The Four Gates of Zeph-Nexa
"It isn't known what lies behind the four gates, only that it must be something truly invaluable to warrent such a defence - possibly vital to the world in its entirity." - Vaitar, scholar of the Langbast Seeker Team, on his findings from studying the Western Gate
Within Var Nexa, exists a massive wall - spanning kilometers in length that no one has sucessfully circumnavigated. At distant points along this wall, are found four gates, each associated with one of the four cardinal directions. It is the combination of this wall and the four gate that make up "Zeph-Nexa."
These four gates are larger than most walls, with no known man-made structure rivalling them in scale. As structures, only the Six Pillars are larger, though these are naturally occuring as opposed to man made.
The four gates are impenitrable. Despite being older than historical records, they have remained undamaged for their entire existance, even to the extreme conditons of Var Nexa.
Factors that typically whittle down the greatest of structures, such as erosion or weathering, have had no effect. While life grows and spreads in the areas surrounding the gates, nothing has encroached on the gates themselves - though rather than dying plant life appears to grow towards the gates, before turning to instead grow away from them.
Each of the gates are constructed of a different material and are found in different locations fitting their direction. However can all be identified through the presence of a "Gate Guardian," a creature depicted on each of the main gates. It is this feature that codifies them under one group.
Serpent of the Eastern Gate:
Located at Lake Refool. This gate is constructed solely of fresh and clear water, almost glass like, and reflects what opposes it like a mirror (reflecting how Water acts like a natural mirror). In form it appears as if someone took a lake and raised half of it vertically. Half of the lake lays flat, with a sharp 90 degree angle in the middle of the lake where the other half reaches into the sky. Despite this the water is still and doesn't flow.
Gate Guardian: This gate is associated with the Twin Headed Serpent which is depicted on the gate through "coral" (note: there is no such thing as fresh water coral IRL) and aquatic plants that construct an outline in the shape of the Serpent. Notably, the Serpent's heads are depicted at opposite ends of the body, one in the expected position and one at the tip of the Serpent's tail.
Legends say that Lake Refool is the mouth of the Twin Headed Serpent's primary head, stuck open and prepared to bite down on anyone who comes too close. The lake supposedly formed when rain water fell and filled the snakes mouth. Those who sink to the bottom are "swallowed" by the Serpent.
This may be representative of the underwater whirlpool found at the lake's centre, sucking up most material that enters it and pulling it into the depths. It isn't known exactly where the whirlpool leads, but it is long thought that tunnels that are present underneath the lake may be fed into by the whirlpool, and travel far below ground.
Occasionally a gyser of water is seen shooting above the walls of Zeph-Nexa. It is believed this may connect to and be the exit tunnel connecting below the lake - though none have been able to verify this. While some attempts have been made to explore the depths of the lake, these have ended in either retreat, or presumed death (most bodies that have attempted to explore the lake were taken in by the Whirlpool and not seen since).
Due to these reasons, the Twin Headed Serpent is associated with self-reflection and rebirth due to it's two opposing heads working in tandem. It is further linked to the Blue of the lake and production type Emblems - strengthening the connection to life.
The Carving Bull of the Western Gate:
The Western Gate is constructed entirely of plant matter. Different types of wood make up the frame, with the main body constructed from a criss cross of vines, leaves flowers, and other plant material. The Stone Bull is the one exception, as it is made of pebbles and small stones, held in place by the surrounding plant life to depict a mural of the Bull.
At the base of the gate, the plants grow away from it, spreading into the surrounding rock fields. All plant life in the area connects back to the Western Gate.
The Western Gate is located in the Carveck rock scape. This is an area of bizzare stone structures, that seemingly should not exist without outside influence. However, it covers a larger span of area than the other gates, so has been explored more than any of the others. It is also the only gate with some records, with carvings found nearby that seem to represent the stories told of the Stone Bull and its part in the areas origin.
