History
Esfynor is a rumoured lost elven community in the northern reaches of the Jungles of Mijhail near the border of the Ruined Plateau of Thysduin. It is one of the few times that the elves established a settlement outside of their native territory before their civilization ended. The Lost Village of Esfynor is said to hold the remains of the
Esfynor Ioria Portal, a lost technology that led to the demise of nearly all elves after the original malfunctioned and tore micro tears in reality and a vicious plagued poured through killing all it touched.
Rumours of this settlement have persisted for generations and explorers and adventurers have raced to discover it in the dense depths of the jungle for countless years. All for the chance at seeing elven artifacts and architecture first hand. The thought of having real access to these things is incredibly enticing for historians and adventurers as a settlement of Esfynor's reported size has never been found in the thousands of years since the elves were killed.
The only ruins left, where the locations are known, are on
the Ruined Plateau of Thysduin where remnants of the plague still creep. Making Thysduin the most dangerous place on the entire continent.
A small portion of what researchers believe Esfynor may look like
The elves rarely left their home of Thysduin, and when they did they were very careful to keep their technologies to themselves. And because Thysduin remains the most dangerous place in all of Fyria, it is nearly impossible to see any of these technologies firsthand. Not without risking your life in the face of a lingering plague that still haunts Thysduin. Though some have begun to cautiously enter Thysduin.
Through translations found in the
Esfynor Cypher researchers believe the settlement was established a few months before the incident with the original
Ioria Portal occurred. With Esfynor being a settlement founded in order to conduct research into if a secondary Ioria Portal would operate differently if its location and materials were different than the original. If this is true, and the remnants of an Ioria Portal exist, not only would it mean access to the elven tools and artifacts related to everyday life, but it would also mean that the elves' most complicated and dangerous piece of technology is sitting unattended somewhere in the jungle.
Many historians believe that allowing this Ioria Portal, even if it is inoperable, is a danger too risky to allow to sit. And if only a fraction of the portal's powers is activated, it could spell the end for the entirety of Mijhail and its people. Other historians have thrown out their concerns, stating that if something were to happen it would've happened hundreds of years ago. And the fact that it has already sat for a few thousand years means it does not function in the slightest. But that the chance to find and study it and other artifacts is still incredibly enticing.
Lost to Time
Not much is known about why this settlement was abandoned and overtaken by the jungle. It was, hypothetically, one of the closest populated elven settlements to the Thysduin borders. Historians find it odd that this sort of settlement would not have been used, and if it had been used in the initial exodus of the residents of Thysduin who were able to escape, why wouldn’t they head to Esfynor?
Unknown to most, is that powerful magical wellsprings, like the ones the Ioria Portals were intentionally built on, are actually small tears in the fabric of reality. Where the chaotic energy of the Cacophony can leak through into the realm of Fyria in a slightly increased amount. These tears are small enough that more sinister things, like the elven plague, cannot squeeze through. But people who live in areas where these tears exist often report hearing strange noises, and even voices speaking in alien languages.
There are a few theories, that the village was located in a remote location too dangerous to travel to for most common elves. The village's remoteness possibly being due to the location requiring a particularly powerful magical wellspring, for use by the Ioria Portal, or the village was intentionally remote in case anything went wrong with the portal.
As the jungles back then were less populated, so the risk may have been deemed reasonable. During the last few months of the elves, the main portal in Elys Lenora was not considered a danger, despite being located in the capital, because it was built inside a specially protected building on the grounds of The College of Magicks.
The jungle did not have a powerfully protected location like the college, so it is possible seclusion was chosen as an alternative.
Sadly, for Elsy Lenora and the people of Thysduin, the protection of the college was not nearly enough to shield them from the malfunctioning Ioria Portal. And the initial blast tore through the college and much of the city in an instant.
Another popular theory is that elves did travel to Esfynor in their initial flee from Thysduin but factors forced them to flee there as well. These factors could have been anything historians theorize, things like lack of access to food and trade routes, the region being too dangerous for common citizens, or just a lack of connection with others and the sheer boredom of living a remote life.
