Terasil: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:03, 25 April 2025

Terasil

Regions	Sanctuary Vale • Yalta Expanse • Fractured Wedge • Citadel Mountains • Murazkar Range • Boundary Mountains • Khargaath Range
Spirit	Varunel • Tehrum
Native Races	Duranthi • Capamnos
Notable Settlements	Kar-Thal
Significance	A realm of stone and memory.

Terasil is a realm of mountains and memory situated within the wider material plane of Orethil. At the core of Terasil stands the Citadel Mountains, an unyielding range that forms the boundary of the Domain of Oras, the last untouched expression of Oras’s intent. Surrounding this sanctuary, the realm of Terasil unfolds in dry valleys, weathered hills, massive mountains and savannah expanses.

During the age of ascendance, Tehrum, the spirit of mountains and stone and Varunel the spirit of memory made Terasil their home and shaped the realm we know today. To live in Terasil is to walk upon a living record. The stones carry not only names and moments, but also the burden of unalterable memory. While the realm provides stability and clarity, it also resists transformation. Innovation is viewed with suspicion, and even necessary change is often filtered through layers of precedent, ritual, and ancestral permission.

History

The Age of Ascendance (c. BME 100,000-50,000)

After the realms stabilized, the ascendant spirits took over the primordial realms in pairs. Varunel and Tehrum settled in central Orethil but the domain of Oras. Tehrum, shaped the tangible aspects of the realms. The mountains and highlands, but also geographic instability. Varunel the intangible aspects. Imbuing the land with memory but also stagnation.

The Great Migration (c. BME 50,000-20,000)

Trueborn humans migrating from their ancestral home of Awenelir during the Great Migration, moved throughout the newly formed Orethil. In Terasil humans became the Duranthi.

The Age of Deep Roads (c. BME 20,000-0)

As surface erosion intensified, subterranean life expanded from nearby Minthal. The Minthari forged extensive tunnel networks. The development of the Deep Roads facilitated trade and cultural exchange between the Minthari and Duranthi.

Modern Terasil (0 ME-Present)

Terasil today endures as a realm defined by continuity and resilience. Its landscapes—mountains, valleys, and underground cities—bear the imprint of transformation. While the Duranthi maintain ancestral customs rooted in spiritual attunement with stone and memory, the Capamnos continue to maintain their isolation in the mountains of Terasil.

Geography

The geography of Terasil is a physical record—its terrain acting not just as space, but as a layered archive of history and memory. From the impenetrable stone flanks of the Citadel Mountains to the weathered expanses of its valleys and steppe lands, Terasil reflects not only geological time but cultural stillness.

Regions

The prime regions of Terasil are the valleys of Sanctuary Vale, Yalta Expanse, and the Fractured Wedge. These are nestled between the mountain regions of the Citadel Mountains, the Murazkar Range, the Boundary Mountains, and the Khargaath Range.

Climate

Terasil exhibits a range of climates based on altitude and terrain. Mountains experience cold, arid conditions, while valleys maintain temperate climates with seasonal rainfall. Plains are generally arid with sharp temperature variation. Subterranean regions retain consistent, cool temperatures year-round.

Flora and fauna

The biodiversity of Terasil reflects its elemental alignment and geological age. Its ecosystems are home to resilient species adapted to rocky, mineral-rich environments. Life forms range from surface-dwelling herbivores to deep-dwelling predators, with many possessing unique traits influenced by the realm’s spiritual energies.

Native Races

Duranthi

The Duranthi are a human-descended people native to the high valleys, ridge cities, and plateaus of central Terasil.

Capamnos

The Capamnos are natives who live high in mountain villages of various ranges of Terasil.

Native Spirits

Spiritual life in Terasil is governed by a stratified ecology of spirits that reflects the realm’s deep alignment with earth, memory, and the burden of continuity. While the spirit Tehrum anchors the physical foundation of Terasil, Varunel, the spirit of Memory and History anchors the metaphysical. Together, these forces define Terasil's spiritual logic.

The spirits of Terasil range from momentary flickers of awareness to enduring entities inscribed in cultural and geological memory. Their interaction with mortal life is structured and deliberate—spirits are neither worshiped casually nor summoned lightly, and all rituals are shaped by archival precedent.

