Bannesiel

Bannesiel is an unforgiving climate both due to its inhabitants and its landscapes. It is considered some of the most grey terrain, the color green being sparse in regularity, and when it is found it almost appears a sickly hue. This land is considered sinister by most outsiders, and most tend to stay away from its rocky exterior and interior, for fear of capsizing and impaling their ships.

Alternative Names:

• Ombra's Tears
• Eiduwis, Home of the Free
• The Gloomy Meadow

Geography

A large cluster of mountain islands to the north, Bannesiel is a rather remarkable place. Originally formed from volcanic rocks, which have long since cooled, it has given the island a largely infertile and cracked landscape, filled with mountains, ravines, and some plateaus through the expanses. Many of its cities stay near the coasts, as most of the food comes from laborious farming and fishing.

The area is overall very damp, and many rivers and streams flow from the center of the landscape out towards the ocean, with some lakes stored and tucked away further into the mountainous terrain. Thunderstorms are rather common throughout the land, and take precedent over most other things within the terrain, striking at the barren mountaintops which are often covered white with snow. The further one treks north in this continent, they are quick to discover large glaciers ravaging the volcanic rock, as well an abundance of deep snow which extends many feet down. Surrounding the largest and most central continent are tinier islands, surrounded in natural and jagged rocks, which act as a border of sorts. This allows only the most daring to exit or enter the continent.

Government

The continent through centuries was ruled over by a family of Vallah whom some would argue was one of the first great families of Vallah, the van Dragoste family. They were able to rule for centuries before around 2,000 years ago when Conrad von Einar was able to claim the continent in the name of Sol, persecuting the Vallah and plunging the continent into a period of chaos. The rule remained oppressive but turned their focus from humans to the Vallah which the more zealous murdered with great zeal. The current ruler is Conrad II, who holds his ancestor Conrad I with so great a reverence that he adopted his name.

The oppressive rule is a careful balance on the island, but many feel their rights have been oppressed by the Sol-based government. The government has been able to keep crime rates exceedingly low, there are rarely blunders in policy whether it be economic or social. Society is kept in rigorous worship of the divine, which is used as another way to control the people throughout the land.

Life is a surprisingly precious commodity on the land. The large number of Vallah leaves the often poorer populace of them starving. The largest crimes are theft of blood and other personal wealth. This is always dealt through wealth and physical punishment. A thief of wares is to have their hands burned at the flesh and then branded, leaving them horribly ugly and disfigured. Since the takeover by the Hestark, vallah have been persecuted en masse, many hiding their affliction from the public. Some circles of these broods have developed in the underbellies of the city, hoping to one day retake the land that was once theirs, creating a long cycle of hatred, vengeance, and despair.

Aside from the main Bannesielan government, many hidden groups of Dwarves and Dark Elves lurk beneath the glaciers and stones. Some Snow Elf and Avaltan tribes are known to be nomadic in the more northern reaches, having been pushed out of the more civilized south.

Culture

Bannesiel is a rather dreary place, with an emphasis placed on both religion and family. Those who are involved with the land speak a language which remains guttural in tongue, though is seen as a far more sophisticated tongue than that of the natural Avaltan, having blended in with the Elven peoples who also have inhabited the island over the centuries. The island is desolate, and the capital city, Einar, is large and built of high standing stone. The society as a whole is largely unwelcoming to outsiders who they do not see of worth or value.

Common Legends and Rumors

• There is supposedly a large number of shipwrecks surrounding the island, perhaps due to the Syrien who drown the sailors who accidentally break upon the rocks.
• It is said a vast network of underground ruins and passageways were constructed by the Dark Elves, and span even larger than the entire continent, having been built over the generations.
• It is said that the first Sol and Ombra followers originate from Bannesiel. This rumor is perpetuated by the long days and nights depending on which time of the year it is.

Trading and Travel

• Currency: A small smooth blue rock called the Widden as well as a flat copper coin dubbed Baunze. Widdens are incredibly valuable and are used to by goods in bulk, were as Baunze are a currency used by commoners to exchange for much smaller wares such as tools or bread.
• Trading Status: Turbulent and Difficult.
• Travel Status: Turbulent and Difficult.

Ethnicity

Note

15% of the inhabitants of the island have the Vallah curse, and another 10% are afflicted with Lycanthropy.

• Hestark Humans - 20%
• Dark Elves - 20%
• Avaltan Humans - 15%
• Snow Elves - 15%
• Halfbreeds - 10%
• High Elves - 5%
• Valois Humans - 5%
• Syrien - 5%
• Unknown - 5%

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier