Itharalis: Difference between revisions

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{{~~Realm~~ Infobox

{{Realms of Orethil Infobox

|Image=[[File:Itharalis 01.jpg|center|frameless]]

|Spirit=Barala

|Significance=A domain of stillness and preservation, where ice holds the past in its frozen embrace.

|Realm Name=Itharalis

~~|Spirit=Glacian~~

~~|Significance=A domain of stillness and preservation, where ice holds the past in its frozen embrace.~~

}}

{{~~Realm~~ Sections

{{Realms of Orethil Sections

|Introduction='''Itharalis''' is the realm of unbroken winter, where the world is held in stillness beneath endless layers of frost. Here, the breath of Glacian, the Spirit of Preservation, coats every surface in ice, freezing not only the land but the very memory of time. Mountains of ancient snow, glaciers the size of kingdoms, and crystalline wastelands stretch into the horizon without change or decay.

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Though the biosphere appears dormant, it sustains complex life systems adapted to conditions unseen elsewhere in Adaris.

|Inhabitants=Itharalis is home to two known Sophant species, each shaped by the unique metaphysical and environmental extremes of the frozen realm: the Sarnathi, who exist out of time, and the Nykrathi, primal dwellers of the glacier’s body.

=== Sarnathi – The Time-Buried ===

Descendants of an ancient civilization thought lost to history, the [[Sarnathi]] were caught in a temporal collapse and preserved in stasis beneath the ice. Touched by the [[Primordial Spirit]] [[Kairos]], they exist partially out of phase with the present, awakening at irregular intervals when the boundaries of time weaken. Their bodies bear crystalline inclusions, and their minds drift between centuries, making them enigmatic and revered by other [[inhabitants of Adaris]].

The Sarnathi rarely intervene in the affairs of others, but their appearance is seen as an omen of repeating catastrophe or forgotten truths resurfacing.

=== Nykrathi – The Icebound Clans ===

The [[Nykrathi]] are a resilient, territorial people native to the glacial interior of Itharalis. Stocky and armored with naturally forming ice-plate exoskins, they molt with the shifting seasons. They communicate through vibratory resonance and ice-chime patterns formed with breath and movement. Nomadic by nature, the Nykrathi follow deep glacial currents, constructing shifting shelters from resonant ice and snow-bone.

They see themselves not as rulers of the ice, but as its stewards—shards of Glacian’s will, moving with the flow of the frozen world. Ritualistic and survivalist, they maintain sacred “Echo Fields,” where the ice sings back the memories of their ancestors.

|Native Spirits=The spirits of Itharalis are not chaotic forces of nature, but crystallized echoes of memory, stillness, and time. As with all realms touched by a Primordial, they exist in a hierarchy of spiritual evolution: Nascent, Mature, and Ancestral—each reflecting deeper [[attunement]] to Glacian, the Spirit of Ice.

=== Nascent Spirits ===

These spirits form from localized phenomena: frost forming on a forgotten relic, the momentary stillness of a snowfall, or the lingering breath of a dying traveler. They are brief and fragile, often appearing as:

* '''Icewisps''' – Flickering motes that drift across frozen lakes, trailing light like starlight in snow.

* '''Shardlings''' – Tiny crystalline forms that hum faintly in sub-zero caverns, drawn to preserved ruins.

* '''Echobound''' – Flickering echoes of emotion trapped in permafrost, replaying fragments of speech, light, or motion in looping =

=== Mature Spirits ===

These spirits embody broader concepts of isolation, endurance, and preservation. They persist across centuries and often inhabit specific regions or artifacts.

* '''Frostweavers''' – Spirits that form web-like veils over ancient ruins and glacial tombs, believed to bind memory into the ice itself.

* '''Vault-Keepers''' – Guardians of sunken sanctuaries, manifesting in towering forms of mirrored frost or living glacier.

* '''Hollow-Whispers''' – Wind-borne spirits that speak through cracks in ancient ice, rumored to echo forgotten truths or temporal distortions.

=== Ancestral Spirits ===

These rare and potent beings are said to be direct extensions of Glacian’s will, embodying entire epochs or frozen principles.

* '''The Deep Chorus''' – A collective ancestral entity residing beneath the Pale Expanse, composed of countless souls sealed together in ancient ice.

* '''The Pale Sleeper''' – A mythic presence said to slumber beneath the Glacier of Twelve Moons, whose awakening would halt time itself across the realm.

* '''[[Kairos]]-Touched Echoes''' – Spirits believed to intersect with the domain of Kairos, the Spirit of Time, preserving not only memory but sequence—guarding the natural order of causality against unraveling.

|Notable Settlements={{See also|[[Cities and Towns of Itharalis]]}}

Despite its frozen isolation and inhospitable climate, Itharalis is home to numerous subterranean and glacial settlements, each shaped by the unique needs, philosophies, and adaptations of its native sophants. The Nykrathi and Sarnathi maintain distinct settlements with minimal overlap, unified only by their shared reverence for silence, resonance, and the enduring power of the cold.

