Ysgör Geographic Location in The Shattered World | World Anvil

Ysgör

Geography

Ysgör is a water locked continent with a generally forested and mountainous geography. There are five major lakes (four mapped) and fourteen major rivers whic provide fresh water to the inhabitants of Ysgör.
Mount Entininenya is the holy mountain reverred by the Il'ithani people as the location where the Elven deities were born of the mountain's beauty.

Climate

The climate of Ysgör is generally mild, with warm summers and slightly colder winters. Snow is common during the colder months, especially in the north of the continent.

Natural Resources

In addition to the freshwater provided by the rivers and plentiful resources provided by expansive forests of the continent, Ysgor also holds large quantity of the natural explosive Raugh Delvar which is mainly located underground where it is mined by the Dwarven population exclusively.

History

See: History of Ysgör

The First Stor Krieg

Prior to recorded history, Humans and Giants worked side by side as the ruling races of the nation against a common foe; the Dragons which brought terror to the people and devastation upon the lands. Together, the Humans and Giants were able to defeat the Dragons, though not without causing damage to the landscape great enough to forge many of the valleys and gulleys which mark to land to this day, the history of which all but forgotten by the common people.
After the Dragons' defeat, there was peace for a time while both the Humans and Giants revelled in their victory. They expanded empires and horded their resources during this time of peace, the house Mithrus coming into power to rule the Human kingdom. Their focus on innovation and expansion put many of the ancient cultures of the land in danger; the Elves in particular saw Humanity's bid for absolute power to be a lesser form of what had just been prevented with the Dragons. As the Elves had leant their magic and knowledge to the Human armies during the war, and with their longer lifespan giving them a much longer historical memory they began to grow nervous. According to Human histories, the Elves grew envious of the expansion of Humanity and vicious in the stagnation of their own people. Thus, after a century of tension a second stor krieg (or 'great war') ultimately began.

The Second Stor Krieg

Humanity turned to their old allies, the Giants, however the Giants had begun to feud with each other, each of the clans having their own rivalries and thus they were unwilling to come together and sacrifice their own for another race's war. Humanity fought hard, however against a people with control over magic they were at a strong disadvantage.
Though the specifics were lost to history, the only certainty of how the tides of war turned was that, for the first time in centuries, the Dwarves lead their armies from their capital city of Khal Karris under the earth to the aid of Humanity. Their secret and devastating weapon Raugh Delvar, or gunpowder in its most natural form, was catastrophic for the Elven armies and they inevitably surrendered.
Defeated and exiled, the Elves established their new homeland, the Il'ithani Empire which became their prison from which they were unable to expand. The Drow were even further exiled, unwanted by both Man and Elves they were sent to fend for themselves, eventually coming upon their ancestral homeland Nelmatos which they slowly began to build up from ruin.
The Dwarves on the other hand were greatly rewarded for their aid towards the Human armies. They were able to establish their first land based settlement and worship of the Dwarven god Moradin was introduced amongst the Human population of Ysgör, and many began to revel in the concept of these 'New Gods', beginning to favour them over the Old Gods whom they shared with the Giants. This sentiment was not shared by all in the land and thus began a religious divide.

The Third Stor Krieg

After forty-four years of peace, reports from various human towns began to make their way back to the capital; many settlements located near the Giants' Kingdoms had been found decimated. What were initially believed to be sporadic outbreaks of violence quickly became strategically targetted assaults, and King Skarfell Mithrus wasted no time in gathering his tropes.
The war against the Giants reached beyond the Human Kingdom, making it as far as even the underground cities of Khal Karris and Nelmatos, which were particularly devestated by the Fire Giant clans who made their way from their lands through the various tunnel systems. The war was so wide reaching that men and women were conscripted from even the smallest towns, even the Elves were reluctantly communicated with.
The entire conflict lasted 15 years, during which time many historical battles occured. The Battle of the Gulley took place towards the end of the war in which King Skarfell beheaded a storm giant, a conflict in which he lost his arm. In the end, the losses to the Giants were too great and the battle ended up winning the war for Humanity.
The end of the war was marked by the creation of the Ordling, the treaty which specified the construction of the Ordloch Wall to divide the nations of Giant and Man. With the signing of the treaties, Annum disappeared and the Giants clans reluctantly followed His example; ceasing any kind of hostility towards Humans and their allies. The crown, determined to keep Annum's powers weakened, officially banned the worship of the Old Gods, under penalty of death.

The Giant Uprising

After 50 years of relative peace under the Ordling, the Giant clans began to find loopholes in the treaties and the first breach occured. Orendör, a small farming town located in the shadow of the Ordloch Wall, was obliterated and coloquially renamed Orfendor in reference to how many children were left without parents as a result of the Giants' attack. The wall was breached a second time by the Fire Giant clan who went underground to attack Nelmatos and Khal Kharris once more.
This small uprising was ended swiftly in 970HU by King Storvald Mithrus who added ammendments to the Ordling; in order to appease the Giants who were growing increasingly restless, Mithral would send criminals to the other side of the wall as tribute for the Giants to hunt. Prisons were no longer over populated and the King was able to avoid public executions for some of the more outspoken criminals. In exchange, the first child born of the Giant leaders who had caused the uprising would be given over to the Mithrus family as payment. In order to avoid the humiliation, the five Giant leaders swore to never bear a child, however only four stayed true to their word.

The Prince of Peace

In 995HU, a Cloud Giant arrived at the wall with a Goliath child, who was given unto the guard as per the agreement from 25 years prior. The boy was sent onward to the capital and King Storvald Mithrus, who was entertained and appeased, kept the child as his seventh son, naming him Höundel Mithrus and raising him as the 'Prince of Peace'.
On the child's fifth birthday there was an assassination attempt made against him. It was quickly thwarted and traced back to none other than the King's own Head of the Guard. Appalled and betrayed, the King had the man executed by hanging over the Ordloch Wall and his name was struck from history, where he is only known as Treason.

Maps

  • Continent of Ysgör
Type
Continent
Location under
Owner/Ruler
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The Map of Ysgör

A 'completed' map of the continent Ysgör was charted by cartographer Jaron Ellingboe in 985HU during his expedition to the west of the Ordloch Wall. Though a group of 30 of Mithral's own soldiers were sent to aid him in mapping the previously uncharted lands, only Ellingboe was successful in returning with a completed map.
There is evidence to suggest that though Ellingboe did chart the western territory that it was heavily doctored in order to hide the existence of Jalanthar on a western penninsula which does not appear on the map. His reasons for doing so are uncertain.

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