Nascent Spirits

Nascent spirits are newly formed, unstable presences. Often tied to minor geological actions, they manifest from shifting sediment, mineral formation, or momentary resonance. These spirits are brief and reactive—invoked in basic rites by novices or used as indicators of change in a deeply static world.

Mature Spirits

Mature spirits arise from repeated patterns and communal recognition. Unlike nascent spirits, they possess defined personality traits and limited agency. They are invoked in everyday Duranthi and Capamos life.

These spirits are neither fully autonomous nor entirely symbolic—they occupy the middle realm between presence and concept, often entangled with local rites or vocational traditions.

Ancestral Spirits

Ancestral spirits are the oldest and most deeply rooted entities in Terasil, often embodying events, lineages, or epochs. Unlike gods or elemental lords, they are not omnipotent—but they are vast, weighty, and embedded in the realm’s long memory.

They are rarely invoked directly. Most communication occurs through rituals. Appeasement, not command, defines the relationship.

Examples:

Tharoz-Mir – The spirit of the Deep Roads and the memory of every journey beneath the realm. Felt more than seen, Tharoz-Mir listens across distances, recording the passage of all who travel the underpaths.
Orak-Thun – Revered as the first sentient mountain, Orak-Thun serves as a point of lineage realignment and generational reckoning. Its presence is marked not by voice, but by seismic stillness and unchanging shadow.

Notable settlements

Kar-Thal: An ancient Orasian city carved into a mountain. It houses governing elders and sacred spaces.