Due to the unusual nature and shape of these rocks, it is debated if they formed naturally or were carved by hand. Records found in the area draw on the Western Gate's Stone Bull, said to have carved these structures out of the stone, chipping and smoothing the rock by using its strong horns and unbreakable will. Other beliefs are that the bull was a mytholgoical representation of the weathering process - like the Bull, being slow but persistent carvers that eroded the rocks into distinct shapes.
Many of these carvings are stone stacks - where large boulders appear to be balanced on smaller ones, though other seemingly carved formations are present. Notable examples include:
Idol Rock: A large boulder said to be crudely carved into the shape of a human face, balanced atop a rock no larger than (and often said to resemble) a sitting person.
Wellspring Rock: A curved rock in the shape of a large ball. A hole is engraved into the top that allows water to be shot high into the air, then rain down on the surrounding land.
Telunn's Harvester : A giant, bowl shaped rock that has tunnels and tubes carved throughout it, with many open towards the surface. Rain water is collected within them, and create pathways for this water to quickly move around the rock field, supplying life with water.
The Noon Stone: Referred to as a single stone, this is infact a large stone stack surrounded by smaller rocks laid out in a circle. Many note this as resembling a clock, with the sun's passing causing the shadow of the rock to indicate the time. However, others have reported that the stone's do not form a perfect circle, with several laying too close or far from the path of the shadow for this to be the case.
Northern Gate of the Twin Ravens:
The Northern Gate is located in the Star Fields - an area always covered in a thin mist, where the stars "never set."
Specifically, this area is named after the Twin Stars that make up the eyes of each of the Twin Ravens constellations, Hu and Mu. This pair of stars never set beyond the horizon, and are always visible in the sky, even at mid-day.
Though it should be noted this is a somewhat inaccurate manner of phrasing this, as the mist that covers the Star Fields have resulted in the area always being dark, with the brightest it ever gets being mid-day, which has light equivilant to Twilight in other areas of the world.
That being said, the Star Fields are well known (among those who study it) for their illusions and mirages. Light bends, shapes are distorted, and you will see objects and places that don't exist. Some have reported seeing the dead.
You can't even trust that what you see isn't real, as many ghoulish creatures stalk in the dark, using their own, self produced light to attract and trick prey.
The only thing truly consistent about the Star Fields are Hu and Mu, as the eyes of the Twin Ravens are always visible, always watching and remembering everything that occurs in their domain.
The Northern gate is the least studied gate in itself. While it has been found, located directly underneath Hu and Mu when they are at their peak, the gate has never been observed as it lies in complete darkness. Some have gone as far as to theorise it is entirely pitch black, made of darkness itself - a darkness so dense it can be touched and can absorb light itself.
It has even been said that the North Gate is the bodies of Hu and Mu. Some evidence suggests that old legends of the area describe the Raven's as having an unfillable need to know everything that happens, so plucking out the others eyes and placing them into the sky so they can watchover everything for all of time, leaving their bodies behind on the ground.
This is also what has lead to Hu and Mu being the Gate Guardians of the Northern Gate.
The Great Whale of the Southern Gate
The Southern Gate is located within the Lazen Plains, where a Glacier covered Volcano sits. The area is charictarised by black earth, capped by the whitest snow, and frequent snowstorms. However the most prominent feature, bar the Gate itself, are the towering Iron Poles that stand tall from the ground.
A key feature found in the Lazen Fields are giant balls of clear ice, glass like in their appearance, with glowing Lava trapped in the centre.
These Lava Globes are produced by the Iron Poles. Lava travels up to the surface through the hollow Iron Poles - while it isn't known exactly how far these extend underground, it is estimated at 20 - 100 meters. When the Lava escapes the end of the pipe, it is cooled down by the atmosphere rapidly. This rapid cooling causes the outer, spurting, layers of the lava to form Volcanic Glass.
If this occurs during one of the frequent snowstorms of the area, the storm will twist, inflate and mould the Volcanic Glass into smooth spheres, often freezing over the outer layer with clear ice. This forms a three layered sphere - a centre Lava layer, a middle Volcanic Glass layer and an outer clear ice layer.
