Álm

The information displayed in this article pertains to the continuity of Moonsong. As such, the wording may seem more flowery than normal. This is intentional.

Map of Álm.

Álm is an area of 35 280 000 km² within the larger infinite flat plane known as the All. It is illuminated by an organic structure, the Tower, at its centre. The Moon, a stillborn Æon, floats in a spiral pattern over Álm, controlling the flow of the æther. It is home to various species or ilks, such as the danar, faoil and almur, among many others.

Objects of sustenance

Tower

The Tower is a living structure made of minuscule colonial beings called the bacteria. These beings have harnessed the power of the æther for sustenance and, in exchange, produce vast amounts of light and heat, providing all life within Álm with a means to prosper.

Moon

The moon is a luminous spherical object that soars above Álm in a clockwise spiral manner, approaching the top of the Tower at the beginning of the year, and reaching the very edge of where its light reaches at the middle of the year. It is a stillborn Æon, that is, it failed to form completely and become part of the æther, becoming instead a solid mass. Within the passage of a month, the moon's pull on the æther ebbs and flows, a phenomenon known as the change of phases. As the year progresses, its influence on the forces also shifts, favouring one over all others. The force being favoured changes each month.

Rings

Álm is divided into several rings, concentric circular areas defined by their distance from the Tower, and thus, during the daytime, appearing as if they are experiencing different times of the day.

Ring of Noontide

The Ring of Noontide is the central ring, and thus the closest to the Tower. It experiences temperatures fluctuating around 40 to 80°C, rendering it unlivable to most organisms.

Ring of Undern

The Ring of Undern is the second closest to the Tower. Temperatures here range between 26 to 40°C.

Ring of Eventide

The Ring of Eventide experiences significantly less light from the Tower, and it ranges in temperature between 20 to 26°C. It is the most populous ring.

Ring of Dusk

The Ring of Dusk follows in the trend of receiving exponentially less light. It experiences a near perpetual dusk and temperatures between 13 to 20°C. It is the second most populous ring.

Ring of Night

The Ring of Dusk is the furthermost ring to receive any light. It is also the coldest, with temperatures fluctuating between 0 to 13°C. Due to its proximity to the Dark Earth, the influence of the Night becomes significant here. This has given rise to several nightly ilks, such as the brunn and the whekanar, among many others.

Dark Earth

Dark Earth is classified as any land beyond the Ring of Night. It reaches sub-zero temperatures and receives no light from the Tower, rendering it freezing and pitch-black. Many have tried venturing into the Dark Earth, but few have managed to venture more than 20 kilometres away. The influence from the Night also becomes much more potent here, as the darkness obscures everything, shifts in the body are inevitable, some maybe leading to death.

Landmasses

Álm is comprised of several landmasses, formed by the will of the Æons.

Island of the Tower

The Tower stands in the middle of an island at the centre of Álm. Not many beings have made their home there, as the heat is almost unbearable. The only known life existing there are a few plant species and dragons.

Danadur

Danadur is the closest landmass to the Tower, and is home to dragons, danar (golden danar, adanar and humans), and syolkin (syol and syur). It is further subdivided into the mainland, Hvunðradur, and the Lands of the Tower, the latter two surrounding the Tower.

Lea

Lea is the second closest landmass to the Tower. It is home to the jüttkin, descended from hyenas.

Hóradur, Andinor and Arðiodur

These three areas form part of the same landmass, but are divided for cultural reasons. Hóradur is home to faolkin such as the faoil and ecricks, while the brunn reside in Arðiodur. Andinor, instead, is the native land of the almarkin.

Hedron

Hedron is the smallest of the major landmasses, and special in that it is completely disconnected from the Dark Earth. Within it live the kanarkin, of which the kanar are notable in that they are the only fully herbivorous people.

History

Birth

The Álm began its existence with the birth of the Tower, the event that began the II (second) Era of the I (first) Cycle. A mass of luminous bacteria converged on a small island, having harnessed their innate talent for an unknown biological process. This gave them the ability to intake energy from the æther itself, creating great amounts of light and heat as byproducts.

Biogenesis and the Peak of Life

Around 2 000 000 000 000 years after the birth of the Tower, primordial beings called the Aa were generated from pieces of the Tower itself, and began roaming and settling the lands surrounding it. In the 500 000 years that followed these beings diversified and populated all parts of Álm, an event termed the Peak of Life.

Rise of the danar

The beginning of the II Cycle was marked by the rise of the danar, an ilk of hairless primates. These further diversified when, 342 years later, the ancient queen Lávla the Conqueror led her followers from the Ring of Undern into the Ring of Noontide, and founded the League of Gold, beginning the II Era of the II Cycle. Her actions were motivated by a strong belief that her people were superior to the rest of the danar living further away from the tower because of their higher talent. In their arrogance, the League waged war against the more distant danar. In time, those who stayed with Lávla in the towerward areas of Danadur executed all men and became the female-dominated race of the golden danar, influenced by the high talent of the tower into megalomania and tyranny, with a very hierarchical and organised caste-based society. Meanwhile, those who were driven out by the golden danar formed two groups: those who remain in Danadur became the adanar, while the diaspora that spread into the rest of Álm lost a great amount of their talent and became the humans.

Rise of the intellect-infused ilks and the Draconic Exodus

During the III Era of the II Cycle, the rest of the intellect-infused ilks or kins rose from their wild ancestors, elevated by the Æons. Chronologically, the first to rise after the danar were the jüttkin, descended from the hyenas of Lea, in the 1100th year of the II Cycle. Long after, beginning the III Cycle, the Draconic Exodus takes place as the dragons leave their native home of Hvunðradur and begin populating the rest of Álm, giving rise to the last of the kins, the drakes.

Modern era

The IV Cycle marks the modern age, marked by the innovation of long-distance sailing, leading to rapid expansion of, particularly, the hashka (part of the jüttkin), the faoil (part of the faolkin), and the almur (part of the almarkin). War is present along the shores of the Vid sea, as the vidur, night-influenced almarkin, are being pushed off the mainland by the High Kingdom of Almadur.