Notable Features: The Great Hall of Oras and the Catacombs of Eternity, both central to Orasian ritual and governance.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Realms of Orethil Infobox
+|Realms of Orethil Name=Terasil
 |Image=[[File:Terasil Citadel Mountains.jpg|center|frameless]]
-|Regions=Sanctuary Vale, Yalta Expanse, Fractured Waste, Citadel Mountains, Murzakaar Range, Boundary Mountains, Khaargath Range
+|Regions=Sanctuary Vale, Yalta Expanse, Fractured Wedge, Citadel Mountains, Murazkar Range, Boundary Mountains, Khargaath Range
-|Spirit=Varunel, [[Tehrum]]
+|Spirit=[[Varunel]], [[Tehrum]]
 |Inhabitants=Duranthi, [[Capamnos]]
-|Significance=The oldest physical realm, home to ancient societies and foundational spiritual influence.
+|Notable Settlements=Kar-Thal
+|Significance=A realm of stone and memory.
 }}
 {{Realms of Orethil Sections
-|Introduction=Terasil is a realm of mountains and memory situated within the wider material plane of [[Orethil]]. At the core of Terasil stands the [[Citadel Mountains]], an unyielding range that forms the boundary of the Domain of Oras, the last untouched expression of Oras’s intent. Surrounding this sanctuary, the realm of Terasil unfolds in dry valleys, weathered hills, massive mountains and savannah expanses.
+|Introduction=Terasil is a realm of mountains and memory situated within the wider material plane of [[Orethil]]. At the core of Terasil stands the [[Citadel Mountains]], an unyielding range that forms the boundary of the Domain of [[Oras]], the last untouched expression of Oras’s intent. Surrounding this sanctuary, the realm of Terasil unfolds in dry valleys, weathered hills, massive mountains and savannah expanses.
-During the age of ascendance, Tehrum, the spirit of mountains and stone and Varunel the spirit of memory made Terasil their home and shaped the realm we know today. To live in Terasil is to walk upon a living record. The stones carry not only names and moments, but also the burden of unalterable memory. While the realm provides stability and clarity, it also resists transformation. Innovation is viewed with suspicion, and even necessary change is often filtered through layers of precedent, ritual, and ancestral permission.
+During the [[age of ascendance]], Tehrum, the spirit of mountains and stone and Varunel the spirit of memory made Terasil their home and shaped the realm we know today. To live in Terasil is to walk upon a living record. The stones carry not only names and moments, but also the burden of unalterable memory. While the realm provides stability and clarity, it also resists transformation. Innovation is viewed with suspicion, and even necessary change is often filtered through layers of precedent, ritual, and ancestral permission.
-|History==== The [[Age of Ascendance]] (c. BME 100,000-50,000) ===
+|History==== The Age of Ascendance (c. BME 100,000-50,000) ===
 After the realms stabilized, the ascendant spirits took over the primordial realms in pairs. Varunel and Tehrum settled in central Orethil but the domain of Oras. Tehrum, shaped the tangible aspects of the realms. The mountains and highlands, but also geographic instability. Varunel the intangible aspects. Imbuing the land with memory but also stagnation.
-=== The [[Great Migration]] (c. BME 50,000-20,000) ===
+=== The Great Migration (c. BME 50,000-20,000) ===
-[[Trueborn]] humans migrating from their ancestral home of [[Awenelir]], moved throughout the newly formed Orethil. In Terasil humans formed two distinct races over time. The keepers of Memory, the Stoneborn Duranthi and the followers of Greed and Desire, the Minthari.
+[[Trueborn]] humans migrating from their ancestral home of [[Awenelir]] during the [[Great Migration]], moved throughout the newly formed Orethil. In Terasil humans became the Duranthi.
 === The Age of Deep Roads (c. BME 20,000-0) ===
-As surface erosion intensified, subterranean life expanded. The [[Minthari]] forged extensive tunnel networks. The development of the [[Deep Roads]] facilitated trade and cultural exchange between the Minthari and Duranthi.
+As surface erosion intensified, subterranean life expanded from nearby [[Minthal]]. The [[Minthari]] forged extensive tunnel networks. The development of the [[Deep Roads]] facilitated trade and cultural exchange between the Minthari and Duranthi.
 ===Modern Terasil (0 ME-Present)===
-Terasil today endures as a realm defined by continuity and resilience. Its landscapes—mountains, valleys, and underground cities—bear the imprint of aeons of transformation. While the [[Duranthi]] maintain ancestral customs rooted in spiritual [[attunement]] with stone, the [[Minthari]] continue to expand and explore the depths of the subterranean world. The realm stands as a testament to endurance in the face of elemental change.
+Terasil today endures as a realm defined by continuity and resilience. Its landscapes—mountains, valleys, and underground cities—bear the imprint of transformation. While the [[Duranthi]] maintain ancestral customs rooted in spiritual [[attunement]] with stone and memory, the [[Capamnos]] continue to maintain their isolation in the mountains of Terasil.
 |Geography=<noautolinks>{{See also|Geography of Terasil}}</noautolinks>
-The [[geography of Terasil]] is a physical record—its terrain acting not just as space, but as a layered archive of history and memory. From the impenetrable stone flanks of the Citadel Mountains to the weathered expanses of its valleys and steppe lands, Terasil reflects not only geological time but cultural stillness. Its surface is inscribed by ancient movement, collapse, and ritual intervention, while its subterranean spaces carry the weight of passage and preservation.