=== Sarnathi Settlements ===

*Iskar-Thal – The first and largest Sarnathi city, constructed atop the Shardplain. Its crystalline towers emerge from a basin of glacial drift, encircling the Grand Archive—a semi-living vault that stores preserved memory through harmonic resonance. Considered the cultural heart of the Sarnathi Continuum.

*Vauren-Voss – A citadel hollowed into a fault-glacier’s vertical face. It houses the Stillborn Circles, where Sarnathi in voluntary stasis serve as silent sentinels and temporal anchors. Access is limited and regulated by time-rhythm initiates.

*Ysilin Hollow – Located beneath a high ridge of wind-shattered ice, this subterranean enclave hosts the Echo-Keepers, scholars who monitor vibration records and time-layer anomalies embedded in glacial formations.

*Tharrask Vein – An outpost near the Fractured Scar, a region prone to temporal shifts. It functions as both a research and containment site, manned by a rotating cadre of Resonants and harmonic stabilizers.

*Enclave of Varethis – A drifting settlement built atop a fractured coastal ice shelf that follows a seasonal circuit around Itharalis. Inhabited by itinerant scholars, dreamers, and unstable harmonics, it serves as a mobile sanctuary for those unable to remain rooted.

=== Nykrathi Settlements ===

*Tarskhel’Zuun – The oldest and most revered Nykrathi tunnelspire city, built around the legendary Echo-Pool. Carved within a submerged rift, its chambers echo with Glacian’s resonance. Reserved for the most spiritually attuned.

*Vorr-Kaazhen – A fortified hive-city positioned along the volcanic corridor beneath the Black Scar Glacier. Known for its resonance defenders and frost-bound artisans who maintain ancient structural harmonics.

*Krelekh Hollow – Situated in a bioluminescent under-ice basin, Krelekh Hollow cultivates deep fungi and maintains fluidic resonance archives. It is the spiritual center for the Dream-Scribes.

*Shar’Molun – A minor outpost at the edge of a glacial faultline. Functions as a neutral contact zone for surface negotiations and as a seismic monitoring station.

*The Ossuary Spires – A ceremonial necropolis where honored Nykrathi dead are calcified and enshrined in towering walls. Pilgrims come here to commune with ancestral echoes and the frozen memory of the deep.