The Lava Globe, once fully formed, will typically be knocked from the Iron Pole by the snowstorms wind and be moved away, allowing the next to begin forming.
The Lava Globes always melt or completly freeze the inner Lava layer, it's typically just a case of which occurs first. Both processes lead to the natural state of the Lazen Fields - the black earth with a white snow top.
The Southern Gate is made of an Iron Frame, with ice having grown around this frame to form the gate itself. The gate guardian - the Great Whale "Lyngbaleano" - is depicted in a mural made of the same iron as the frame.
Myths in the area credit it's creation and current state to Lyngbaleano. It is said that the land was once hit with a great snow storm that left the land flat and completly desolate, frozen with no food to be found. All the creatures that lived in the Lazen Fields were starving, most life dying without food.
Then 6 months after the snowstorm started, the largest of all the creatures, the Great Whale, capable of swimming through the ground itself, in a desperate search for food dove deep underground in search for the wealth of resources found there. Following this, for three months unending earthquakes shook the area.
During this the ground deformed, the land twisting and churning, sinking and growing like waves. This only ended when, at the end of the three months, Lyngbaleano, returning from it's journey, forced the ground upwards and burst forth in a mighty leap.
From where the Great Whale burst from the ground the land stayed, forced into a giant cone shape - what is now the Volcano. Lava flowed from the hole Lynbaleano made, reaching the surface and flowing wildly. However, despite constantly travelling for three months, the Great Whale took no rest, and dove back into the ground.
It's trip was faster this time, only taking 1 month. However, on returning, Lynbaleano was more careful, avoiding creating another volcano, instead just a hole in the ground. However, it was still followed by lava, so the Great Whale used some of the material it brought to the surface to extend the hole upwards in hope of slowing the flow.
This worked, but the rock was melted away, leaving behind only a hollow Iron Pipe extending from the ground. Lynbaleano repeated this trip over and over, until the sixth month had passed since it initially dove.
Now instead on a desolate wasteland of cold, the Lazen Fields had the most fertile and resource rich earth. The lava that did escape the ground offered enough warmth for plants to grow and life to thrive, even through the ongoing snow storms, giving enough food for creatures to survive in the Lazen Fields once more.
This is the story of how the Great Whale shaped the land, and brought life to an otherwise desolate area.
It is unknown how the gate itself formed, though it appears to have been created after the landmarks an exact date cannot be pinpointed.
Most researchers agree that this creation myth is just that, a metaphorical story to explain how the land formed. While links are made between the Great Whale Lynbaleano and the Seistaceans (see Sulbashira - The Forest of Swaying Pillars), a real specices of whale that do swim through the earth, it is debated to have actaully occured as Seistaceans are not found in the area, and do not grow to the same size as the Great Whale depicted in the legnds.
Zeph-Nexa and the Gate's protective properties:
No one has ever entered Zeph-Nexa, and it is unknown what lies beoyond the Four Gates.
It may be questioned why some may not attempt to scale the walls to enter Zeph-Nexa. Attempts have been made, but these always face some obstacle from the Four Gates preventing this. Identified by the Gate Guardian's symbol shifting before these obstacles occur.
These obstacles often relate to the Gate's, though are not wholly consistent. The Northern Gate may produce an illusive mist to trick any climbers into travelling the wrong way, or call down creatures from the mists to scare away Seekers. The Eastern Gate may summon a reflection of whoever tries to enter made of water, or cause coral to extend from the walls and knock off climbers. The Western Gate chips and shaves chuncks off, sending climbers plummeting to the ground, only to be fully fixed within seconds. The Southern Gate gets enveloped in snow storms, shakes like an earthequake, and has lava pool down to wash away Seekers.
Even this is only a list of examples, the only consistent thing agreed on when it comes to passing through the walls, is that the gates must be opened up to do so.
Travel between the gates:
The gates only have one Var Nexa Rail that travels towards them from the web of other rails. No rails run between the gates either, meaning travel between the different gates either requires fiding the rail that reaches them (which is too far to complete in one expedition, given how far into Var Nexa the gates are located), or travelling on foot (a journey far too dangerous, even for experienced Seeker Teams to complete).
