Zikyr-valan Plains Plateau

Place

Place Name:

Zikyr-valan Plains Plateau

Biome:

Plains Plateau

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Zikyr-valan plains plateau is a region made up of many large plateaus that have large open plains on their tops. The region is technically a desert, located in the desert region north of the Striamtan region. The soil heavily contains clay particles, to more often than not when the ground is dried out after any kind of rain or moisture it creates a cracked dry plates on the surface of the region. Going down around 6 feet or more reveals the more sandy grain soil type in the area, but is rarely ever seen. Even deeper is dirt better suited for growing that the Yemi use.

This though is only located beneath the plateaus as the plateau themselves are made up of the clay, sand, and natural stone. At surface value the region is barren with little to offer. During the hottest season the plateau will be completely empty and flat with no visible plants or animals wondering for as far as the eye could see. As temperatures would cool down, a few rarer plants would appear, with creatures wondering becoming an extremely common sight. The Yemi made their homes in the center of the plains where it opened into a large canyon.

They dug tunnels and utilized natural caves in the region to create pathways to the top of the plateaus. There they used the clay mixture on the surface to create simple buildings that would block the sun when they emerged; essentially creating basement like doors from their tunnels into the open room building. Most tunnels only covered areas directly in the center of the region, but a small handful were expanded over the years to allow scouts easier access if they lived closer to the outer edges of the region, giving them quicker access to reach the city should there be a threat that was incoming.

Unlike the other regions where the water drains into underground water tables, the water in the Zikyr-valan region drains into underground lakes and rivers in the caves deep below the surface. This mixed with the built in irrigation system for farming, the Yemi have little reason to go above ground. Each home in the caves are simple and minimalist- water diverting irrigation and a simple cloth bed that can be rolled up and stored when not in use. The natural shifting color of an earthy red with black and yellow ochre color are the only decorations in their homes.

Each home was made up of a ‘family unit’ that was responsible for their own farm and crops. These crop fields were underground, partially in created tunnels and partially in the natural cave systems. The scout’s homes are simple as well. They are made from clay and dirt from the region with stones and wood stolen from the zu’aan. Despite their unstable appearance, they are secure and have held for centuries. Their main purpose is also functionality- keeping the Yemi scout safe from the sun and out of view while they live above ground. Most but not all have tunnels connected to them to the rest of the clan.

Those that don’t have one connecting to another scout’s home where they can then transfer to the clan’s tunnel.

Plants

Due to the Yemi’s farming underground, there’s a larger than natural variety of plants that grow in the region; the grand majority being underground and thriving on little to no light but still of the Zikyr-valan region. On the surface, most of the plants are small in size. Those that aren’t similar to cactus and grow like bushes are rare and few in far between. Those that are similar to bushes more often than not dry out in the hottest part of the summer. When not dried up the bush will take root through the exposed area of the cracked clay surface in the sandy soil.

The most widely known plant of that variety is the ch’tielaeish. The ch’tielaeish is a plant similar to a staghorn in growing shape, though the individual strands and branches grow much thinner and more like twigs or really thin branches. The plants grows in extremely pale green as to absorb as little heat from the sun as possible, though over time as the plant starts to reach the end of its life it starts to darken quickening its heat absorption killing it faster. The ch’tielaeish is known as the plant flowers once in its lifetime right before it’s in the tail end of dying.

The flower is so nutrient packed that a single petal tea is enough to give someone the nutrients they need for a month. This was mainly because as the ch’tielaeish died the flower would be given as much if not all the available nutrients (think a swan song for the plant), it self-fertilizes and is carried away on the wind. When it made its way into a sheltered cracked area of the ground it would then start to take root. The flower itself can last years without any water or outward need for sunlight- its considered an ‘eternal’ flower and extremely beautiful.

Its extremely hard to find, especially with the Yemi clan taking issue to any outsiders so the ones who get the most use out of it are the other nomad and caravan zu’aan in the region. The below grown plants are an extremely different story. While they have been grown with little to no sunlight, the plants themselves also offer little nutritional value on top of being short and simple in shape. Each farm is the job of that specific family unit, with shared knowledge though, all produce similar amounts of harvestable crops. The most used crop is called the ch’tatar.

The ch’tatar is a rice similar crop that grows mainly by absorbing various gases such as nitrogen from the air around them. The plant grows very pale, almost white at the stem, in short almost grass like heights. The rice like grains grow extremely dark almost black in color. Its extremely quick growing, being able to produce its first fresh grains in about a month so the Yemi use it as one of their main sources of food. After ‘maturing’ in the first month, the grains can grow in shorter and shorter increments until it dies about 2 years later.

Animals

The Zikyr-valan Plains has a moderate variety of creatures living in its borders. Most of them take refuge underground or in the caves that the Yemi created as the flat plains and clay cracked surface is undesirable to make their homes considering its ever-changing nature. It was not uncommon in the past, and for some in the present to end up trapped in their dens and either starve or suffocate when rain and the re-cracking of the clay covered their den opening. One of the major and most seen creatures in the region is a bird similar to the Great eared nightjar.

Called the frichilsa, from a distance it is often mistake for a vaarai. The frichilsa developed feathers that mimicked the dragon like creature’s silhouette to scare off some of their more aggressive predators. The majority of their feathers are a dusty tan-brown color to blend into the surface when they’re sitting. They largely hunt on the surface, but when food was scarce they would make their way into the caves the Yami built to hunt the underground rivers. Their beaks and mouths are moderately small so they are unable to consume large prey all at once but that does not stop them from hunting creatures their size or bigger.

Usually lone hunters, when food is scarce a Frichilsa may team up with another to hunt a creature larger than them and split the kill. Frichilsa will also sleep in or near the Yemi’s homes in the caves as over the years their dens on the surface became more and more exposed over the years as the clay surface lost residual amounts over the years making the cracking they build between and under too large. The Yemi usually hunt the river for varieties of fish like creatures. Sometimes they will have to compete with the frichilsa, other times the Frichilsa will guide them to the best area that season in exchange for part of the meals.

The most commonly caught is the queliel. The queliel is a smaller version of a swordfish. The queliel has a pointed nose in equal length to its body it uses to hunt other fish creatures in the lakes. Being underground their eyesight is almost non-existent so they use their extreme sense of taste to find prey. Sometimes they’ll track a bleeding creature down, other times they track their preferred prey by tasting the chemical pheromones that they release. This allows the Yemi to hunt them ‘easily’ as they aren’t part of the Queliel’s radar of tracking and are often disregarded.

This lets them catch the queliel with their bare hands, often before the queliel realizes its being threatened. As the years have progressed though, the queliel have started to recognize the Yemi as a threat- increasing with each further generation that becomes familiar with their taste. The Yemi will often not often cook the Queliel when they consume it, as it only makes up a small portion of their diet, the majority being their various crops.

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	Yemi Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Zikyr-valan Plains Plateau

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