Evenacht: The Evening Lands (eh-ven-akt)

"Nothing rhymes in the Evenacht--except, perhaps, Imparik."

--Erse Parr, in reference to Bard Imparik, a Finder Sage

(for the interactive map, see here)

Evenacht

by our Industrious Finder hero,
Lorgan the Hardworking In this Research Document:

all images and photo alterations
by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated

The Evenacht

UPDATE: I write this series of brief articles for the newly minted Finder acolytes who would like a brief reminder of what they learned in their training sessions. As you have already guessed, the Evenacht houses the evening lands for the continent of Talis. It consists of three continents: Fading Light, Uka's Lament, and The Quiet. Each continent is divided into regions for administrative purposes, whose boundaries follow landscape features rather than ethnic divisions. Regions are further divided into domains, which can stack (for instance, an oceanside domain might have a port domain, a city domain, and several town and village domains within it). Each region and domain have spirit and living representatives (except for the Voidlands), though the spirit leaders have more political power than the living ones (except for the Astri). Debate over what the Evenacht is in relation to the planet of Sensour still rages on Talis and here. Much like other deathlands, it seems to inhabit the same space as the planet, but the make-up of the continents is different, the beings living here are different, and the place has cloud cover day and night, with only a peek of sun or moon rays at random intervals. Some scholars believe two dimensions interact in the same space, some think the Evenacht is a magical layer over Talis which is created and maintained by powerful deities, while yet others believe it's another planet accessed only through special magical doorways. There is one being who probably knows; the greater syimlin Sun. He is, by far, the eldest among the syimlin. But when his acolytes ask, he just smiles at the questions and refuses to answer. So if your research interests look in that direction, I'd find something else to investigate.

elfine ghost

We faelareign of Talis are ghosts in the Evenacht (I'm certain you've guessed this by now. If not, I'm not sure what to tell you). Umbrareign are the sentient living beings of the Evenacht. There are nine subspecies and myriads of ethnicities. Info on the rich cultures of our evening home can be found in The Guide to Evenacht Domains, Cities and Villages, The Hunters and Builders of the Evenacht, The Forest Dwellers, The Plains Dwellers, The Mountain Dwellers, and The Water Dwellers.

Hooskine

History

Time immemorial, an Astri patriarch brokered a deal with Death to allow the Faeyim (modern Talis) deceased to reside on the three continents until the Final Death claimed them. In return, Death gave the Gift of Life to all who shared his blood. Other Evenacht umbrareign hated that an Astri sold their lands to a deity none of their populations worshipped. In the beginning, intense clashes between the living and the dead seeking the Promise of the Evenacht ripped lands and peoples apart. Despite the vigorous battles, all attempts to drive the ghosts and their Death deity away failed. Within three generations, the living populations, realizing they had little choice, accepted the interlopers. While disagreements and fighting still happen, they are smaller, local affairs. And if things progress past that, Death steps in--and no one wants Death to step in. The dead divided the Evenacht into administrative regions and domains. Despite the years and many name changes, the ghostly borders remain basically the same. Keep this in mind when you're searching through old documents. For instance, if you see Darkness refered to as Rezenarza, he was the Darkness before Veer Tul. These references can give you a general date to work from.

Astri Mansion, Mendercane, Fading Light
wirestock, Envato Elements

The Astri are from Mendercane. The patriarch who sold out the Evenacht has a country estate there, where he supposedly signed the Evenacht Pact. Those who visit claim the building holds the stench of death.

Mendercane, Fading Light Meadow
orig by Gianluca Grisenti, Pexels

If you believe the Evenacht has strange names, you're correct. Our current crop is courtesy of groupthink by way of Death (Erse Parr), Light (Talis) and Darkness (Veer Tul). I think Talis, by far, had more influence, as he is known for trickster ways. How else do you explain placenames like Mendercane, Hero's Blight and Happendance?

Landscape

The Continents

The Evenacht contains lush forests, wide plains, tall mountains, deep seas, snowy expanses and everything in between. The lack of intense sunlight does not inhibit plant or animal growth because both receive nutrition from ryiam, the magic in mist, and millions of diverse species live here.

