Jaslibrios
Garden of the Hadri
In the beginning, there was the One and He created the Many with the breath of His Spirit. The Many were like Him in spirit, but in form He devised shells with which to hold the spirits of the Many, and these shells were called bodies. Each of the spirits of the Many were gifted diverse bodies in form with which to represent their spirit which was hidden. And because of their spirit He gave each of the Many a name by which it was to be called and sent; to be known and to know themselves. And some of the Many were blessed and made more powerful in spirit, and these were called by a single name to be adorned with in honor and to accompany their own name. These were the Hadri, and they were given authority over the other spirits, and it pleased the One to grant the Hadri with a creation of their own making. But they were told that the One would build for them a place of material in which to keep and bless their creations. This place was called E'dan, and He set to work with His mighty right hand and the Word of His mouth, and He created the mountains and valleys and filled the land with plants and the deep places with water, and in the sky He placed water as well with which to reflect the spirits of those who would be created. Thus began the work of the One and His Hadri on the land which was called Jaslibrios.- The Scribe, Orefil.
The statement above was written one hundred years after these events took place by the scribe of Awaru, Orefil. Orefil would later write the recounting of the Hadrai creations, of which he was of Awaru, the Ashur race, also called the grey people. Other scribes of the Hadri also recorded their own history but only Orefil was diligent enough to seek out and record the history of the creation of all. The One saw the love of Orefil's heart and made him and his descendants to be record keepers, for the One foreknew a time in which history would be scarce, and though the people of E'dan sought it, the truth would elude them. But only of the line of Orefil would the truth be known, and of the mouths of his descendants would speak truth to the wanderers again. But not until the hearts of men did seek it and the Suaresil did find itself in the heart of darkness for seven years. Among the ruins of Jaslibrios, whose walls had fallen and were left abandoned for a time the length of the river Palituryn.
Geography
The central region is mountainous, with high peaks belonging to no one, though ruins do exist in its high clefts of the western peaks. From these peaks and along its western coast is a large crater where the Six used to dwell in their city, Aurahn. The city was built for them by the Jotun, a race of giants, the oldest and wisest of the races in their day, and native to the continent of Hoastendarnga, of which Jaslibrios used to be connected to. But in the event known as Cataclysm, at the beginning of the second age, the land was shattered and was broken and sank into the sea. This region of water is now called the Marrow Row, a place whispered of by sailors for its erie green tinge and overwhelming sense of dread. Many have also seen pale white hands rise up from the depths as they attempted to pass through, some even saying it's the bodies of the dead citizens of the once great city of Aurahn. This is also why Jaslibrios is now known by some Death's Shores.
Within the center of the mountains is a deep and wide valley which hosts a dense forest. In the earliest days, the days of Orefil, this was home to his people, the Ashur. They prospered there for it was protected on all sides, save for the Fendrfell Pass, which ran through the eastern cliffs by way of a vast river. The river was called Palituryn, and the Ashur home shares its name. These days the region is surely vacant, save perhaps for monsters, though no one truly knows. The days of the Ashur are far behind, none of their kin live to this day as far as history tells us. Though it is possible that in more recent times other creatures may have moved in, though its proximity to the site of the Cataclysm may prove otherwise.
Jaslibrios also boasts dense jungle, soft sandy beaches, and tropical heat in its southern regions. These jungles are host to all kinds of wild beasts, the likes of which have never been seen walking upon any other shore. Great huge monsters and crawling things inhabit the jungle. Even so the people who lived there long ago had dominion over them, but in these days, nothing holds authority over the creatures of these jungles. However, recent news came from sailors who encountered a creature. They killed it, but no sooner had they boarded their ship to leave when they saw it rise again from death. A great shriek echoed from the mountains, and as though called, the creature moved back into the darkness of the jungle.
Though its northern regions are very close to the Northern Eye, the shores of which can be seen on clear days from the Hyldris Peninsula, the people who lived there prospered despite the cold and cruel wind. The northerners were a race of men who built steadings, great stone hearths with wooden walls and beds of animal skins. Here the northerners would bear through the cold winters and emerge in spring to hunt and gather for their pregnant women and young children. These days, the only way in and out of Jaslibrios on land is through the harsh cold snowy forests of the northern region, in which plenty of dangers lurk. Not least of these are the Juris hounds, and their foul masters the Glidrisin. Glidrisin are foul smelling creatures twisted by evil spirits inhabiting the corpses of dead northerners. They hunger for flesh and are oft heralded by the Juris hounds, wolf-like creatures which do not bleed and do not feel pain. A spirit of dread attaches itself to Juris hounds, and those caught by them suffer terror which paralyses the weak willed.
Many mysteries still wait in the dark, and not much history was saved from the destruction that rend the land itself. Perhaps someday the wider world will know, but until courage rises up to brave the forgotten continent it will remain mysterious.
