Petrichor

Petrichor is a country in the Windrose world. It borders Falcata to the west and Gaal-Bort to the south along an ocean border.

#### History

Petrichor is notable for being the location where the first defined states were founded in the world. The nature of these early states were unknown, but they had a technology level that, barring whatever Magic they might have possessed, somewhat resembled a Chalcolithic, or pre-Bronze Age civilization. These states were likely established by colonists, or the descendants of colonists, from the Parsa Coast (modern-day Papillon), which is the ultimate cradle of civilization in the Windrose world.

At some point millennia ago, a philosophy was popularized among the ruling class of Petrichor that Magic was unnatural due to the fact that not all people were born with the gift of magic. Following a large boom in mage births in the south, the Petrichori elite rounded up their mages and gave them the opportunity to leave the country or die. A large coalition of mages then gathered together and rose large chunks of the southern coastline of Petrichor out of the ground, creating Phos. This event likely had devastating ramifications for Petrichor on an environmental, social, and political level, as the ancient underwater kingdom of Gaal directly to the south was entirely obliterated by geological catastrophes following the ascension of Phos. By the modern day, the zealous anti-magic sentiment of the Petrichori seems to have died out somewhat.

At some point, Petrichor and the successor kingdom of Gaal-Bort got into a dispute over fishing territory. Wanting to avoid conflict, they chose to simply draw a straight line across the strait that Gaal-Bort lies in, creating the kingdom's notably straight northern border.

#### Geography and Ecology

Famously, Petrichor is a heavily mountainous country. This, at least in part, is caused by the collision of tectonic plates in the region that Petrichor, southern Falcata, and northeastern Raoji sit upon. Because of this heavily mountainous terrain, Petrichor is home to many mountain-dwelling creatures including goats, llamas, and alpacas. It is unknown if these species are domesticated by Petrichori, but it is likely. The mountains also likely define Petrichor's only land border, with Falcata, and it is possible that the historic border between Petrichor and Gaal-Bort was caused by a trench formed from this plate collision.

Petrichor is in possession of an island south of Papillion and north of Zanmar. It is unknown when or how the Petrichori came into control of the island, or what significance it has that they would want to control such a distant territory. Ownership of the territory has allowed the Petrichori to engage in trade with nations in the far south, notably of domesticated dinosaurs.

#### Political Structure

Nothing is known about the political structure of Petrichor.

#### Culture

Little is known of Petrichori culture. According to Siv, they have some kind of reverence for oil and make use of it in some kind of ritual. Petrichor also has a unique architectural style that tends towards the construction of large towers. The history of this architectural trend is unknown.

None of the notable bloodlines that reside in Petrichor are known.