Fruxra Jade Cliffs
History
Stone Age: Before 1E 0
Copper Age: 1E 1-1E 2200
Bronze Age: 1E 2200-1E 4400
Iron Age: 2E 0-2E 700
Ancient Age: 2E 700-2E 2200
Middle Ages: 3E 0-3E 2050
Early Modern Age: 3E 2050-3E 2600
Industrial Age: 3E 2600-3E 2700
Machine Age: 3E 2700-3E 2800
Atomic Age: 3E 2800-3E 2850
Space Age: 3E 2850-3E 2875
Information Age: 3E 2875-3E 2900
Genetic Age: 3E 2950-3E 3000
Awakening Age: 3E 3000-3E 3415
Shattering Age: 4E 0-4E 250
Fruxra Jade Cliffs got its name from the lush green plant life and pale green color of the cliff face. The green can be seen from hundreds of miles away. It has always been a place rich in vegetation and animals, the perfect place for farming. This region has never really been one for religion. There seemed to be a collective, unconscious, understanding that only they themselves could further their fortune. Hard work done with their own hands was what cultivated the land, nurtured the crops, and herded the animals. Believing in magic and god would not bring in a good harvest. There were a few passing zu’aan who tried to establish a religion there, but they were quickly run off by the farmers.
Of the inhabitants, there have been a few nomadic settlements simply passing through. But, a majority of the inhabitants of the cliffs have been farmers and have come from long lines of farmers. Some settlements had been there, passed down through families, for generations. They’ve inhabited various parts of the cliff, believing that those areas were better for agricultural development. There have actually been many battles over the decade between settlements over territory. These settlements had been destroyed or abandoned when the outbreak spread.IIi City was a new beginning for the zu’aan fleeing from the kin’toni. Many farmers desired to settle in such a nutrient rich region that could support a variety of plant life.
They knew that food and resources were the most important thing to secure. The cliffs offered both an abundance of plant life and animal life. Fertile soil and grazing animals contribute to most of the development of this region. Most of the animals were large and reproduced in a sufficient way and amount, giving the zu’aan something more filling to eat than just fruit and vegetables. The streams leading from underground and over the edges of the cliffs as waterfalls gave them viable water sources. The second thing they had to do was secure a defendable, locked place to live in. They needed somewhere that would protect them from the kin’toni and from other zu’aan vying for their resources.
The cliffs gave them exactly what they were looking for. The area they settled in left only one side that they would need to physically defend. The mostly flat land in front of them allowed them to spot enemies far off and efficiently prepare themselves. Securing their position on the cliffs was not an easy task. Many others also desired it. There seemed to be more fighting during this time than at any other point in the history of Fruxra Jade Cliffs. After years of fighting, IIi City realized that they had to become aggressive and violent in order to protect their new home. Before, they simply tossed their fallen enemies over the cliffs. After coming to their realization, and wanting to lay a firm claim on the region, they began to display the zu’aan that they killed all over the cliffs to serve as a warning.
Geography
Fruxa Jade Cliffs are green, rocky cliffs that have a vertical height of roughly 5,433 feet and cover roughly 2,998 square kilometers. The top of the cliffs are most flats with a few elevations here and there. As you travel away from the edge of the cliffs, the land starts to drop and slope downward. There are a few edges that have a drop of around five to six feet. The lush green plant life growing on top of the cliffs and clinging to the sides of the cliffs, along with the pale green color of the cliffs themselves, is what gives this place its name. There are waterfalls spread around the edges of the cliffs, coming mainly from within the cliffs. Some of them are uncovered about ten or so feet before they go over the edge.
The climate of the cliffs is temperate, with temperatures changing with the seasons. Summers bring about high temperatures of the upper eighties and lower nineties during the day. It doesn’t drop too much at night, usually staying around the upper seventies. Winters bring incredibly low temperatures of below zero. Daytime temperatures are usually just below zero while nighttime can drop several dozen degrees below zero. Both rainfall and snowfall are common and occur year round in quite the abundance. Thanks to the amount of rainfall and the fertile soil, the cliffs are able to support a wide range of plant life and farmable land. The animal life is plentiful as well.
Most of the animals are considered to be grazing animals. These animals are extremely important to the development of the cliffs as they help stimulate plant growth, and keep certain species of plants from growing out of control. There are a few carnivores living in the cliffs, but herbivores outnumber them. There is a complex cave system within the cliff, with entrances placed all around. Most of this system is unexplored due to some of the tunnels being too small or collapsed, along with some of the entrances being inaccessible. Some of the entrances, especially at the tops of the cliffs, are dangerous to enter as they have nearly complete vertical drops of over a hundred feet.
Very few of them have an inclined slope that the zu’aan can safely slide down. The entrances are usually covered with large rocks to prevent accidental falls from children and animals. Geographically, these cliffs provide a perfect defense position for IIi City. There is a portion of the cliffs that stick out further than the rest. The top to the bottom of this part is roughly 412 feet and sticks out nearly 300 feet from the rest of the cliff. This is where the city was built. With three of its sides being surrounded by air, it forces their enemies to only approach the city from the front. With the current technology, it is next to impossible to climb the steep, rough, rocky sides.