Fauna & Flora
Most of the land is home to familiar plantlife, such as common shrubs, flowers, and the great oak, willow, and pine trees which Anjira shares. Even some more rarer trees, like the white elder trees of Ferinoril which were also planted by the river Aldris in Qarto. But Jaslibrios plays host to a great many more unique flora, such as blood lilies, golden birch, the poisonous japsrai bush, hunger thorn, and hangman's vine, to name a few. Of those I mentioned, only the golden birch is safe to approach and touch, for in it's sap is the cure for all suffering, or so the legend goes. The others are more dangerous, and some are even deadly. Those I will go over below.
Blood Lilies: From afar they seem to be a patch of bright scarlet flowers, much like lilies. But upon further inspection hide a deadly secret. The blood lilies on their own have only three pedals, while most other lilies have six. That is the secret of the lily, for it has made a symbiotic relationship with a deadly parasitic insect called a Drapsilin, which is old tongue for "wight maker". These insects use their mandibles to hold onto the center of the flower. Three gather to a single blossom to form the look of a lily, even able to curl their bodies inward when the pedals of the flower close. The Drapsilin jump from the flower to any living thing that passes by and bites the flesh, injecting venom that numbs the area around the bite. The Drapsilin then eats away at the skin and burrows into the flesh. Making its way up through the body of its victim, the Drapsilin will eat all the flesh in its path until it reaches the brain, wherein it attaches itself to the brain, killing the host but taking control of the body. Along its path it also lays eggs which burst open within three weeks and expel more Drapsilin. These are surely a twisted corruption of a once beautiful bond.
Japsrai Bush: The japsrai bush bear fruit, little red berries which resemble huckleberries. But the bushes leaves are very different from the huckleberry bush in a few crucial ways. First the leaves are fury, these fine hairs on the underside of the leaves are small enough to be unnoticed by any not looking for them and also leaves a toxin on the skin which causes irritation and swelling. But if a person ceases contact with the bush the extent of their affliction will be minimal and certainly not deadly. The deadliness of this plant is, of course, in the berries. If consumed the toxin in the berries will cause irritation in the stomach, vomiting, lightheadedness, and partial blindness. If the berries were eaten in moderation before symptoms appeared, the person suffering will not die, but the symptoms will continue for about twelves hours, depending on the amount eaten. If the berries were eaten in excessive quantities, the person will most assuredly die, and it would be a mercy to end them swiftly, as more severe symptoms will emerge the more toxin is in the body. The more severe symptoms include seizures, coughing blood, the creation of kidney stones, intense internal pain from damage to stomach lining, and eventually the stomach will burst and the toxin still in the stomach will burn away at the intestines and surrounding organs until total organ failure is achieved.
Hunger Thorn: Much like Japsrai, the hunger thorn is a berry bush, though the berries of this bush look ugly, partially covered in a coarse black fury skin with the flesh of the fruit protruding like a grotesque pregnant woman's belly. But, no matter how disgusted a person is by something, when hunger strikes, you don't complain. This is the method of death some find themselves in when interacting with this plant. The long vines creep along every available surface in the area it grows. Along tree bark, rocks, and the very ground it grows in. This makes it quite the hazard in fall and winter when it's thorny vines will be hidden under fallen leaves or snow. If a person a pierced by one of these thorns, that person is driven to eat the berries that grow upon it. The shell of the berry can be broken off easily, and the juice of it is sweet. But soon the sweetness turns to bitterness in the stomach, leaving the person unsatisfied and craving more. The hunger for the berry intensifies as the person eats more. They continue to eat until there are no more berries, and the ground is littered with shells. In their hunger the victim, unfortunately, fails to notice the vines creep around them, like a twisted black hand of many thin fingers. If the victim has a friend, they can escape, so long as the hunger does not entice the other as well. But, if the victim survives, they suffer unending hunger, hunger which causes them to become desperate, even to the point of cannibalism. If the hunger thorn does instead claim its victim, the person dies in agony, starving to death, wrapped helpless in thorny vines. The berries themselves, and the seeds therein, pass through the victim's body and exit in haste, and where the excrement falls, a new hunger thorn grows. Both the new and old hunger thorn use the victim's body as nourishment to grow even larger and produce more berries.
Hangman's Vine: A simple plant with a simple purpose; feed on creatures caught in their vines. The hangman's vine grows and grows, stretching across gaps in trees and holding itself aloft in the branches. It is not itself evil or malicious, simply often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many people have walked off of cliffs, into pits, or ran headlong into these vines running from other things, and so get caught in them. The vines grow so densely that one can easily mistake them for solid ground, especially in the jungle of its native region. There's one particular group of ancient people who seem to have used hangman's vine as a method of execution, as there is a cliffside in the eastern reaches of the jungle from which hang the remains of many unfortunate people.
Alternative Name(s)
Garden of the Hadri, the Forgotten Lands, Home of the Six, and Death's Shores.
Type
Continent
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments