Espeira

Espeira, also known as the Western Continent, is the largest continent in Celsaria. It is the homeland of the Woodsmen who live in the Woods to the West of the continent. Espeira also carries the burden of the Great Scar, located in Ground Zero to the East. The continent is haunted by the legacy of the War of the Vestige - residual deep which warps the flora and fauna into fantastical yet twisted beings.

History
For millions of cel, Espeira lay untouched by humankind, protected by the ferocious Beyest sea that separates Espeira from human's homeland, Cen. Eventually, the first voyages were made to Espeira, whereupon its abundant resources were discovered. Settlements were soon made there on the eastern coast, and these grew in number and size, eventually forming a small town called the Reach. Many of these inhabitants were of high status and wealth, but after some time poorer agricultural workers bought passage to Espeira, hearing if its fertile lands and flat, rolling plains. They were not permitted to settle in the Reach, so instead they began living in a ring around the Reach. The name Reach shifted to refer to everyone in this area, farmers included, and the terms Greater Reach and Lesser Reach were coined to refer to the richer inner suburbs and the outer farmland and shanties respectively.

Espeira was discovered by researchers to harbour a great deal of a mysterious force called deep. Little was known of it, though some believed great potential was to be found, and so the Academy of Deep Sciences was constructed. In it were respected figures of science who researched the properties of deep, and students who were taken on by the Academy to teach the ways of researching deep. Deep was found to belong to various categories, but one particular element (known as infinite deep) was considered extremely volatile and dangerous, and it's study was forbade by the academics. Abram Belrand, a shining student of the Academy, was deeply unhappy about this and formed his own group with other students called the Church of Embers. They moved out of the academy and began researching infinite deep. Over the cel, friction increased between the Academy and the Church until the War of the Vestige broke out. It did not last long, and it ended when Abram cast the infamous Last Spell whose bizarre side effect - the Residual Infection - haunts Espeira to this day.

Geography
The east is generally made of plains and is relatively flat and low, but towards the centre of the continent it becomes almost mountainous. Many cliff faces and hills are to be found inland.

Biodiversity
Almost all of the bizarre species of plants an animals are worth mention, but the epitome of all the species is the race of Woodsmen who live in the Woods - a sentient species who have rarely been seen by humans. The Woodsmen, while technologically centuries behind the humans, have a mastery of something that the humans do not - the deep.