Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-05T12:38:32Z

(via JWB)

New page

{{Infobox Region
|Name = Aeni Lonely Mountains
|Other Names = Unknown
|Biome = Lonely Mountains
|Size = Unknown
|Continent = Unknown
|Subcontinent = Unknown
}}

== History ==
====Early history & principality====

The Aightu Rockland was first recorded as settled sometime in the early 3rd era. The first settlers of the Rockland emerged from the west, eventually building settlements on the plateaus that comprised most of the place’s geography. These early settlements were later referred to as the ''zayak'' by the locals of the area, which eventually coalesced together and formed a tribe-like structure, with the head of the city holding ultimate power over the rest of the settlement. By the year 3E 500, this settlement comprised some 25,000 people, with some 10,000 others living in the vicinity of the city. Eventually, it began to exert its power over the surrounding area, stretching its influence from the heartland of the Aightu Rockland to the River Acetyx, located to the southwest of the ''zayak''.

Around 3E 750, the Principality of the Zayak was established in this territory. The prince of this territory was descended from a family whose name is now lost to history; however, it is stated to have held considerable sway over the politics of the Aightu Rockland. Eventually, the Principality began to expand towards the north and northwest until it reached the River Ayayaz, which eventually led to the Sea of Ayaz. Around this period, the second ''zayaz'' – located near the River Ayayaz – was established. Because the ''zayaz'' – the capital city of the Principality – was the base of power, having two of them presented an issue that eventually lead to the creation of a House of Electors in 3E 804, which would elect candidates for the princehood based upon that family.

Based on this system – which was variously changed over the years – the Principality ruled the Aightu Rockland for some 400 years, even as the Xerean Empire began expanding around the territory of the Principality. Around 3E 1200, the Principality was made a client state of the Xerean Empire after agreement with the House of Electors, after the ruling family of the Principality went extinct. It would continue in this way – with the House of Electors as the governing body – for some 250 years afterwards. In 3E 1400, the House of Electors attempted to rebel against the Xerean Empire, though the rebel forces were defeated by a vast Xerean force that arrived from the northwest of the Principality. After this, the Principality was made a province of the Xerean Empire under the name “Zayan”.

====Province & Awakening Age====
As a province of the Empire, Zayan retained most of its previous government, except the House of Electors was abolished and replaced with a Viceroy that was appointed directly by the Emperor of Xerea. The province remained relatively stable during this period of history, except for brief rebellions that occurred in 3E 1765 and 3E 1987; besides these rebellions, Zayan remained a loyal and stable province of the vast Empire.

However, beginning around 3E 3035, the kin’toni began to attack the Province, following the so-called “Route of Zayan” (which connected the two primary cities of Zayan to the outside world by crossing the Rivers Ayazaz & Acetyx), resulting in the destruction of both of these cities. The remaining inhabitants of these cities eventually fled to higher elevations to avoid attacks from the kin’toni, leading to the formation of the Perine zu’aan (named after the River Perine, a minor river & tributary of the Ayazaz which their territory was based around). By the time of the Twilight Age, control of the plateaus surrounding the Route was primarily held by the 2 primary tribes of the Perine zu’aan, while the cities were mainly controlled by local kin’toni clans.

== Geography ==

The Aightu Rockland is located in the southeast of the Sea of Ayaz and is surrounded by the River Ayazaz to the north and the River Acetyx to the west, southwest and south. The Aightu Rockland is also bordered by a pocket of plains to the southeast (referred to colloquially as the Perine plains, as they are usually inhabited by or raided by the Perine zu’aan). Finally, there is a brief opening (referred to as the Acetyx pass) to the northwest, which stretches between the two rivers that comprise the Rockland’s north & south borders. The Rockland is primarily composed of plateaus, though there is a large stretch of valley in the northwest where the so-called “twin cities” of the Rockland are situated.

Between this valley are two separate mountain ranges: one begins near the city of Hayaz (the so-called “first twin city”) and runs north towards the River Ayazaz, while the second begins to the west of the city of Mazyr (the “second twin city”) and curves around Hayaz before continuing west, before stopping next to the River Acetyx. These mountain ranges are referred to as the Hayazi and the Masiri Mountains, respectively. The highest mountain of the Hayazi and the Masiri ranges are Mount Astyre and Mount Vayavere, which are 4,869m and 5,062m tall, respectively. Both of these mountains are worshipped by the Perine tribe as granted to them by the gods; because of this belief, the Perine tribe has a special devotion where selected members of the tribe try to climb these mountains in a specified period of time, in order to prove their loyalty to the gods.

Furthermore, each of the mountains within these ranges (some 150 in total) each have specific gods that are tied to them, with there being cults for each of the deities surrounding them. The valley between these two mountain ranges – referred to as the Valley of Hayaz – was formed sometime in 1E 1100, according to geological work that was performed by the Xerean Empire (& preserved by the Perine tribe). According to the mythology of the Perines, this valley was formed by agreement of the god of the Hayazi mountains and the goddess of the Masiri mountains, giving authority over the valley to their son. Because of this, the Valley and the mountain ranges between them are given extra importance in the culture of the Perine zu’aan, as they are seen as the “birthplace” from which the Perines originated.

The rest of the rockland comprises flat rockland, though – along the coast – these plateaus fade into jagged cliffs that comprise the so-called “Wall of Zayan”, which was named as such by the Emperor of Xerea upon his first personal visit to the province. These cliffs span some 100m high, and in the past used to be a tourist attraction for daredevils that would attempt to climb it for publicity and fame; however, “climbing the wall” as it was called eventually became risky enough that it was closed off to the public.

