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Meriquy

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Updated
BySuraia Silverbell

Meriquy
Island of Enchanted Woods and Drowning Skies

Meriquy is a lush, perilous island on the western edge of the Xaverion archipelago, famed for its moonlit forests, hidden elven cities, and haunted coastline. To most islanders it is “the wood elves’ island” — a place where paths move, trees watch, and strangers vanish if they step off the road without a guide. Nearly half the island is swallowed by the Silvershade Woods, and even the more “civilised” coasts are never entirely safe since the fall of Serinhal and the rise of the sirens.

Names & Reputation

  • Meriquy – commonly called the Wood Elves’ Isle among the Xaverion folk.

  • Epithets in use:

    • The Silverwood (for its moonlit forests)

    • The Drowned Coast (since Serinhal’s fall)

Outsiders speak of Meriquy with a mix of awe and caution. It is known as a land where:

  • Travellers need guides or risk becoming hopelessly lost.

  • Wood elves vanish and reappear as they please.

  • The sea itself has teeth.

Geography

Meriquy lies in the western Xaverion chain, its terrain shaped by two dominant features: forest and sea.

  • Silvershade Woods – A vast, shimmering woodland covering nearly half the island. At night the canopy glows faintly silver, and many paths shift or simply aren’t the same from one journey to the next. Marshlands and pockets of swampland lie hidden in its depths. Only the wood elves and a handful of long-trained guides can reliably navigate it. Beautiful, but deadly to the unwary.

  • Northwestern Heights – A lone mountain rises on the island’s northwest point. At its foot lie the ruins of Telmarith, and its upper reaches are dotted with caves, old watchpoints, and rumours of things that never quite leave the stone.

  • Starfield Grasslands – On the eastern side of the island the forest thins into rolling meadows known as Starfield, famed for impossibly clear night skies. The wood elves treat this area as a sacred observatory, where ancient sky-watching and omen-reading continue much as they did before the Age of Darkness.

  • Coastline & Seas – The western and southern coasts are scarred by cliffs, broken headlands and submerged ruins — especially near the former site of Serinhal. Storms here roll in fast and violent, and since year 14 the waters have been claimed as the hunting grounds of sirens and other sea-spawn.

Hidden Life & Settlements

Though Meriquy is widely known as the wood elves’ domain, the true extent of its settlements remains deliberately obscured.

Mirilith – City in the Trees

Mirilith is the capital of Meriquy, built high in the living trees at the heart of the Silvershade Woods. The city is a web of suspended walkways, terraces, bridges, and platforms interwoven with waterfalls and streams. Lantern-light and bioluminescent flora give it an air of perpetual twilight. Few non-elves ever see Mirilith’s inner circles; most are received in outer platforms designed for guests and trade envoys.

Silvershade Woods

Beyond Mirilith, the woods themselves cradle countless other elven communities:

  • Some are no more than seasonal camps and hunting lodges.

  • Others are full cities most Xaverion maps never mark.

Even the Xaverion Senate accepts that vast stretches of Meriquy cannot be properly “governed” in the usual sense; the wood elves rule their own roads, and outsiders are mostly tolerated, not welcomed.

Coastal & Frontier Settlements

Stormhaven

Once a modest fishing village on the storm-beaten coast, Stormhaven has grown into Meriquy’s main port, especially after the destruction of Serinhal. Its docks thrust into rough seas, its houses cling to the slopes above, and its streets are packed with sailors, traders, refugees, and adventurers. Stormhaven is the primary gateway for anyone attempting to reach Meriquy without an elven escort, and a staging ground for naval patrols watching the siren-haunted waters.

Three Points Trading Post

At the junction of three ancient paths lies Three Points Trading Post, a busy crossroads inn and market where:

  • One road leads into the deep woods and Mirilith.

  • One winds toward Stormhaven and the coast.

  • One climbs toward Telmarith and the northern mountain.

Merchants, guides, scouts, and would-be explorers of the Whispering Ruins all pass through here, making it a natural hub for news, rumours, and quiet deals.

Telmarith – The Whispering Ruins

At the foot of the northern mountain stand the crumbling remains of Telmarith, also known as the Whispering Ruins. Echoes of old spells and voices linger among its broken arches and fallen halls. Locals warn that if you sleep within sight of Telmarith’s towers, you will dream of things that never happened — or of futures best left unwalked. Few willingly go there after dusk.

