The world was formed in the dance of the
Fundamental Divinities, Pi and To, when To wrapped itself around Pi to shield their light from Va, the Hunger. It was then shaped by the
Foundational Divinities: Tet formed the earth on the surface of To's darkness and Aea created the sky to shield the surface from the heat of Pi; then Noc created the shield of night,
Noctis, to give the world time, and Aku created the spear Kraku, to spark life. Together, the Foundational Divinities shaped the two-part moon, DuLi, to watch over the world.
This world lies on the interior of a great sphere, with its sun burning at its centre and the shield of night turning on its great spindle to bring night and day. In the far north and south, the ends of the shield create an area of constant shade and two nights, known as the northern and southern permashades. At the centre of its rotation, the full brilliance of the sun shines brightly on the world, creating the region of greater heat called the northern and southern luminances. Between these extremes are the temperances.
The spindle itself tilts slowly back and forth, moving the broader centre of Noctis north and south, creating the seasons.
The Five Continents
- Hybor - The northern polar continent, largely ice and snow, save for one bountiful valley.
- Erask - The great western continent, formerly home of the Dragons.
- Boriya - The great eastern continent, the original home of the Giants.
- Breis - The southern continent, occupied by the titanic beasts known as the Gantua.
- Nagrand - The southern polar continent, where ice and snow cover the ancient and stagnating relicts of the first mortal empire.
- Eldaran is neither a continent, nor part of another; a great atol in the southern ocean.
The Five Oceans
- The Aisling Ocean - also known as the Western Sea, Narrow Sea or Eastern Ocean - is the sea dividing Erask from Boriya. Being narrower than the Pale Ocean, the Aisling is also the sea connecting the two continents, and defining Erask as the west and Boriya as the east.
- The Pale Ocean - also known as the Outer Sea or Broad Sea - is the vast expanse of open water between eastern Boriya and western Erask, covering almost a third of the world. While many islands scatter the Ocean - which is named forthe misty backdrop it creates beyond the sky, as seen from Boriya and Erask - its population is small.
- The Southern Ocean is the cold sea around Nagrand and southenr Breis. Pack ice and great bergs make this ocean dangerous for shipping.
- The Shadowed Sea is the relatively narrow gulf between eastern Breis and south-west Erask. It is named for the shade of the great western cliffs of Erask.
- The Steaming Sea between southern Boriya, western Breis and Eldaran is noted for the mingling of warm currents from the Aisling and Pale Oceans with cold waters from the Southern Ocean, creating its characteristic mists.
The Name of the World
Galath is the name given to this world by the people of Boriya. The cultures of
Erask instead call the world Ojien. The sea Elves call it Osgalan.
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