Within Var Nexa, exists a massive wall - spanning kilometers in length that no one has sucessfully circumnavigated. At distant points along this wall, are found four gates, each associated with one of the four cardinal directions. It is the combination of this wall and the four gate that make up "Zeph-Nexa."
These four gates are larger than most walls, with no known man-made structure rivalling them in scale. As structures, only the Six Pillars are larger, though these are naturally occuring as opposed to man made.
The four gates are impenitrable. Despite being older than historical records, they have remained undamaged for their entire existance, even to the extreme conditons of Var Nexa.
Factors that typically whittle down the greatest of structures, such as erosion or weathering, have had no effect. While life grows and spreads in the areas surrounding the gates, nothing has encroached on the gates themselves - though rather than dying plant life appears to grow towards the gates, before turning to instead grow away from them.
Each of the gates are constructed of a different material and are found in different locations fitting their direction. However can all be identified through the presence of a "Gate Guardian," a creature depicted on each of the main gates. It is this feature that codifies them under one group.
Serpent of the Eastern Gate:
Located at Lake Refool. This gate is constructed solely of fresh and clear water, almost glass like, and reflects what opposes it like a mirror (reflecting how Water acts like a natural mirror). In form it appears as if someone took a lake and raised half of it vertically. Half of the lake lays flat, with a sharp 90 degree angle in the middle of the lake where the other half reaches into the sky. Despite this the water is still and doesn't flow.
Gate Guardian: This gate is associated with the Twin Headed Serpent which is depicted on the gate through "coral" (note: there is no such thing as fresh water coral IRL) and aquatic plants that construct an outline in the shape of the Serpent. Notably, the Serpent's heads are depicted at opposite ends of the body, one in the expected position and one at the tip of the Serpent's tail.
Legends say that Lake Refool is the mouth of the Twin Headed Serpent's primary head, stuck open and prepared to bite down on anyone who comes too close. The lake supposedly formed when rain water fell and filled the snakes mouth. Those who sink to the bottom are "swallowed" by the Serpent.
This may be representative of the underwater whirlpool found at the lake's centre, sucking up most material that enters it and pulling it into the depths. It isn't known exactly where the whirlpool leads, but it is long thought that tunnels that are present underneath the lake may be fed into by the whirlpool, and travel far below ground.
Occasionally a gyser of water is seen shooting above the walls of Zeph-Nexa. It is believed this may connect to and be the exit tunnel connecting below the lake - though none have been able to verify this. While some attempts have been made to explore the depths of the lake, these have ended in either retreat, or presumed death (most bodies that have attempted to explore the lake were taken in by the Whirlpool and not seen since).
Due to these reasons, the Twin Headed Serpent is associated with self-reflection and rebirth due to it's two opposing heads working in tandem. It is further linked to the Blue of the lake and production type Emblems - strengthening the connection to life.
The Carving Bull of the Western Gate:
The Western Gate is constructed entirely of plant matter. Different types of wood make up the frame, with the main body constructed from a criss cross of vines, leaves flowers, and other plant material. The Stone Bull is the one exception, as it is made of pebbles and small stones, held in place by the surrounding plant life to depict a mural of the Bull.
At the base of the gate, the plants grow away from it, spreading into the surrounding rock fields. All plant life in the area connects back to the Western Gate.
The Western Gate is located in the Carveck rock scape. This is an area of bizzare stone structures, that seemingly should not exist without outside influence. However, it covers a larger span of area than the other gates, so has been explored more than any of the others. It is also the only gate with some records, with carvings found nearby that seem to represent the stories told of the Stone Bull and its part in the areas origin.
Due to the unusual nature and shape of these rocks, it is debated if they formed naturally or were carved by hand. Records found in the area draw on the Western Gate's Stone Bull, said to have carved these structures out of the stone, chipping and smoothing the rock by using its strong horns and unbreakable will. Other beliefs are that the bull was a mytholgoical representation of the weathering process - like the Bull, being slow but persistent carvers that eroded the rocks into distinct shapes.
