Sideralia

Sideralia is a mythical location possibly located somewhere in Tierra Lejana. While the term Sideralia is solely Altamiran, most cultures share a similar myth of a lost trove of platino.

In Altamiran, and later Regian, mythology, Sideralia is a grand city constructed entirely out of pure platino. Though the myth does vary in many retellings, the general belief is that somewhere in the world, there lived a culture of people, isolated from the rest of the world, who learned how to purify platino and therefore preserve and re-smelt it. Many cultural depictions of Sideralia in this vein show buildings, streets, and the like constructed from platino, making the city itself incredibly bright during the day. Luciana Herrera, the Altamiran explorer, believed firmly that Sideralia was real and existed in Tierra Lejana. This was upheld by the local Micholeans that Herrera encountered, who had their own myth regarding a city made of platino. The local term for the city was Grotte Miwa, loosely translated as meaning "Cave of Mirrors."

Many different people from every culture had tried to find the location of Sideralia over the years, but none succeeded. The Tepetla Mountains, where Sideralia would be most likely to be located, are very treacherous and almost impossible to travel through.

In 118, following the fall of Regia, Zoe Bellamy and her crew announced their new journey to search for the lost city of Sideralia. Bellamy was in possession of a map, acquired from Luciana Herrera's tomb, that supposedly showed a sea journey to Sideralia. She and her crew left to search for the city and have not been seen since.

In 145, Maya Quince-Simoneaux, having heard tales of Bellamy's crew her whole life, decided to begin to search for both Bellamy's crew and the city. With her brother Liam, she left their home in Komkhuleaux for Kellington. It was here that the siblings met Muna el-Mofty and Jacob Coronus. Additionally, Maya tracked down Ian Bellamy in the hopes that he would be able to give them more information about his sister and her quest. He was reluctant to help the group, especially upon learning that Liam and Maya were the children of his former captain. However, due to their tenacity, the group learned that a clue about the whereabouts of the city was found in Cala des Almas. The group found passage there, leaving a note for Ian upon their departure. However, the spiritual power build up at Cala des Almas proved too much for the group. Thankfully, Ian, Quince, Zelia, and Oliver were following close behind. Ian had contacted the mothers and uncle immediately after discovering that the group had left. The power of the cave was pulling the group towards it. Muna, Jacob, and Liam were still far enough back that they could be easily saved from the grasp of the spirits, but Maya was almost at the cave's mouth, unable to stop moving towards the entrance. Ian, in this moment, knew several things. Earlier that day, Oliver had shouted at him, calling him a coward with no moral backbone. He knew that was true - he had spent his whole life doing whatever would work out best for *him*. He also knew that he had nothing else to live for - he had been aimless and unsatisfied since leaving Quince's crew. And finally, he knew that losing Maya would be an insurmountable loss - for Quince and Zelia, but also for the entire world. So, he made the decision to save her any way possible. As the spirits lashed out at Maya, Ian leapt in front of her, catching the entire force of the spirits' attack on his back. He fell immediately unconscious, much to Maya's horror, and Quince quickly carried his body back to the Halcon. Here, Ian regained consciousness for just long enough to express his regret to Quince for leaving her crew, and to apologize to Oliver for how their relationship played out. After that, he died. :(