryiam when eruptions occur. Once over-full, the flowers eject the energy into the air in the form of bright sparkles, which drift away on the winds. These sparkles are eaten by glowing insects called the firelamps, or find their way into nearby streams. Water from these streams is used in firecandy, a delicious but flaming hot confection.

orig image by Studio_OMG, Envato Elements

Fire Plain

Lava constantly flows on the Fire Plain. Situated between the border of Insersection and the southern tip of continental Reign, this is an easily reached attraction. It has boardwalks and viewpoints throughout, where tourists and scientists can view the lava flows. In spots with a bit of green, adherents of the local deity Sheffis perform fire dances with torches lit by the flows.
The plain is home to the firewings, great raptors with fire plumage that feed on the fat mice that gorge on the ryiam the lava produces.

orig image by wirestock, Envato Elements

Blue Lake

Blue Lake is found in the Resarche Crater, which overlooks Keobo's Spanse. It is a bright blue color year-round, and is known for its potent ryiam-laden clouds. Tourists visit to see the purple-tinged sunrises and sunsets, caused by the ryiam interacting with sulfur.
The Keu, an evaki people from Intersection, travel to the lake each year and perform a series of rituals that they claim keeps the lake blue and heated. One can see them pray and conduct intricate dances with flaming sticks.

orig image by sakarin14, Adobe Stock

Suvakitavi Island

Named after a native fire deity, Suvakitavi has been erupting for over two thousand years. It adds the most land in the sea near the southern tip of continental Reign. If it continues its current course, it will join with the mainland in another thousand years.
Few step foot on the island, but tour companies have sectioned off the ocean near where lava flows enter the water and built lava spas where they claim the heated water heals both the living and ghostly of disease.

orig image by Roland, Adobe Stock