Zurith is the name given to the world by the
Elder Dragons, decided at its creation and later told to the first
elves upon their birth. Zurith is a diverse world, consisting of the continents of
Aefareth,
Kaerin,
Aihasoa, and
the North (
Nir Kahldur, by the dwarves, fae, and elves), alongside the seven island kingdoms of
Aefareth,
the Elven Islands,
Eayelis, and several other islands. It is populated by many species of animal and plant and by several sentient races--the elves, the
fae, the
human, the
dwarves, the
younger dragons, the Elder Dragons, the
Arcanum, and the
gods. Zurith is a world in which the very fabric of its existence is saturated in
magical energy, energy so potent and concentrated that it has manifested physical forms.
Geography and Climate
The land of Zurith largely consists of its four main continents and then secondly by the several islands scattered throughout Zurith's ocean. The four continents are named Aefareth, Kaerin, the Aihasoa, and Nir Kahldur (The North only Aefareth, Kaerin, and Nir Kahldur are presently inhabited.
Zurth's islands consist of: Eayelis (the Fae Lands), the Elven Islands (
Naenlune,
Irarion,
Ilylanora,
Lyalume,
Fylfe, and
Afedell), a few unnamed islands of the coasts of the Aihasoa and Nir Kahldur,
Half-Way Island, the
Shipwreck Isles (Salliers, Forcana, Haliware, Ennear, Esternola, Graven, and Neumis), Kaerin's
Flower Dragon Islands (Karyuu, Kkochyong, Liushulong, and Hualong), and the Aefareth Islands (
Varia,
Iraeris,
Avaesan,
Neacubia,
Edilia,
Khaniel, and
Caerid).
Zurith's ocean is commonly separated into two sections, although the Elves consider there to be three:
Nialin Ocean (which surrounds the continent of Aefareth and extends off to the west of Zurith), the
Varendel Ocean (surrounds the continent of Kaerin and extends off to the east), and thirdly the
Draconic Sea (which the elves consider to be the area of ocean between the two continents, rather than splitting that area between Nialin and Varendel).
Zurith's climate and the terrain of its landmasses are shaped through a combination of mystical forces. As such, there is little logical reasoning behind how the world appears, and more detail on each landmasses' individual geography and terrain is given in their respective articles.
History
There are very few human records on how the world came to exist, and all documentation on it comes from the elves who were among the first mortal species to exist. If there was any extensive documentation on what the first humans believed, then it is likely that all those records pre-date the fall of
Ihirith and Aihasoa and were subsequently destroyed when the land was reduced to ruin, and the information contained in those documents was among the pieces of information, culture, and beliefs that the survivors of the catastrophe chose not to share with their future children, descendants, or the elves. As of the current day, human society believes in the creation story that the elves believe which was told to them by the creators of the world themselves; the few human records on the creation of Zurith are just translated elven documents.
The elven belief as to how the world was created, although considered merely a belief by the dwarves and fae who hold different opinions, is in truth how the world was created, as the proceedings were related to the first elves by the Elder Dragons, who helped to create the world. The events of the creation go as such:
Before the creation of Zurith, there was just the Creator,
Nemien--although they didn't receive this name until much later. Although it is not known how this process happened, and while Nemien is still considered a god and not an Arcanum (as their abilities do not stem from the flow of magical energy), like the Arcanums, Nemien was created from pure, concentrated magical energy--specifically what is now known as 'divine magical energy' that is harnessed by
divine dragons and the
Ayuipani and
Kailen descendants of the
divine elves. It is also not known how long ago Nemien came into existence, only that they had existed for a long time before Zurith, and that the world was created only after they reached the height of their power.
Although Nemien is credited as one of Zurith's creators, they actually did very little when it came to the formation of the world. They are, instead, credited because they brought into existence the Elder Dragons, who are the true creators of Zurith--creating them through combining pure elemental magical energy with a small facet of their own powers, the power to create something out of anything.
After the Elder Dragons were created, there was a time where nothing happened; the Elder Dragons had come into existence as hatchlings with little power of their own, so before anything else could happen, the Elder Dragons first had to develop and mature. Once they had, they used their newly developed abilities to finally form the world of Zurith. The
Elder Earth Dragon created the landmasses, the
Elder Ocean Dragon created the oceans, the
Elder Wind Dragon created the sky and the air, the
Elder Fire Dragon brought about light and warmth, and the Elder Celestial Dragons (the
Elder Sun Dragon, the
Elder Moon Dragon, and the
Elder Star Dragon) created the sun, the moon, and the stars, and were the first creatures to control their movements and other phenomena.
Finally the
Elder Divine Dragon soaked the very fabric of the world in magical energy, directing the flow of energy to pass through the newly created world--the different strains of which took their roots in the different areas of land created by the Elder Earth Dragon. The Elder Dragons themselves then took up residence in caves on what are now known as the Elven Islands; their existence there is the true reason why elemental magical energy can be found on the Elven Islands, as the
Elemental Spirits (the Arcanums for
Elemental Magic, more commonly known as Elven Magic) had actually chosen the continent of Aefareth as their place of localisation, but the existence of the Elder Dragons on the islands, creatures that were also created from elemental magical energy, allowed the Elemental Spirits to have an equally powerful foothold in the Elven Islands as well as Aefareth.
Later the Elder Dragons and the Elemental Spirits reproduced with one another and gave birth to the elven race and the younger dragons. Following after came the other Arcanums and the gods; the
Immortal Queen then gave life to the fae,
Lathlaeril, the Arcanist brought the dwarves into existence, and then finally the humans were created by the
Kidia, the goddess of life.
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