Tannal Foothills

Place

Place Name:

Tannal Foothills

Biome:

Foothills

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Tannal Foothills is a region is a small region located to between the Nyslusk Mountains Ridge and the Ser'imu Shrubland regions. Closer to the Nyslusk region, the foothills form the largest on the western border closest to mountains. The entire region is covered in various sized hills ranging from mid-sized to extremely large. The hills created in the foothills extend past the created borders, eventually falling way to flat plains, though the other nations had claimed the eastern side of the region before the Tannal territory was ever thought to be conceived.

The smaller but still mid-sized hills and smaller were taken by the surrounding regions long before the Awakening age, as the flatter land was viewed as more hospitable for those arriving in the area. It was only a scant few centuries before the Awakening age before any zu’aan decided to settle the area and create their cities. There were various wild animals so low forts were build, though as more trade became common they created more secure walls. Most of the walled zu’aan forts and cities are scattered closer to the eastern edge of the region where the land is a little flatter and level like those previous them.

The fort walls were created using stones harvested from just outside the western border of the region. Even with the natural predators of the region, the area was considered peaceful as they weren’t dragged into battles. Easier paths through the region were created at the base of the hills over the years making it easy for caravans to make their way to the forts. The routes were ‘scenic’ giving calming views to those who traveled at a lax pace- those traveling faster still received the calming feel but in a much lighter way. With the Lyenche takeover, the previous peaceful travel became eerie and unsettling as the previous nature sounds were met with fear at possible predators or kin’toni.

The attacks on the forts destroyed the stone walls, leaving little more than parapet type walls and tons of crumbled stone around the area. The Lyenche are scavenger type kin’toni, so their homes were those from the zu’aan that they stole when they wiped out the cities inside the forts. The homes were built with a mix of stone and imported cement like material creating sturdy and what would be long lasting buildings. The Lyenche though are not handy when it comes to home repair and maintenance, so its not uncommon to find homes at the beginning stages of disarray and on their way to becoming uninhabitable.

The nicer and more upkept homes are often stolen from one another so they are inadvertently cycled between the fiercest members of the clan. Light showers are a common occurrence in the foothills. The ground is a mix of rocky and dirt like soil allowing for a majority of the rain to wash out of the region without much of any problem in terms of flooding or areas of water pooling creating muddy conditions. Still to combat the small possibility, along the now fallen fort walls, the zu’aan had built a canal system to direct the water south out of the towns.

Plants

The Foothills is a very ‘green’ area. The hills are covered in short grasses with trees growing in a sparse forest live grove over the surface. The canals in the cities encouraged flower growth along its banks which brighten the city. The Tannal region’s grass is extremely short in comparison to other regions’- similar to a mowed level of lawn grass. The grass is a mix of red and green- there are small strands of red round blades with flat green blades surrounding the individual reds in a 3:1 type ratio. In the warmest part of the season part of the green strands will shift so that one side of the blade is the same red tone while the other is a yellow green.

This came about ages ago when the sun in the region would create extremely hot pockets in the region, mixed with the harsh sunlight, would burn the grass and send them into shock. The separate colors started showing up initially as mutations in whole grass clumps creating a spotted red pattern. As the grasses crossbred they adapted the red mutation as a way of diverting heat and light more evenly without burning. This newest version of the grass is called the blood Tannal lisjaskla.

The lisjaskla as a breed are across multiple regions so to differentiate it for travelers- before the Lyenche took over- the addition of ‘blood’ for the red color and ‘Tannal’ for the region were placed. The grass is also part of the region why the region’s soil is not at as much of a mud or rockslide risk, creating a solid upper layer holding the majority of the rocks and soil in place. The trees in the Tannal are the qarasrion. The qarasrion is a moderate sized tree, capping out at about 20 feet in height. Their main branches and trunk are largely the same size, about the thickness of an average zu’aan with smaller branches off shooting from the main branches.

They create some shade cover but the heat in the past will often fry their leaves as they are extremely temperature sensitive. This would cause there to be little to no large shade cover in the region. The Lisjakla reflecting most of the heat away though cooled the region significantly over time- as well as the climate cooling over time overall- and the foliage is much more constant. Over the years the qarasrion has managed to toughen up to the temperatures and are better suited for warm temperatures, though with the Shattering age starting to cool down again climate wise, the trees are starting to struggle.

Its not uncommon to find a temperature shocked qarasrion moving through the region as it’s a sharp contrast of grey looking (practically dead) branches against the lime greens of the other trees’ foliage and the landscape. The flowers that grow along the canals are mainly of the wild flower variety. They are a mix of plants native to the region and a small handful of foreign plants that found their way into the region via flying creatures. The most vibrant in the region is the avutix. The avutix is a lavender colored plant that looks similar to a thistle or gomphrena.

The leaves that grow at its base are a similar shade to the green of the Lisjaskla allowing them to blend in when not in bloom. When the lisjaskla is red and the avutix are in bloom travelers have said its like water drops in a pool of blood- both as a good and disqusted description of the region.

Animals

One of the most harmless animals in the region is similar to a mouse deer. They are extremely small, standing not even a foot at the top of their shoulders. Their main difference is the red and the muddy brown green tones that make up their coats. While they can extend their necks a small way from their body, they rarely do so creating a hunched look while walking. They are herbivores, feeding on a variety of the plants in the region, not caring about the plant in particular. Unnervingly, they are capable of mimicking sounds they hear- organic or not.

This earned them the name sytheusen- the zu’aan’s local term for false or ‘con’. They in particular made the caravans and locals more unnerved as they would mimic the Lyenche’s screeches as well as their claws scratching as an attempt to ward off any predators. This worked for the zu’aan, though they usually weren’t part of the problem for the sytheusen. Before the kin’toni threat, the sytheusen were treated similar to pigeons- if they were there, people usually left them unbothered. Some would shoo them away, others fed them, but they were mainly left to their own devices and ignored.

Sytheusen also retain extremely strong memories, often recognizing specific zu’aan faces, so during mating season a pregnant sytheusen will often (at least previously) seek shelter at, around, or in the home of a zu’aan who was kind to them in the past. The sytheusen’s main threat is a smaller scale type of rhino like creature. The eurallorin is about a fifth the size of a rhino without the horns. Their nose instead flares at the tip creating an oblong nose and snout. This area of their face is extremely tough as they use it to dig through the rocky soil looking for the sytheusen homes.

Not all make their homes below ground, but those that do end up making them in a way where they end up easily trapped if caught while inside their den. The eurallorin is also extremely destructive and one of the reasons that the initial zu’aan created the forts around the cities. They don’t fear zu’aan or kin’toni, or any of their transportations like wagons. They do though view any approach as a challenge and respond accordingly- this perceived challenge also includes large motions that zu’aan would use to scare off other large predators.

Things like waving arms over their head, anything making the person appear larger, or generally making loud noises in their direction is more than enough to provoke an eurallorin. It has happened in the past where a traveler ended up provoking an eurallorin by accident and the creature chased the zu’aan back into their wagon and pursued them until they reached the city an entire day later. Others have wrecked caravans- only dealing minimal damage to the creatures pulling the wagons, mainly from having the saddles and braces broken- chasing a zu’aan.

They often become hyper-focused on whatever target they pick and will pursue them relentlessly, though they rarely have fatal intentions or endings to their pursuit- the main goal seems to be one of a few: chase them away, make them a non-threat (as in maim but not kill), or force them into submission if they refuse to retreat from the area.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Lyenche Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Tannal Foothills

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This article is written by Crystal Iris. Copyright 2026 Crystal Iris. All rights reserved.