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Afaseya
Afaseya is a distant continent and the ancestral homeland of humanity. Long before humans settled the islands of Minearchy, large human civilizations existed across Afaseya under powerful dynasties whose names and traditions would continue to influence their descendants centuries later.
Afaseya is remembered both as the birthplace of humanity and as the site of one of the greatest catastrophes in human history.
Hundreds of years ago, a devastating disaster struck the continent. Surviving accounts disagree on the exact nature of the event. Some describe enormous volcanic activity that destroyed entire regions, while others simply refer to an unknown calamity that made Afaseya uninhabitable.
Large numbers of survivors fled the continent and eventually reached Varchia, beginning a new chapter in human history.
Before its destruction, Afaseya supported numerous human settlements and powerful ruling families known collectively as the Great Afaseyan Dynasties.
Very little reliable information about these dynasties has survived. Their names, territories, rivalries, and exact forms of government have largely been lost to history.
Their importance, however, remains visible in modern human culture.
Many human families continue traditions of ancestor worship that can be traced back to Afaseya. The rulers and nobles of the old dynasties are particularly revered, and wealthy families have traditionally constructed elaborate mausoleums to honour their ancestors.
Afaseya also appears to have possessed established agriculture, domesticated animals, organised settlements, religious traditions, and several distinct schools of philosophy.
The event that destroyed Afaseyan civilization remains poorly understood.
Some historical traditions claim that enormous volcanic activity devastated the continent. Other accounts describe only a mysterious doom that either destroyed Afaseya outright or rendered much of it impossible to inhabit.
Because most surviving knowledge comes from refugees and stories passed down through generations, separating historical fact from legend has become increasingly difficult.
The catastrophe caused a massive human migration away from Afaseya.
Those who escaped carried with them whatever possessions, livestock, crops, traditions, and knowledge they could preserve.
Many Afaseyan refugees eventually arrived in Varchia.
At the time, Varchia was primarily inhabited by orcs. The sudden arrival of large numbers of human refugees created tension between the two peoples and eventually resulted in a series of long and destructive conflicts.
Neither side achieved a decisive victory.
The wars dramatically reduced both populations before an uneasy peace began to develop. Over later generations, humans and orcs increasingly traded, cooperated, and lived alongside one another.
Old Oivarch became the first major human settlement established in Varchia and one of the earliest centres of post-Afaseyan human civilization.
Much of modern human culture still carries traces of Afaseya.
One of the strongest surviving Afaseyan traditions is the reverence of ancestors.
Families honour deceased relatives, while nobles and rulers may construct large tombs or mausoleums dedicated to important members of their bloodline.
The legendary Great Afaseyan Dynasties hold a particularly important position within these traditions.
For many humans, remembering Afaseya is therefore not simply a matter of history. It is a connection to their ancestors and to the civilization from which their people originated.
Ancient stories also describe a monastic order founded in Afaseya.
According to tradition, the order began with former mercenaries who renounced the use of weapons. They devoted themselves to living from the land and avoiding unnecessary harm to the natural world.
Members refused practices such as mining and excavation when they believed these activities would damage nature.
Although they rejected conventional weapons, the monks still believed strongly in protecting themselves and innocent people. Through intense physical discipline, they learned to fight using only their bodies.
Stories claim that the greatest members of the order possessed extraordinary strength, balance, agility, and endurance.
Modern monastic traditions are believed to descend, at least partly, from these ancient Afaseyan teachings.
The refugees from Afaseya brought numerous plants and animals with them when they travelled to Varchia.
Two species are specifically known to have originated from Afaseya:
Wolves were brought to Varchia by human settlers and later established wild populations.
Dark oak trees were also introduced from Afaseya. They struggled to grow across much of Varchia but successfully established themselves in parts of the southern coastline.
Historical accounts also mention other domesticated plants and animals arriving with the refugees. Some escaped captivity or cultivation and eventually became permanent parts of Varchia's ecosystem.
This means that portions of modern Varchian wildlife may represent surviving remnants of Afaseya's original ecosystem.
Afaseyan tradition speaks of a mysterious goddess known as Afeya.
She is believed to rule over Afaseya and silently watch over those who live upon its lands.
