The Traveler's Guide to the Continent
By: Cassian Adenholf, rank 7 adventurer of Serath's coast.
Year of writing: 86 PCW
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my mother and sister, who taught me the resilience, curiosity, and kindness I needed for my long journey across the continent. Without the fire they lit in me, I would have remained a stranger to the world.
Introduction
The objective of this book is to bridge the vast distances between our borders. By documenting the cultural nuances, theological heartbeat, and daily lives of each region, I hope to spark in you the same desire to travel that compelled me to visit all fourteen domains. We are a continent of different faiths, but we share a single horizon.
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Index
-Dedication
-Introduction
-Index
-Chapter 1: Eryndal's Plains – The Great Harvest
-Chapter 2: Valdris's March – The Honorable Blade
-Chapter 3: Serath's Coast – The Boundless Horizon
-Chapter 4: Miren's Athenaeum – The Living Library
-Chapter 5: Thornvel's Reach – The Primal Wild
-Chapter 6: Carath's Forge – The Eternal Flame
-Chapter 7: Lysara's Vale – The Gentle Hand
-Chapter 8: Draveth's Courts – The Iron Gavel
-Chapter 9: Narithas's Crossing – The Shifting Tide
-Chapter 10: Solmund's Heights – The Unmoving Peak
-Chapter 11: Aethon's Expanse – The Storm's Breath
-Chapter 12: Nethara's Veil – The Shadow's Secret
-Chapter 13: Reval's Market – The Gilded Scale
-Chapter 14: Iorath's Eternal – The Timeless Pass
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Chapter 1: Eryndal's Plains – The Great Harvest
I began my journey in the lands of Eryndal, not only because it was the nearest region to mine, but because it felt appropriate beginning in the lands of the first of the fourteen gods.
The lands of Eryndal are divided into four states: the North, East, West, and South Plains. Each one carries cultural differences and views on the art of the harvest. I will begin with what they have in common and then go over the differences in each plain.
The culture in Eryndal is very unique and work-oriented; after all, they are the region with the highest production of food on the continent, producing around 40% of all food consumed across the fourteen domains.
The food culture here is also very unique. In the lands of the God of the Harvest, acquiring food is more complicated than one would think. In Eryndali culture, it is an act of dishonor to buy food, as it implies you failed to produce your own. When I originally attempted to purchase supplies, the judgmental stares did not take long to find me.
Thankfully, the locals do not view this the same way if you are a traveler. Once I explained I was an adventurer from Serath's Coast, the judgment faded. Instead of accepting my money, they invited me to eat with them. In the Plains, it is tradition to eat in community; the locals told me the greatest joy is to share the fruits of their labor.
Every night, villages gather. The children who are too young to help in the fields compensate by preparing the tables. Sharing this sense of community was something I absolutely loved. Another thing I learned was that eating alone has heavy social implications: it suggests the person is in deep grief or is a mark of social rejection due to past actions.
The Northern Plains:
The Northern Plains are used mostly for the difficult plants. These plains are the coldest part of the region, where the grassy fields meet the chilling winds of Solmund's Heights. The soil is hard and unforgiving, requiring the assistance of earth mages to loosen the ground.
The plants on the Northern Plains are some of the most fascinating I have ever seen. The flora here does not grow; it survives the hard conditions. In these plains, they focus on rare and hard-to-grow plants that are used as expensive food or ingredients for potions. The three I found most fascinating were:
The Glaze-Grain: It is a cereal that looks like glass. It requires freezing temperatures to germinate, and if the temperature rises even a little bit, they shatter like crystal. It must be harvested by the most skillful persons in the village to ensure it is not damaged. It is used for bread—probably the best bread in all of the continent and also the most expensive.
The Cracking Vine: The name can be a bit deceptive on this one; this plant is actually a root that grows inside boulders and underground. What makes it so unique is the "cracking" sound it makes while growing and also its multiple properties. The properties of this plant change depending on what minerals it has fed onto. Farmers plant them underground, putting the right crystals in for the desired effect. The other thing that makes this plant special is how hard it is to harvest. If you do it too early, the plant won't have any of the desired properties; if you do it too late, it will have already begun to rot. The window to harvest it at the precise moment is only two hours. It is a lot of work, but if done correctly, it is one of the most special and versatile potion ingredients there is. I tried to harvest one and did it too early; even so, it can still be used to make a really good soup.
The Winter's Eye: It is a bioluminescent plant that grows on the side of mountains at low temperatures. It glows more the lower the temperature is, so you could see one even in a snowstorm. What makes it hard to collect is that the farmers need to climb several meters in low temperatures and then extract the plant, which is a very delicate process. The powder of this plant is used a lot in Aether-mechanical projects as it can be used as a good energy conductor.
As for the culture in the Northern Plains, it is almost as unyielding as the soil. Because their survival depends on plants that could shatter, die, or rot in the blink of an eye, the Northern Eryndali have developed a temperament of Absolute Vigilance. They are quiet people mostly, as they believe that even the tiniest noise could disturb the delicate crops. Also, their trust is very hard to gain; they won't let you near the crops until they are absolutely sure you can be trusted. It took me some days and a lot of helping in a village for me to attempt the Cracking Vine, and after my failure, they did not allow me back in the fields. They still shared a laugh with me over my failure, and the warmth of a united community could be felt at every dinner, just as in any other village in Eryndal.
