Gwerra
Chryssa
"Something about these lands feels a little... off. The mana doesn't flow like other places, and I can feel a great, humming, like magic pulsing super quickly underground. I don't like it!"Gwerra is a barony located in Eastern Azure and is the furthest eastern baony in North Cassel. It is bordered on the west by Wheages and with that barony it completely encircles The Sun Valley. To the west is Nikria in South Cassel and to the south is Luminoza in the elf-kingdom of Ledo.
Other than the grassy valleys and rocky shores, this location doesn't have much going for it. A road follows the shoreline connecting Wheages to Ledo, with the city of Osler somwhere in the middle. There are no industries to speak of in this province. There are several farmers that mainly grow crops for Gwerra itself. Very little is imported or exported.
There are mountains to the south and west, including the tallest mountain in Cassel, Mount Rakkos, so other than a single road, not much gets in or out of Gwerra. This isolation has helped Gwerra maintain its cultural identity even 1700 years after becoming part of Cassel. The culture shares more in common with Yurrimkil to the north than it does with anywhere else in Cassel. The baronies of Esurian and Wheages have just vestigial remains of this culture, which can mostly be found in the names.
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1296, Iron Age
Osler
Baron Iàcob Helias
4,653 km2
Oceanic
Subarctic (Higher elevation)
Ice Cap (Mount Rakkos)
43,250
67% Human
30% Elf
3% Centaur
Osler
Baron Iàcob Helias
4,653 km2
Oceanic
Subarctic (Higher elevation)
Ice Cap (Mount Rakkos)
43,250
67% Human
30% Elf
3% Centaur
Castle Aliado
At the time that Cassel was looking to expand its influence into Gwerra, they had difficulties doing it. Their mages were mysteriously running out of magic shortly after reaching the borders. The King of Cassel at the time, Vernador VII, decided to try diplomacy first before risking any soldiers. The Lord of Gwerra at the time was no more than a head chieftain that kept five loosely allied tribes together. When word came up for an alliance, the Chieftain said that all of Gwerra would join Cassel under one condition: Build each chieftain a castle so they could protect their tribe from monsters.
If that was all Cassel had to do, they weren't goint to complain. Within two decades, they had built several medium sized castles that dotted the Gwerran landscape. They were built mostly out of granite blocks. They were each just close enough that at least two was visible to each other. Vernador VII staged around twenty thousand troops at the border in case the head chieftain didn't sign the treaty. After dealing with unruly nations like Dorias and Marsan, he was about done with his non-Casselian neighbors.
To the King's shock, the Chieftain actually signed the treaty and pledged loyalty to Cassel, all for half a dozen castles. He even removed his crown and offered it to the king. Vernador VII told the Chieftain to keep his crown. Vernador VII told the Chieftain that he was still head chieftain of the Gwerrans, and he will now be the Baron here and stay the Lord of Gwerra.
Gwerra has been an ally of Cassel ever since then. There have been periods in the past when various baronies try to break away and become kingdoms of their own or try to subjugate each other. Gwerra played no part in any of that. They mostly keep to themselves and only send soldiers and aid to support the King of Cassel if requested.
Castle Aliado was the largest castle built in Gwerra for the head chieftain. It was built on the ruins of an older Bronze Age structure. The Castle has stood for the last 1600 years, battered by the weather but not much else.
Gwerra doesn't really have resources worth invading over and the Gwerrans themselves are relatively peaceful. Supposidely they wanted the castles to protect themselves from monsters, but unlike many places in Cassel, the creatures here are only the stuff of stories. For these reasons, each of the original castles still stand.
Gwerra doesn't really have resources worth invading over and the Gwerrans themselves are relatively peaceful. Supposidely they wanted the castles to protect themselves from monsters, but unlike many places in Cassel, the creatures here are only the stuff of stories. For these reasons, each of the original castles still stand.
Mount Rakkos
At 6,634 meters at the top of the summit, Mount Rakkos is the undisputed tallest peak in all of Cassel. The next closest peak is Alcorza Mountain at 6,536 meters. Curiously, on the top of this peak is a black tower, about 250 meters tall. This tower is clear visible from miles away and it seems to spew smoke or steam at regular intervals.