The Remains of Serinhal

On the coast, shattered towers and seawalls are all that remain of Serinhal, once a thriving coastal city and major trade hub. On Vicday in the cycle of Arilya, season of Ysandra, year 14, the entire city was swallowed by the sea in a single night. At first thought a natural disaster, investigators soon uncovered evidence of deliberate sabotage; within days, sirens and sea-spawn attacked the ships sent to investigate. Only one vessel returned.

Since then, divers and treasure-hunters occasionally brave the waters around the ruins, but many never return. Serinhal stands as the first and most infamous warning of the siren threat.

History & the Rise of the Sirens

Meriquy’s history in the Fifth Era is marked by two intertwined forces:

  • The slow renewal after the War of the Islands.

  • The sudden terror of the siren attacks.

Key events:

  • Year 9 – Peace & Rebuilding: With the signing of the peace treaty that founded the Xaverion Islands as a united nation, Meriquy’s wood elves cautiously reopened some trade routes and allowed limited non-elven traffic through Stormhaven and Three Points.

  • Year 14 – Fall of Serinhal: Serinhal’s destruction and the ensuing attacks at sea marked the beginning of a new age of fear on Meriquy’s coasts. The Seafarers Accords, once a loose agreement among captains, were transformed into a proper naval force tasked with defending ships and hunting sirens.

  • Year 14–22 – The Drowned Years: Siren attacks became a recurring threat in Meriquian waters and beyond. Meriquy’s ports, especially Stormhaven, grew heavily fortified. Many fishing families abandoned their traditional grounds and moved inland or into the protection of elven-patrolled coves.

To this day, the seas around Meriquy are spoken of as “Ghor’s realm,” and no voyage is considered truly safe without armed escort.

Beliefs, Magic & Superstitions

Meriquy is saturated with natural magic:

  • Enchanted Paths: It is commonly said that the Silvershade Woods themselves decide who is welcome. Those walking under the protection of elven guides find the paths clear; those who come with greed or violence in their hearts lose their way, circling until they collapse or are quietly turned back by creatures of the forest.

  • Starfield Omen-Watching: The wood elves of Starfield maintain ancient star-reading practices. While outsiders may attend certain public rites, the deeper meanings of these constellations and their patterns over Meriquy’s forests are closely guarded.

  • Whispers of Mythic Creatures: Old stories claim that some of Eonil’s “mythic races” — creatures born directly of the world itself — once walked freely in Meriquy’s forests. Some towns and border villages treat specific glades, ruins, or forest edges as off-limits, citing tales of a mythic creature’s final resting place or the lingering presence of something too sacred (or too dangerous) to disturb.

  • The Drowned Curse: Along the coast, sailors swear that to speak Serinhal’s name at sea is to invite a siren’s notice. Many refer to it only as the Drowned City and leave small offerings at the harbour shrines before sailing.

Present Day (Year 22 of the Fifth Era)

By the current year 22, Meriquy stands at a tense balance between isolation and necessity:

  • Stormhaven as Lifeline: Trade, news, and military coordination with the rest of Xaverion flow mainly through Stormhaven. The town thrives economically but lives under constant threat from the sea. Siren-alarm bells and watchtowers are part of its daily soundscape.

  • Elven Autonomy: The wood elves of Mirilith and the Silvershade Woods remain largely self-governing. They participate in Xaverion politics through chosen envoys but make it clear that the forest is not open for logging, colonisation, or uninvited expeditions. Guides are granted sparingly, and almost never to those seeking ruins or “relics” without a compelling reason.

  • Explorers & Outcasts: Despite warnings, Meriquy draws wanderers, scholars, and misfits — people who are more at home among ancient trees and haunted ruins than in the safer, tidier islands to the east. Trading posts like Three Points quietly profit from these journeys, selling maps, gear, and the services of guides… when such guides can be convinced to accept the coin.

For most of the Xaverion Islands, Meriquy is a distant, shimmering presence on the horizon — a place of silver-lit woods, unseen cities, and seas that remember every wrong done to them. For those who live there, it is simply home: dangerous, beautiful, and alive in ways other islands have long forgotten.

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