Tuar
The Island of Tuar | |
Leader | Tor'Yasir, Headsman of the Tuari Slythyss, Nelbennir Guardian |
Discoverer | the Order of Neraeos the Sentinels of Nature |
Tuar is an island to the far west of the Sapient continent, located within the Sea of Terror in the Sefyric Ocean. Upon it live the Tuari, a tribe of lamarians, who have human-like torsos attached at the waist to the withers of giant cats. It is here that they struggle under the hostilities of the worm-like Nelbennir and a plague of giant, ravenous insects.
Geography
Largely a jungle environment, the mountainous island of Tuar shows little obvious sign of activity. The small Tuari village on the island's southwest side, dominated at its centre by a vine-choked altar, appears long-since abandoned. Instead, all denizen life on Tuar is hidden, concentrated either upon the high mountaintops or the extensive, subterranean cave system of gol'Tuar, where the Nelbennir primarily lurk.
History
First brought to the island under the leadership of Tor'Yasir many years ago, the lamarians travelled across the great sea from an unknown continent in search of a place where they could reinvent their destiny. Though it was once a glorious paradise and a utopia that the Tuari could mould to their will, Tuar (meaning "victory" in the lamarian tongue) was soon infested by an insect plague, referred to by the Tuari elders as the "black ilke", seemingly stirred up by the arrival of the lamarians. There is something to be said about the native Nelbennir, however, for the island remains beset by chaos and death through their evil machinations, possible only through their continued use of a mysterious source of great power that they guard closely.
In Lupar of 467 AF, Vixen, House tutor of the Sentinels of Nature, began experiencing feverish dreams of faraway lands and mystical creatures. The clues revealed in her visions led to both the rediscovery of Tuar and the reclamation of three long-lost sentinels stranded on the island - Mehrien, Onakk, and Antion - through a joint effort by the House and the Nerai.
Flora and Fauna
Tuar is overrun by scores of humungous insects, including green mottled arathas, eight-winged aspises, spotted pernicons, and throngs of swarming horax. All armed with an assortment of menacing-looking mandibles, these insects seek to make a quick meal out of unsuspecting travellers. Within the caves of Tuar can be found sinuous white salamanders, while speckled eels and warty stonefish live within the underground pools of gol'Tuar.
Within the jungles of Tuar grow lush, scarlet batflowers. In addition to being one of the few things that contribute aesthetically to the island, these gorgeous, aptly named (as per their resemblance to the winged mammals) blooms serve as nourishment for hungry Tuari.