Igrax

  In a sick return to regular content, I will be introducing the last continent in my fantasy world: Igrax. Now, I saved this one for last because this one is probably the most important one to me. This was the place that started the whole setting in the first place. Yet, it does seem to show a little bit of age I feel which is why I’ve waited until I’ve figured out the rest of the world until I take a look at this one. I will most certainly be diving deeper into that stuff later, but for now let us introduce Igrax.

The continent of Igrax, though hosting the youngest civilization in the world, is in reality host to many remnants of the world before. Long ago, a great civilization rose in the center of the center of the continent based in the city of Haselnor. At the center of the city lay a great throne, said to have been made of pure gold and emanating with a light warm enough to brighten any day. The origins of this throne have been debated and many even wonder if it even existed. In reality, it did exist and carried with it a great power. An ancient magic born out of beings of pure light was embedded into it, allowing whoever held it to wield their great power. Of course, the people who held the throne weren’t aware of the true nature, but simply levied it to create what was once a great nation. And so it was. The kingdom was so vast that the only thing that could ever actually take them down was themselves. A large unchecked mining operation went throughout the underbelly of the entire city and one day the miners found themselves in the middle of a terrible collapse. A chain of events that saw the entirety of the capital city being swallowed up by the earth. With it, the throne fell too, never to be seen again.

The time period following the collapse as it was known was one of war and strife. Because there was now no central seat of power the various other parts of the continents split up into factions in a bid to regain control. War consumed the entire content and there was no clear victor for many years. The war went for so long that eventually people began to lose sight of why it started in the first place. This began a counter movement among the masses to end the war and find a solution for peace. Eventually a peace summit was called along the ruins of old Haselnor. Many attending barely even remembered a time where the city wasn’t a massive sinkhole, less who knew a time that wasn’t war. Because of this, the main consensus of this gathering was to establish a new system of government that would allow each faction to have their own piece of land without the need for conflict. This would be known as the founding of the houses. Each house would be given pieces of land in a somewhat fair distribution. The details of which was crafted over many days of nonstop debate and arguments before everyone was able to establish something that everyone agreed with. 

In the beginning there were five major houses that governed over large regions of the continent. There were established rules between them so as to not encroach on others’ territory while also allowing for some trading of essential goods based on specific needs. They stayed in the center of the island, being mindful of not settling too far from the ruined capital. Despite the peace, old rivalries sustained themselves. They continued to enjoy a relatively peaceful era until refugees from a distant land came. Excommunicated nobles, prisoners, farmers, and rebels who were all chased away from Phillarn washed up on the shores of Igrax. They had unsuccessfully led a revolt against the crown in the wake of the great war and were forced to cross the sea in an effort to find a new home. The two groups coexisted on the continent, isolated from each other for many years. Neither wanted to explore beyond their borders in fear of the unknown. That was until a group of scouts, disobeying their orders, ventured deep through the forests of Igrax to be met with the houses. Tension began growing over the next few days as both sides realized that their space on the continent was suddenly becoming much smaller. The only thing that kept the peace was both sides not wanting to be consumed in another war. Leaders from both sides eventually decided to meet at a neutral point: a secluded lake along the south eastern forest. The refugees were allowed to expand inward and soon enough they too had been able to establish themselves as the sixth house on the continent. As the two different cultures began to exchange ideas and goods, more people started to petition to become their own houses. While this did require a rewriting of laws to accommodate the increased number of people, agreements were struck and thus the continent was soon filled with a house occupying every part of the land. A great hall was constructed not too far from the lake where a summit was held on a regular basis to discuss matters of the continent. Every house would send their representatives and new laws would get written into effect given enough people supported them.

Despite being able to enjoy this level of democracy and peace, the word of Igrax has reached the Phillarn king and the one thing he doesn’t enjoy is a rival. In the present day, rumblings throughout the Capital region have shown a big anti-Igrax sentiment. Recruiters go in and out of the continent, building up an army that has united the humans like no other. As they prepare to march, it’s almost as if everyone knows that there’s more to the continent of Igrax than meets the eye. As if some force is driving the King to want to invade them. In the end, it looks to be a war that could transcend just the two continents and drop the entire world into the fiery fog of war.

The continent, during the days of Haselnor, maintained a very temperate climate. Even though the city stood atop a mountain, there was no snow, just nice summer warmth. After the collapse and the wars following, the magic of the throne seemed to dampen the nice weather effects and soon there were sporadic cold and hot seasons. Closer to the shores, the weather remains normal, going through the four seasons like normal. As you get closer to the center where Haselnor lay, you will find yourself caught up in very sudden lightning storms, hail, gusts of wind. Almost as if the land is injured and can only lash out at those who try to come closer. There are two great forests, one in the southeast, the other in the northwest. They provide the majority of the lumber for all of the continent in which the houses there pride themselves on their craftsmanship. As mentioned above, there once was a very impressive mountain range in the center of the continent, but now all that remains is a sinkhole that is closer to the size of texas. This has unfortunately made a large piece of the continent virtually uninhabitable, but the people of Igrax have proven themselves to be resourceful enough.

The continent, culture wise, has also become a bit of a hodgepodge with the influx of so many foreigners as well as the different ways that developed when people got splintered during the collapse. Each house has a distinct vibe to it when you venture into their borders, but the main thing they all respect is the peace. The older generations have put in great effort to ensure that tensions do not rise to a concerning level between people, though a new younger generation has proven to be a challenge. There are those within the houses that do dream of a unified continent. When they hear stories of how Phillarn, they wish the same for Igrax. This has naturally caused a bit of a political shift in the continent. More and more, people are starting to push boundaries and bend rules. It is thanks to those who realize what war means that a steady peace has been maintained, but just how much longer will it last and who will be the first to pull that trigger?

So that’s a suuuuuper general overview of the Igrax and a short bit about its history in the current day. If you couldn’t tell/didn’t take US history in high school, I have loosely based this off of the United State’s history. I started this project while I was taking US History with a very wonderful teacher and he was partially the inspiration for some of the events. I don’t want it to be a one to one reference to my country’s history, which is why I am trying to write elements that are separate and have other places not reflect that. I am also placing these events the way they are because that is one of the big world events during a dnd campaign I am writing in this setting. How will the players deal with the impending war? Will they or will they not? As I said in the last actual post I wrote, this continent is home to one of the most important characters that I’ve been with for a long time. In fact, I am still writing a story about him which I should be doing instead of writing these really long posts. In trying to steer this back on topic I’ll say this, I will definitely continue to post about this world. It’s something that’s been really special to make and I don’t want it to end here. If you’ve read this and been inspired to write your own stuff then that is great, that’s one of the reasons why I’m doing this. There are so many cool shows/books/worlds that I’ve encountered while growing up and I hope to sorta be that person for someone else, to pay it forward if you will. So thanks for having any interest in this stuff and I will be back tomorrow with more as always!