Many of these carvings are stone stacks - where large boulders appear to be balanced on smaller ones, though other seemingly carved formations are present. Notable examples include:
Idol Rock: A large boulder said to be crudely carved into the shape of a human face, balanced atop a rock no larger than (and often said to resemble) a sitting person.
Wellspring Rock: A curved rock in the shape of a large ball. A hole is engraved into the top that allows water to be shot high into the air, then rain down on the surrounding land.
Telunn's Harvester : A giant, bowl shaped rock that has tunnels and tubes carved throughout it, with many open towards the surface. Rain water is collected within them, and create pathways for this water to quickly move around the rock field, supplying life with water.
The Noon Stone: Referred to as a single stone, this is infact a large stone stack surrounded by smaller rocks laid out in a circle. Many note this as resembling a clock, with the sun's passing causing the shadow of the rock to indicate the time. However, others have reported that the stone's do not form a perfect circle, with several laying too close or far from the path of the shadow for this to be the case.
Northern Gate of the Twin Ravens:
The Northern Gate is located in the Star Fields - an area always covered in a thin mist, where the stars "never set."
Specifically, this area is named after the Twin Stars that make up the eyes of each of the Twin Ravens constellations, Hu and Mu. This pair of stars never set beyond the horizon, and are always visible in the sky, even at mid-day.
Though it should be noted this is a somewhat inaccurate manner of phrasing this, as the mist that covers the Star Fields have resulted in the area always being dark, with the brightest it ever gets being mid-day, which has light equivilant to Twilight in other areas of the world.
That being said, the Star Fields are well known (among those who study it) for their illusions and mirages. Light bends, shapes are distorted, and you will see objects and places that don't exist. Some have reported seeing the dead.
You can't even trust that what you see isn't real, as many ghoulish creatures stalk in the dark, using their own, self produced light to attract and trick prey.
The only thing truly consistent about the Star Fields are Hu and Mu, as the eyes of the Twin Ravens are always visible, always watching and remembering everything that occurs in their domain.
The Northern gate is the least studied gate in itself. While it has been found, located directly underneath Hu and Mu when they are at their peak, the gate has never been observed as it lies in complete darkness. Some have gone as far as to theorise it is entirely pitch black, made of darkness itself - a darkness so dense it can be touched and can absorb light itself.
It has even been said that the North Gate is the bodies of Hu and Mu. Some evidence suggests that old legends of the area describe the Raven's as having an unfillable need to know everything that happens, so plucking out the others eyes and placing them into the sky so they can watchover everything for all of time, leaving their bodies behind on the ground.
This is also what has lead to Hu and Mu being the Gate Guardians of the Northern Gate.
The Great Whale of the Southern Gate
The Southern Gate is located within the Lazen Plains, where a Glacier covered Volcano sits. The area is charictarised by black earth, capped by the whitest snow, and frequent snowstorms. However the most prominent feature, bar the Gate itself, are the towering Iron Poles that stand tall from the ground.
A key feature found in the Lazen Fields are giant balls of clear ice, glass like in their appearance, with glowing Lava trapped in the centre.
These Lava Globes are produced by the Iron Poles. Lava travels up to the surface through the hollow Iron Poles - while it isn't known exactly how far these extend underground, it is estimated at 20 - 100 meters. When the Lava escapes the end of the pipe, it is cooled down by the atmosphere rapidly. This rapid cooling causes the outer, spurting, layers of the lava to form Volcanic Glass.
If this occurs during one of the frequent snowstorms of the area, the storm will twist, inflate and mould the Volcanic Glass into smooth spheres, often freezing over the outer layer with clear ice. This forms a three layered sphere - a centre Lava layer, a middle Volcanic Glass layer and an outer clear ice layer.
The Lava Globe, once fully formed, will typically be knocked from the Iron Pole by the snowstorms wind and be moved away, allowing the next to begin forming.
