Vil

**Vil** is a medium-sized island off the coast of Fleur. It was historically the home of the Vilmere culture.

## Topography

Vil is a windswept island cursed by poor soil. The northern and western sides are lower elevations while the eastern and southern sides are higher up, with the edges of the island being rocky white cliffs. A small hill in the southeast of the island is called Mount Vitoria and contains the remnants of a palace temple built by the Vilmere as well as a small village called Oltoria on Mount. Few wild game animals are left on the island, though wild pigs and cats are common after Fleurian colonization. Seals and sea birds are the most common animals on the island. The Pilka Tree is the only native species of tree on the island not found on the mainland. It bears small purple fruits used for dye as well as food. Olive trees are also common as well as small thorny shrub bushes.

The ocean around Vil is shallow and warm, full of coral and a multitude of animal life. Wyrms are still common, despite efforts to cull them.

## History

The island was discovered and colonized by the people who would eventually become the Vilmere sometime in pre-history. Rock carvings and petroglyphs have been found which indicate an ancient population that pre-dated the Vilmere culture. By the 17th century AE, the island was completely dominated by the Vilmere culture. The Great Serpent wall was completed sometime prior to the 15th century. Contact was made with the Nordurens in 1499 AE, though they would not see the island itself until 1496. Several attempts to raid the island by the Nordurens were thwarted into the 12th century, most notably the 1476 attempt.

By the 11th century a massive population crash occurred on the island. Many Vilmere began to flee to the mainland where they integrated into the Ardenic tribes who were already assimilated into Norduren culture. The island was largely abandoned by the 10th century, save for a few independent clans who no longer followed the strict matriarchal religion of the Vilmere. Ardenic groups on the mainland began considering the island cursed; few ventured to it until the late 7th century when the still new Kingdom of Flir sent an expedition to its shores. The island was scarcely populated by less than four-hundred people. Claiming it for Flir, a colony was established in the ruins of the city of Pilkos on the eastern shore.

Pilkos became a thriving exporter of ocean products, especially pearls and coral. Despite the difficulties of entering Helkos Harbor, the market thrived and the city expanded. Around the 3rd century AE, archaeology became quite popular on the mainland. Many expeditions began on Vil which uncovered and protected a great deal of sites on the island. The discovery of murals spurred on a brief fashion craze in which Vilmere inspired design flourished in Fleurian pop culture. The opera Vitoria, written in 349 AE, became immensely popular. It told the fictional tale of the priestess queen Vitoria during the collapse of Vilmere, imagined in the opera as being caused by internal revolt from the woman's sister, Hel.

By the turn of the eras, Vil once again became a populated and established island. Many Fleurian families live there in Pilkos or in the countryside fishing towns.