+The [[geography of Terasil]] is a physical record—its terrain acting not just as space, but as a layered archive of history and memory. From the impenetrable stone flanks of the Citadel Mountains to the weathered expanses of its valleys and steppe lands, Terasil reflects not only geological time but cultural stillness.
+|Regions=The prime regions of Terasil are the valleys of [[Sanctuary Vale]], [[Yalta Expanse|Yalta Expanse,]] and the Fractured Wedge. These are nestled between the mountain regions of the Citadel Mountains, the [[Murazkar Range]], the [[Boundary Mountains]], and the [[Khargaath Range]].
-Its features hold both practical and spiritual significance. [[Duranthi]] communities treat the land as a medium for ancestral record, while the [[Minthari]] continue to navigate and reshape its lower strata through excavation and trade.
-|Regions=The prime regions of Terasil are the valleys of [[Sanctuary Vale]], [[Yalta Expanse|Yalta Expanse,]] and the [[Fractured Wastes]]. These are nestled between the mountain regions of the Citadel Mountains, the Murzakaar Range, The [[Boundary Mountains]], and the Khaargath Range.
 |Climate=Terasil exhibits a range of climates based on altitude and terrain. Mountains experience cold, arid conditions, while valleys maintain temperate climates with seasonal rainfall. Plains are generally arid with sharp temperature variation. Subterranean regions retain consistent, cool temperatures year-round.
 |Flora and Fauna=[[File:Slateback Behemoth 01.jpg|thumb|A Slateback Behemoth]]
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 The biodiversity of Terasil reflects its elemental alignment and geological age. Its ecosystems are home to resilient species adapted to rocky, mineral-rich environments. Life forms range from surface-dwelling herbivores to deep-dwelling predators, with many possessing unique traits influenced by the realm’s spiritual energies.
-|Inhabitants==== Orasians ===
+|Inhabitants==== Duranthi ===
-The Orasians are ancient beings formed from conscious stone during the earliest moments of Terasil’s creation. Originally vast and immobile, their earliest forms were mountain-sized intelligences that communicated through seismic resonance and subterranean vibration. As Terasil’s environment evolved—shaped by erosion and the incursion of other elemental forces—most Orasians receded from the surface or diminished in form. Today, only a few are known to persist, believed to be embedded within the deepest chambers of the [[Citadel Mountains]], still maintaining spiritual cohesion but rarely, if ever, interacting directly with mortals.
+The Duranthi are a human-descended people native to the high valleys, ridge cities, and plateaus of central Terasil.
-Culturally, Orasians are revered but distant. They are considered the original record-bearers, their thoughts and memory embedded into the stone around them. Rituals invoking their presence are rare and solemn, typically led by [[Duranthi]] elders and only undertaken at sites where seismic stillness is preserved.
-=== Duranthi ===
-The Duranthi are a human-descended people native to the high valleys, ridge cities, and plateaus of central Terasil. Shaped by prolonged exposure to memory-rich stone and the spiritual influence of the [[Ascendant Spirit]] Varunel, the Duranthi are marked by their stone-hardened skin, high endurance, and cultural dedication to remembrance and ritualized continuity.
-Duranthi society is organized around lineage, historical accuracy, and civic restraint. Memory is formalized through vocal rites, stone carving, and structured reenactment. Social advancement is not tied to wealth or conquest, but to custodianship of preserved truth. Elder-recorders serve as living repositories, and archival oaths are taken upon reaching civic maturity. Among all peoples of Orethil, the Duranthi are considered the most attuned to spiritual inertia and the weight of the past.
-Their settlements often align with geological formations believed to resonate with ancient truths—such as faultlines, memory-terraces, or echo caverns. Even everyday tools, dwellings, and paths are inscribed to function as living documents. Change, though not forbidden, is always processed through ritual context.
+=== Capamnos ===
-|Native Spirits=Spiritual life in Terasil is governed by a stratified ecology of spirits that reflects the realm’s deep alignment with earth, memory, and the burden of continuity. While the [[primordial spirit]] [[Oras]] anchors the foundation of Terasil, much of the realm’s living spiritual dynamic is mediated through the Ascendant Spirits—chief among them Varunel, the spirit of Memory and History, and Desame, a spirit of Desire and Accumulation, whose influence shapes the Minthari. Together, these forces define Terasil's spiritual logic: to remember, to preserve, and to reckon with the unchanging weight of what has been.
+The Capamnos are natives who live high in mountain villages of various ranges of Terasil.
+|Native Spirits=Spiritual life in Terasil is governed by a stratified ecology of spirits that reflects the realm’s deep alignment with earth, memory, and the burden of continuity. While the spirit Tehrum anchors the physical foundation of Terasil, Varunel, the spirit of Memory and History anchors the metaphysical. Together, these forces define Terasil's spiritual logic.
 The spirits of Terasil range from momentary flickers of awareness to enduring entities inscribed in cultural and geological memory. Their interaction with mortal life is structured and deliberate—spirits are neither worshiped casually nor summoned lightly, and all rituals are shaped by archival precedent.
@@ Line 51: / Line 45: @@
 Nascent spirits are newly formed, unstable presences. Often tied to minor geological actions, they manifest from shifting sediment, mineral formation, or momentary resonance. These spirits are brief and reactive—invoked in basic rites by novices or used as indicators of change in a deeply static world.
