Nistal
As the Second Era dawned, one cold, unassuming night, a beam of brilliant light shot from the radiant moon Leyas down to the surface of Hylos. It struck with enough force to level mountains and birth oceans, yet, by some sort of divine intervention, its payload was largely unharmed. Thus the A'Tova arrived on their new homeland and reshaped history for centuries to come.
The landmass they struck on arrival was, until that point, untouched by sentient hands. As the Feylasi were still getting their bearings on Altemos, so too were the A'Tova on their new land. They named it Nistal, and it would become their home in the decades to come.
Geography
Amounting to little more than a planetoid-sized hunk of rock and steel, the geography of Nistal is far less varied than that of Junqia or Altemos. Mountain ranges and jagged canyons criss-cross the smooth stoneplains like ugly scars, interrupting the usually irrepressible winds which wear down all things of Nistal.
The Three Seas push in through cracks in the stone, alternating between forming rapids wider than most lakes, or thin streams that, while calm on the surface, dive deeper than some mountains. Branching underwater tunnels and lakes are home to aquatic creatures that rarely, if ever, see the light of day. Sinkholes due to subterranean and subaquatic activity are rare, but common enough to be noteworthy.
By far the most significant feature of Nistal is the Leyasa Crater. Spanning three hundred miles in diameter, it splits the southern portion of Nistal in twain, opening it to the Seas to the east and west and leaving only a large spearhead to the south. Beneath the flooded caldera lies the deepest trench on Hylos. Known to most as the Leyasa Chasm, within its black depths lurk beasts larger than most cities.
The center of the Leyasa Crater, though, is hallowed land. It inexorably rises to a peak that crests above the waves, forming an equally circular plateau. In ancient times, it stood alone, but in the millenia since its inception has become the epicenter of a network of decadent bridges, an homage to its very existence. To the A'Tova it is known as Kerana A'Sakai - the Isle of Rebirth, as integral a piece of A'Tovian culture as Sol Feylaas is to the Feylasi, or the Chiqian to the Minxolao, for at its epicenter lies the exact spot where, according to myth passed down for generations, the first forefathers of the A'Tova fell from Leyas as the moon fell, inch by inch, to the onslaught of Sithoth's unending hunger.
Fauna & Flora
Depending on an observer's perspective, evolution on Nistal is either a cruel mistress or a bustling taskmaster. It is commonly accepted, and cyclically proven, that species here rise and fall with a regularity not seen on the other great landmasses. Nature, it seems, will try again and again, and rarely find results satisfactory enough to keep around for long.
Those that do manage to find a spot for themselves on Nistal tend to polarize towards one of two extremes: either massive and durable, or miniscule, agile, and strategic. Nearly all except the very largest also lean towards pack, herd, or even swarm mentalities, with males fiercely protecting and hunting for the young and fertile.
Type
Continent
Related Myths
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