== Plants ==

Because of the vast, rocky plateaus of the Aightu, not many species of plants exist in the Rockland. However, the few that are located there are centered primarily around the Valley of Hayaz, as well as the mountain ranges of the Aightu. Other species are found centered near the border between the Aightu Rockland and the Perine plains, from which the Perine tribe is able to derive a good source of wood. Most of the plants of the Aightu are centered in the Valley of Hayaz, which is also given the colloquial name of “the Fertile Valley” due to the variety of plants that exist within it. Given its naming, most of the plants of this area are agricultural – a plant referred to as ''ayazhi'' is usually milled down by hand and turned into a bread-like substance, which is then used as one of the main food sources for the Perine zu’aan.

The flour of the ''ayazhi'' plant – if combined with water – can further produce an drink that – while not alcoholic – appears to give out the same effects as one that is. This drink – referred to as ''ayz ayazhi'' – is given out on special occasions in the Perine tribe (i.e birth & marriage). Towards the Acetyx Pass, the plants become more shrub-like, usually not going beyond the ankle and for the most part not bothering the people that pass by. However, this region of the Aightu Rockland – referred to as the Acetyx Plateau – is infamous for the ''viraz'', a vine-like plant that stretches over several meters in the ground. The ''viraz'' usually has roots deep into the ground in order to find nutrients, and above ground it has sharp, barb-like spikes on a root that burrow into a person’s skin if it comes into contact.

This usually results in sharp, long-lasting pain, though it is local folklore that ''ayz ayazhi'' is able to cure the pain stemming from the ''viraz''. Whether this is the result of myths surrounding the drink or actual fact is unclear. When venturing towards the Perine plains, however, more trees begin to appear – this area is the source of the Perine zu’aan’s timber, which it chops down with rudimentary axes and then converts into whatever it wishes (bowls, handles for weapons, etc.) The most common of these trees is the stexire, a tree similar in composition to birch that spans roughly 10 meters in height. The leaves of the stexire are barb-like, but unlike the viraz are not sharp enough to inflict pain, similar to a pine tree.

Furthermore, these leaves are stated by mythology to have medicinal properties, and are thus instrumental in the formation of various remedies within the Perine zu’aan. Therefore, the stexire – similar to the Valley of Heyaz and the mountains surrounding it – is given major importance in Perine mythology, with it being stated that the tree was created by the god of the Masiri mountains, though it was later spread to the south by a violent clash between this god and the god of the winds.

== Animals ==

The vast majority of wildlife within the Aightu Rockland resides in the Valley of Heyaz, given the numerous agricultural crops that have been planted & grown there over the years that the Perine zu’aan have resided in the area. However, besides this wildlife, other species of fauna exist within the Aightu rockland, though these exist far & few between; they are mainly situated around the River Ayayaz, as well as the Perine plains, and furthermore find sources of food by attacking, killing and eating the remains of any animals that may come from the Valley of Heyaz. Through collecting information about the wildlife of the Aightu Rockland, the fauna of the Rockland is categorized by the Perine zu’aan into two categories: the Masiri fauna (''masirina'') and the Heyazi fauna (''hayazirina'').

This categorization began sometime in the mid-3rd era by a Xerean biologist; knowledge of this has been passed down to the Perine through brief manuscripts that were recovered during brief raids into the outskirts of the city of Heyaz, and has since been continued through the work of a select few people that are unnamed. The ''masirinia'' are primarily offshoots of livestock that were brought by the settlers that predated the ''zayaz'', which were referred to then as the ''astari''. After many generations of selective breeding by the residents of the ''zayaz'', the ''astari'' evolved into multiple species of herbivores, which primarily relied on the ''ayazhi'' to survive.

Thus, these ''astari'' descendants were mainly brought up in the Valley of Heyaz, though there are small pockets of them wherever ''ayazhi'' may be found, including along the River Acetyx, the Perine plains and the Mazyr Plateau (located on and to the north of the city of Mazyr). These ''ayazhi'' further follow a migration pattern that mostly follows the Route of Zayan, which was allegedly built to cover the migration pattern that the ''masirina'' covered to ensure that they wouldn’t get lost or killed by their predators, the ''hayazirina''. On the other hand, the ''hayazirina'' are carnivorous creatures that are primarily found in the grasslands that surround the River Ayazaz, with small pockets of them being located within the vicinity of the pastures that the ''masirina'' are located in.

These animals usually travel in packs – though in some cases they may prefer to travel alone – and usually spend their time between the Valley of Heyaz in the spring & summer & the Perine plains in the fall & winter, following the migration patterns of the ''masirina''. The ''hayazirina'' further serve as predators to the ''masirina''; in the case that there are no other food sources left, the ''hayazirina'' have been known to eat each other. The ''hayazirina'' are stated to have been native to the area since the early 1st era, and eventually hunted the local population of herbivores to extinction, afterwhich they began to cannibalize each other; this is the alleged point from which this behavior developed.

Thus, the members of the Perine tribe that are usually in contact with the ''hayazirina'' refer to them as “curious oddities”, though they note that at some points they can be extremely aggressive towards all moving life.

{{Template:Controllers
|Stone Age = Unknown
|Copper Age = Unknown
|Bronze Age = Unknown
|Iron Age = Unknown
|Ancient Age = Unknown
|Middle Age = Unknown
|Early Modern Age = Unknown
|Industrial Age = Unknown
|Machine Age = Unknown
|Atomic Age = Unknown
|Space Age = Unknown
|Information Age = Unknown
|Genetic Age = Unknown
|Awakening Age = Unknown
|Twilight Age = [[Perine Tribal Zu'aan]]
}}

{{CrossSiteAttribution
|User = candyybb
|Holder = candyybb
}}

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:candyybb's contributions]]

Aightu Rockland - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)