The Eastern Light ("Izh-Zhim Kha-Rass-Ahi-Nehi Fah-Iur")

Here it faces the west, taunting the night

The Eastern Light, called so in ancient Yillivan, from the original "Olai Vevemo" ("Light to the East"), in traditional Phyriai as "Folori Carassan" ("Sun False and True"), in modern Yillivan as "Olaa Veivum" ("East Brightling") and in modern Phyriai as "Izzim Carassainei Faiur" ("Light to-the-east alike-the-sun"), is a massive golden disc made of unknown material high up in the Scarps facing the west. 

"Facing the burning compassion of the sun, one may truly value the incandescent warmth, as a pure twilight begins every night with a bright afterglow. The Eastern Light! It beckons us with one last reminder, that the day never truly sinks into darkness, and that without fail it shall arise again, fading away the night." (GORRESMI, Toporvi, 365 EOW, "The Tenant of The Sun", registered from his teachings in conversion to the Phyriai population in Beren and the Western Bastion)

Its origins are unknown to the humans, except for the Yillivanni of old, who knew parts of its history. It originated from the times of the creation of Strakeln, as its citizens carved out their valley through the core of the tallest mountain with their voices and settled on the western part of the continent, in the Era of Primordial Wrath. Their voices awoke a tormented Heriv Medai, who, in an attempt to also speak like the voices they could hear echoing in the distance, let out a terrifying wail of pain and despair, unable to contain the suffering of their lonely and pained existence. The sole recordings of these originated and were described in The Tale of Making, The Tenant of The Sun, The Wrath Within, Thindryn's diary, The Tree's book, The Narrative of The Old World, Folk Tales of Temerium and Open Memory of The Yillivan, a forgotten public secret. Following Medai's cry, Tharal, the first queen of Strakeln and The First Dragon, created the Sun, and with it, the light that covers the world throughout half the day-night cycle. The sun, Tharalis, had children of his own, who descended upon the world amidst the Era of Magic, given as the Sun was created with the intent of punishing and harming Heriv Medai and his creations. Tharalis' interpretation of that matter included directly punishing those creations beyond hampering their movements through part of the day, specially in the case of the humans, which he saw as Medai's more harmful creations. His children, the Six Rays and the Keeper, came down upon the different mountain ranges of the continent, and as the Keeper rested his feet upon the peaks of the Scarps, he saw to himself the duty of ensuring the sun always shone brightly upon that land. The disc was then made, to channel, absorb and redirect the sun upon the land of modern-day Phyria, known at the time simply as "Phyrvollan" ("Land of the Phyr and the Yillivan" on a rough translation). The disc rests atop a theoretically unreachable face of the mountains, though flight has enabled scholars to approach and study it to some extent. Touching the disc itself is quite harmful, and in most cases led to death, with the exception of Smitten Omari, saint to the early Refraction of Light, later deemed apocryphal to the Brotherhood's reform. The Rays and the Keeper eventually went away with the Last Dreamless Night, but the disc remained throughout the ages. Mankind's torment under the sun slowly vanished as they got used to it, to a certain extent, and living plentifully during the day was a possibility. As the Refraction of Light reached the continent in the late Era of Magic, the religion quickly associated the disc with a blessing from the Sun, originator of all light, and the vague records of the Six Rays and the Keeper reinterpreted as comings of sacred envoys to enact the will of the Light. This, among other readings of old events, led to the growing belief in the purification through fire, and of fire being mankind's weapon against the dark, creating an eventual moral duty to persecute what was perceived as dark and twisted, under the guise of thanking and favouring the sun.

"Enraged may the cry of survival be, but steel your resolve, for much more numerous shall the pleas of your children if the dark is allowed to set root upon this land. Heed the sun, heed the burning fire from above and from within. Tis flame that guides human, and tis human that takes its light across the world." (PEIMUM, Hoifuma, 1866 EOW, "Fire Within, Blades Ablaze. The Purifier duty", written by Hoifuma Peimum, a reformist from the Second Wave)

The disc becomes more prominent during the start and the end of every day. At dawn, it receives the feeble light of the morning sun and brightens the land of Phyria, whereas the Scarps would blot out the light for a few more hours, making it so the day effectively begins a few hours before there truly is light. At dusk, the disk is angled in such a way that the diminishing light of the sun shines directly at it's wider side, reflecting it as if a new dawn was just breaking for a few moments, like a last warning to creatures of the dark who might be unearthing themselves too early. The disc remains abandoned, and though no signs of ageing seem to affect the ancient structure, the environment where it stand is far dilapidated, and scholars project that an unexpected seismic event could make it eventually fall, loose from its bearings. Others object, insisting the Eastern Light can float, maintaining its position as a means of following the set angle it was built to address. None attempted to disturb it further, however, given the natural protective measures of the disc, and no final conclusion was drawn, for whatever writings are in Strakelnian, and no scholars really know much beyond loose terms of the language, and the runes have always been a well-kept secret. It remains where it is, awaiting the world's decay and eventual end.

Purpose / Function

It concentrates the light of the sun, shining brighter than it at dusk and dawn. Originally built to torment humans in a time before they grew moderately accustomed to the sunlight, by the will of Tharalis' child, the Keeper, sent upon the world alongside The Six Rays. It now represents a cornerstone to the Brotherhood of Light's teachings, as a sacred relic from the sun.

