The Shifting Vale of Myrundel

Nestled in the dense, mist-wreathed foothills between Eirolis and Eleriad, the Shifting Vale of Myrundel is a sprawling valley known as much for its haunting beauty as for its unpredictability.

It lies on a fault line that hums with unstable magical energy, making it a nexus where the wild, untamed Aether seeps into the physical world with a volatile pulse.

Every fortnight or so, the Vale is ravaged by what locals call Aether Tempests - violent surges of raw, wild magic that roar across the valley like supernatural storms. These aren’t just thunderstorms, but eruptions of magical energy that tear through the landscape, reshaping it like a potter’s hands at a wheel. The air crackles with electricity, colours bend and swirl unnaturally, and sometimes the sky momentarily blazes with auroras in chaotic patterns.

How the Vale Changes

Each storm brings unpredictable transformations. A glade might become a dense thicket overnight, rivers might vanish and reappear elsewhere, hills might shift their shape or suddenly collapse into caverns. Flora and fauna mutate: flowers bloom with eyes, trees stretch their limbs into grasping shapes, and strange creatures with ephemeral forms slip between reality and the spirit realm.

Sometimes entire patches of land seem to flicker out of existence only to rematerialise elsewhere. Navigating the Vale is like walking on shifting sand or trying to read a map that redraws itself constantly.

Inhabitants : The people who live in or near the Vale are a hardy folk known as the Myrundari.

Many are part Aetheri or born with latent magical sensitivity, though often their powers are unpredictable or unstable due to constant exposure to wild magic.

Adaptations:

• Mobile Settlements: Villages are built with modular homes and lightweight materials. When the storms approach, communities can dismantle and relocate with practiced efficiency, moving to safer ground or temporary shelters. This is made easier with the assistance of Aetheri.
• Aether Storm Watchers: Specialised seers and mystics, trained to detect the subtle signs before a tempest, give warnings and guidance. They use ritual dances and chantings to “listen” to the land’s shifting breath.
• Adaptive Agriculture: Crops are grown in magically warded fields, with enchantments to stabilise growth but flexible enough to be moved or replanted quickly. Some crops are semi-magical themselves, able to survive or even thrive in the storm’s aftermath.
• Mutated Companions: Many Myrundari keep bonded creatures, animals that have adapted to the Vale’s instability - small, resilient familiars that can sense shifts and warn their masters or help locate safe paths.

If a person is caught in an Aether Tempest without protection or preparation, the consequences can be catastrophic or wondrous - depending on the storm’s mood.

• Physical Danger: They may be battered by violent winds of magical energy that cause spontaneous burns, frost, or even temporary paralysis. Shards of corrupted magic might pierce the skin, leaving lingering curses or mutations.
• Spatial Displacement: The storm can displace individuals across the Vale in a blink - someone walking east one moment might find themselves standing atop a cliff miles away, with no idea how they got there.
• Magical Flux: Raw magic flooding their body might trigger dormant powers, but often erratically - casting spells uncontrollably, causing bursts of light or shadow around them, or even altering their very form temporarily.
• Corruption Risk: Prolonged exposure might taint their soul or Aether, twisting their essence toward wild, chaotic magic that can be dangerous to both themselves and others. Some become Storm-touched, feared and shunned, while others gain unique gifts.

When the tempest fades, the Vale is irrevocably changed. The Myrundari must survey the new landscape, find new water sources, rebuild or relocate, and tame mutated beasts that might now threaten their lands.

• Mapping the New Vale: Cartographers constantly update maps with enchanted inks and shifting symbols to reflect the Vale’s new shape.
• Rituals of Reconciliation: The people hold ceremonies to “welcome” the new land and soothe the restless spirits displaced or awakened by the storm.
• New Opportunities: Sometimes, a storm reveals hidden Aether wells or ancient ruins, offering chances for adventurers and scholars - though always at great risk.