Unlike many deities, Afeya rarely appears directly before mortals. Confirmed sightings are almost nonexistent, and centuries may pass without anyone claiming to have encountered her.
Because of this, even among Afaseyans there has long been disagreement over whether Afeya truly exists.
Some regard her as the unquestioned guardian of their homeland.
Others believe she may have originated as an ancient ruler, spirit, or symbolic personification of Afaseya that gradually became worshipped as a goddess.
Her apparent absence during the destruction of Afaseya remains one of the greatest questions surrounding her worship.
Even so, scattered stories continue to describe travellers encountering a mysterious woman in isolated parts of the continent.
Among believers, an old saying summarizes their faith:
“You may never see Afeya, but Afeya sees you.”
Although Afaseyan civilization was destroyed, its influence never disappeared.
Modern humans throughout Minearchy ultimately descend from the survivors who escaped the continent.
Through later human migrations, Afaseyan ancestry also indirectly spread to other peoples. Dwarves, for example, originated from human populations that adapted over generations after settling in Virtus, making their distant ancestors Afaseyan as well.
Human religion, noble traditions, agriculture, monastic teachings, and even parts of Varchia's ecosystem therefore preserve fragments of the lost continent.
For many descendants of the refugees, Afaseya remains both a historical homeland and a symbol of a lost age.
The true condition of modern Afaseya remains uncertain.
Historical texts describe the continent as destroyed or uninhabitable, but these descriptions do not necessarily mean that every part of Afaseya was physically destroyed.
How much of the continent survives, whether settlements remain there, and what now occupies the ruins of its ancient civilizations remain largely unknown.
This uncertainty has made Afaseya a subject of fascination for historians, adventurers, treasure hunters, religious pilgrims, and those searching for evidence of Afeya herself.
Long before the destruction of Afaseya, its people told stories of Afeya, the divine guardian from whom some believe the continent itself took its name.
Afeya is said to rule over Afaseya and silently watch over all who call the continent their home. Unlike gods who demand temples, offerings, or public worship, Afeya is believed to keep her distance from mortals. She rarely reveals herself and, according to most stories, may allow entire generations to pass without a single confirmed sighting.
Those who claim to have seen her describe a woman appearing without warning in lonely places: standing upon a distant mountain ridge, walking through an empty forest, watching from the ruins of an abandoned settlement, or appearing briefly beside a traveller who would otherwise have died. The descriptions seldom agree on her appearance, and the figure is almost always gone before others arrive.
Because of this, belief in Afeya varies greatly.
To the faithful, her absence is not evidence that she has abandoned her people. They believe the opposite: Afeya is always watching, but intervenes only when she believes she must. A fortunate escape from disaster, an unexpected change in the weather, or the appearance of a safe path through dangerous land may be interpreted as her unseen hand.
Others consider these stories little more than superstition. Scholars have argued for generations over whether Afeya ever existed at all. Some believe she was an ancient Afaseyan queen whose deeds became exaggerated into divinity. Others suggest that the name once referred to the land itself, and that the goddess emerged later as people began personifying their homeland.
The destruction of Afaseya only deepened the mystery.
For believers, the greatest unanswered question is why a goddess who watched over the continent allowed such devastation to occur. Some claim Afeya attempted to warn the population but was ignored. Others believe the catastrophe was beyond even her power to prevent. A darker tradition claims that Afeya deliberately allowed the old civilization to fall after its rulers strayed too far from the values upon which Afaseya had been founded.
There are even those who believe Afeya disappeared alongside the old continent.
Yet stories of sightings never completely stopped.
Travellers occasionally return from forgotten stretches of Afaseya claiming that they saw a lone woman watching them from afar. Explorers have reported discovering fresh flowers, untouched food, or small sources of clean water in places where none should exist. Survivors of disasters sometimes speak of hearing an unfamiliar woman's voice moments before escaping death.
None of these accounts have ever provided undeniable proof.
And so Afeya remains one of Afaseya's greatest mysteries: perhaps a goddess, perhaps an ancient legend, perhaps merely the hope of a people unwilling to believe that their homeland watches over them no longer.
Among those who still believe, an old saying survives:
“You may never see Afeya, but Afeya sees you.”
