The Fey Wilds

The Fey Wilds is one of the many planes throughout the countless dimensions, but a far more popular one at that. The Fey Wilds is a land of mass jungle and tropical terrain, filled with strange and unique fauna, animals, cultures, and people. It is comprised mainly of the Fey, an elven-esque race with fairy like wings which were the first truly mortal race to exist, as well as Sinnehliv and Dryads, plant and animal-like people who are the secondary groups that roam the lands. While travel can be drastically different depending on where in the wilds you visit, most will find that there are next to no dangers within the Fey Wilds except the environment. The people are peaceful, as are most of the animals and creatures that make their home. A very spiritual realm, and a beautiful one at that, the Fey Wilds is the divine realm of Arvora herself.

Geography

The fey wilds is dominated by five different biomes throughout the lands that stake the claim of the divine and the leaders of each court of the lands. Where the heart of the wilds lie lay the "Janziyo", otherwise known as the world tree. It is often rumored that this massive tree that towers across the wilds gives and provides life to all realms, and should it be destroyed, life itself will follow. The area surrounding the tree is a massive jungle land that is extremely dense, and is where the more tribal and devout wildlings of the realm inhabit and are under the protection of the Arvora's Ascended. The land seems to be awake with chirping, howls, clicks, and croaks. At night, it is no different, and the realm is filled with the noise of those that occupy it. The domain of Arvora ends by a large ring of fungus that surrounds the domain, and a large river that seems to originate from the base of the tree. This massive river splits the world into four quarters, branching into all the areas like the roots of a tree.

One of the four corners of the land closely mimics that of the heart of the wilds, a vast land of great forests and thick jungles not unlike the first where villages in the trees dot all over and townships tend to prosper away from the ground. While not fertile to agriculture, the land itself is extremely giving, as every fungus, fruit, vegetable and plant has some sort of use or edibility to allow the people to thrive. While hunting is not inherently against any laws, most prefer to simply live off the land via foraging, and the spring court is by far the most populous of the five areas of the wild.

Another of the four corners is a massive flat plaints where no major hills lie, and herds of animals and people alike roam free with little desire to settle down. The plains of summer are often viewed as the perfect hunting grounds, for what the fertile land does not provide in agriculture, it provides in the bounty of animals which roam it. Far in the corner of the plains lays a desert where many of the hardiest fey and dryad exist, rivaling that of the winter court of snow and frost. Within this land many oasis lie, but the environment is no less forgiving to its travelers then to its denizens with its frozen nights and heated days.

In what is by far the most mountainous and rough terrain in verticality, the fall court sprawls. Large mountain tribes live just below where it become difficult to breathe, living off scarce resources and traditions that allow them to not only survive, but thrive in such conditions. Often rather melancholy and silent, the deeper valleys that dot the mountainous land are often fitted with gunk filled swamps and much half sunken land where the more isolationist fey reside. While not the least populous area, not many desire or are forced to come through this land, as the thunderstorms and rain that billows through often makes the journeys even more taxing.

The final land of the quarter covers itself with a thick sheet of permafrost across a deadlands that spans the farthest out of any of the courts. Very few villages dot the land where it is possible to farm in the snow and frosted areas, but most stick to the major cities where the ice itself has been sculpted and magically infused to repel against the outside lands many blizzards, storms, and worse. With by far the least amount of people living inside of it, the vast wastelands of always winter do not often see much travel or desire thereof, and is only rumored by many to be a darker place then just the long nights that plague it.

Government

The Fey Wilds has no form of centralized government or Kingdom that rules through all the lands. Instead, there are four major courts that dot the land in its different quarters, while at the center the divine Arvora and her Ascended reign. From the four corners extremely powerful magical beings know as the "Archfey" preside, acting as the lords over the domains of the wilds and also controlling the minor mayors and villagers over the land. From the spring court comes the father of spring, Oberon. From the lands of summer, a man named Galadan reigns over the hunt. Through the fall of mountains and swamplands, Agalia watches over her people dutifully, and over the lands of always winter the ever enigmatic and mysterious Chione dotes over her beloved subjects. All structures of government more or less run the same in these lands, with the ascended occasionally providing assistance if any is necessary throughout the different courts. From their seats of power, the Archfey ensure that all the problems, qualms, issues and necessities of running such vast lands is handled, and their stewards often do not spend long at the court, as they travel from village to village assisting or learning about any problematic occurrences that may have happened of late.

In the general lands of villages many fill the roles of things such as priests, doctors, shamans, hunters and farmers. There next to no warriors, aside from those in the Janziyo who serve under the Ascended directly to protect the tree from harm, though even they are mostly ceremonial in nature. If there ever is a need for soldiers for whatever reason, the shamans and hunters are typically ones to step up to protect alongside the guardians of the world tree.

Culture

Culture varies as one heads out further away from the World Tree. In the heart itself, tribal traditions and animist faiths toward the mother of life give way toward the center, where the Ascended and the guardsman of the tree strive for a peaceful and serene way of life with little need for violet tendencies. In the spring court, the webs of politics all end at the spring archfey, where the land prospers from the straightforward, simple and tactful governance. Keeping stability, the flower girls, fey who were trained at the court at a young age, mostly females, to walk the realm and assist in any way possible for the populations.

In the land of summer, the law of the hunt rules. Many within Galadan's court do not even speak known languages, and use their arrows and skill to do the talking desired to sustain themselves. In Agalia's court of fall, words are silent and whispered, their voices silent so it doesn't travel the echoing cliffs of the vast mountain ranges. Couriers specializing in rough terrain are often the message bearers and couriers, and most settlements hardly interact with the court itself. In the frosted lands of winter, teleportation pads to breach through the storms are quite common, and every mayor, village chief and trader are under an extremely tight leash to the archfeys whims.

Religion

The Spiritual beliefs of the Fey Wilds vary. In the center around the Janziyo, the religion is dominated by that of Arvora. Being around the World Tree heavily influences such, along with the more civilized culture present in the Janziyo. There are shamans present along with these that follow the Vaya, but the amount is minuscule if noticeable at all. As one may venture out further though, notably beyond the reach of the World Tree, shamans begin outnumbering Arvora followers by far. At the edge of the known world is where the highest percentage of shamans are, being far away from the influence of ‘civilization’ and Arvora, and far closer to the wild and the spirits.

The World Tree

A special aspect of the Fey Wilds, and the most recognizable landmark, is the World Tree. Sitting in the direct center of the known realm, this gargantuan tree is the metaphorical heart of the Fey Wilds. It is the centerpiece, and keeps the Janziyo a protected and safe sanctuary. Outside of its natural magical influence, many animals run wild and free, though inside, are pacified. Even the people who enter and those who live there can feel it, and its roots are rumored to run through the entirety of the realm spreading magic like the leylines themselves. It is the reason why the Fey Wilds are brimming with life, and the reason why the Fey Wilds are filled with magic influence.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier