Graelenncia

*"This place was meant to be a playground, only to be destroyed and abandoned by the one thing I couldn't protect her from." -* Talia

*"Once a continent that doubled as a playground for the prophesized ruler who'd unite us all, it was destroyed by the same chosen one. After years of what was thought to be an Eternal Ruin, hope is once again on the horizon."* - Official description provided by the mayor of Berlymine.

## Geography

### Kingdoms

Arenae Dynasty (Graelenncia Desert; 1999 - 2009)

### Republics

* Republic of Berylmia
* Paederot Democratic Republic

### Locations

* Sandstream Flatlands, Graelenncia Desert
* Berylmine, Berylmia
* Coryndum, Graelenncia Desert
* Gardot Village, Paederot
* Eternal Ruin Cemetery

**Graelenncia** is a continent east of the continent of Etheridge, separated by the Prismian ocean and an unclaimed archipelago in the middle of the ocean. It's larger than Etheridge, in that two of them could fit in Graelenncia. Once home to the now disbanded Graelenncia Collective, it had spent the better part of 16 years in its destroyed state, with no social order to speak of, as it had become a land of eat or be eaten.

## Geography and Climate

The continent spent most of its early history as a warm and sunny land, with weather patterns supporting clear skies. Even when rain was a factor for that day in some parts of the continent, it was always a calm rainstorm that gave way to famous rainbows that today's historians still hope to have return, as current weather conditions as of 2009 shifted, causing the climate to take a turn for the worst. Dangerous thunderstorms ravage the northern part of the continent, and snowstorms assault the western coast turning what used to be a meadow area into a frozen tundra.

As such, the weather on the continent is unpredictable, except in now purified areas, where the weather patterns are normal, like one might find in the alternate world. Elsewhere, volcanic eruptions are frequent and have displaced thousands from what used to be tourist attractions tucked away into peaceful mountain ranges off to the southeast. While many a resourceful clan or three have exploited the volcanic ash for successful farming, others who hadn't been so lucky had either found themselves killed by the lava or the poisonous fumes that pollute the southeastern region.

*Updated September 2023*

## Culture

During its prime as a playground and a home, its culture was that of an all-around friendly culture. There were warm smiles everywhere someone went, and kindness abound no matter what direction they traveled, and there would always be someone ready to help anyone else in need. This culture was idyllic and fiercely believed in teamwork, compassion, kindness, and exploring the world. As such, it was completely safe for a collective as young as the Graelenncia Collective (its youngest, Daisy, was four) to travel the continent without needing an adult to accompany their quest for identity.

During the Eternal Ruin era, the overall culture shifted into something survival based. The smiles were exchanged for harsh glares, and help was only restricted to clan/tribe members and to those they could get something out of. The people became as harsh and barren as their land and weather. While countless peoples tried to keep the heart of the continent alive, those same people were lost to predation, starvation, nightmare energy, and finding themselves unable to carry on without their support systems. Social order had broken down and become nonexistent.

A purified Graelenncia is too young to determine what culture it will have going forward. Only time will tell.

*Updated September 2023*

## History

### An Ancient's Passing

Before Graelenncia was given a name and given a guardian named after it, Graelenn, an Ancient roamed Synaptum with the other Ancients. Like the others, this Ancient's life mission was to become one with the others; however, dissent and unrest prevented them from attaining that goal. At the end of the road, each Ancient passed away due to the weariness of living beyond their means, but like the others, had a desire to see their land continue on in spite of their passing.

This Ancient traveled about Graelenncia, wandering, exploring, documenting information to pass down to their Descendant before settling down in a grassland field near what would be known as the Sandstream Flatlands. After they drew their final breath, the life energy from this Ancient created Graelenncia's memory pool. Soon after, Graelenn would emerge, tasked with the mission to protect and oversee Graelenncia for all time.

### Playground and Home (1999 - 2009)

Most documents of history earlier than July 1999 either do not exist, or have been lost, much like the history of The Ancients. When discounting The Ancients, The Graelenncia Collective is the very first real collective to exist in the world of Synaptum (a portmanteau of Synapse and Cerebrum). Graelenncia functioned as a playground and a home for countless citizens, including the leader of the aforementioned collective, Kendra. The citizens of the world lived peaceful and idyllic lives, whose only major concerns were in the realm of the mundane, much like that of the collective that explored the land in search of answers, fun, and an escape from the struggles of the alternate world.

When Kendra came into her destructive abilities, she scourged it in all directions, triggering subtle climate change patterns that changed their world immediately, rather than over a period of time. Doing this killed and displaced countless peoples, tore apart families left and right, and destroyed most of the social order. The representatives of the land had been disbanded through death, fleeing, or being sealed away.

During the scourge, Kendra fell into a fissure never to be seen by any of the citizens of the land again, washing up on the shores of Etheridge to live out the rest of her life unaware of the destroyed continent's existence.

