Tal'Lyra

Continent of two races

Tal'Lyra is the westernmost continent of the known World. It borders the waters of the Singing Sea, the Glowing Sea, the Gulf of Roses and the Mirror Ocean. Most believe the humans arrived less than 2000 years ago after the Great Destruction. But, unlike to the other continents, humans couldn't fully conquer Tal'Lyra, because they encountered stiff resistance by the dwarven Kingdom located in the Endless Mountains . Today the landmass is still mostly covered by nature, only a small part of the Elderwoods in the south were cut down for farmland.

Geography

Tal'Lyra enjoys mostly moderate climate with good conditions for farming and feeding of the great population of the continent. Only north of the Endless Mountains is it colder and not live-friendly. The cold weather is brought to the shores of Reach's End by the Mirror Ocean and it's floating ice floes. To the east, the landmass is cornered in by the Singing Sea and the Glowing Sea. Westwards lies the Gulf of Roses with it's iconic name giving fauna. The continent is surrounded by islands of varying size in each direction. Some distinguished landmarks of Tal'Lyra are the Endless Mountains , the Elderwoods and Horto's Lake . The biggest river of the Continent is called Merto and flows from the Endless Mountains to the Glowing Sea.

Flora

Most of the Flora of Tal'Lyra is relatively unaffected by human and dwarven influence. Only the south of the continent was transformed into grasslands by humans in search for more farmland. While most of the islands and the north is covered by coniferous forests the Elderwoods consist of both evergreen and broadleaf trees. Only the The Amber Plains were never covered in forest, but are instead home to the famous Amborus plant.

Fauna

Most of the normal Fauna like deer, wolves and bears also exist in Tal'Lyra. Only horses are not native to the western continent but some where brought by trade. In the Endless Mountains though, many weird and not otherwise seen species like the woolox or the lyreagle exist. The Elderwoods are home to even weirder and more dangerous animals like the black sabretooth or the forestangel.

Important Cities

The biggest city without a doubt is Merlon's Keep, the capital of the lyrian empire, which is located in the Endless Mountains near Horto's Lake . No one knows exactly how wide the tunnels and halls under the mountains are, though they are assumed to be home over two million dwarves. The most vital human city is the Order's Watch south of the Elderwoods on the shore of the Gulf of Roses. It has the only real human fortress, build out of dwarven stone. Today the metropolis contains more than a million inhabitants in- and outside of it's walls. Other important towns are Eastport, ironically located on the western coast, Reach's End, which was build by both human and dwarves north of the Endless Mountains, and Rashor, which is famous for the export of Amborus.

History

Before the Humans arrived

Not much is known of the old history of Tal'Lyra. Though there are excessive records of those times, there are all sealed away in the archives of Merlon's Keep. Most historians today believe, that the south of the continent was mostly uninhabited by sentient beings. The dwarven Kingdom started on the edge of Horto's Lake in the mines the humans call today Merlon's Keep. From there on they settled most of the Endless Mountains. It is believed that Merlon's uniting of the lyrian empire happend a thousand years before the humans arrived. Shortly before the humans set sail to Tal'Lyra, the town of Reach's End was settled by pioneers sent out by the dwarven King.

The Humans arrive

The first Settlers of the tall race arrived by boat through the Glowing Sea in the southeast of Tal'Lyra. In merely two generations they had settled many villages and cities in the south of the continent. Though the Elderwoods, with all the magic flora and fauna presented as an unpassable barrier for the humans, they soon had sailed all around the landmass. Shortly the first small states formed and started fighting for the valuable land. Only the discovery of a different, smaller built race north of the Endless Mountains bonded the humans together. The first trade routes were established soon after and first diplomatic messages were exchanged. But the peace was short lived, because the humans desired the dwavish gold and the sons of the mountain became jealous of the wide land the tall folk possessed. And so the fighting began.

The Long War

The long war lasted for nearly 500 years and costed both races many strong generations, though none could triumph over the other. The humans united soon in the empire of Tal to fight the enemy, the Lyra as the humans call the dwarves. Still the talian empire lost the City of Eastport to the dwarven offense and were soon to loose more. To get more land the humans started advancing into the Elderwoods where they found the powerful well of magic. Soon they build a City around it and trained to use the new found force. With this great Power behind them the Tal started winning and conquered back Eastport and even burned the town of Reachs End down to it's bricks. But the walls of the Endless Mountains , enforced with old dwarven druid magic, were to strong. After a century long stalemate the leaders of the two races came together and signed a long sought after peace treaty that lasted ever since.

Flourishing after the War

Part of the peace treaty was the rebuilding of Reachs End as a city of two races. The human magicians settled down near the well of magic and founded the Holy Order of Ras and used their power to bring wealth into both realms. The trading picked up and the memories of the long war was soon to be lost. Now the biggest danger came from the wild magical animals in the Mountains and the Elderwoods. Still, the Tal and the Lyra build two prosperous empires and so gave the continent its now used name.

The Windsong Rebellion

An expedition of human magician and lyrian druids into the Blowing Swamp discovered an old tomb. No one knew who build it or how old the grave was. But soon the whole continent wished for it to never be found. Some dark magic was hidden away in the tomb and consumed the hearts of the adventure. It gave them the power to control the forces of storm and destructiom. Shortly they attacked their old home, the empire of Tal, and brought despair to the cities of the humans. The City of Cairn was soon flooded and destroyed by the biggest storm the continent ever saw. Only after a plea for help to the allied Lyra the tide of war turned and the allies killed the renegade wizards one by one. Only a few of the apostates could flee into the Blowing Swamp where they build the Windsong Tower and fortified themselves against their pursuers. Many lives of brave soldiers, both human and dwarven, were lost in the swamp and the attack on the Wizard's tower. But the evil magic was too strong and the walls of Windsong could not be breached. So they left the few remaining evil magicians in the tower in the hope they would they die. Since then, no one came close to the tower and it's now assumed to lay barren.

The Decline of the talian Empire

After the Windsong Rebellion the Holy Order of Ras was weakened and the Empire of the humans suffered through droughts and hunger. Few of the cities felt the they would be better off without the magicians and the empire. Some of them broke of off peacefully, some of them fought for their freedom. The Lyra decided to honor their treaty with all their allies and stayed neutral throughout these wars. After two centuries all that was left of the talian empire was the Holy Order of Ras and a few small villages south of the Elderwoods. Though the human empire broke apart, all the human city states honored their pact with the Lyra. Because not one of the states could sway the dwarves to their side, none could overpower the other one without help. Now, for the moment, a fragile peace brings hope of better times to the inhanitants of Tal'Lyra

The Situation today

The lyrian Empire, which is ruled by the dwarven immortal king Merlon from Merlon's Keep , still rules over all of the Endless Mountains and half of Reach's End. They trade with nearly all of the human cities, mostly with dwarven stone, gold and special weapons. Reach's End is ruled by both an dwarven embassy and an elected council of humans. Eastport is the main trading hub between both races, with its good location both on the sea and the foot of the mountain range. The remains of the talian Empire still exist in the south, though today they aren't ruled by an emperor but by the Grandmaster of the Order of Ras. The Order trains most of the human wizards in exchange for tribute from the other cities. Rashor, located on the northern end of the Elderwoods holds a special spiritual bond with the magic forest and exports many amborus items to the rest of the world. Cairn, famous for its sheep and goat farms, lays on the mouth of the Merto and is the trade city to the eastern continents.

Current year: 1331 in the age of Growth

Type

Continent