Sunbells
Bright flowers that thrive beneath direct sunlight.
🌾
✦ THE REGIONS OF AETHERIA ✦
THE VERDANT
PLAINS
✦ ───────── ✦
“Where the wind carries the songs
of a thousand fields.”
↓ WALK INTO THE PLAINS ↓
✦ THE VERDANT PLAINS ✦
Where the Wind Runs Free
✦
The Verdant Plains are a vast region of rolling grasslands stretching across the central lands of Aetheria.
Endless fields of emerald grass, golden wheat, wildflowers, ancient trees, winding rivers, and distant hills cover the landscape.
Unlike the dense forests of the Wildlands or the dangerous wetlands of the Marshlands, the Verdant Plains are open and expansive.
The horizon seems almost endless.
Travelers can see storms approaching from miles away.
Peaceful does not mean harmless.
Bandits, wild beasts, ancient ruins, and remnants of forgotten wars can still be found throughout the region.
✦ THE OPEN FIELDS ✦
THE GOLDEN SEA
✦ ───────── ✦
Deep within the Verdant Plains lies a massive stretch of tall golden grass known as the Golden Sea.
During the summer months, the grass grows so tall that smaller travelers can disappear completely within it.
When the wind moves across the fields, the grass ripples like waves upon an ocean.
Ⅰ
Golden Fields
Endless grass stretching toward the horizon.
Ⅱ
Wild Herds
Herds of wild horses and deer roam freely.
Ⅲ
Open Sky
Storms and sunsets can be seen from miles away.
“The fields move like an ocean when the wind arrives.”
✦ THE FLOWERS OF THE PLAINS ✦
The Wildflower Fields
Golden Poppies
Common flowers often used in herbal remedies.
Starflowers
Rare flowers that shimmer faintly beneath moonlight.
Meadow Roses
Wild roses that grow along streams and old paths.
✦ THE PEOPLE OF THE PLAINS ✦
THE PLAINS PEOPLE
✦ ───────── ✦
The Verdant Plains are home to many different peoples and demi-human communities.
🐎
Horse Demi-Humans
Skilled riders known for their speed and endurance.
🦌
Deer Demi-Humans
Gentle communities deeply connected to nature.
🐺
Wolf Demi-Humans
Often found protecting remote settlements.
🦊
Fox Demi-Humans
Clever travelers, merchants, and hunters.
🐇
Rabbit Demi-Humans
Commonly found in peaceful farming communities.
🐑
Sheep Demi-Humans
Skilled farmers, shepherds, and wool workers.
🐎
✦ CREATURES OF THE PLAINS ✦
THE WILD HERDS
“Some horses choose their riders.”
✦ ───── ✦
Large herds of wild horses roam some of the most remote parts of the Plains.
These horses are known for their speed, intelligence, and incredible endurance.
Some possess unusual markings or naturally magical traits.
🐎
Taming one is considered extremely difficult.
Certain Plains communities have developed deep relationships with the wild herds and refuse to hunt them.
✦ WILDLIFE ✦
CREATURES OF THE PLAINS
✦
The Verdant Plains contain a wide variety of wildlife.
🦌
Plains Deer
Large herds travel between fields and wooded areas.
🦊
Meadow Foxes
Clever creatures with bright coats.
🦅
Skyhawks
Large birds that circle high above the Plains.
“The farther you travel from civilization,
the wilder the Plains become.”
✦ ANCIENT PATHS ✦
THE WINDROADS
✦ ───── ✦
The Verdant Plains contain an ancient network of roads known as the Windroads.
Some roads are still used by merchants and travelers. Others have almost completely disappeared beneath the grass.
The oldest Windroads were built long before many of the current kingdoms existed.
🌾
Some roads seem to lead toward places that no longer exist.
Nobody knows who built the oldest roads.
🪨
✦ THE ANCIENT PLAINS ✦
THE STANDING STONES
✦ ───── ✦
Scattered throughout the Plains are enormous standing stones.
Nobody knows who originally placed them.
Some are covered in ancient carvings while others appear completely untouched by time.
WHO BUILT THEM?
Unknown.
WHY WERE THEY BUILT?
Unknown.
WHY DO THEY HUM AT NIGHT?
Unknown.
“The locals know better than to move them.”
✦ WATERWAYS OF AETHERIA ✦
THE SILVER RIVER
✦
The Silver River is one of the largest waterways flowing through the Verdant Plains.
Its clear waters travel from the northern regions before winding through the grasslands and eventually reaching the Azure Coast.
The river provides drinking water, irrigation, transportation, and fishing.
✦ Fishing Villages
✦ Magical Plants
✦ River Trade
✦ Fresh Water
✦ Irrigation
✦ Ancient Crossings
During moonlit nights, the surface can appear almost silver.
🌿
✦ THE ROGUE KNIGHT ✦
COLESIN HARTLEY
THE EMERALD REAPER
✦ ───── ✦
The Verdant Plains are one of the regions Colesin Hartley has traveled through during his years outside the kingdoms.
As a former Royal Knight and now a rogue knight, Colesin is familiar with the old roads, settlements, and dangerous wilderness surrounding the Plains.
He does not consider the Verdant Plains his home.
ROGUE KNIGHT
TRAVELER
PROTECTOR
However, he understands the people who live there.
He respects communities that protect themselves without relying on kingdoms or nobles.
The Plains also provide something Colesin rarely finds elsewhere in Aetheria:
Space.
The endless fields allow him to travel for days without entering a city or answering to a kingdom.
Vaelith, his ancient dragon companion, is also known to occasionally fly across the skies above the Plains.
When the enormous dragon's shadow crosses the fields, villagers usually know to look upward.
✦ NATURAL POWER ✦
MAGIC OF THE PLAINS
✦
Magic within the Verdant Plains is strongly connected to nature, wind, growth, animals, and the changing seasons.
✦ Plant Magic
✦ Healing
✦ Wind Manipulation
✦ Animal Communication
✦ Agricultural Magic
✦ Weather Magic
✦ Protection Spells
✦ Nature Divination
Farmers sometimes use simple magic to encourage healthy crops.
More powerful practitioners can influence wind patterns, accelerate plant growth, or communicate with certain animals.
The strongest nature magic is believed to exist within the oldest trees and standing stones.
✦ PLAINS TRADITION ✦
THE LAW OF THE PLAINS
✦ ───── ✦
01 — Never destroy an ancient standing stone.
02 — Never cut down an ancient tree.
03 — Never hunt a protected wild herd.
04 — Never travel alone during a major storm.
05 — Never take more from the land than you need.
ABOVE ALL
Respect the land,
and the land will remember you.
🌾
Because in Aetheria…
The Verdant Plains
aren't simply fields.
✦ ───── ✦
They're a place where ancient roads disappear beneath the grass.
Where wild herds roam beneath an endless sky…
And where the wind carries the songs
of everything the Plains have remembered.
🌾 ✦ 🌿 ✦ ☀️