General Information/Places/Locations/Trepindia Mainland

From Westaven

Trepindia is a long island off the Aeneus mainland, just out of eyesight of Fish Side. The island is uninhabited in the modern era, although tradition holds that Trepindia is the "birthplace" of the Aenean nation, which thousands of years ago gave rise to the Aenean Era, and therefore formed the basis of all Westaven civilization.

Trepindia was deemed sacred by the ancient Aeneans, even long before they expanded and became any sort of great city-state. Initially they built cities there (this is some 2000 years ago?), but eventually Trepindia became a great cemetery—-the burial place of commoners and kings alike. A place of ruins--a vast graveyard, so to speak, of an entire culture--people avoid the place, many believing it is haunted, especially at its southern end, where numerous offshoot islands--some as small as a garden plot--house ancient temple ruins dedicated to long-forgotten gods. Even fishermen are terrified to go near the place, oftentimes claiming fish do not live near those waters! To the north, however, slavers occasionally make landfall, mainly to capture Mawk'hidu slaves--for there are some wild tribes of the craggy-skinned minority at large there.

Trepindia became a center of worship once the Aeneans expanded over modern Westaven (and further). "Today," say the wise "Graybeards" of Altuth, because of its countless scores of human remains buried there as well as the evil embodied in their blasphemous religion-—the island is the abode of spiritual unrest. Throughout history Altuth has repeatedly warned against going there, for it serves as a memorial of the Aeneans’ foolishness—which ultimately cost them their empire and their lives." They point in recent times to the "Rotten Reaper" plague, which all but killed the entire Aenean population but a handful of centuries ago, as well as to the Great Fire of Trepindia, during which the entire island’s northern mainland was enigmatically destroyed 250 years ago. Both of these were echoes of punishments, say the Greybeards. (See the 26 April 986 log.)

There are many holy islands off the Trepindian island’s “mainland,” primarily in the southern, rocky waters. Each is dedicated to a deity of one sort or another, and all are in ruins today. Most of these gods would be unrecognizable to modern Westaveners, for (say the wise Graybeards) "they were false—either invented or imported from across the sea. It was not until the fall of Aenea that the true gods deigned to reveal themselves and receive worship." (See the 26 April 986 log.)

Of all these temple islands, the most legendary is the Trepindian "Holy Isle". So central is this isle to Aenean history and culture, that it is often (confusingly enough) simply called "Trepindia."