The zu’aan of the city can easily see any outsiders approaching from far away since the surface on top of the cliffs are pretty flat. This allows them ample time to prepare themselves. This is the reason they built their city in such a spot.
Plants
The soil on the Fruxa Jade Cliffs is fertile thanks to the abundant rainfall. It is able to support a wide variety of plant life. Grass, flowers, shrubbery, and even trees inhabit the cliffs. The zu’aan have also planted fruits and vegetables in farms outside of the city. Mungead is a type of grass native to the cliffs. It has a large population of bright green, thick stalks that grow up to nearly two feet. They grow in extensive patches all around the top of the cliffs. The grass is bare during the winter, but small white flowers with four round petals grow at the end of the stems during the summer. Avarot loves to graze on this grass the most since there's an abundance of it.
Mungead is used by zu’aan when they make fire. It burns longer and hotter than wood. Aavar are a species of fruit tree. It has a curved, jagged trunk with smooth yellowish bark. The branches are covered in large, oval-shaped, green leaves with smooth edges. They don’t really have an average size due to the growing in various spots at the edge and on the sides of the cliffs. The tree becomes mostly bare in the winter as most of the leaves fall off. In the summer, it produces round, palm sized, white skinned fruit. The skin can be peeled to reveal the sweet, juicy, green fruit inside. It can be hard to reach some of the fruit due to where the trees go. Many young zu’aan like to dare each other to try to get a fruit.
Zomiscus is a large shrub that grows up six feet tall. It has many long and flexible, thick, straight stems covered in paper-thin, rough, white with speckled green bark. The wood beneath the green bark is white. The branches are tall, rigid and upright. They are covered with small bunches of miniature leaves with rounded edges. The leaves themselves are delicate and soft and are dark green with white tips. In the summer, it produces handfuls of medium-sized, light blue blossoms with wide petals that form a bell-shaped flower. In the winter, the flowers retreat into a bulb shape. Both the branches and the flowers have a sweet scent and sweet taste to them. Aiwosie are a type of vegetable not native to the cliffs.
The seeds for this vegetable were brought in from central Taerel. They are considered a root vegetable as they grow underground. It has a green, wispy, leafy top that stands straight up when the vegetable is ready to harvest. The actual vegetable part is shaped like a wide star at the top that slims and gets smaller as it goes down. About midway down, it curls tightly. The skin is a dark, purplish red color while the inside is a pure white. Aiwosie, along with its edible skin, has a sweet and slightly salty taste to them. There are usually white, thin, wispy roots that hang from the bottom. If one doesn’t have these roots or the leafy top is drooping, it means that it has spoiled. The skin will look pale and the inside will have dark spots.
Animals
A majority of animals that inhabit the Fruxa Jade Cliffs are herbivores that are considered grazing animals. They eat the plant life and vegetation that grows on top of the cliffs, helping to stimulate their growth and keep them from growing wild. There are carnivores that inhabit the cliffs as well, but there are mainly herbivores. Avarot are large, six legged mammals that stand at a shoulder height of six feet. Their white fur, with a tint of light green at their tip, is long, nearly dragging on the ground, and wooly in texture. They have short, stubby tails. They have a droopy look as they thin eyelids drop down low over their pale blue eyes. Their bodies are roundish in shape, with thick necks.
Two, short, spiral shaped, white horns stick out from the sides of their heads, just above their long, hanging ears. Avarot are grazing herbivores that eat a large variety of grasses. They are also extremely docile in nature, usually staying in their grazing areas in their herds. Females give birth to around two young after mating. Cosen are a breed of small, four legged mammals. They can stand on their hind legs, reaching a height of one and a half feet. They have two tails that stretch up nearly two feet and a set of four eyes. The sets at the top are large and round, while the ones beneath are slim. Their short and coarse fur is light brown on top and black on their belly. Their ears are long and pointy, with tufts of white fur inside.
Cosen are herbivores with a diet consisting of berries and sometimes flowers. They make their homes in burrows a couple of feet underground. They go so far down because they hibernate in the winter and they are able to keep warm better. Females usually stay in the burrows during the full length of their pregnancy and end up giving birth to five young after mating. Cosen are a species that mate for life. If their mate dies, they do not take on another and spend the rest of their lives alone. They’re quick and good at hiding, with only hisses giving their location away. Aildian are a breed of medium sized bird. They stand at a height of almost three feet and have a wingspan of about five feet across.
Their rounded feathers are a gradient mix of black at the top and green at the bottom. They have a stiff tail made of three long green feathers, almost a foot long. They make their nests in big crevices on the side of the cliff. Their strong, short beaks allow them to chip away at the side. It usually takes several months for them to make an appropriate sized hole for them to inhabit. Aildian are carnivores with a diet consisting of small mammals. Male aildian are aggressive towards each other, especially during mating season. They often fight with each other over female aildian, for the right to mate with them. Many have died in these mating fights.