This tower is one of the greatest mysteries in the kingdom. No one has ever been able to climb the mountain to see what the tower actually is and there are no airships that can go over roughly 4800 meters in elevation so getting a closer look by air has been difficult as well. There are plenty of theories about what the tower is and what it is doing.
The mountain has for a long time been sacred to the native Gwerran people. They worship the mountain, saying that the god of fire breathes from within, his life giving breath is what allows Gwerra to have life at all. They have seasonal rituals that involve the mountain.
This talk of a "Fire God" does cause some alarm among some in Cassel as the actual god of fire, Beirunes, is forever trapped on The Moon Izi. It could be a great dragon that lives in the mountain, or it could be a volcano.
Theories about the mountain
Salika's Theory
"The steam of the mountain isn't actually steam, or smoke for that matter. It is a type of magic mist consisting of Neon gas, similar to that found in the Corruption of Maeos. As for the tower itself, it appears to be nothing more than a giant chimmey, a tower with many openings to suck out the magic mist as quickly as possible to prevent aetheric saturation and likely disaster.
"
"And what is inside the mountain? Silver Age writings told of creations of the Draogn Lords that could be the cause. The human-like Therians, spawn of Loralkas the Pulsar for example, were created from pieces of the dragon lord himself. He took pieces of his own body, shaped it into human form, then placed these new 'humans' in eggs, to hatch at the appropriate time.
"
"The Therians of Loralkas were placed in the Realm of Feylisa and hatched roughly 100,000 years after being placed there. In fact all of the spawn of the dragon lords, whether it be the Infernas or Sengar, hatched roughly 100,000 years after creation. This means that if my theory is true, these new 'humans' were created at some point in the Silver Age and are resting peacefully until their appointed time of awakening. Will they be good or bad and will they bring chaos to the land or help the people living their bring it to order? This I am unsure of..."
"What I do know is that the last time one of these hatchings happened, it was of the Dragon Lord Oliark the Arcane in Faeon. These spawn hatched around twenty thousand years into the Bronze Age and caused destruction wherever they went. The Elves had a very lengthy war with them until they were driven north to the frozen lands."
"What I also know is that the dragon lords each only ever create one clutch of their 'humans'. Many have been accounted for, but several still have not. Depending on the dragon lord and their true nature, this could be very very bad...if they hatch in the next few centuries. It could by 40 or 50 thousand years before it happens!"
- Salika
Lidia's Theory
"I'm more of an expert in Iron Age structures, but my research has led me to earlier ages too, so I think I can answer the question of what that tower is! Maybe... The tower is very clearly from the Silver Age based on the architecture, so no one alive should know why it exists."
"Magic sensitive people have reported feeling uneasy when in Gwerra, which is actually quite a magic-free place! only 1% of the human population are born with a Mana Lung. Elves and Centaurs have them, but those born in the area have one that is slightly reduced in size."
"Anyways, mages that do stay in Gwerra, even for a short time have trouble casting even the most basic of spells with Mana. They have to almost exclusively rely on Aether for their magic, which is difficult considering the cost of aethercite crystals from other parts of the kingdom."
"So last time I was in Gwerra I brought a Mana Detector with me and started examining the surroundings. The measurements were... unsettling to say the least. There was almost no mana in the entire province! No wonder people aren't born without mana lungs, they don't need them! And no wonder why it's difficult to cast magic, there's no mana!"
"The thing is, even if a mage doesn't cast any magic at all, they will slowly feel themselves weakened and absent of their power. Their mana is leaving their body! Where does this mana go and why?" That's a question I haven't been able te answer yet unfortunately. So what else is there to do now but guess based on everything I know?
"So with all that out of the way, it's Theory Time! My best guess is that the tower is a chimney letting off excess mana in the form of Neon gas. This chimney is connected to a great Mana engine inside the mountain that is sucking ambient mana away from the rest of Gwerra. Mages can feel the humming of this engine underground as it saps their power from them."
"This does kinda raise more question than answers though! I didn't say it was a good theory, just a theory! I'm not sure why mana is being sucked out of the surrounding area and what it is being used for. One reason why I think it might be a plausible is that the Olimians of the Silver Age used Cassel as a sort of research center for various magical experiments. There is evidence of this in the barony of Gladio and elsewhere. We probably won't know unless we randomly discover a scroll somewhere that tells us..."
- Lidia Valentine
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