The Gods' Isles of Vaelora

It is not surprising that we mortals wonder how and where our creators are. The answer to this question is no secret. Over the millennia, the gods themselves have repeatedly granted various mortals insight into their home. The knowledge of the gods' isles of Vaelora has been recorded to varying degrees in different works. We have tried to summarize this knowledge in a compact way in our own work.

The nature of Vaelora

There are different statements about the exact nature of Vaelora. Some scholars declare that Vaelora is a physical place, somewhere on Mirintha. Other historians or clerics claim that it is a nebula or veil that surrounds us omnipresently, even if we cannot see it. The most common description of the Isles of the Gods is found for the first time in a record from the 1st ZA.

Vaelora is not within our reach. Not even close. It surrounds Mirintha like our own sky. But in between lies the void, the place where the souls of the departed go. And despite this separation, Vaelora is still connected to our world.

These connections can be found all over the world. They are places that are connected in some way to one of our deities. This connection can come to the fore in really different ways. For example, one of the tunnels associated with Cahaya is said to be at the top of Aelunar, the highest mountain in Mirintha. As this mountain peak is the first place to be kissed by sunlight in the morning and the last place where the light touches the earth in the evening, the connection to the goddess of light is obvious. Another tunnel is said to be located in the Zahari desert. Or the Kaleidoscope Desert. Or any other of Mirintha's deserts. We are of course referring to the Wandering Oasis, which is connected to Satuma. This Oasis, which appears randomly in any of the deserts of our world, is exactly what you would expect from the Goddess of Luck and Chance.

As we have already explained, the connections between Vaelora and Mirintha can only be used by the gods. In the first age, the Lumiperi tried to use the passages to get to Vaelora. With disastrous consequences. We will not go into this in detail here, as we do explain the events of the Great Mage War in more detail elsewhere. And we recommend that anyone thinking of resuming the Lumiperi's attempts should read up on their history. In short, trying to get to Vaelora will be severely punished by the gods.

Schematic representation of the connection between Vaelora and Mirintha

I do remember that something really bad happend, but I guess I have to re-read this.

The different Isles

We don‘t know the exact number of God Isles. But we do know that every deity has its own island. There might be more or there might only be exactly those ten. We also know quite a bit about each isle and of course we‘d like to share our knowledge with our readers.

Solmira

In the common population, Cahaya's island is often called "The Shining Isle." It is a radiant land bathed in eternal sunlight, where a grand cathedral of white marble stands at its heart, its golden spires gleaming under the ever-bright sky. The air itself carries a sense of warmth and comfort. Even at night, a soft golden radiance lingers, ensuring that darkness never truly touches this sacred place of light and hope.

Noctareth

A twilight island that is always clad in darkness, where the air hums with whispers from forgotten dreams and shadows move strangely. The home to Pimedus is the opposite to Cahaya's home, just as he is the opposite to his wife. Nonetheless, he is spending almost half his time at her domain, while she is visiting him in return quite often. It is said, that Pimedus is not often visiting his children, besides that of his daughter Taide.

Zarethun

On the home island of Daba stands a giant tree in which she lives. This is most likely the reason why Canopyra, the capital of the Augalai, is built within and around several giant trees. Zarethun is combining the elements in perfect harmony and it is a outstanding example for balance, maybe only topped by the island of Daba's younger brother Mirtis.

Velmora

The home of Kära is a lush paradise filled with intoxicating scents, endless gardens, and rivers that shimmer like liquid gold. The wind carries laughter, song, and whispered temptations. While being in Vaelora, she spends most of her time here, although she also happens to visit the Isles of her husband and children on a regular basis. Rumours have it, that she is bringing mortals to Velmora from time to time, but as we state in the article about Kära herself, we hardly doubt this to be true.

Too bad, I would have loved to visit this island while still being alive.

Talsiven

There are more descriptions of Satuma’s home island than of all the other islands combined. Sometimes it is one big island, sometimes it is a cluster of smaller isles. The exact location of Talsiven seems to be constantly changing. Sometimes the island is near Qasrithal, other times it is right next to Velmora. Therefore, we decided to use a depiction that does not define anything about Talsiven in particular. We leave it up to our dearest readers to decide what this God Isle looks like to them.

Thirnara

The home of Mirtis reflects his contradictory nature, a land where decay and renewal coexist in a constant, cyclical dance. One half of his domain is slowly decaying, its vibrant life fading, while the other half is revitalizing at the exact same pace, bringing forth new growth. These two forces follow each other in an endless circle, as if bound in an eternal struggle. This ever-shifting cycle of death and rebirth mirrors Mirtis' own essence, where transformation is both inevitable and perpetual, a continuous process that never truly ends.

Orvathis

If you could see Orvathis with your own eyes and have ever visited The Great Library of Sifa, you'd surely be reminded of the home of Isetar Dalkyn. Who of course was Bilgi - God of wisdom before he became the god of knowledge. The interesting form about his home here in Vaelora is, that the inside of it is endless. And therefore offers as much space as he needs to collect all the knowledge of the world. Messengers are leaving and arriving his home constantly to deliver knowledge and secrets from Mirintha.

Melithara

Taide's home island is breaming with vibrant colours. It is a place where paintings come to life, statues move, and music weaves through the very air. As you have surely already guessed, this is also the ultimate goal of every artist in Mirintha. Either by being allowed to enter her service or by having one of their works added to her collection, granting them immortality.

Unfortunately, I really have no artistic talent what so ever. Can you switch islands once you made it to Vaelora?

Qasrithal

A marketplace with golden streets, offering the rarest wares imaginable, surrounds the home of Nauda. His palace itself is a place of towering vaults and hidden passageways that shift and disappear at will. Merchants across Mirintha compete for a place on Qasrithal. Some by amassing incomparable riches, others by discovering the rarest items possible.

Varokh’Dran

The home of Karas is a giant hall in which an everlasting feast is being celebrated. This feast is honoring every fallen warrior of Mirintha, every great hunter, and all outstanding smiths. Outside of the great wall is an ever-shifting plain on which mock battles take place. Warriors dream of this isle, where the hunt never ends and the strongest rise above all. This plain also gives Varokh'Dran its common name "The Crimson Hunt". Warriors, hunters, and smiths hope to live their lives worthy enough to enter Varokh‘Dran after their judgment during The Path of Souls.

That sounds like the isle with the most fun. Maybe I should switch trades ...