Fading Light
Fading Light, named for the act of dying, is considered the center of the Evenacht since the Evengates are there. Plains are found to the northwest and southeast, with thick forests and mountains in the interior. It houses Nymphmeer, the largest of the giant lakes, and the Crescentshine Mountains, the tallest of the mountain chains. It connects to the Voidlands, of which little is known.

Uka's Lament
Uka's Lament is the southernmost continent. Named after the Keel syimlin of Protection, it is a wilder land than Fading Light. The northern parts are dry, with the Snake's Den on the Snake's Head Peninsula being the driest. The lush Elfiniti Rainforest inhabits the lower middle, where the giant lake Dryanthium is located. The southwest is volcanic and continually growing. The Lament houses the Evenacht's largest desert, largest volcano, and largest rainforest.

The Quiet
The Quiet is named after the absence of senses after death. It rests northeast of Fading Light, and is the smallest continent. It is split nearly in half, with the west being drier plains and the east being lush, temperate rainforest. It's also associated with the Healer because most of the Evenacht's supply of healing plants is grown there. Why is it called the Quiet? I personally think it's because the oldest populations of spirits reside there, so it's considered a bit more 'settled'.

Islands

There are three major island groups in the Evenacht; The Windtwist Islands, found between Fading Light and Uka's Lament, the Ulven Islands west of the Snake's Head, and the Split, which are west of southern Uka's Lament.

The Windtwist Islands
The Windtwists are named for the cold-season winds that batter the islands and make sea travel dangerous. They receive a lot of rain, so lush forests are the primary landscape feature. The Grace of Nem Hala, a large Windtwist Island, houses the temple to Weather and may be the oldest surviving ghostly structure in the Evenacht.

The Ulven Islands
The Ulven Islands are named for Nature, as one of her favorite animal forms is an ulven (canine aspect). The islands nearest the Snake's Head Peninsula are dry and desert-y, but those further south receive more rain, so are heavy in grasslands with a few scattered forests. Of all the island chains, Ulven has the most farmland, most of which is used to feed domesticated herds of sheef.

The Split
The Split used to be part of the Ulven Islands, but a conflict over fishing rights between the naiazine and the begestern grabbed the Beast's attention. He 'split' the islands and ordered the begestern to inhabit the Split, while the navosine were kicked to the Ulven. After the Beast's demise, the two umbrareign intersettled again, but the Split's name remains. It has the best ocean fishing opportunities in the Evenacht.

Lower Sheef, Ulven Islands
by ivankmit, Envato Elements

Cove, The Split
by photocreo, Envato Elements

Expanses

The two Fading Light expanses, the Sunderlands and the Voidlands, are the harshest environments in the Evenacht.

The Sunderlands
The Sunderlands were once attached to Fading Light and known for their tropical climate and beautiful beaches. The Beast disliked the rebellious nature of the scholar-leaders there, and destroyed the connecting landbridge before sending the landscape into a continuous-snow state. While beings still reside there, it's an environment of deep cold and fierce winds.

The Voidlands
The Voidlands are a no-land. Even for the umbrareign, the environment is inhospitable; dry, no mist, continually windy so few plants grow there, over-hot in the day and freezing at night. Most beings assume its purpose is to be the place where ghosts travel to meet the Final Death, and only a handful of intrepid souls attempt to traverse it. The religious claim the Voidlands are a barrier between the Evenacht and another evening land, which explains the harshness of the environment; death deities are not keen on much travel between their demesnes. The mumosine peoples of the Scorn and Ambermint run trade caravans through the Voidlands, with the purpose to bring correspondence from other evening lands (not all families resided on Talis, after all, and in death, they entered the lands of death associated with their current home. If these ghosts wish to keep track of relatives in other lands, they must do so through letters). While dangerous, I'm told the pay is more than adequate compensation for the risk.

Sunderlands yu
by Daniel M, Adobe Stock

Our current Death, Erse Parr, looked into reversing the continual cold of the Sunderlands, but realized that native plants, animals and populations had adapted to the severe weather. Changing it back would add another harm to them, so she reluctantly left it be. Despite the terrible weather, life goes on. Funny, how the Beast tried to destroy the Sunderlands with cold, but its flora, fauna, living beings and ghosts adapted rather than died.

