Etal is a land that to most olûndi straddles the line between abstract reality and popular mythology. The chosen people of Atûn, known colloquially as the Etayen, are the inhabitants of this place. They have dwelled there since the earliest epochs of olûndari life and have grown attached to the land on a level that transcends the olûndari coil. They revere the land, for it nurtures them. They praise the beauty of their homeland and the strength that it imbues the population. It is a gift to them from Atûn, and for that reason is greater than all other lands both near and far. The very name of the continent, Etal, reflects that belief, for in the Etayen tongue it means "Great Land". To discuss the history and nature of the land is a difficult task, for the exterior is a place of grave peril and the interior so far removed from all other olûndari habitation that it remains unseen by non-Etûletal eyes.
The eclectic and powerful environs of Etal immediately set it apart from the lands that surround it by sea. Along the coast for many miles is deep and tangled jungle, within which lay natural dangers and fearsome beasts. Those who arrive on those shores without an Etayen guide inevitably get lost in the dark mass of gorse and boughs until they either stumble back to the shore from whence they came or succumb to the harsh climate. Even among the Etayen it is only the devout and faithful that can navigate the maze of trees created by Atûn, for it is more effective than any wall of stone or iron. Beyond the thick jungle is the heartland of Etal, a great vale of paradise that extends many leagues in all direction within the center of the continent. That is a boon of living alongside a deity, for in all nature found elsewhere in the world there is no comparison. Residing within that beautiful vale that is protected by trees are the cities of the Etayen. The settlements of the chosen people are built of Atûn's nemeshir and thus surpass all olûndari creation in beauty and strength. Ornate architecture, sweeping arches, and many other intricacies. The towers wind a vault above the buildings below them, bolstered by the many branches of enchanted trees, and deep within the earth are halls hewn from the roots and soil of the world. The design is thin and delicate, as opposed to thick and practical Corgastodmar design.
Etal remained under the direct guidance of Atûn until the creation of Vojûn and foundation of Étunas around the year -1500. It was then that Atûn raised the Vishtal dynasty, first and most noble of his Etayen creations, unto the immense power of kingship over Etal and her expanding dominion.
Geography of Etal
Etal is a strange territory, for its characteristic are largely unknown to the olundi of Qadal. The common Neyasi fellow might believe it a desert, the likes of which exists nowhere else. An Elivas merchant might believe it a deep abyss into the heart of Esha from which such terrible beings emerge. The brave Vestanir warrior might believe it to be a mountain upon whose faces sits every nature as jewels to a crown. Perhaps one might believe it to appear as a great jungle, which is the truth of the matter. Indeed, the coastal territories are shrouded in deep jungle and forest for two-score miles into the heartland.
In the distant south the continent became a sparse region of low grasses and crags. This continued for some 200 miles with little settlement beside rumble walled hamlets with hard, proud Etayen.