-Examples:
-* Flickerlings – Subtle glimmers along mineral [[veins]], associated with small shifts in the stone’s memory field.
-* Dustforms – Ghostlike movements or shapes formed from freshly disturbed ash or sand; often interpreted as signs of spiritual agitation or misalignment.
-* Slope-Runners – Brief spirits that race along gravel inclines, seen as erratic messengers or expressions of unanchored intent.
 === Mature Spirits ===
-Mature spirits arise from repeated patterns and communal recognition. Unlike nascent spirits, they possess defined personality traits and limited agency. They are invoked in everyday Duranthi and Minthari life to maintain social balance, craft legitimacy, or spatial continuity.
+Mature spirits arise from repeated patterns and communal recognition. Unlike nascent spirits, they possess defined personality traits and limited agency. They are invoked in everyday Duranthi and Capamos life.
 These spirits are neither fully autonomous nor entirely symbolic—they occupy the middle realm between presence and concept, often entangled with local rites or vocational traditions.
-Examples might include:
-* The spirit of a particular quarry that yields flawless stone.
-* A vault-door guardian spirit bound to a family’s ancestral record chamber.
-* A stone-spindle spirit who guides precision in tool-making or stone-carving.
 === Ancestral Spirits ===
 Ancestral spirits are the oldest and most deeply rooted entities in Terasil, often embodying events, lineages, or epochs. Unlike gods or elemental lords, they are not omnipotent—but they are vast, weighty, and embedded in the realm’s long memory.
-They are rarely invoked directly. Most communication occurs through layered rituals, intercessors, or environmental omens. Appeasement, not command, defines the relationship.
+They are rarely invoked directly. Most communication occurs through rituals. Appeasement, not command, defines the relationship.
 Examples:
-* [[Tharoz-Mir]] – The spirit of the Deep Roads and the memory of every journey beneath the realm. Felt more than seen, Tharoz-Mir listens across distances, recording the passage of all who travel the underpaths.
+* [[Tharoz-Mir]] – The spirit of the Deep Roads and the memory of every journey beneath the realm. Felt more than seen, Tharoz-Mir listens across distances, recording the passage of all who travel the underpaths.
 * [[Orak-Thun]] – Revered as the first sentient mountain, Orak-Thun serves as a point of lineage realignment and generational reckoning. Its presence is marked not by voice, but by seismic stillness and unchanging shadow.
-Together, these spirits define the spiritual ecology of Terasil. In contrast to realms where spirits are animated by vitality or conquest, Terasili spirits act as archives, anchors, and curators. They bear forward the full weight of what has come before, reinforcing Terasil’s identity as a realm where memory shapes matter—and forgetting is nearly impossible.
 |Notable Settlements=<noautolinks>{{See also|Cities and Towns of Terasil}}</noautolinks>
 * [[Kar-Thal]]: An ancient [[Orasian]] city carved into a mountain. It houses governing elders and sacred spaces.
 Notable Features: The Great Hall of Oras and the Catacombs of Eternity, both central to Orasian ritual and governance.
-* [[Minthal]]: A concealed Minthari city within the [[Minthal Range]], renowned for its luminous crystals and artisanal output.
-Notable Features: The Crystal Market and the Hall of Ages, centers for commerce and cultural education.
-|Cultural Significance=Terasil is regarded as the foundational material realm within the cosmology of [[Adaris]]. As the first formed landscape and the place where matter held its shape, it represents more than endurance—it serves as a repository for memory, lineage, and spiritual inertia. Every stone ridge, chiseled vault, and faulted pathway contributes to an ongoing cultural and spiritual record. Nothing in Terasil is merely present; everything is layered, archived, or weighed against what has come before.
-The realm is shaped by two dominant spiritual influences: [[Varunel]], the Ascendant Spirit of History and Memory, and [[Desame]], the Ascendant Spirit of Desire and Accumulation. These two aspects are not seen as enemies, but as opposing poles within the structure of Terasili life. Varunel imparts stillness, clarity, and reverence for what is known and sealed. Desame introduces motion, ambition, and the potential for transformation. Together, they create a cultural tension that defines how the realm moves forward—cautiously, deliberately, and always in dialogue with the past.
-Among the [[Duranthi]], this duality is formalized in civic ritual. Progress is encoded through annotation of precedent, and even minor public acts are inscribed, archived, or reenacted. Stone memory is considered a civic duty. Oral histories are repeated verbatim, and innovation requires documented lineage to prior wisdom. Among the [[Minthari]], Desame’s influence permits greater flexibility—but even here, change must be negotiated through ritual acknowledgment of cost and disruption.
-Public monuments often reflect this balance: half-constructed bridges, sealed doors beside open stairwells, or mirrored inscriptions split by fissures. These are not artistic flourishes, but statements of unresolved cultural motion. The past is omnipresent in Terasil, and the future is built—stone by stone—only when the weight of memory can be responsibly borne.
-Outside Terasil, its influence is seen in practices of oathkeeping, stonecraft, and echo-based recordkeeping throughout [[Orethil]]. To other realms, Terasil represents the danger and the dignity of unbroken memory: a land where change is real, but slow; and where forgetting is never an option.
 }}