Snake's Head Peninsula, Uka's Lament
Joshua Sortino from Unsplash
cloud by Ming Sun from Pexels

The Sun Plains in golden season, Fading Light
Matthew Smith from Unsplash

Gapp's Reign volcano, Uka's Lament
Marc Szeglat from Unsplash

The Quiet seaside
by Quang Nguyen Vinh, Pexels

shallow branch of Dryanthium, Uka's Lament
orig by Tom Fisk, Pexels

Waterscape

The Evenacht is found in the Collection of Prayers Ocean. The living refer to it as the Forevermeer, and believe it connects all Sensour evening lands. It has several seas (called spanses in many native dialects). The most prominent water features of the Evenacht are the giant lakes. These are not natural, though they began as natural lake formations. In all cases, either nymphs, dryans or sprites dammed rivers and streams and used magic to take water from storms and store it in their artificial abodes. The past Death who allowed the creation of these lakes ~~was stupid~~ had not thought things through, and it's not only because the dams deny downstream plants and animals necessary sustenance. I've read treatises on the troubles inherent in damming/undamming these lakes. The ghosts dammed ziptrails along with the water, impeding downstream plants and animals from obtaining the nutritional supplements they get from mists and magic-infused waters. This, of course, has caused much anger in the native populations and can lead to trouble during Redemptions (yes, peoples will hold being a ghost against you). As with other landscape manipulations, a plethora of plants and animals now rely on the extra boost of ryiam they get living within these magic-laden areas. Destroy the lakes, these plants and animals will wither away. And if the dams burst? Ha. Tales of the Beast undamming The Nectar and inundating Evening will pale in comparison to the destruction a giant lake will cause (and yes, we have eyewitness accounts of what happened when just one of Dryanthium's dams broke and flooded the Elfiniti Rainforest, though storytellers and musicians prefer the Nectar's retelling because of the moral weight they can place on the actors. There's also the travesty of the Snake's Den; once a lush rainforest, dryans bungled their attempt at building a giant lake in the center, leaving nothing but desert behind. But I digress!). The Evenacht has many rivers and streams, the most famous being the Nectar, which brings the pleas of the Condemned to the Finders. Finders can travel by boat into interiors that might take many more yilsemma to reach by other methods.

Winds

Winds are odd in the Evenacht. The History of the Wind by Verick Manset says they are so odd because Nem Hala guides them rather than letting nature pick up and dump rain where it will. That may be, because they don't seem very logical. There is a heavy wind filled with moisture that starts in the Shuddering Spanse. Evenacht natives call this wind the Shuddering, after its place of inception, but Weather's acolytes name it Abundance. It dumps a lot of rain on the Nymphmeer region of Fading Light then smacks into the Crescentshine, providing some rain to Death's Hands while curling into the Cadense Spanse. It grabs water from the sea before heading to the eastern side of The Quiet, the place where all the healing plants thrive. It is lush beyond lush from those daily rains. The Sweet begins in the Ulf Spance, west of the Ulven Islands, and meets the Lense Sae Spanse wind, called Paraele, in the interior of Uka's Lament. They form the Water Wind, which feeds the rainforests there, before somewhat petering out as it crosses the Windtwist Islands and heads to the southern Crescentshine. It filters into the Cadense Spanse as no more than breezes (depending on the time of year; during late year seasons, harsh winds from the north can dissipate the Water Wind and blow cold weather clear to the Sunderlands. Manset believes this reflects Nem Hala's rage). Manset claims the Water Wind used to continue into the interior of the Sunderlands, bringing with it water to fuel its temperate rainforests, but after the Beast turned it into a snowfield, it stopped blowing that far. Instead, a colder wind rises from the Sundered Spanse and drops snow year-round onto the Sunderlands. That this snow curse is still a thing, despite Erse Parr defeating the Beast six-thousand one-hundred years ago, attests to the strength of syimlin magic.

Windtwist Islands beach
orig by drew, Adobe Stock

There are apocryphal tales of ancient Weathers using the winds as a deterrent for entry into the Windtwists. Why they would do that is never explained, but there may be some truth to it, since the Sea of Winds had a reputation for abrupt, ship-sinking gales. Nowadays, reaching the Windtwists is not so difficult, but be wary; storms rise from nowhere and pummel islands and ships alike. Follow seafarers' advice and don't go sailing when they tell you no.