The Lava Globes always melt or completly freeze the inner Lava layer, it's typically just a case of which occurs first. Both processes lead to the natural state of the Lazen Fields - the black earth with a white snow top.
The Southern Gate is made of an Iron Frame, with ice having grown around this frame to form the gate itself. The gate guardian - the Great Whale "Lyngbaleano" - is depicted in a mural made of the same iron as the frame.
Myths in the area credit it's creation and current state to Lyngbaleano. It is said that the land was once hit with a great snow storm that left the land flat and completly desolate, frozen with no food to be found. All the creatures that lived in the Lazen Fields were starving, most life dying without food.
Then 6 months after the snowstorm started, the largest of all the creatures, the Great Whale, capable of swimming through the ground itself, in a desperate search for food dove deep underground in search for the wealth of resources found there. Following this, for three months unending earthquakes shook the area.
During this the ground deformed, the land twisting and churning, sinking and growing like waves. This only ended when, at the end of the three months, Lyngbaleano, returning from it's journey, forced the ground upwards and burst forth in a mighty leap.
From where the Great Whale burst from the ground the land stayed, forced into a giant cone shape - what is now the Volcano. Lava flowed from the hole Lynbaleano made, reaching the surface and flowing wildly. However, despite constantly travelling for three months, the Great Whale took no rest, and dove back into the ground.
It's trip was faster this time, only taking 1 month. However, on returning, Lynbaleano was more careful, avoiding creating another volcano, instead just a hole in the ground. However, it was still followed by lava, so the Great Whale used some of the material it brought to the surface to extend the hole upwards in hope of slowing the flow.
This worked, but the rock was melted away, leaving behind only a hollow Iron Pipe extending from the ground. Lynbaleano repeated this trip over and over, until the sixth month had passed since it initially dove.
Now instead on a desolate wasteland of cold, the Lazen Fields had the most fertile and resource rich earth. The lava that did escape the ground offered enough warmth for plants to grow and life to thrive, even through the ongoing snow storms, giving enough food for creatures to survive in the Lazen Fields once more.
This is the story of how the Great Whale shaped the land, and brought life to an otherwise desolate area.
It is unknown how the gate itself formed, though it appears to have been created after the landmarks an exact date cannot be pinpointed.
Most researchers agree that this creation myth is just that, a metaphorical story to explain how the land formed. While links are made between the Great Whale Lynbaleano and the Seistaceans (see Sulbashira - The Forest of Swaying Pillars), a real specices of whale that do swim through the earth, it is debated to have actaully occured as Seistaceans are not found in the area, and do not grow to the same size as the Great Whale depicted in the legnds.
Zeph-Nexa and the Gate's protective properties:
No one has ever entered Zeph-Nexa, and it is unknown what lies beoyond the Four Gates.
It may be questioned why some may not attempt to scale the walls to enter Zeph-Nexa. Attempts have been made, but these always face some obstacle from the Four Gates preventing this. Identified by the Gate Guardian's symbol shifting before these obstacles occur.
These obstacles often relate to the Gate's, though are not wholly consistent. The Northern Gate may produce an illusive mist to trick any climbers into travelling the wrong way, or call down creatures from the mists to scare away Seekers. The Eastern Gate may summon a reflection of whoever tries to enter made of water, or cause coral to extend from the walls and knock off climbers. The Western Gate chips and shaves chuncks off, sending climbers plummeting to the ground, only to be fully fixed within seconds. The Southern Gate gets enveloped in snow storms, shakes like an earthequake, and has lava pool down to wash away Seekers.
Even this is only a list of examples, the only consistent thing agreed on when it comes to passing through the walls, is that the gates must be opened up to do so.
Travel between the gates:
The gates only have one Var Nexa Rail that travels towards them from the web of other rails. No rails run between the gates either, meaning travel between the different gates either requires fiding the rail that reaches them (which is too far to complete in one expedition, given how far into Var Nexa the gates are located), or travelling on foot (a journey far too dangerous, even for experienced Seeker Teams to complete).
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