Aeterron
| Aeterron | |
|---|---|
| Capital | Ashfall Reach |
| Located in | Eastern Continent |
| Population | 3,800,000 |
| Landmarks | The Glass Expanse; Ashfall Reach; The Fracture Crown; The Black Meridian |
| Settlements | Emberline Hold; Scaldwater Crossing; Riftwatch Bastion; Lowglass |
| Factions |
|
| Coordinates | 45.2708,-97.1645 |
| Campaigns | |
Aeterron
Overview
Aeterron is the land where Velthuryn’s wounds lie closest to the surface. Here, the consequences of the Aethergrave are impossible to ignore. Magic did not merely pass through this region during the Shattering. It tore, burned, and calcified the land into something sharp and unforgiving. Reality remains unstable, prone to rupture under emotional or magical strain, and the ground itself often feels like it is listening for weakness.
Aeterron is not a place of denial or reverence. It is a place of confrontation. Those who live here do so because they must, because they choose to, or because nowhere else would have them. The state has become synonymous with danger, but also with expertise. If something can survive Aeterron, it can survive anywhere.
Geography
Aeterron spans a broad arcland of fractured plateaus, glassed basins, and exposed resonance seams. Vast tracts of land are permanently vitrified, reflecting Solivar’s longbright in blinding sheets and glowing faintly under deepglow moonlight. Floating stone shelves drift slowly along invisible ley currents, colliding and separating over decades.
Several major resonance fault lines converge here, creating zones where gravity, time, and memory behave erratically. Rivers may reverse flow during resonance surges, while entire valleys periodically vanish into reality sinkholes before re-emerging altered weeks or months later.
People & Culture
Life in Aeterron favors those who plan carefully and accept loss as inevitable.
Humans — Scouts, hunters, scholars, and settlement-builders adapted to transient life.
Earthkin — Structural engineers and stabilizers who read stone for signs of failure.
Orcs — Veteran fighters and Echo-hunters; respected for discipline and endurance.
Infernis — Fire-adapted workers crucial for glassworking and heat management, though closely monitored.
Elves — Present mainly in fortified observatories and research enclaves.
Cultural values emphasize preparedness, clear communication, and practical heroism. Boasts are distrusted. Survival is proof enough.
Settlements & Governance
Aeterron has no unified central authority. Instead, governance is local and situational, often organized around fortified holds or research enclaves.
Capital — Ashfall Reach
Ashfall Reach serves as Aeterron’s de facto capital, though its authority extends only as far as its supply lines. Built atop layered basalt shelves reinforced with griefglass struts, the city functions as a staging ground for expeditions, trade, and Echo containment operations. Entire districts are designed to be sealed or evacuated within hours.
Hazards & Hostile Phenomena
Aeterron is one of the most dangerous regions in Velthuryn:
Echo Adversaries — Manifestations of unresolved memory, suppressed identity, or collapsed possibilities that form rapidly near resonance wounds.
Griefglass Storms — High-energy weather systems that rain crystalline shards and induce memory bleed.
Leyshear Faults — Sudden ruptures that sever magic, gravity, or continuity.
Reality Sinkholes — Zones where terrain temporarily ceases to exist.
Resonant Behemoths — Massive creatures warped by prolonged exposure to resonance.
Arcflare Eruptions — Explosive releases of stored magical pressure.
Memory Scald — A condition where emotional recollection causes physical burns or structural collapse.
Economy & Trade
Aeterron’s primary exports are dangerous but valuable: griefglass, embersteel, stabilized arc-crystals, and Echo research. Trade is tightly regulated, often militarized, and frequently interrupted by catastrophe. Many foreign factions maintain proxy interests rather than direct holdings.
Relations & Reputation
The Bastion of Aurex — Uneasy collaborators on containment research; ideological tension is constant.
Velkar Spires — Shares storm and resonance data, though methodologies differ sharply.
Fleaspark — Smugglers and salvagers maintain a constant, illicit presence.
Gravenreach — Maintains legal observers to adjudicate Echo-related liability.
Aeterron is widely regarded as both a warning and a proving ground.
Ancestry Distribution
Predominant
Humans, Earthkin, Orcs
Significant Minorities
Infernis, Elves
Transient Populations
Scholars, Echohunters, mercenaries, and religious pilgrims
Fauna of Aeterron
Glassmaw Drakes — Predators with vitrified scales.
Shardbacks — Burrowing creatures that destabilize ley seams.
Ash Elk — Herd animals adapted to scorched plains.
Echo Leeches — Parasitic entities feeding on unresolved memory.
Fracture Titans — Rare behemoths formed from collapsed terrain and resonance.
Memory, Risk, and Mastery
In Aeterron, memory is a hazard. The land punishes carelessness, sentimentality, and denial. Yet it also rewards understanding. Those who learn to read its scars, respect its limits, and confront its dangers directly gain insight unmatched anywhere else in Velthuryn. Aeterron does not ask why you are here. It only asks whether you are prepared.
