Hardora

After the surface of Feidalis was scorched and poisoned, the remaining mortals came together to create Hardora as a last sanctuary for their progeny. For generations, the island floating above the clouds has been the only place where life could still flourish. The panorama is dominated by a lonely mountain near one of the white cliffs that form the edges. Aitheris, the last known city, stretches along the mountainside, facing the open terrain. Mellow hills give way to golden fields of crops and the greenhouses nested between them. Winged lions guard the fields from the greedy beaks of the ever-present birds, that circle around Hardora constantly.

Geography

Hardora has an area of about 650 square-kilometers with a circular, slightly stretched base form. The distance from one edge to the opposite is between 20 and 25 kilometers. The edges are sudden and irregular, leading to a drop of several kilometers to the scorched earth. Hardora stretches for only a few dozen meters below ground level, making it seem very thin if anybody ever observed it from the side. On its surface peaks a singular mountain which the people call "The Thumb" (because it is very steep and sticks out in the landscape) to a height of 1,3 kilometers. Most of the islands surface consists of grassy plains and a few hills nearby the mountain. Groves with olive trees and some ponds are located on these hills. It is always sunny in Hardora, because the island floats right above the clouds, but it is also cold and the air is thin. Because the island can be steered, Hardora avoids extreme climates by following spring and summer around the globe, avoiding anything harsh that could threaten the lives (or comfort) of the people.

Fauna & Flora

Olive trees don´t need to be aided for them to grow in large amounts nearby the city. The ponds and groves are well taken care of but it is a principle not to perform any alterations without a cause. Therefore, these locations are in a wild, yet guarded situation in which shrubs, flowers and fern grow. Closer to the edges of Hardora grow cypresses and plane trees, the latter sometimes hanging over the cliffs or even having their roots on the rocky sides of the island. Sheep, goats and other domesticated animals have been altered to allow them to live in the high altitude and be generally more productive, but those engineered traits have somehow reduced their reproductive rate. Only very few and small fish live in the ponds, but toads are fairly common. Storks and herons can also be observed but aren´t generally hunted. Swallows and pigeons are far more common, to the point of them being a pest. The birds themselves as well as their nests are often caught or plundered, still their numbers don´t decrease and the seeds they consume are needed to feed the populace. In order to at least stagnate them, the Chimerions have been created, lions with feathered wings, a long, flat tail and a white to grey fur that lets them blend into the clouds. The Chimerions are trained from birth and have mental blocks, that prevent them from attacking anything else, but they hunt birds with a passion.

Natural Resources

Along the mountain are several natural caves where copper, tin, silver and marble are mined. Quarries are used to gain access to stone as a building material, but the overall mining is very limited because any non-renewable resource that is taken reduces the islands structure as a whole. Wood is therefore much more commonly used and not as strictly regulated, but even so there is always a need for foresters who aid the regeneration of the trees with mundane and magical means. In a similar way, those who specialize in nature magic cultivate different crops, nuts, apples, figs, olives and a large variety of herbs. To allow them to sustain in the high altitude, all cultivated plants are either magically engineered to make them artificially adapt to the environment or grown in greenhouses where this wasn´t possible (yet). Birds follow Hardora and use the rocky sides as nesting grounds which provides Aitheris with eggs and meat. Catching birds with mind control magic and systematically plundering their nests remains what feeds the populace along with agriculture. Fresh water is scarce on the island itself, which is why the inhabitants have long since started to drain it from the clouds. To do so, they are partially frozen and lifted up with a complicated system of ropes, pipes and heat exchangers.

Alternative Name(s)

The Last Sanctuary

Type

Island, Floating

Included Locations

• Aitheris