The Western and Eastern Plains:
These two could not be understood if not by viewing them together. The East and West plains are on a constant dance that lasts ten years. This dance is known as The Alternation, and it is the most sophisticated agricultural feat I have ever witnessed. While the North struggles and the South grazes, the East and West are the heavy lifters of the continent, producing the massive quantities of grain required to feed the thousands living under the Fourteen Gods.
In the Eryndali faith, the soil is not an inexhaustible resource, but a living partner that grows tired. To solve this, they have divided the heartland into two mirrored halves. For ten years, the East will be the "Giver," planting wheat, corn, and other plants that are heavily demanding for the earth. The West, on the other hand, becomes the "Healer" and plants things like beans and dragon grass that help the earth restore its vitality. When the decade ends, the Oracle marks the swap, and the roles between the plains are reversed.
The culture of the plain that is on the "Active" cycle is full of joy and celebrations. The landscape is an endless field of all colors and crops you can imagine, dominated by the joyous energy of its citizens. Because of how vast the fields are, the reapers move in lines of hundreds of men and women singing together the "Song of the Scythe." They could be singing and moving through the fields for hours non-stop. When I asked one of the reapers about the joy, he said they were celebrating a ten-year promise of prosperity made by the land, and they reward it with their singing.
On the other hand, the culture in the "Resting" plain is a stark contrast. The villages are filled with quiet contemplation. Since the massive labor of the active harvest is absent, the people turn their attention to small crafts. The West (currently in its rest cycle during my visit) has become the center of the continent's finest pottery and weaving. Without the high pressures of production the East currently has, people spend their time perfecting a single vase or a painting.
"The soil is sleeping," a weaver explained. "It is only right that we move softly while it dreams. We sharpen our tools, we fix our homes, and we wait for our turn to be the givers again."
The most expected day in the region is Swap Day. It happens on the first day of every decade, and the stories of the parties go all over the continent. I surely will assist with the next one in four years.
The Southern Plains:
The south of Eryndal is known as the Land of the Beasts; the farms of this region provide meat, wool, and leather all over the continent. The range of animals is as diverse as the different crops of the East; there are cows, sheep, wyverns, and once I even saw a farm of cave slimes. If I attempted to list all of what there is in this part of Eryndal, I would need to write an entire second book, so to keep it short, I will just say that it will probably be one of the favorite parts of the continent for any adventurer who loves animals.
The culture of Southern Eryndalis is very different depending on what the village specializes in; funnily enough, the people tend to have similar personalities to the animals they take care of. The village of Cloud-Sheep had some of the most pacific and contemplative people I've ever met, to give an example.
The adventurer's Guild in Eryndal:
The adventurers in Eryndal are a big and welcoming community. Most quests in this region tend to be about protecting the farms or crops against various monsters. Monsters in Eryndal tend to have the particularity that they are not very strong but compensate with quantity. The most fearsome monsters in Eryndal are the Great Hives of different insectoids, such as the Bahamut Bees or the Tiger Beetles. As food is abundant in Eryndal, it is difficult to keep them under control, and with their numbers, they can easily overwhelm unprepared adventurers. Other than that, the rest of the contracts tend to be about securing trading routes.
The Oracle:
The selection of the Oracle of Eryndal is a ritual of profound patience and bonding known as the Year of the Four Soils. When a new Oracle is needed, four candidates are chosen—one from each of the four plains. They meet at the Great Hearth, the central church at the heart of the region. There, they are each given a Vitalsilk, a legendary seed that is magically attuned to the life-force of its planter. A Vitalsilk will not grow with water or sunlight alone; it only flourishes when the person who planted it grows in character and spirit.
The candidates do not stay in the church. Instead, they begin a year-long pilgrimage. Every three and a half months, they cycle to a new plain. This is done with the objective of making each candidate learn from all four plains. A candidate from the South, for example, must learn the patience of the West, the joy of the East, and the vigilance of the North.
After a year of traveling and bonding with their people, they return to the Great Hearth to present their Vitalsilk. The candidate whose plant has grown the most is chosen as the new Oracle. This growth symbolizes that they have truly bonded with every corner of the land and its people. They haven't just learned to farm; they have "grown" into the leader the Cycle requires.
I did not have the privilege to meet the current Oracle during my stay in Eryndal, but I did hear a lot about him. He is called Braum, an orc that came from the Northern Plains. He is said to be hardworking and to have a connection with the soil that few have ever seen before. Even if he has only been the Oracle for four years, he has already made the plains grow a bit greener, and for this, he has the eternal respect of this not-so-humble adventurer.
Closing Thoughts:
As I depart from Eryndal, I do so with my pockets a bit emptier, but my stomach and heart are fuller than they have been in a long time. If I had to take something away from the region, it would be the sense of community and their dedication toward their job as the main producers of food on the continent.
Now I go northwest across the freezing mountains into a region that has a very different meaning of community. The next chapter will be about the land of steel, discipline, and honor.