To the far north, beyond the Silver Mountains, lies the Far Lands, if you believe in such places. The Silver Mountains are a great and dense range and very few have survived a trek far enough up to see to the other side. Most believe those survivors were driven mad by the height or some old magic, for the tales they tell of that distant place beyond are too fanciful to believe. They say the world simply ceases to know right from wrong. They claim up and down know no balance nor logic and that looking into the expanse of those Far Lands in unfathomable in the nature of its space. Those who claim to have ventured into those wild lands tell stranger stories still. Tales of impossible land formations and creatures that could never truly exist and horrors the mind of man was not meant to understand. Regardless of what one may or may not believe, it is a place to be avoided.
The Far Lands are primarily mountainous, full of rolling hills and soring peaks. There are stretches of flat land and meadows, but these are often deceptive in nature and in size. Some mountains are endless, the tops of some hills may be down, the forests are not forests and the trees will shift aside for any who walk too close, revealing only more mountains and hills. No one knows where the Far Lands end or if, indeed, they end at all. The only true forest there most certainly does not.
The plants have no rules. Trees grow in stone, stones grow on trees, the grass may be made of iron, the fruit may brew the elixir of life. Or maybe its just apples. Sometimes the strangest thing in The Beyond is normalcy. Very few animals live there, those that do are often composed of plant matter; these creatures will return to the forest to rest in there bushes and trees. Some stay bushes and trees once their rest begins, others may grow from a once ordinary plant. The only creatures not made of flora are the unicorns, who go to the far lands to feed. It is said by some that it is there birth place.
Magic runs wild here, untamed, unbridled, uncontrollable. There are often gaps in space itself, swallowing anything and everything that dare approach. Many directions do not follow their own path, leading a straight line to take one in a circle, or a mountain climb to lead to the bottom of a gorge. Often distances are much greater or smaller than they appear, crossing only a small plane could be a matter of hours, when climbing a tall hill could take mere seconds.
The weather also follows no patter, with snow falling from a clear sky, lightning striking silently, and rain most often falling up from the ground.
Gravitational anomalies are the most common, with many craters filled with floating debris, mountains that don't touch the ground, and areas where a wanderer might simply float up into the air for a time, swimming through nothing. Magic is also amplified in the Far Lands, with unpredictable side effects.
The Far Lands are, in a way, a source of raw Ether, capable of being tapped and harnessed to some extent. Though it is not a physical substance, it is plausible to think that pure Ether could be extracted by some undiscovered science and used to fuel the most powerful alchemy imaginable. Or perhaps it would simple destroy everything.
In the early days of the world, when it was not quite finished forming and magic was yet to be understood, it is said that the first wizards found a place that was not yet settled into its spot in space and time. In this place the Ether bled into to the world, and their magic was multiplied tenfold or more. The first wizard to find this place desired only peace, and set himself to exploring and understanding this great power he now had. He played with the rules of the world to see what he might do, but quickly learned that it was not for him to decide natures course.
The second wizard to find that place was not there for haven, rather, he had heard rumors of the strange and unnatural and felt the Ether's pull. He went to these unknown lands in search of power, seeking vengeance on those who wronged him. But when the first wizard became aware of the second he sought to prevent any damage done to the world. He attempted to reason with the man, but vengeance knows no reason.
The two men met in battle, but with the magnitude and volatility of their power, the first became afraid of the harm they could do to the still unfinished world, and so, retreated. In his compliance, he gave way to a much greater horror, for the second wizard learned to harness the raw Ether in this place, and brought it back to rest of the world. It was vengeance he wanted and that is what he had. The toll paid in lives was too great to count and so, with heavy heart, the first wizard drew the second back into that still forming place in the world and fought once more.
The second battle was all he feared it could be, and though he stood victorious after many days of battle, the damage was done. The last edge of the world was finished in chaos and war and magic that was never meant to be and those far off lands never settled into there spot in space or time, forever torn by the wrath of one broken soul.
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