Bisyl

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Bisyl

Bisyl [Bih-sil], also known as “The Cold Lands"*,* is a giant, frozen continent where griffins roam the skies above and ancient beasts stalk the caverns below. The landscape, tormented by harsh storms and bitter winters, is littered with rough terrain, mountain ranges, and cliffs across the regions, as well as sparsely-grown forests and gray sand beaches. Bisyl, despite its cold temperatures and lack of plants, hosts a large variety of species on and underneath its surface. Species such as **humans** and felwrights are a common sight to see, though you can also find creatures such flickerflies in the undergrowth of the western islands.

## Geography

The Cold Lands have geography and landscape noted previously to be quite rough and uneven, with tall mountains and deep cracks in the earth. Forests cover a lot of Bisyl, but they are generally sparse and overrun with brush and thickets. Other than that, however, the land is mostly barren and frosted.

There are five main provinces of Bisyl, divided up by local geography, flora, and fauna. These sections are as follows:

### The Northern Ring

*Main Article: The Northern Ring*

The **Northern Ring**, also known as **Norring**, is considered the coldest region of Bisyl. This region is generally devoid of plant and animal life and is covered in snow at any given time of the year. What the region mostly lacks in life, however, it makes up for in its abundance of minerals and materials. Almost all major cities have mining operations constructed out here, racing each other to gather the most gold and **brellstin**, the latter being an exceptionally flammable, coal-like material used in siege weapons.

This freezing land is home to the Whitereach mountain range, the largest mountain range which curls around the region and creates a natural border around it, a “ring” for which the area is named. Many mountains make up the range, but the most notable is **Mt. Eisorn**. Sitting at the center of Whitereach, it is the tallest mountain in Bisyl (9,847 ft - 3,001 m), and it even is considered sacred in some cultures. For example, many Eldric colonies rest at the base, believing it to be where their goddess, Eldryn, watches over all.

The Northern Ring is mainly populated by anexo and felwrights.

### The Eastern Stretch

*Main Article: The Eastern Stretch*

The **Eastern Stretch**, also known as **Estret**, is the flattest part of Bisyl and is currently the least populated, as it is largely overrun with wild beasts and creatures. This area of Bisyl has been highly warped by stories and myths, making it seem more frightening than it is. (For example, it is said by visitors to be stalked by soul-eating zombies of myth, though these are just tales; the largest predators to be found are most likely theurwolves or snowraiths.) The small population that this country does have mostly consists of farmers, since the flat stretch provides lots of nice farmland. There are many towns, but none of them are particularly extensive, with only the major city being the capital.

The Eastern Stretch is mainly populated by felwrights and fenrali.

### The Southern Highsteppe

*Main Article: The Southern Highsteppe*

The **Southern Highsteppe**, also known as **Sutepp**, is a strangely warped province, with the place looking similar to a bunch of plateaus stacked atop one another. The highsteppes, as the name suggests, are multiple long, flat stretches of land, followed by sharp drops as it abruptly ends in a cliff leading to the next stretch, sometimes called a shortplain. These cliffs usually range from 70 to 130 feet and are incredibly difficult to scale, requiring the use of pulley systems to ascend the layers.

Each highsteppe is known to be rich in resources like copper and iron, though lacking in forests. It is mainly populated by fenrali and humans, but people are known to discover the entrances of wyvern dens carved into the cliffsides.

## Bisylean Species

Bisyl, as stated before, is a host to various animal species. Due to its cold weather, most animals have adapted to survive. Due to this, it is extremely rare to find a cold-blooded animal, even in the warmer southern areas of Bisyl.

Bisylean species are commonly found to be categorized using a fairly simple classification system. There are three categories for classification: apex, secondary, and tertiary, with apex considered the most intelligent animal category.

The way to find if an animal is an apex, secondary or tertiary is, as stated before, fairly simple. Three requirements are used;

* Is the species capable of communicating with each other and other species?
* Is the species capable of building communities by learning and passing on knowledge?
* Is the species capable of wielding magic?

If a species meets two of the three requirements, they are considered an apex species. For example, the human species (an apex species) meets requirements one, two and three. However, the wyvern species (also an apex species) meets requirements one and three, but not two.

If a species meets one requirement, they are considered a secondary species. For example, wyndais (a secondary species) can build semi-stable communities but do not meet any other requirement, therefore making them a secondary species.

Finally, if a species meets none of the requirements, they are considered a tertiary, or “unintelligent” species.

### Apex Species

#### Felwrights

Felwrights are one of the older apex species recorded, evolving at around 6,000 BT (Before Therji). These highly intelligent, almost human creatures bear an uncanny resemblance to the ancient lynxes from long ago.