Misty Walkway near Evening, Fading Light
by Sebin Thomas, Unsplash

Mist

All landmasses have mist. Mist contains magical energy known as ryiam that provides sustenance for ghosts and nutritional benefits for living beings. The makeup of mist does not change based on location, but its density/scarcity does. Places like deserts do not have much mist, while lakes and rainforests have an overabundance. In places of excess, magic falls from mist like rain, which the soil absorbs. When it becomes saturated, magic enters ziptrails, and flows away from the area. These lines behave as rivers and streams and flow into larger lakes that house lots of magic. This collection of magic in a single place is a resource that both the living and dead covet, and continuous battles are fought over who controls them. One of the primary reasons ghosts built giant lakes was to store this excess in a way they could easily reach and use it. Nymphs, as you might guess, find this way of storing magic particularly useful, and much of the maintenance of their lakes goes into keeping the ryiam where they want it. The conflicts between them and other faelareign and umbrareign are legendary; try not to step in the middle of them. As I mentioned before, this magic can be dammed, denying the lands downstream an important nutritional source. Bereft lands can wilt away, causing a catastrophe like the one that formed the Snake's Den desert.

Grasslands, Cacophony, The Quiet
orig by schame87, Adobe Stock

Further Reading:
Lorgan's Notes: Greenglimmer

The Evenacht

To wrap things up: the Evenacht is a place of clouds. It's a defining feature; constant cloud cover. Strong light from the sky isn't a thing. On particularly clear nights, one might see a sprinkling of stars through the cover, or a few beams of sunlight breaking through a small opening, which is referred to as a Sun's Blessing or a Moon's Blessing, but otherwise, it's like living in a perpetual state of 'it's about to rain/snow'. The days are brighter than the nights, and mists produce a soft glow. Sunrises and sunsets tinge the grey clouds pastel pinks, reds, purples and oranges, a small bit of nice color. I've read that, even before the ghosts arrived in the Evenacht, the atmosphere was this way, which, I suppose, makes it a fitting place for the deceased. Misty, dim, and kind of spooky. Storms are identified by the darkening of clouds, and if you're good at Physical Touch, moisture in the air and an increase in the wind will tip you off. This is relevant because wind, rain, and to a lesser extent, snow, interfere with Ether forms. Too much, and you can get blown or washed away into the Final Death. And that cheerful note wraps up this brief overview of the Evenacht!

Entry for WorldEmber 2022

Answering: "Geography Special Category"

Visit Kwyn Marie's Competition Page Check all other answers to this prompt Competition Homepage

Comments

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Grandmaster Blue Fairy 74

Jan 19, 2023 17:14

What I like about this well-done poetic article is how the myths of the world have been interwoven with geography.

Summer Camp is back! Rippling waves lead you to my answers of this year's prompts.

Eternal Sage Kwyn Marie

Jan 20, 2023 06:56 by Kwyn Marie

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)

Eternal Sage Michael Chandra

Jan 23, 2023 17:53 by Michael Chandra

The narrative throughout this article is wonderful and it's beautifully styled, but even without the css the structure itself is already real easy to read. Love it.

Too low they build who build beneath the stars - Edward Young

Jan 24, 2023 05:57 by Kwyn Marie

Thank you :) It's good to hear!

Eternal Grandmaster Angantyr

Jan 27, 2023 17:08 by Angantyr

I found this article inspiring and parts of it will probably ~~be shamelessly stolen~~ influence my future articles. The fact I immediately loved was the form of the article: notes and pictures scattered around on a table — I'm a fool for immersive boosts like that. The second one came with dividing the sections into what initially looked like a typical: "land, sea, ..." but quickly became "landscape, waterscape, winds, mists, clouds". It's a small thing but immediately gets my mindset out of the box and makes me start asking questions about how that world is different with respect to other parts. Are these the only aspects of the Evenacht's geography worth noting or the most important ones?

Structure-wise I think adding the "Further reading:" subpoints as lower rank headers would include them in the Table of Contents.

Thank you for an inspiring read!

Playing around with words and worlds

Jan 27, 2023 18:13 by Kwyn Marie

Glad to inspire! The Evenacht has been a way for me to look at things a bit differently, so it's great to hear that others have found the same <3. And thanks for the suggestion :)