Fyrousii ([fɪə:yzi:])
The Fyrousii are twin dormant volcanoes situated at the heart of the Fyrohii mountain range. While one is taller than the other, no known separate names have been attributed to them, simply the collective Fyrousii.
The Meaning of the Name
The term Fyrousii is derived from Foyiitùn:- Fyr: meaning "flame" (singular) or fire (singular/collective)
- Ousii: meaning "waters" (plural, where the singular is ous)
Firewater
Fyrous, or "Firewater", is a strong drink known to cause an apparently-pleasant burning sensation when consumed. It is inspired by the Fyrousii but none of its ingredients are procured from that region. No one would be able to afford to pay the Gatherer the fee if they were.Interchangeability of Names
Given the nature of the Fyrousii, the whole range's name of Fyrohii ("Flame Height" in the Common Tongue) is often used in reference to the volcanoes themselves. This has never been a concern, or a surprise, to linguistic scholars, given that name also adequately describes the dormant volcanoes.Can You Fall In?
This is an understandable question given the nature of the Heights is that molten fury may burst out. However, there is only a small rim around the top of each volcano, which can be climbed over in both directions in about one Ur each way. The rock filling the crater is smooth, so much so that it can be hazardously slippery after rain.The Ice Mounts Challenge
You may sense some dissonance suddenly discussing ice while the subject matter is fire. Here is why: While visitors are dissuaded from entering the Fyrohii as a whole, this idea spawned the "ice mounds challenge" which takes place on the border of Frostplain during particularly cold winters. Imitation Fyrousii are constructed and water poured into the circle until it turns to ice. Then people are challenged to walk across without slipping. Kyadii and Fàlōndii are not allowed to participate due to their unnatural advantage of having claws.Natural Resources
The Fyrousii themselves were not mined, nor was their rock taken for building as with other parts of the Fyrohii. However, one particular plant did grow on its slopes.
While greenery was rare in the Fyrohii range, Cloudberries grew from plants that seemed, visually-speaking, dead.
They were used to add colour and a deep flavour to pastries and drinks (not exclusively "strong drinks"), however they were difficult to obtain. This made them almost exclusively available for either the wealthy or the daring. Fyrous more commonly used the Dasan Cherry or Brackenberry, and this applied in other culinary recipes too. While the Cloudberry had a signature bitter-then-sweet taste, Elelupi cooks had found other plants combined with the more common berries could produce a similar effect.
The Winter Cloudberry (or "Winterberry" for short) was not a separate harvest from those that grew all year round, but simply evolved from those. Winterberries retained an almost Elemental coldness even plucked from the plant and transported to warmer climes. While the flavour itself was said to be weaker, when incorporated into food or drink (such as Fyrous) it bestowed a lightness to the item being consumed. It was also noted that Winterberries lengthened the time a food would remain fresh without alchemic (or in the case of Shevezz, Alcmechanical) chilling.
Cloudberry
While not unique to the Fyrousii (they could, to the daring Gatherer, be found in the Forbidden Heights), Cloudberries grew in large numbers around the final half-day trek up the largest of the two volcanoes. There were two varieties:Traditional Cloudberry
Winterberry
The Month of Waste
While it is true that the Cloudberry, if left unplucked, evolved into the Winterberry, the same was not true in reverse. If not harvested by Spring (or 'Swarm Season' in the Wild Marshes), then the remaining fruit would fall to the ground and nourish the subsequent crop. Given Cloudberries were not the primary source of ingredients for Fyrous, this would always happen in at least one of the three locations they could be found, so the plants were never over-harvested.What Happened after Over-Harvesting?
The fact that all locations have Cloudberries indicates some measure of Elemental influence. It should be reemphasised that the fruit grew from plants that appeared dead. As the stems and leaves have not been used for any purpose, it is thought that the plant dies, then nourishes its own rebirth. This is one of many subjects marked as "needing further research" in the Bezélian Archives.History
Before the First Destruction, the Fyrousii and the Fyrohii as a whole were lush, verdant and full of life. Where two volcanoes now stand, crisp bright waters used to flow, such that its name used to be Ousohii - the Heights of Water.
Because of this, the Wild Marshes were not marshland at that time either, but a rich pasture where the forebears of the Wild Folk - the Ousohii Crofters lived.
How the Ousohii Became the Fyrousii
As the war of the First Destruction came to its climax, the White Dragon, who accidentally killed the rulers of Qal'ath and Shevezz, was banished to The Forbidden Heights.The great beast is said to have departed with no further struggle, but not before the last of its fire was spent on the fair Ousohii, destroying its water and melting some of the rocks. What water had flowed and fed the land between the two mountain ranges ceased, so it stagnated and that’s why this land is now marsh.That same fire disrupted the Elemental Balance of the region, destabilising Erdé and instilling a permanent shift into the dominance of Fyr.Pyotr
Wrenched, (Dag Nià)
Dated Eruptions
- 0AFD: The moment the war of the First Destruction ended, "melted rock" (as those not educated in geological matters call it) ran South into what would become the Wild Marshes
- 400AFD: A minor ground tremor (Trybèl Anerdà) and small lava flow filling only the basin at the foot of the Fyrousii. This is thought to be the reason for the growth of Scorchsalve a curative herb for burns and cuts.
Tourism
Visitors are actively kept from the Fyrousii. While, at 533AFD there have been no further eruptions since 400ADF, the fact that the could be is sufficient grounds. That said, people do visit. The primary reasons are:
- History: scholars, archaeologists and artists - thank the Elements travelling as a group - seeking to research and document the area over time.
- Dragon Hunting: "Some people love a good myth", one Elelupi lass called Mia told me one day at Timri, "though they ain't allowed in t'forbidd'n 'eights, they 'ope by climbin' the Fyrousii to 'ave a chance at spottin' that White Dragon from t'stories! They've plot t'lost if y'ask me!" (I did not push the point about "losing the plot" during this exchange).
- Bragging Rights: Whether out of bravado, or as a result of a lost game of Kalmys, some climb to the rim of the Fyrousii simply to say they have.
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