Other historians believe that the elves, knowing at this point that the main Ioria Portal malfunctioned, would not want to leave a second, partially built Ioria Portal unattended. So why would they leave? What if they didn’t leave? What if some elves, potentially full-blooded elves, still live there to this day? And if they didn’t survive, what killed them?
The Esfynor Ioria Portal
A second Ioria Portal is confirmed to exist in the Lost Village of Esfynor. This fact was established after the translations of the Esfynor Cypher, where the author details the requirements needed for the Ioria Portal before the founding of the village. And some small details of its construction after Esfynor was founded, though the journal seems to indicate that construction was stopped at some point for an unknown reason. It is not known how far along the portal got in its construction or if it is able to function.
The first Ioria Portal was the direct cause that lead to the destruction of the elven civilization thousands of years ago but at the time of its construction was not viewed as a threat to elven health. Because of this the Esfynor Ioria Portal was supposedly being built alongside the first or was being constructed shortly before the first's completion. This second portal was being used in order to test any differentials that location and material may cause.
This portal is stated to have been built using the wood and vines of ancient Mijhail and drew energy from the jungles' innate magical wellsprings, much like those of Thysduin.
The Esfynor Ioria Portal - Lost to the jungle
Construction was halted for unknown reasons at some point and ceased entirely when the main Ioria Portal failed and the elven civilization was thrown into their own personal apocalypse.
It is unknown how far along the Esfynor Portal is in its construction, no one knows if it is operable or not. If it is operable and shares the same dangerous factors as its predecessor it could very well lead to another catastrophe like what befell the elves thousands of years ago.
Important Discovers in the Jungle
There have been few things found of elven origin outside of Thysduin, this includes in the Jungles of Mijhail. But unlike other locales, the jungles have been the site of a few important discoveries that are potentially related to Esfynor.
The Esfynor Cypher
A fifty-page journal, of unknown authorship, was found partially entangled within the roots of a large jungle tree about a kilometre away from the northeastern bend of the Murky River. Inside were pages of coded messages, that were theorized to be elven in nature, judging by the journal's wooden cover seemingly being sourced from wood not common to Mihjail.
The journal was studied extensively, but without any clues to the origins of the language inside, was left untranslated for over three decades.
After thirty years, a young and adventurous historian and archaeologist named Doctor Rowan Roux, would pick up the journal and begin her own research on it.
Eventually finding an actual cipher, carved into the face of buried stones in the north of the jungles, near the border of Thysduin. These stones, whose carvings are of unknown origins, would help Dr. Roux partially translate the journal.
Twenty-four partially translated pages have led her to other important elven artifacts within the jungles. The partially translated journal has also spread some light on the construction of the Lost Village of Esfynor and what may lay inside it. Including details on the Esfynor Ioria Portal and its purpose. This translation also started a new boom in researchers and adventurers scrambling to find the village, now that there are some clues to work off of.
The Elven Rooted Overlook
A small platform that hangs off the side of an ancient tree in the Jungles of Mijhail. Originally thought to have been a strange deformation of the tree, Dr. Roux discovered that it was instead an intentional construction by the elves that eventually settled the Lost Village of Esfynor.
The overlook is constructed of tightly woven, and ossified, roots and vines of the tree it is attached to.
It is thought that the elves constructed it using magic that allowed them to pull material from the tree and jungle itself. Weaving the overlook to allow them to climb the tree easily, and look out above the jungles canopy.
In the thousands of years since its initial construction, the overlook has been nearly fully enveloped by the tree, with only a small remnant of the vine ladder and about a foot and a half worth of the platform remaining.
The Elven Rooted Overlook
The tree has grown considerably since the time of the overlook's construction and is much taller and wider now. The overlook no longer has natural access to viewing above the canopy. The Elven Rooted Overlook is one of the only discovered monuments of elven architecture to have been discovered outside of the Ruined Plateau and is a significant find of historical value.
Its purpose is somewhat debated, but it is popularly debated that this structure was used by the elves to view the surrounding area and to gaze over the top of the jungle canopy. It is believed that more of these overlooks were likely constructed but remains of additional structures have not been found so far.
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