}}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Realm Infobox
+{{Realms of Orethil Infobox
+|Image=[[File:Itharalis 01.jpg|center|frameless]]
+|Spirit=Barala
+|Significance=A domain of stillness and preservation, where ice holds the past in its frozen embrace.
 |Realm Name=Itharalis
-|Spirit=Glacian
-|Significance=A domain of stillness and preservation, where ice holds the past in its frozen embrace.
 }}
-{{Realm Sections
+{{Realms of Orethil Sections
 |Introduction='''Itharalis''' is the realm of unbroken winter, where the world is held in stillness beneath endless layers of frost. Here, the breath of Glacian, the Spirit of Preservation, coats every surface in ice, freezing not only the land but the very memory of time. Mountains of ancient snow, glaciers the size of kingdoms, and crystalline wastelands stretch into the horizon without change or decay.
@@ Line 41: / Line 42: @@
 Though the biosphere appears dormant, it sustains complex life systems adapted to conditions unseen elsewhere in Adaris.
+|Inhabitants=Itharalis is home to two known Sophant species, each shaped by the unique metaphysical and environmental extremes of the frozen realm: the Sarnathi, who exist out of time, and the Nykrathi, primal dwellers of the glacier’s body.
+=== Sarnathi – The Time-Buried ===
+Descendants of an ancient civilization thought lost to history, the [[Sarnathi]] were caught in a temporal collapse and preserved in stasis beneath the ice. Touched by the [[Primordial Spirit]] [[Kairos]], they exist partially out of phase with the present, awakening at irregular intervals when the boundaries of time weaken. Their bodies bear crystalline inclusions, and their minds drift between centuries, making them enigmatic and revered by other [[inhabitants of Adaris]].
+The Sarnathi rarely intervene in the affairs of others, but their appearance is seen as an omen of repeating catastrophe or forgotten truths resurfacing.
+=== Nykrathi – The Icebound Clans ===
+The [[Nykrathi]] are a resilient, territorial people native to the glacial interior of Itharalis. Stocky and armored with naturally forming ice-plate exoskins, they molt with the shifting seasons. They communicate through vibratory resonance and ice-chime patterns formed with breath and movement. Nomadic by nature, the Nykrathi follow deep glacial currents, constructing shifting shelters from resonant ice and snow-bone.
+They see themselves not as rulers of the ice, but as its stewards—shards of Glacian’s will, moving with the flow of the frozen world. Ritualistic and survivalist, they maintain sacred “Echo Fields,” where the ice sings back the memories of their ancestors.
+|Native Spirits=The spirits of Itharalis are not chaotic forces of nature, but crystallized echoes of memory, stillness, and time. As with all realms touched by a Primordial, they exist in a hierarchy of spiritual evolution: Nascent, Mature, and Ancestral—each reflecting deeper [[attunement]] to Glacian, the Spirit of Ice.
+=== Nascent Spirits ===
+These spirits form from localized phenomena: frost forming on a forgotten relic, the momentary stillness of a snowfall, or the lingering breath of a dying traveler. They are brief and fragile, often appearing as:
+* '''Icewisps''' – Flickering motes that drift across frozen lakes, trailing light like starlight in snow.
+* '''Shardlings''' – Tiny crystalline forms that hum faintly in sub-zero caverns, drawn to preserved ruins.
+* '''Echobound''' – Flickering echoes of emotion trapped in permafrost, replaying fragments of speech, light, or motion in looping =
+=== Mature Spirits ===
+These spirits embody broader concepts of isolation, endurance, and preservation. They persist across centuries and often inhabit specific regions or artifacts.
+* '''Frostweavers''' – Spirits that form web-like veils over ancient ruins and glacial tombs, believed to bind memory into the ice itself.
+* '''Vault-Keepers''' – Guardians of sunken sanctuaries, manifesting in towering forms of mirrored frost or living glacier.
+* '''Hollow-Whispers''' – Wind-borne spirits that speak through cracks in ancient ice, rumored to echo forgotten truths or temporal distortions.
+=== Ancestral Spirits ===
+These rare and potent beings are said to be direct extensions of Glacian’s will, embodying entire epochs or frozen principles.
+* '''The Deep Chorus''' – A collective ancestral entity residing beneath the Pale Expanse, composed of countless souls sealed together in ancient ice.
+* '''The Pale Sleeper''' – A mythic presence said to slumber beneath the Glacier of Twelve Moons, whose awakening would halt time itself across the realm.
+* '''[[Kairos]]-Touched Echoes''' – Spirits believed to intersect with the domain of Kairos, the Spirit of Time, preserving not only memory but sequence—guarding the natural order of causality against unraveling.
+|Notable Settlements={{See also|[[Cities and Towns of Itharalis]]}}
+Despite its frozen isolation and inhospitable climate, Itharalis is home to numerous subterranean and glacial settlements, each shaped by the unique needs, philosophies, and adaptations of its native sophants. The Nykrathi and Sarnathi maintain distinct settlements with minimal overlap, unified only by their shared reverence for silence, resonance, and the enduring power of the cold.
+=== Sarnathi Settlements ===
+*Iskar-Thal – The first and largest Sarnathi city, constructed atop the Shardplain. Its crystalline towers emerge from a basin of glacial drift, encircling the Grand Archive—a semi-living vault that stores preserved memory through harmonic resonance. Considered the cultural heart of the Sarnathi Continuum.
+*Vauren-Voss – A citadel hollowed into a fault-glacier’s vertical face. It houses the Stillborn Circles, where Sarnathi in voluntary stasis serve as silent sentinels and temporal anchors. Access is limited and regulated by time-rhythm initiates.
+*Ysilin Hollow – Located beneath a high ridge of wind-shattered ice, this subterranean enclave hosts the Echo-Keepers, scholars who monitor vibration records and time-layer anomalies embedded in glacial formations.
+*Tharrask Vein – An outpost near the Fractured Scar, a region prone to temporal shifts. It functions as both a research and containment site, manned by a rotating cadre of Resonants and harmonic stabilizers.
+*Enclave of Varethis – A drifting settlement built atop a fractured coastal ice shelf that follows a seasonal circuit around Itharalis. Inhabited by itinerant scholars, dreamers, and unstable harmonics, it serves as a mobile sanctuary for those unable to remain rooted.
+=== Nykrathi Settlements ===
+*Tarskhel’Zuun – The oldest and most revered Nykrathi tunnelspire city, built around the legendary Echo-Pool. Carved within a submerged rift, its chambers echo with Glacian’s resonance. Reserved for the most spiritually attuned.
+*Vorr-Kaazhen – A fortified hive-city positioned along the volcanic corridor beneath the Black Scar Glacier. Known for its resonance defenders and frost-bound artisans who maintain ancient structural harmonics.
+*Krelekh Hollow – Situated in a bioluminescent under-ice basin, Krelekh Hollow cultivates deep fungi and maintains fluidic resonance archives. It is the spiritual center for the Dream-Scribes.
+*Shar’Molun – A minor outpost at the edge of a glacial faultline. Functions as a neutral contact zone for surface negotiations and as a seismic monitoring station.
+*The Ossuary Spires – A ceremonial necropolis where honored Nykrathi dead are calcified and enshrined in towering walls. Pilgrims come here to commune with ancestral echoes and the frozen memory of the deep.
 }}