#### Fenrali

Fenrali are tall, amphibious newt-like animals, evolving around 5,300 BT in the southern areas of Bisyl. They are rare to see outside their homelands, but are known to be incredibly powerful warriors and wise philosophers.

#### Humans

Humans are one of the less common species, with a population standing around sixty million. They are also the oldest recorded apex species, with the first humans said to have evolved at around 7,500 BT.

Despite their prevalence in Bisyl, humans are always quite an odd sight to see. With their pale, smooth skin and gangly limbs, it doesn’t take long to wonder how these furless creatures have survived the harsh cold for so long. But they are a thriving species, surprisingly, with good relations between all other apex species and a strong hand in everything major in Bisyl.

#### Wyverns

Wyverns are reluctantly considered an apex species, though it is hard to tell with their extreme reclusiveness and aggressive nature- to those outside and within their species. Their evolution date is unclear, though most place it at around 7,000 BT. They are said to be large, scaled beasts with wicked talons and deafening roars.

### Secondary Species

A list of secondary species can be found here.

### Tertiary Species

A list of tertiary species can be found here.

## Bisylean Flora

Bisyl’s variety of plant life is surprisingly large for its temperatures. This continent holds tons of trees and flowers, each a beautiful sight to behold in the usually barren land. The plants aren’t just pretty, either. Almost every one has a different use: medicine, poisons, and natural protection are among the most common uses.

### Glossary of Bisylean Flora

**Bisylean Pine**

The Bisylean pine is the most common type of flora in Bisyl. They are tall coniferous trees that so far have only been known to reliably grow in Bisyl’s arctic soil, and are known as some of the hardiest of all plants in the region. Bisylean pines typically grow in the more temperate regions, although it is not uncommon to see one in the far-northern tundras.

**Highsteppe Basil**

Highsteppe basil is a perfectly normal plant. It is green and somewhat resembles poison ivy, and is generally useless for everything except providing garnishes for meals and sitting around, doing nothing. Discovered by the famously silent herbalist Polomi, Highsteppe basil is commonly called ‘Polm food’ to the less botanically inclined.

**Myathra**

Myathra are small clusters of vines bearing five-pointed leaves, which are usually a dark, desaturated purple color. These leaves are fairly rare and can be found growing in Estret, beneath clusters of rocks and inside dead bushes. These leaves are nothing special on their own, save for maybe acting as a food source, but their leaves can be used to develop powerful medicines. However, they are also known to be used for a dangerous poison known by the same name.

The myathra poison made from the leaves is usually a clear, watery liquid, with no smell and a faint bitter taste. This poison is highly favored among assassins, as it is rather slow acting but can be incredibly lethal. Once one consumes myathra, it will not do much for 2-3 days, essentially sleeping inside the subject; this has earned it the nickname the **sleeper's poison**. After this period of time, the person will begin to show signs of sickness.

These symptoms are not concerning at first, usually including coughing and fever, but the effects will become more and more lethal very quickly, which can seen as the person begins to cough up blood. People poisoned with myathra will generally die hours later, if not administered with a powerful cure before it takes full effect. One of the only cures is the medicine made from the same plant, which is the quickest to counteract the poison.

**Pickseed Tree**

The Pickseed tree, known better as just a pickseed, is a short deciduous tree found in eastern Bisyl. This tree is notable for its special seeds: shaped like toothpicks, these seeds are generally attached to the bottoms of leaves. When the leaves fall and are carried by the wind, the seeds will detach from the leaves and plummet to the ground, sticking into the dirt with their pointed edges.

**Rhonshroom**

A rhonshroom is a poisonous bioluminescent mushroom commonly found near the bases of Bisylean pines and Stormwight willow trees, known for its potency and alchemical properties. Rhonshrooms, when consumed, will suddenly set off a reaction similar to that of a severe allergic one, causing the consumer’s throat and eyes to swell shut completely. After this, if not treated immediately, the consumer will quickly die due to asphyxiation, or another cause.

The rhonshrooms are mimicked by flickerflies in an attempt to avoid predation, although this rarely works and animals such as Wyndais have been known to expect the bioluminescent glow to come from a harmless flickerfly (much to their occasional gruesome surprise.)

**Spiderberry Bush**

Spiderberry bushes are small, green bushes which grow in the deep, swampier parts of the Western Woods. These bushes grow spiderberries, which are fruits like blueberries, except they are dark gray and look similar to small arachnids. These spiderberries are said to have a sour, tangy flavour, and are commonly eaten by anexo.

