BooknVolume
Creatives
Jyndari: A Realm of Magic and Shadows
Vast primordial forests stretch from pristine beaches near the expansive Synopia ocean into the heart of Jyndari where the village of Hwyndarin lies, constructed millennia ago. On the coast, storms sweep in from the ocean or roll off the heights of the Trynnari Mountains, threatening the stability of essential Light. Protected amid the lush woodlands of Jyndair, the indispensable treasures of learning and artistry, collected throughout the ages, are kept in the heart of the village Hwyndarin. Peopled by Fey, winged beings who have exceptional gifts, such as telepathy, empathic healing, clairvoyance, or the ability to bend light, Jyndari is a divided realm of light, beauty and harmony as well as darkness, cruelty and despair.
Those who revere the Light, tend dutifully to the land and its creatures, and abide in harmony with each other are Fey of the Light. They dwell in Hwyndarin, the capital of Jyndari, and its surrounding counties. These Fey of the Light are fair, noble, and industriously agrarian. They live together in a communal society and practice harmonious magic, create beauty, encourage learning, and protect the innocent.
Those who venerate the Darkness dwell in the Uunglarda, the tainted, corrupt, and exceedingly harsh realm of The Reviled. These Dark Fey are cruel, self-indulgent monsters who use portals to cross into the realm of the Fey of the Light to destroy, molest, and wreak havoc. Because they are unable to reproduce biologically, due to their corrupted state, they abduct childfey from The Fey of the Light.
Jyndari is a realm of extremes where beauty and melancholic gloom, magical tranquility and horrible depravity, hope and despair dwell side by side. It is a world where tradition is as sacred as the prophecies and ancient texts that guide the lives of the Fey of the Light and where Darkness lurks in every shadow waiting to defile and destroy. It is also a place where, even in the Darkness, the strength of acceptance and the magic of forgiveness can achieve the impossible.
The Great Gate of the Uunglarda
The wall illumined by the ethereal glow of the Luxanary was not the natural sides of the cavern, but a fortification constructed with huge blocks of grey and black stone that towered upward to meet the ceiling of the cavern overhead and stretched outward to the sides of the cave. It entirely blocked the way. The cavern ceiling was formed of one solid piece of stone; like the base of a mountain resting precariously atop an empty tomb.
The floor of the chamber was laid with enormous squares of similarly hued stone and in the center of the mammoth wall before them, fashioned of heavy iron that shimmered in the phosphorescent radiance illuminating it, a massive black gate stood in the darkness.
Beyond the gate, a path strewn with rough gravel led beneath a continuation of the fortified wall, forming yet another tunnel, but where it led was concealed by impenetrable blackness. Standing in the barren cavern, the Fey of the Light stared in horror at the imposing edifice, unable to conceive how they might escape with such a massive barricade across the way.
Rearing up to a height of a dozen feet or more, the gate forged of heavy wrought iron was secured to the stone blocks of the wall on either side with enormous iron bolts. It did not open in the center and swing outward like a pair of doors. It did not open at all. It was fashioned in one piece, it's iron twisting in elaborate spirals, curling in ornate circles and fanning out like leaves.
To ensure its impassability, the ironwork of the heavy gate had razor-sharp blades forged into its spiraling rods and bars. It did not have a lock upon it that could be undone by magic. It was constructed to stand as an impenetrable barrier between the Realm of the Reviled Fey of the Uunglarda and the Free Lands under the Sovereignty of the Fey of the Light.
