Humans
"with the destruction of Jorathar City, humanity fled from the epicenter of the Jordbani and spread out across the continent of Eryia. This was not without danger, as the continent was already well populated, and resistance to this "invasion" was real, and at times, violent. It also eventually proved to be futile."
The Flight from Danger
The Jordbani occurred in the southern region of the continent centered in Jorathar City, a region that rapidly became contaminated with Magichem, the cause of Magichem Poisoning. Those people who did not die in the initial stage of the Jordbani who were in that local region immediately fled beyond the region of physical destruction.
This was not far enough.
The dust and ash from the volcanic reaction to the breaking of the earth leyline was carried west and north across the entire continent. As it settled over the land, the populations in this immediate area began to experience the effects of acute Magichem Poisoning, and those who did not die, moved even further afield in an attempt to escape from the deadly consequences of wizardly tomfoolery. The region of the Miorskrípi became a "no man's zone" that people abandoned - or remained to die or be transformed into cross-breeds or monstrosities as Magichem spread in thick blankets across the mid-continent plains. People fled the sickness and ran right into overburdened populated areas where earlier refugees had already landed. Crowding, overpopulation, drains on community services and the severe medical needs of the refugee population caused resentment and anger in the existing communities. Then chronic Magichem Poisoning began to effect these communities and people began to die. Established communities which had been welcoming initially, then worried, then resentful, then fearful - reacted to this latest development, accusing the refugees of bringing "diseases" into their communities and killing their population. The refugees were consumed with their own survival and resented the settled population. Violence broke out.
It was a mess.
Inability to Escape
While social upheaval was inevitable in the regions surrounding the Miorskrípi, what the Eryian government failed to realize was that the trade winds and westerlies were busy spreading Magichem across the entire continent and with it Magichem Poisoning. There was no escape, only degrees of toxicity. It took years for the eruptions of the Jordbani to end, and until then, magichem continued to poison the land. No one in Eryia was safe. The eruptions of the Jordbani pushed dust and ashes tens of miles into the sky. The winds carried that dust for months, mixed with air currents flowing across the world's surface and dropped it thousands of miles away. The entire continent was showered with the crystalized earth magic dust.
Some areas seemed safer than others. Those who lived on the eastern coasts on the east side the of the Bjarg Mountain Range seemed to have longer life spans. Some attributed this to the effects of the ocean, others to the mountain range. The shores of the continent became the premium place to live, and prime amongst them was the eastern seaboard.
On the west side of the mountains is the land of the Burr Flakka, desert nomads that lived in the desert of Yfirferðar-illr. Though these hardy people seem to be able to eke out a living in this inhospitable land, those who attempted to settle there died from the hostile conditions, or gave up and relocated to more northern areas where the warmer wetter conditions were more capable of sustaining life.
Some fled to the far northwest corner of the continent, where a small subcontinental land mass, the Primodial Isle could be seen from the furthest safe sail distance from Eryia's shore. Some brave souls crossed the tempestuous ocean waters to reach this land, and investigate it's suitability for settlement. Most did not return. A few of these explorers returned alive with harrowing tales of near death experiences with giant reptiles and flightless birds, while the wreckage of other ships bearing evidence of being torn apart by monsterous jaws of huge serrated teeth gave credence to their warnings of peril.
A Last Grasp at Hope
"We know there is no other continent on earth! The Egriss "pilgrims" are just committing suicide, and the Convocation of Sol is beyond reprehensible for encouraging and supporting them.
As the life expectancy of people became shorter and shorter, an increasingly desperate populace began to believe that Eryia was a deathbed for the human race. Some became despondent, others began to look for another continent - another place for humans to live. They gathered resources together and built ships, determined to leave the continent behind and grasp for a new opportunity for life on the other side of the world. The first of these expeditions left from the city of Egriss and the Bay of Hope in AJ 167 after the collapse of the Eryian government with Phillion’s Proclamation .
The "Flotilla of Hope" as it is called by those who pursue this path, leaves en-mass every five years from the city of Egriss . The Convocation of Sol organizes these expeditions, though they do not officially promote them. The church's official position is that these flotillas are acts of self determination and pursuit of a better life for those who go. No confirmation of the existence of other continents has ever returned to Eryia from these expeditions, and the few people who have returned have reported that their journeys were filled with terrors of wild seas and giant sea monsters capable of swallowing ships whole.
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