**Stormwight Willow**

The Stormwight willow is another type of familiar tree in Bisyl. They are deciduous willow trees that are commonly nested in by flickerflies, giving them an unsettling purplish bioluminescent glow in the darkness. They are named after a mythological figure generally accepted to be pure myth, not of Bisyl but an extraplanar traveler. This myth is seen as pure superstition, but it is believed to have begun from sights of plane shifting.

**Therrilspawn**

Therrilspawn, unlike the name suggests, has nothing to do with therrils and instead is a thistle-like plant commonly home to Wyndai nests.

**Void Flower**

Void flowers are dark purple flowers of the orchid family that are useful in brewing medicines and have surprisingly high protein content for their small size. They are primarily found in the tundra and are known for being able to survive in even the most inhospitable regions, earning them their name as ‘they could even survive the Sunless Sea.’

**Wayrose**

The Wayrose is known for surprising people who first come across it, as most are misled by its name. Instead of being a rose, it is a five-petaled blue flower, commonly found in the Southern Highsteppes. The Wayrose derives its name from the notable compass rose, since its strange petals are able to act similarly to one. When it grows, the petal pointing north always takes on a lighter shade and can be used to guide lost travelers out of forests.

## Theurgy

**Theurgy**, more commonly known as **Magic**, is a dangerous power, to be feared by the continent- and rightly so. Magic, recorded in the first year of the **Age of Theurgy**, is a powerful and destructive ability, said to have razed cities and brought kingdoms of old to their knees. This strange power has struck fear into the hearts of Bisyleans for centuries. Despite its widely negative stigma and lack of presence, however, theurologists (studiers of magic) have been able to collect some information on the subject.

Magic itself is described as a semi-physical substance, appearing as small, condensed “strands” of magic. These magic strands are clear and are generally invisible to most people, floating around aimlessly in the air, unless interacted with to cast magic.

There are currently two known ways to interact with these strands: The **Threnic form** and the **Runic form**.

### Threnic Form

The most well-known magic form is the **Threnic form**. The Threnic form is used exclusively by mages, rare people who are born with threads of magic tied to their life force, which they can manipulate at will. This is a rare sight, only appearing in about 1% of people, and yet to be thoroughly documented.

When a mage is born, magic strands tethers to their life force, essentially becoming another component to help them live. Each mage is born with a specific number of strands tethered to them, with the average throughout each apex species being 150-200 (save for the wyverns, with each mage born with an average of 300 strands).

With each strand of magic, the mage can manipulate it and use the magic they were born with. For example, a pyrokinetic may use a strand of magic and form it into a ball, creating a ball of fire to then throw at something. Usually spells only require one strand, but multiple can be required if the spell is larger than usual.

Tethered strands of magic, when used, always return to the caster they are tethered to after the spell has run its course. If they somehow lose most or all their strands (either to excessive imbuing or casting too powerful of a spell), a terrible fate will befall them, since the magic is tied to their life force.

When a mage is born, they gain one specific type of magic, under one of four categories: **physical manipulation**, **metaphysical manipulation**, **mental manipulation**, and **elemental manipulation**.

#### Categories

**Physical Manipulation**

Arguably the most commonly appearing of the four categories, physical manipulation is magic affecting the physical realm. This magic can include abilities such as **shape-shifting**, the ability to shift one’s physical structure, **phasing**, the ability to move through walls, and **enhanced senses**, the ability to give oneself eyes that can see for miles, or ears that can hear through walls.

This type is also considered to be the least destructive. The downside to using this magic in inexperience or excess is that it will take a toll on physical health, draining away all ability to function until a terrible fate befalls the mage such as total organ failure.

**Metaphysical Manipulation**

Metaphysical manipulation, also known as **astral manipulation**, is by far the most mythical magic type, said by many to just be legend. This magic categorizes abilities that manipulate things on a metaphysical level.

Some magic in this typing includes **soul cleaving**, the ability to separate a soul from or force one into a body, **plane shifting**, the ability to shift through planes and appear in an entirely different area of the world, and even the legendary ability **void tearing**, magic so powerful it can slice open rifts in reality itself and even, perhaps, rip people from reality, placing them somewhere outside of it entirely.

This typing is, if it exists, the rarest category type. Due to its rarity, the downside has only been speculated, though it might be something along the lines of the physical self of the mage destabilizing, until their structure eventually collapses, and they become a rift in reality.

**Mental Manipulation**

Mental Manipulation, the magic generally the most subtle, is the manipulation of the mind and emotions. Magic such as this has been recorded to be present in powerful speakers and influential rulers, who perhaps used this magic to warp the minds of others in the pursuit of their goals.

Magic in this typing includes **telepathy**, the ability to see into other’s thoughts, **empathy**, the ability to read other’s emotions, **cogitokinesis**, the ability to manipulate the thoughts of others, and **memory warping**, the ability to warp or even destroy memories.

