Encyclopedia Xanthuria: The Vhaskari Highlands

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The Vhaskari Highlands

Nestled deep within the jagged peaks of the Seamaw Range, the Vhaskari Highlands are a wild land filled with mystery and adventure. From the snow-capped mountaintops to the expansive alpine meadows to the dense coniferous forests of the rolling foothills, the Highlands boast a diverse range of plants and wildlife, and their inhabitants consider them a place of unparalleled beauty and majestic wonder.

The rest of the world, however, knows the Vhaskari Highlands not for their natural beauty, but for the knowledge, discoveries, and innovations that emerge from deep within their secretive research facility. From modern crystal diffusion arrays to leylamps that produce heat instead of light, Vhaskari researchers – led by the ruling Vhaskar family – have been advancing the ley arts for generations. Claiming descent from the Enlightened of Manipulation, Vhask, the Vhaskars have taken great pride in remaining at the forefront of discovery and progress.

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Index

• Geographic and Climatological Information
  
• History
  
  • Before the Awakening
    
  • The Awakening and Xaneth

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Geographic and Climatological Information

The Vhaskari Highlands are located in the Northwest corner of Xanethi-populated Alteiryn, south of the frozen tundras. Their territory mainly encompasses the wild, mountainous terrain of the Seamaw Range, but also includes an expanse of rolling foothills just to the east. The land, where trees can grow, at least, is heavily forested in many areas, and the roads are often narrow and winding because of the difficult terrain.

Above the tree line, the soil is rocky, and terrain varies from rugged and harsh – covered in cliffs, scree, and steep mountainsides – to gentle and rolling, almost flat in places. The mountain peaks are covered in snow year-round, and the runoff feeds into numerous mountain streams which in turn contribute to brooks, ponds, lakes, waterfalls, and even mires throughout the mountains, or continue downward to form larger rivers that run through the rest of Alteiryn. Few plants grow this high up, but grasses, scrubs, and even a few wildflowers are common – except in areas where snow accumulates, of course – and mosses and lichens thrive in the rocky environment.

At lower elevations, just below the tree line, tree growth is often stunted and twisted due to the harsh environment, and is limited to mainly coniferous species such as hemlocks, larches, pines, and firs. Shrublands, grasslands, and meadows can also be found here. The farther down into the foothills one travels, the more diverse the plant life becomes, expanding into the dense coniferous forests of the rolling foothills themselves.

One notable feature of the Vhaskari Highlands is their famous hot springs. Heated by what is commonly believed to be geothermal energy (though some scholars are investigating the potential of underground leyht as an energy source as well), these hot springs can be found all throughout the mountains and the foothills, and are a welcome relief from the cold, particularly at higher elevations where a lack of falling snow is considered warm weather.

Climate in the Highlands is varied because of the extreme difference in elevation: varying from alpine above the tree line and shifting gradually to temperate continental in the foothills, some areas will see a marked difference in seasons, while others will still have snow accumulation in more sheltered areas even in the middle of summer. Because of the Highlands' wealth of ley lines and ambient ley energy, the area is rich in precipitation, and the weather in and around the Azure Basin in particular is occasionally prone to rather violent storms.

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History

Before the Awakening

Long ago, before the Xanethi were called by that name, and mankind wandered the continent in nomadic tribes, many groups began to band together for the sake of mutual safety and protection. The Vhaskari – though of course they did not call themselves that at the time – did not. Recognizing that larger settlements were nothing more than larger, more appetizing targets to the increasingly catastrophic Ohnyrek raids, they decided to seek out the safety of the land instead, and fled high into the mountains.

With the harsh and forbidding mountainsides standing between them and the invading Ohnyrek, life began to get a little better for the ancestors of the Vhaskari. Though the raids still came, the mountains proved a challenge even for the mightiest of invaders, giving the outnumbered and overpowered humans the advantage they needed to turn the tide. They began to settle down, developing more effective weapons and planting crops as high up as they would grow. And the longer they stayed in their mountains, the more time they had to get better and better at protecting themselves and their valuable resources.

Over time, as they adapted to the harsh mountainous environment and became increasingly proficient in stonework and engineering, the highlanders were able to move farther and farther up into the mountains, making it even harder for the Ohnyrek invaders to reach them. They were still attacked, of course, but by invaders who had already been climbing mountains for a good long while before arriving. Life was good for this humble people. They were happy in their mountains, and wanted nothing more than their safe, peaceful, isolated prosperity.

Until a bright light split the night sky.

The Awakening and Xaneth

The Highlanders, seeing that bright pillar of light shoot up to the Signs above from the distance, were mystified. What could it be? Where was it? Should they investigate? It was strange enough that the Ohnyrek had seemingly abandoned their assaults on the Highlands, but now this? After much deliberation, and after a continued silence from the outside, it was finally decided that a party would be sent to investigate the light and try to discover what might have caused it. A number of their bravest, strongest, and most clever men and women were chosen for the expedition, and they were outfitted to the best of the Highlanders' capability. The leader of the group was a young man named Vhask, who was well-known and well-loved for his charisma, bravery, and keen mind. Despite his age, he had already risen to a position of respect amongst the Highlanders, and they could think of no one better for the task.

When the Expedition left the Highlanders' mountain home, it was the first time any of them had set foot outside – into what they called the Flatlands – for centuries. They had no idea what to expect, what would happen to them, or whether they would ever even see their home again, let alone return successfully. But they pressed on, searching for the source of the mysterious light, despite the difficulties navigating unfamiliar lands. They might have had an easier time of it were it not for the language barrier; the Highlanders had spent centuries cut off from the rest of the world, speaking their own tongue, the language of the ancestors who had settled there so long ago. Meanwhile, the rest of the world had moved on, and the members of the Expedition noticed that the farther they went in the direction the light had come from, the more people seemed to be speaking the same language. The Expedition was forced to use various signs, gestures, and even pictures to get it across that they were searching for the source of the light that had split the sky. And though they could not communicate fully, there was one word that they heard over and over again:

Xaneth.

Now equipped with this word, along with the modest snippets of language the travelers managed to pick up here and there, things began to come together for the Expedition. It didn't take long for them to figure out that saying the word “Xaneth” - whatever it was – and pointing in the direction the light had come from would earn them directions, though of course they only understood the direction the helpful strangers were pointing in.

There was much debate over what “Xaneth” was while the Expedition traveled. Many of them thought perhaps it was these people's word for light, but others thought that it was more specific. A name, perhaps. Of who or what, they did not know, but they would soon find out.

There was no way they could have prepared themselves for what they found. A huge, thriving city, protected by a massive wall that seemed to have been grown out of the very earth itself. It was filled with not only people, but the most fantastic creations any of the Highlanders had ever seen. And this time, when they asked for “Xaneth,” those they asked merely gestured around them. Xaneth was a city, and they had found it.

The locals didn't seem surprised in the least that the Expeditioners didn't speak their language; instead, they merely ushered the group forward, pointing out various objects and naming them as they went, as though trying to teach the visitors their language in its entirety in a few short minutes. They did acquire a few more words, at least, before they reached where they were going, and were brought forward to meet Xan himself.

Needless to say, the Expeditioners were in awe of Xan, though a bit apprehensive, and made the decision to remain in Xaneth and continue their search for knowledge. Over time, they came to understand the Xanethi language, while Xan came to understand theirs, and they finally had what they had come for: the story of the light that had split the sky.

Little did they know they would end up with much more than they had originally set out to find.