Schlaier (Sch-lie-er)

Summary

Sat atop the heart of an ever-churning tempest, Schlaier sits with a calm stillness, an immense floating island. No one knows exactly where it is, at best presuming it's somewhere within Prak–which is no different than saying 'anywhere in the sky'. Any attempts at finding it through tempest tracking ever fails, but some are suspicious it may hide within the semi-permanent storms around Olaniad or Vastia. Perhaps it's not on Veltrona at all, given it is the divine home of Seralkono herself.   A hallowed place far removed from mortal concerns, those who've been to Schlaier can only heap praises and the tallest of tales upon its name. Embodying Seralkono's sensibilities to its utmost, they've declared it perhaps the 'freest' place upon Veltrona at large. The tales of its ongoings, while sparse, have ever inspired the romantic and curious. Word-of-mouth and time did the rest, spinning a mythology ever grander, which caused Seralkono's domain to encroach upon many other goddesses.   Given her ubiquitous reach across Veltrona, she ended up brokering a peaceful arrangement with many of them. It meant Schlaier turned into a very common idea throughout the world, often an idyllic paradiso or a companion to similar notions. Because of Seralkono's unyielding dominion over Schlaier, it has made divine dynamics a bit curious. Seemingly powerful or 'top of the hierarchy' beings will bow to her within its land, putting an interesting contrast on themselves in the process. Perhaps because of this, more than any other, the wind is as revered and respected (if not feared) across many different faiths.    

Geography

Being a divine land, the rules of reality are different for Schlaier than other places. Its external appearances, if glimpsed by mortal eyes, does resemble a large sky island. However, as one passes into its realm, its awing existence fully unveils itself. Stretching across the horizon, it is a vast land that all sorts of climates can be found–indeed, as diverse as all the peoples who have come to it.   Broadly speaking, Schlaier is divided up into six rings across its disc-like surface. Navigating these rings works rather differently. The north and south directions head closer or farther away from the center, while east and west follow the flow of the ring. There is little fuss in moving about within a ring, but 'hopping' to another one (or leaving Schlaier) takes considerable effort. Spatial barriers keep the rings in relative harmony, and learning their language to traverse them is important.  

Sixth Ring – Ovuo

The edges of Schlaier and as its wildernesses define Ovuo. A proverbial 'buffer' zone, Ovuo is what many other divine domains encounter when connecting or encroaching upon Schlaier. Because it usually seems some manner of turbulence, or occasional conflict, its left untamed and to its own wild devices. Unlike the rest of Veltrona, though, the Relentless do not manifest upon Schlaier. A divinely-powered ecosystem exists, and it is a place many cultivators eye greedily for its wealth.  

Fifth Ring – Hefwen

All across Hefwen are huge gardens and water pools, a tamed and calm wilderness one can enjoy luxuriously. Some are overt in their people-made design, while others blend nature with idyllic vision. Statues of women and men accompany them, embodying beauty, power, sensuality, and even the erotic. Careful selections of fruits and vegetables grow freely, sufficing for snacks or very particularly handled farming. These divine plants are purported to be some of the tastiest from across the world, and even other goddesses are jealous of them.   Hefwen functions as the home of wayward souls and those who have come to Schlaier. Life and death blur together, creating a melting pot that becomes the ending point for many journeys. All across Hefwen are areas reminiscent of Veltrona below, such as the jungles of Etzli Cuauhtla or the plains of Immensio. The natives of these places find peace there the most, and one blends into the other seamlessly. Vast villages, towns, and cities dot Hefwen, timeless monuments to the people who lived there and still yet find their final days.  

Fourth Ring – Umudo

Two stretching beaches define the borders of Umudo, and its heart contains an endless ocean. Purported to be the basin of all the rains of the skies across the world, it is a markedly empty place. Because there is no bottom, those who sink or swim too deep end up falling out of Schlaier itself. There are a number of 'islands' that float in Umudo, the private temples and residences of various water deities. Depending on their whims, one might find themself pulled into an altogether different world.   It's rumored Poleva herself hides out here when she can't be bothered by the needs of Uatkara.  

Third Ring – Bornan

A desolate and empty ring, defined only by massive mountains and their winding, twisting ridges. While a natural defensive barrier, it is also where the many different wind currents of the world gather. One's whisper here could fly across the world and land somewhere else completely, or show up just beside them. All kinds of divine wind beings live and fly through, making Bornan their home as much as a kind of travel hub. Such a place is perfect for them, but viscerally lethal to everyone and everything else.  

Second Ring – The Silent Temple

Compartively small due to it nearing the center of Schlaier, the second ring exists as one contiguous 'city'. It is ironically called the 'Silent Temple' by the divine beings who live there, a sort of code-phrase to keep it from being more widely known. Laughter, joy, anguish, and all the wildness of people fill the air instead. Those worthy souls chosen by Seralkono, or possessed of an agreeable nature, are allowed tenure within the temple.   A place of rest, enlightenment, joy, and politica, it is an intensely busy place more often than not. It could be called the closest place to a 'common ground' among many faiths, where their respective deities come to meet and do business. As Seralkono unwaveringly maintains her beliefs, she is an effective mediator that keeps unruly problems in line.   Much of the sacrifices given onto her name also find home within the temple, where it is catalogued and recorded.  

First Ring – Tranquility

The smallest of the rings, and the one that sits around the heart of Schlaier. It has no actual name, but those who have visited call it a 'place of tranquility/peace'. One god's account of it notoriously remarked, "Imagine traveling for months through the greatest of palaces, the most beautiful of lands. Now you arrive at the end, where a patch of grass and a bird bath await.". Tranquility is Seralkono's actual home, and the place she guards the greatest over all others. Only the closest attendants are allowed upon it, and sparing few are given leave to visit.   As the heart of any great storm brings peace amongst turbulence, the first ring epitomizes serenity of mind and soul. Lush lands and simple architecture dot it, comfortable in what they provide, yet without excess or gluttony. Here, the essences of life are boiled down to their fundamentals, leaving only a purity of being many struggle to imagine, let alone reach.   Notably, many of the attendants who live on Tranquility have a job of finding 'lost letters'. As the winds more than willingly take such things, they come to leave them upon Tranquility. The attendants sort and file them, then figure out who the recipient should've been. Messengers come on the regular, taking bags full of lost letters to then deliver them across Veltrona. These aren't letters of import to nations, like documents or maps, but instead the words of people. Love letters, notes of remorse, the final words of a child dying in war–all of them and more, if unheard, end up here for the messengers to deliver.   So it is many cultures believe in 'listen for the wind' in the hopes of receiving their own lost letters.  

The Storm Cauldron

At the center of Schlaier sits the Storm Cauldron, the proverbial place that all storms–from the gentlest of breezes to the veltron-sundering tempests–are born. On the outside appearing no more than a distant sky island, entering the cauldron is to throw one's very soul into the pure essence of wind magic and mana. All the lands, cities, homes, and more destroyed by terrible storms end up within the cauldron. Ever-churning storms crush them down over time, until nothing remains except the dust that filters out from Schlaier. Hence, it is an ever changing place, and unimaginably few can enter with any hope of survival.