Ygg d'Razhuul

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Region Details
Continent	Dwilight
Region Type	Rural
Geographic Area	North Shore
Population	10500
Economy	Farming, Fishing
Politics
Realm / Duchy	Westgard / Gelene
Local Lord	Lyfe Fate

Ygg d'Razhuul (pronounced: yig dah-raz-OOL) is an expansive region that stands to the west of the city of Valkyrja, over the bridge known as the Razhuul Pass, which connects the western branch of the continent of Dwilight to its eastern half. Traveling through Ygg d'Razhuul is the only way to enter the westlands from the east, and as such is immensely important to intercontinental trade and commerce. Ygg d'Razhuul is also an important gateway region to both the townsland region of Aquitain and the outskirts of the massive city of Gelene.

Climate

Ygg d'Razhuul is a rural area of beautiful land and wild animals and plants. The climate of the region is rather mild, but it does occasionally have extreme weather. The climate is typically insular, and as a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the north-western great sea, it is temperate, avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other global areas sharing similar latitudes.

Precipitation falls throughout the year, but is light overall, particularly in the east. The west, however, tends to be wetter on average and prone to the full force of northern-oceanic storms, more especially in the late autumn and winter months, which occasionally bring destructive winds and high rainfall totals to these areas, as well as snow and hail. Ygg d'Razhuul has a higher incidence of lightning than many of the northern regions of Dwilight. For all its moderate climate, Ygg d'Razhuul does experience a large amount of snow, though the accompanying temperatures are typically tolerable.

Inland areas of Ygg d'Razhuul are warmer in summer, and colder in winter than the coast - there are usually around 40 days of below freezing temperatures, but only 10 days at the coast. Ygg d'Razhuul is sometimes affected by heat waves as well.

Native Plants and Animals

Ygg d'Razhuul is also popularly known for it's diverse wild life. With long rolling prairie fields, the wild horses of Ygg d'Razhuul run wild and free, considered by many to be one of the strongest and most graceful creatures of the land. One of the more unique oddities of the land are the many kinds of small creatures that make Ygg d'Razhuul home, such as prairie dogs, which have found this region to be quite hospitable, much to the disdain of the local farmers. They only make one other area home, and that is the neighboring region of Aquitain.

The plant life of Ygg d'Razhuul mostly consists of fields of produce from the native farmers. However, Ygg d'Razhuul also provides perfect conditions for the growth of herbal remedies and it's grown to be a very profitable and useful business for the locals.

Trees are not in over abundance, rather the rolling hills and prairies rule the landscape, offering a visual delight to those who reside there. The peasants of the land especially love the soil of Ygg d'Razhuul, which is perfect for the cultivation of wheat, barley and several other crops which feed the people of the realm.

Trade through Ygg d'Razhuul

As Ygg d'Razhuul is the first region part of the major western continent of Dwilight, it is an immensely important region to continental trade. There is only one way to pass from west to east in the north of Dwilight, and that is through Yggdramir into this region.

That fact has made the rural region of Ygg d'Razhuul a highly trafficked are, which houses many ports and harbors which takes in merchants, traders and sailors alike. It has been said that Ygg d'Razhuul is, together with Yggdramir, "the gateway to the west" - when settlers, priests, traders and others come from the more established east to the untamed west, they must come through this region.

Since Everguard has taken control of this region, they, under command of the Count, have created a large series of trade routes and constructed many wayside inns close to the ports and harbors of the region for the merchants to travel through.

Ygg d'Razhuul is one of the main sources of culture in the area. People from both sides of the island visit often and many have begun to migrate to the land. Under the keen supervision of the Count, Ygg d'Razhuul is slowly but surely becoming a major player in the merchants cards.

Center Of Torenism

Fisc Arylon, the Messiah of Tor

In the fall of the early days of the resurgence of the realm of Everguard, Fisc Arylon - the overlord of the region of Ygg d'Razzhuul since his retirement from public life and the rulership of the kingdom of Everguard - was struggling to come to terms with what had happened to his previous life and beliefs regarding Tor, and how things had now changed since coming to Dwilight. He fully believed that it was a supernatural force that crackled from the heavens and doomed the island he had formerly called home, and felt that his mangled appearance as a result of the twisted disease that had forced him to abdicate the throne was Tor's divine will. He remembered his experiences in the Cave of Guilt, as well as those of others who had witnessed the same thing, but he was still troubled and was searching for answers. Why had Tor not spoken directly to the people of Everguard? They had devoted themselves to his directives, created a kingdom in his name and conquered territory under his banner. Tor seemed foreign to him, and he was having a crisis of faith. Part of him still had questions that he could not answer.