### Eternal Ruin (2009 - 2023)

Following Kendra's disappearance, as well as the disbandment of the Graelenncia Collective, the nightmare energy was allowed to roam uninhibited, spurred by trauma and a loss of innocence. Volcanic eruptions wiped out most of the land in the southeast, having been eaten away by lava and widespread wildfires that rendered many species of fauna and flora endangered, if not extinct outright. Nightmare energy's grip on the westernmost part of Graelenncia spawned unforgiving blizzards that trapped countless people indoors, leading to them freezing and/or starving to death over a course of days, and in the north, dangerous thunderstorms made it impossible for people to leave their homes or place of businesses without getting struck immediately.

Wherever the weather wasn't a factor, nightmare energy had dried up the land. Lively jungles, vibrant forests, flowery meadows, bubbling brooks, turned into barren, dry, lifeless wastelands as the skies lost its vibrant blue in exchange for eternal overcast skies.

Historians call this the Eternal Ruin Era. Graelenncia was sent into a primal state where survival was the only thing that mattered. Every semblance of social order faded as destruction and ruin held the continent in a chokehold, squeezing the life out of it immediately, but the rotting only worsening as time went on. It's during this period that the Memory Pool that the essence of the land resided in had dried up completely, killing Graelenn, which made new life impossible to birth. As a result, anyone who were expectant parents lost their children, no matter how far along they were.

Nightmare energy's influence didn't just stop at the land and the wildlife, but also proved to have corruptive effects on whoever touches it. Between being corrupted and traumatized, society fell apart, reduced to clans and tribes that fought each other and themselves for survival. The loss of innocence caused by the scourge tested many hearts, some unable to find the strength to keep going in the face of grief, endless terror, and betrayal, while others were bound and determined to survive and save their loved ones, some ending up corrupted and killed as a result.

### Reconstruction and Purification (2023 - present)

With the advent of the Etheridge Collective and their newfound strength in the power of friendship and love, the group makes frequent visits to Graelenncia to maintain purity in many of the healed parts of the continent. Together with the citizens, they have rebuilt many villages and towns that had been destroyed by nightmare energy and the unstable weather patterns, as well as hold official funerals that were long overdue for the people whose voices were lost to the Eternal Ruin era. Historians from Etheridge have visited and conducted interviews with the survivors, making sure that their voices stayed alive for generations to come, and learning from their experiences so nothing like what happened before happened again.

## Notable locations

* Berylmine
	+ A port town to the northeast, it was a famous tourist destination, shipyard, trade post, and fishing harbor for the northeastern region of the continent during its prime. When corrupted, thunderstorms made ship travel impossible between it and Etheridge, and storm surge as high as 12ft destroyed homes, businesses, and killed hundreds. As a purified port town, it takes care of itself, but its newly assigned mayor has plans to expand its services to other regions when they're purified and rebuilt.
* Coryndum
	+ Located near the heart of the continent, it was Daisy's birthplace hidden among the sand dunes. Sandstorms were whipped up during the Eternal Ruin era, making farming and other outdoor work impossible, and structural damage led to Coryndum looking like a ghost town far before it would officially have that status. As a purified desert town, the survivors have made it their mission to rebuild and stand by those who get purified, as such, the new mayor has considered Berylmine to be its "sister city." A statue of Daisy was erected in the square in her honor, and she has a district named after her where the statue is; Daisy District.
* Sandstream Flatlands
	+ Located at the heart of Graelenncia and Talia's and Hans's birthplace, this desert city faced the same fate as Coryndum. It has yet to be purified as of September 2023.
* Gardot Village
	+ Located in a deep jungle just east of the desert, it was Chrysalis's birthplace and home to insects, butterflies being among them. Harsh winds knocked over trees and destroyed the village, and has yet to be purified as of September 2023. For now, it's a barren wasteland, a shell of what it used to be.
* Graelenncian Memory Pool
	+ Located at the southwestern part of the continent, it made new life possible, sourced and born from the continent. For sixteen years, it was dry, lifeless, and its guardian, Graelenn, had sat dormant for those years. When the Etheridge Collective purified the region, the Memory Pool sprang back to life. Today, new life falls from the heavens in the form of Star Showers thanks to its abundant magical power, and they only fall in purified regions. It should be noted that those who died before don't revive this way, but sourced peoples based on their likeness have been birthed/introduced in the form of Descendants.
* Eternal Ruin Cemetery
	+ A famous cemetery several acres west of the memory pool, a makeshift place where loved ones could give their friends and family members the respect they deserve after the end. It spans several hundred acres and each grave marking is adorned by flowers, talismans, and other trinkets meant to honor the fallen. Whether the bodies will be moved back to their home regions or the cemetery is made into a government sanctioned burial ground is yet to be seen.

## Trivia

* Star Showers are distinct from Meteor Showers, the only difference is instead of meteors, it's souls in their purest forms.
* Talia has been thinking of making a redux of the Graelenncia Collective, as a branch of the EC to oversee purification and reconstruction efforts.