Bheid

Walk onto the black sands of the Venetan Peninsula and you will feel the old ways seep into your bones. Here on Bheid, where the last hint of the giants remain, the past is always tangible, always heavy on the tongue, always drifting thick through the air like a cool mountain mist.
The continent of Bheid is both a landmass and a country. It is known for two kingdoms, the recently founded Sunlen Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Bheid. Wrapped in the hand of the Iceclaw Mountain Range, Bheid curves into two peninsulas, the Venetan Peninsula and the Stonereach. To the direct south of these peninsulas, there are algren forests, ice, and mountain peaks, difficult to traverse to all except the most experienced Olna-nen trapper.
Two rivers are the main tributaries in Bheid, the Lan and the Barados. They are stocked to the brim with salmon and sturgeon. The rivers help the population of Southern Telruin peoples to travel to the capitals of either country.
Finding ones way through the algren forests of Bheid can be a difficult business if not for the passages created by the giants of long ago. Called the innerways, these pathways negotiate through hardened terrain and are older than any roads found throughout all of Prominence. They are reliable and never lead one astray.
Bheid is home to all manner of people, though it was once only home to the giants of Prominence, the Vrolua. Long after the giants had shaped Bheid to their liking, the Olna-nen arrived to exploit the fishing and game of the countryside. An unlikely bond was created among the two peoples and this relationship persisted until the giants vanished from Prominence in 1601 CE. Then came the first invasion of the Telruin. They were islanders and hungry for new territory.
When the people of the islands invaded for the first time, they put to sword any of the Olna-nen that they came into contact with. They discovered a land that already had massive roadways cut into the countryside. These innerways guided them all the way through to the heart of the continent. Then they spread like wildfire conquering any space not inhabited by the Olna-nen except for the extreme southern regions as these were considered inhospitable by the Telruin. Here the mountainous regions saved the Olna-nen from complete destruction.
They set about transforming the landscape, so that from Veneta all the way to Alsea, every city and castle became a stronghold for the Telruin. They ruled the continent in a feudalistic fashion for more than five thousand years.
They brought with them new names for the Olna-nen territories. They renamed Belfo, to Bellfountain. Harn became known as Harnhold. Still a few Olna-nen names exist today in places like Bhadras, Taltri, Ligne, and of course Nen.
The Southern Telruin continued in their rule over the territory, absorbing as much from Olna-nen culture as they could while retaining their own cultural practices. A hybrid culture was created because of this which gave rise to the Masked Lords.
All throughout the territory, a number of animals make their home and the regions that they choose to inhabit became synonymous with the lord that ruled over it. This is an Olna-nen practice that was adopted by the Southern Telruin.
The animals that make their home on the continent are hardy to a land of ice and snow. Bheid is a hardened landscape and except for its forests of algren trees, it might be considered barren in some places. There are hardy grasses which survive in the southern mountainous territory, eaten by rams and goats of the region.

Geography

The continent of Bheid is shaped like a large arc but each point of that arc remains unique with its own peninsula, and its own kingdom. To understand each side of the Bheid, it's best to think of the continent as two halves, the Venetan Peninsula being one half and the Stonereach peninsula being the other. The section in the middle is a combination of cold climes and rocky mountain terrain. The two rivers, the Lan and the Barados run along each peninsula and have their origin in the Iceclaw Range. Along these river valleys, groves of algren trees grow, a type of evergreen pine. These forested areas have been cultivated into old growth forests by the giants that used to live on the continent. 
At the extreme south, Bheid advances into ice flows and glaciers. The territory here is inhospitable to all races of folk except for the Olna-nen. The water that gathers here from glacial activity is some of the freshest and bluest water in the whole world, though the phenomena of this melt is only reported by those that have lived in the region. 
A few degrees northward and the Iceclaw range erupts from the glacial ice. These mountains are known for being relatively jagged and desolate peaks. Still north from this and one begins to see the first sign of the Lan and the Barados rivers. 
Follow the Lan river westward and one will arrive at the Venetan peninsula, the smallest of the two peninsulas on Bheid. Follow the Barados to the northeast and one will see all of the Stonereach peninsula before them.

History

Bheid was empty during the time-before. The reason for this emptiness is uncertain. It is thought that Athrune had more plans for the world of Prominence before her death. Whatever the case, the landscape remained empty until the arrival of the Vrolua in -9550 BCE. The giants were given this territory as a form of appeasement by the shepherds, the Eldara. The Vrolua built their own way of life on Bheid away from the prying eyes of the shepherds in isolation. 
The landscape of Bheid changed to suit the giants. Dens were created from the skin of the Iceclaw Range. Mountains once pristine and untouched were torn asunder. All of this to suit the needs of the giants. All trees except for the algren were torn from their foundations and hurled into the ocean creating the vast forests of driftwood that the Venetan Peninsula is known for.

Type

Continent

Location under

Prominence

Related Ethnicities

• Telruin

Characters in Location

• Evered Davelon
• Rosalind Virellon
• Simon Sephara

Inhabiting Species

• Vrolua