Alterations

The stone it sits upon is heavily dilapidated from the tens of thousands of years since its original construction, but the disc itself remains untouched by time.

Architecture

It follows an alien style to any human architectural design. It is believed it is reminiscent of early Strakelnian Templarism, though it varies greatly from any other known Strakelnian ruin. The Keeper choices favoured function over form, which might justify its deviance from other traditional styles from the Era of Primordial Wrath up until the late Era of Magic. Later Strakelnian Morphism and Imperial Introspection followed different methods and inspirations, making the Eastern Light a truly unique construct.

History

Its origins are unknown to the humans, except for the Yillivanni of old, who knew parts of its history. It originated from the times of the creation of Strakeln, as its citizens carved out their valley through the core of the tallest mountain with their voices and settled on the western part of the continent, in the Era of Primordial Wrath. Their voices awoke a tormented Heriv Medai, who, in an attempt to also speak like the voices they could hear echoing in the distance, let out a terrifying wail of pain and despair, unable to contain the suffering of their lonely and pained existence. The sole recordings of these originated and were described in The Tale of Making, The Tenant of The Sun, The Wrath Within, Thindryn's diary, The Tree's book, The Narrative of The Old World, Folk Tales of Temerium and Open Memory of The Yillivan, a forgotten public secret. Following Medai's cry, Tharal, the first queen of Strakeln and The First Dragon, created the Sun, and with it, the light that covers the world throughout half the day-night cycle. The sun, Tharalis, had children of his own, who descended upon the world amidst the Era of Magic, given as the Sun was created with the intent of punishing and harming Heriv Medai and his creations. Tharalis' interpretation of that matter included directly punishing those creations beyond hampering their movements through part of the day, specially in the case of the humans, which he saw as Medai's more harmful creations. His children, the Six Rays and the Keeper, came down upon the different mountain ranges of the continent, and as the Keeper rested his feet upon the peaks of the Scarps, he saw to himself the duty of ensuring the sun always shone brightly upon that land. The disc was then made, to channel, absorb and redirect the sun upon the land of modern-day Phyria, known at the time simply as "Phyrvollan" ("Land of the Phyr and the Yillivan" on a rough translation). The disc rests atop a theoretically unreachable face of the mountains, though flight has enabled scholars to approach and study it to some extent. Touching the disc itself is quite harmful, and in most cases led to death, with the exception of Smitten Omari, saint to the early Refraction of Light, later deemed apocryphal to the Brotherhood's reform. The Rays and the Keeper eventually went away with the Last Dreamless Night, but the disc remained throughout the ages. Mankind's torment under the sun slowly vanished as they got used to it, to a certain extent, and living plentifully during the day was a possibility. As the Refraction of Light reached the continent in the late Era of Magic, the religion quickly associated the disc with a blessing from the Sun, originator of all light, and the vague records of the Six Rays and the Keeper reinterpreted as comings of sacred envoys to enact the will of the Light. This, among other readings of old events, led to the growing belief in the purification through fire, and of fire being mankind's weapon against the dark, creating an eventual moral duty to persecute what was perceived as dark and twisted, under the guise of thanking and favouring the sun.

"Enraged may the cry of survival be, but steel your resolve, for much more numerous shall the pleas of your children if the dark is allowed to set root upon this land. Heed the sun, heed the burning fire from above and from within. Tis flame that guides human, and tis human that takes its light across the world." (PEIMUM, Hoifuma, 1866 EOW, "Fire Within, Blades Ablaze. The Purifier duty", written by Hoifuma Peimum, a reformist from the Second Wave)

The disc becomes more prominent during the start and the end of every day. At dawn, it receives the feeble light of the morning sun and brightens the land of Phyria, whereas the Scarps would blot out the light for a few more hours, making it so the day effectively begins a few hours before there truly is light. At dusk, the disk is angled in such a way that the diminishing light of the sun shines directly at it's wider side, reflecting it as if a new dawn was just breaking for a few moments, like a last warning to creatures of the dark who might be unearthing themselves too early. The disc remains abandoned, and though no signs of ageing seem to affect the ancient structure, the environment where it stand is far dilapidated, and scholars project that an unexpected seismic event could make it eventually fall, loose from its bearings. Others object, insisting the Eastern Light can float, maintaining its position as a means of following the set angle it was built to address. None attempted to disturb it further, however, given the natural protective measures of the disc, and no final conclusion was drawn, for whatever writings are in Strakelnian, and no scholars really know much beyond loose terms of the language, and the runes have always been a well-kept secret. It remains where it is, awaiting the world's decay and eventual end.

Tourism

Scholars and pilgrims visit occasionally. Scholars come, either individually or in research groups, to try and study the disc and its composition. Due to the lack of new breakthroughs in the last few centuries, however, these expeditions have become more of a matter of curiosity than an actual expectation to understand it in its entirety. Most visitor are pilgrims who follow the Brotherhood of Light's tenants, with some being a part of the Way of the Road.

RUINED STRUCTURE
2423 EOM (Last Dreamless Night)

Founding Date

142 EOM

Alternative Names

Ancient Yillivan, "Olai Vevemo" ("Light to the East"), traditional Phyriai as "Folori Carassan" ("Sun False and True"), modern Yillivan as "Olaa Veivum" ("East Brightling"), modern Phyriai as "Izzim Carassainei Faiur" ("Light to-the-east alike-the-sun")

Type

World wonder

Owning Organization

Strakeln