This magic has been said to be the easiest to master. The downside to using this in inexperience or excess is that the mage may slowly lose their sanity over time, until it dissipates completely.

**Elemental Manipulation**

Elemental Manipulation, the most destructive magic in Bisyl, is the manipulation of the elements. This magic is generally where the fearful legends originate from, as this magic is quite uncontrollable and can ruin things easily.

Magic in this typing includes **pyrokinesis**, the ability to control fire, **cryokinesis**, the ability to control ice, and **hemokinesis**, the ability to control blood. Hemokinetics in particular are said to be some of the most dangerous, with both their enhanced healing abilities-and their aptitude for combat and torture due to an advanced tactic known as **Blood Flaying**.

This ability has been said to be the hardest to master. The downside to using this ability in inexperience or excess is that the mage may be consumed fully by their ability- for example, a cryokinesis may wither and freeze, becoming a snowraith.

#### Imbuing

**Imbuing** is a greatly powerful skill found to be used by mages. It is the act of a mage transferring one or more of their strands into an object, giving the object certain magical properties. This ability can be used on almost any non-organic object, making it incredibly useful when taking theurgy to places or giving it to certain people. However, imbuing works within the same restrictions as regular threnic theurgy. The mage who attempts this can only imbue within their skill set- for example, a fire mage can only imbue things with spells of fire and heat.

Imbuing generally uses one strand of theurgy, so the cost is rather low. The downside to this, unfortunately, is that strand is untappable until retrieved from the object. Due to this it can be dangerous to excessively imbue objects, and is just a loss of resources, so most mages tend to only do this a few times in their life.

#### Focusing

**Focusing** is the first skill a mage learns.It is a crucial skill, as the act of focusing is the way for a mage to tap into theurgy and be able to use it.

How people begin focusing doesn’t really matter, as it varies across all people. There are common methods to it, but the abilities focusing grants is more important than the act of focusing. Focusing allows a mage to attune to theurgy, and see the strands of magic that are generally hidden from the eye. Once this is done, it becomes a subconscious effort, but focusing can be broken in many ways just like regular concentration.

**Physical Alterations**

>
> Hide your hands and hide your eyes
>
> Or stormy seas are where you'll lie..."
>
>
>
> A simple poem taught to mages, origin unknown

### Runic Form

The **Runic form** is the lesser-known of the three forms and is also considered the newest form. This form, instead of tying the magic directly to the mage, allows the mage to utilize an alphabet of runes and sigils as an alternative force.

**Runes**, which the origins of are still confounding to most, are simple letters, resembling ancient felwright script. Each rune means a simple word when translated such as the word ‘fire’, These runes, however, hold an exceptional property: if drawn correctly (which is incredibly difficult), the runes can draw in stands of nearby magic, which can ‘activate’ the rune in a sense, causing it to cast magic according to what it means.

Runes can work individually- for example, if a fire rune is activated, it will draw magic and a small flame will spark from the rune. However, runes can be combined into a small script, allowing for more complex combinations. A fire rune could be paired with a storm rune to create a vortex of fire, or an electric rune could be paired with a blade rune to create a temporary sword that pulses with electricity.

Runes can be used by anyone willing to learn them. This is very uncommon, however, due to the widespread fear of magic. Plus, even if someone did want to learn, it would take dedication and work to research the magic and runic alphabet, learn and memorize so it could even work and master the many combinations these sigils can hold. Some managed this, and there is believed to be a remote academy in the Western Woods to teach these things.

#### Runic Alphabet

A full list of discovered runes and common effects when pairing them can be found here.

## History

Most of the history of Bisyl in the ages before has been lost after the **Days of Ruin**, a period considered to be the darkest time in the continent’s history for the cities that were razed and the knowledge that was burned. The landscape of Bisyl was changed with this, and now it is in the Age of Theurgy, an era for recovery and rediscovering of old knowledge.

### Before Theurgy

As said before, there was little to recover from this era. Many sources of knowledge were destroyed in the Days of Ruin, namely the **Temple of Esrekot**, a grand sanctum which held thousands of religious books and records.

It is widely accepted that the today’s records do not compare with the wisdom of the ancient people: fragments of stories saved from the fires tell vaguely of strange machines they would use, such as big, hulking creatures that would snake across the landscape upon webs. There is one famous example from the epic The Depths, written by Accius, which spoke of the main settlements having crossbows able to fire arrows which struck like lightning.

There are many researchers that actively look for any more remnants, hoping to piece together the tales and records. Their efforts so far have been relatively successful, which has made a lot of people optimistic for future discoveries.