Xyrillia

## Introduction

Xyrillia or *Yajet* is one of the eight major dimensions and amongst the largest. It is mostly inhabited by humans known as Xyrillians, which are considered the most magically and technologically advanced amongst their kin. They claim fiefdom to this most fruitful of lands, raging from jungles to watery farmlands.

## Geography

### Zygoria

The west of Xyrillias main continent is known as *Zygoria*, land of the Zygoa. It is the most fertile and humid part of the continet and mainly consists of swamps, jungles and wetland aswell as a few small decidous forests.

*The Mangrove Coast*

Where the green Jade Ocean and the mainland of Sanchai meet lies the Mangrove Coast. It is a place neither land nor water, a giant swamp of brackish water where the border between earth and sea is constantly shifting. The only constant in this tide-shaped region are the mangroves and giant Swampfarns that rise above the greenish water. Below its surface lurk caimans, eels, huge carnivores amphibians and over twothousand species of Zygoa and crabs. Perhabs the most common sight are Giant crabs and Shelllurkers while the air is filled with insects and bats.

*Sanchai Riverlands*

The Sanchai Riverlands are widely considered the most fertile region in all of Xyrillia as the *Kujai*, the *Brown* and the *White River* run through the open mix of wetlands, open forests and grassland. The majority of the wild has been tamed however as the majority of the land is covered in plantations, ricefarms and cities. It is the most urbanised region in the entire continent. Only in the surrounding hills and wilder parts of the rivers can wildlife such as huge Zygoa or elephants be found in large quantities.

*Saoleng*

The rich lands of *Saoleng* are a diverse mix of urbanised farmland, dense woods and misty hills and mountains. The land is supplied by the *Brown River* aswell as countless smaller streams running down from the surrounding mountains. Saoleng is known for its huge stalactite caves and underground lakes. It hosts large creatures, yet the greater beasts like lions, tigers and dragons have been hunted close to extinction in these lands. Only in the two mountain chains, *Golgat* and *Dibet*, mounting the land, still host creatures that can endanger trade routes or wanderers. The most notable are the (...) who swarm across the lands once every four years.

### Kaianai

The arid lands of Kaianai lie in the east of Xyrillia. They host large steppes, deserts and tundric highlands. Unlike the rest of Xyrillia neither water nor sun supply the Kaianai lands regularly. It is mostly inhabited by nomads and large herds of animals

*The Rattling Desert*

At the shores of the *Golgat* mountains lies the *Rattling Desert*. After the legendary *Kune Desert* in Apophis, it is possibly the largest desert across all dimensions. Its arid wastes are covered by stones, gravel, shifting dust and the dry remains of plantlife. Once every four years rain falls down onto parts of the *Rattling Desert*. When this happens the entire desert turns green and blue as ponds of water and large fields of grass and scrub cover its dry surface. The eggs of countless Zygoa and crabs that had layed dormant in the dust come to life and swarm the streams of water and the rich planes. In the following year, all life slowly dies as drought and heat take their land back. What remains are dead scrubs and broken shells, rattling in the dry winds. The only creatures that can survive in this extreme region are cacti, scorpions and Dromedaries.

*Nothern Kai Steppes*

The Grand Kai Steppe is possibly the largest consistent binome in all of Xyrillia. Supplied by the *Gengal river* aswell as countless smaller streams from the encircling mountains, open and flat grassland extends under the blue skies. The northen part of the Steppes is especially rich as it lies close to the Osho Highlands and can sustain larger fields of rice and crops alongside its rivers.

*Southern Kai Steppes*

The colder south is more arid then the north. It lies mostly higher, with large fields where ice and snow never truly disapper. In lower valleys, mountain-streams create muddy swampland or small woods. It is the wilder part of the Kaianai, hosting the largest numbers of wolves, lions, snowtigers and boars. The sea is cold and stormy and the southern *Murken River* is so wild that fields can only be savely supplied at a few chosen locations. Both summer and winter hit the Kai Steppes with a mercyless brutality where the rest of Xyrillia faces rather mild conditions. The extreme weather has turned both men and beast into hardened and bitter creatures.

### Sealands

The Sealands lie in the north of Xyrillia and ssurround the crab sea. They are fertile and green, der shaped by the ocean and its salty waters.

*Xaarat*

The encircled realm of Xaarat lies at the eastern borders of the Sealands. Surrounded by the Osho Mountains it is a realm of rampant jungles inhabited by especially aggressive spirits.

*Osho Highlands*

 The Osho Highlands are a wide and humid region close to the great eastern mountains. While its outer parts consist of urbanised wetlands, its heart rises high above the sealevel. It is noted for its quartzite sandstone pillars and peaks that raise across countless kilometers. Most of them are over 200 metres in height, along with many ravines and gorges with attractive streams, pools, lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Around these giant stone pillars grow dense jungles inhabited by giant monkeys, lizards and Zygoa.

Yukura

Yukura, which translates to *Land of Suffocating Green*, lies at the western shores of Xyrillia. Its lands are inhabited by a unique type of Xyrillians that largely differentiate themselfes from their eastern kin. It is said that they rule over a kingdom of fey beasts, speaking trees and living water. Yukura is barely explored and different from the rest of the dimension in climate, flora, fauna and demography. Much of Yukura is similar to Waltanau, leading explorers and worldwalkers to the belief that they came from the same origin during the Age of Gods.

At its eastern shores traders and explorers have established many ports and cities to trade with the Yukuras naitive inhabitants. The conquest of this land is a agonisingly slow process that is barely moving forward. The eastern inhabitants of the lands are at a constant war with the suffocating jungles, swamps and muddy coasts.

### Seas and Oceans

*The Jade Ocean*

From the western shores to the heart of Xyrillia stretches the Jade Ocean, a giant sea that covers more then a thrid of the dimensions surface. It gains its name from the increadibly rich sea- and plantlife thriving in its salty waters. Even at the coats of (...), the waters are still green as they are full of plancton and seaweed. At its western shores, the sea becomes less deep as huge underwater forests of kelp rise to the oceans surface. At some regions the sea becomes so overgrown with plantlife that it takes up more volume then the water. Close to Yukura the ocean becomes indistinguishable to the surrounding jungle as saltwater-proof trees grow many kilometers far into the open water.

The Jade Ocean houses the greatest wales and dolphins in all of Xyrillia. Most of them feed from plancton, yet there are several carnivorous wales and sea-mammals aswell as slender sharks and black seaserpents larger then most ships. Sailors tell tales of crabs the size of mountains aswell as monstersquids, yet those lie closer to the realm of legend then reality.

*The Crab Sea*

The warm and shallow Crab Sea is a very calm ocean. Its tides are gentle and its waters are rich with life. Most notably are the giant crustaceans that inhabit its depts and shores. The entire coastline is flooded with their broken shells, creating colorful beaches of grounded carapaces. Many of the Crustaceans or Zygoa that life at its coasts can enter the dry land for long amounts of time. Next to them the sea hosts large swarms of fish, dolphins and whales. In its heart lies the *Xyrillian Vortex*, a gigantic portal that takes the shape of a swirl. Around five artifical islands have been constructed that controll it and the dimension it leads to. This way entire fleets can be transported out of Xyrillia.