Late at night while sleeping, Fisc was visited in a dream and touched by Tor. A black veiled being of some kind spoke to him, and directed him to travel to the west and go to the great mountain ranges spoken about by the local peasantry. He was then to seek out the highest peak of the range - something known as the Mountain of Betrayal, where he would commune with the god Tor and receive the answers he so desperately sought after. Dishonor and betrayal was what men brought to Tor's name in the past, and the being in Fisc's dream made it clear mankind would have to do penance for those past sins, and they would do so at the aptly named mountain.

Fisc then set off on a journey in line with what was directed to him by the essence in him dream. He spent the next several weeks hiking to the mountain range in the central portion of northern Dwilight, seeking out the highest peak he could find. He arrived at the Mountain of Betrayal and climbed, despite the harshest of conditions, to the peak. By the time he reached the highest point, he had run out of food, water and was certain he was close to death. In addition, the journey had been especially hard on his frail body - which was still rotten from the inside out due to his lingering disease.

It was then that Tor revealed himself to Fisc. As he lay nearly dead from exposure to the elements, a black essence consumed him. The booming voice of an angry Tor pierced every inch of him body and commanded him to obey. Tor began to test Fisc in a number of ways, things no one but the Messiah himself knows were asked of him. The trials lasted for days, and when they were done, the god had affirmed his choice of a human to carry out his will on the earthly plane - and so Tor began to give him a new set of directives to follow. He was to be not just a prophet as he had once been - but was now a Messiah for the faith dedicated to Tor.

He was told to return to Gelene and preach the word of Tor and found a church in him name to spread the faith beyond those who had witnessed Tor's wrath in the past. He declared the holy obligations of the faithful and deemed the city of Gelene as the holiest of cities on the continent, and the Mountain of Betrayal the site of communion between man and the spirit of Tor. He had commanded Fisc to teach the directives of Tor to all mankind, and bring honor and justice back to the wicked race of men.

After the experience Fisc had on the peak, He then hiked several miles to the west and come to the great mountain Lake of Blood. There he sought water and perhaps some food, and in so doing he actually fractured a section of the ice in the lake, and was swallowed whole by it, plunging him into sub-zero temperature water. Through faith in Tor, He was able to survive.

When he emerged from the water, still damp and frozen to his core - he looked down at his hands and saw something that made him nearly pass out from the shock. His twisted, black fingers that had been so warped by his disease suddenly looked much like they had a long time ago, when he donned the Emerald Crown of Everguard and sunk his sword into the chests of his enemies. He looked down further, and his formerly curved, weak, concave legs were again straight, tall and strong. He took a deep breath of the cold air, and his lungs were once again functional - able to pump the frozen air through his entire body and giving him a feeling of rebirth. Thus was the first miracle of Tor - Fisc's disease infested body, twisted and mangled was restored - his illness was gone, and he was again what he once was.

Once He arrived at the base of the mountain, Fisc began to feel the pain of a deep laceration to him left shoulder muscle. He removed him coverings and revealed that a bloody wound was present on him arm - it was two cuts, sliced in a stylistic shape of what looked to him like a mountain. Fisc dubbed this the mark of Tor. He then traveled to his estate in Ygg d'Razzhuul and began construction on the first church dedicated to the new religion of Torenism. Once he was finished, he would travel to the four corners of Everguard and recruit priests, followers and church elders to run the church in its infancy.

Military Culture

The people of the region are civilized and kind by nature, given to farmwork rather than fighting, but outsiders should be warned not to see this as a sign of weakness, for when the community is threatened a strong militia tradition exists, dating back centuries. While lax compared to a professional army, every adult male is required to posses a weapon (usually a mace, spear or bow) and practice every 7th day, along with the other men of his community. Many raiders have been surprised to find an organized resistance where they thought would be only farmers.

Given the merit based system of the militia, soldiers from the Ygg d'Razhuul tend to be more individualistic problem solvers than simple grunts following orders. This has caused problems when a new Lord finds his orders questioned by a common soldier, but successful Lords have learned to listen to the advice, even if they do not follow it every time.

The militia system also fosters a sense of pride and involvement with the larger community, and as a result people in the Outskirts are remarkably close to towns distant from their own, because of this shared identity.

Politics

Lords who have ruled Ygg d'Razhuul

• Count Astoc Burgundy of Everguard - Ruled March 26, 2008 - April 15, 2008 - April 19th
• Anarchy - Peasant revolt and control - April 15, 2008 - April 19, 2008
• Count Raziël Thor of Everguard - Ruled April 19th, 2008 - May 2nd, 2008
• Anarchy - Peasant revolt and control - May 2nd, 2008 - May 4th, 2008
• Count Markyr Hereford of Everguard - Ruled May 4th, 2008 - ???
• Anarchy - Peasant revolt and control - May 4th, 2008 - September 7th, 2008
• Count Fisc Arylon of Everguard - Ruled September 7th, 2008 - September 21st, 2008
• Count Necroid Frolancer of Everguard - Ruled September 22nd, 2008 - Current