Worldbuilding and Mapmaking

Heiszl, Tavarin, and Haston

Mina’s Note about the Valley of Wizards

I was with Mr Buschan’s entourage for two years, so I’ve visited several countries in the Eastern World, or what people call Estarath. I haven’t been to many countries, but for now it’s enough to brag a little in front of that stupid—but cute—boy, Wester.

I think this is the biggest advantage of joining the merchant group. I can travel, see many interesting places, and make new friends. To me right now, those kinds of things are far more important than money. Wester often saw me betting and thought I liked money too much. He’s wrong. It’s just a game. My journey is worth more.

From those trips, I made notes. I will share some notes later, so that many people can read them. Others I will keep, because they are private.

These are my notes on the Heiszl Valley.

Or also known as the Valley of Wizards.

It’s an inducement for Wester. He had always been reluctant to call himself a wizard, but I knew this was his hometown, after all. What he knows about his country is definitely different from what I know, so hopefully he’ll protest when he reads what I’ve written here. Because if not provoked, he will not talk.

Heiszl Valley is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, said to be thousands of years old. So there should be a lot of historical and scientific stories that can be revealed from here. However, because this country is closed off from the outside world, and the residents don’t like to talk to outsiders, plus only a few outsiders dare to come here, very little information about them can be known.

This vast valley is almost entirely forest. The village of the Heiszl people was in the forest, scattered in many places. Hioriun, where Wester came from, was the southernmost, or one of the most outlying villages. The people in this village are friendlier because they often interact with outsiders. That’s why our group could come and stay there for a few weeks. Mr. Buschan did not dare to take his entourage further into the forest to go to other villages, because apart from there being no good roads for horse-drawn carriages to pass, he was also afraid that if he went deeper later, he could not get out again.

Maybe his worries were exaggerated, but it could be true.

Until now I do not know who is the supreme leader in the Heiszl Valley, in contrast to other countries, which is clear who their king or commander-in-chief are. I’ve only heard that in the center of the Heiszl Valley, deep in the forest, there are wizards of superior rank. It is said that they formed a kind of council, whose job it was to govern the entire country. They also have an army of wizards, which can be sent if there is an external threat.

The most distinctive feature of this country is, of course, magic. Like most outsiders, I knew little about it. However, I once saw one of them light a lantern with just a snap of a finger in the air. When I saw it, I gaped, then quickly ran away because I knew they didn’t like their magic to be seen by strangers. Better to run away, than later they snap their fingers and then I’m turned into a rat, just because I accidentally saw their magic.

From what I hear, the Heiszl people can move fire, water, wind, stone and other things, and even turn them into weapons. Which to outsiders, of course, those are scary things. That’s all that outsiders generally understand. Magic used as a weapon.

In fact, it’s not just that. For the Heiszl people, magic was not simply a matter of moving wind or fire. It is a part of their life, and also their religion. They worship the Supreme Soul, which is said to be connected to the soul of every person, all living beings, and even everything. The Supreme Soul disperses its energy into nature, and the Heiszl people then seek, collect and move that energy with the help of magic.

Their magic is vast, but they don’t like showing it to strangers. At most, they only showed it through medicine, or magical items, which were made using magic.

They are secretive, because they don’t trust strangers.

Some are even more than that. They hate strangers.

Which then made me wonder, why are they like that?

What made them like that?

The answer, after I searched, turned out to be from the past.

I’ll try to explain why this happened by referring to the story of early humans, according to the religion of the Terran people from the east, who used to be the mortal enemies of the Heiszl people. I’m just quoting from their notes, in case one day someone will protest to me about the truth of this story.

Long ago, when the Holy Land in the north was still a green plain under the shade of the Tree of Life, when the Back of the World had not yet been raised to separate the Western and Eastern Worlds, and when the Grassland in the south had not been drifted far across the ocean, God the Creator sent down Aern—holy fairies from above the heavens, and also from the bowels of the earth—who came to help humans.

Aern showed humans the good way of life, showed them how to coexist with wind, earth, water and fire, and taught them everything about life and death.

Then, one day, humans became so clever. They became arrogant and felt like beings of the highest degree. The Aerns were angry and tried to punish them, but the humans had become very strong and considered it an act of hostility.

The human kings led the elemental controllers to annihilate every Aern. Defeated, the remaining Aern fled into the sky or hid within the earth.

The Creator was angry with humans and punished them. Wind, earth, water, fire revolted. They no longer wanted to submit to humans. They swept, swallowed, drowned, burned people and everything around them.

Earth changed shape. The Tree of Life in the north shriveled to death, the Back of the World was lifted high, the land was divided—some submerged, some drifting far into the world’s corners. The remains of humans who survived then lived in new places. In the Western World (Antarath), the Eastern World (Estarath), and in the Southern Continent. There was no more Aern to teach them. There was no longer the old knowledge that previously made people proud.

However, as time passed, humans were still the most intelligent and stubborn creatures. They got through the harshness of nature and the obstacles of life. After thousands of years, a group of humans again found a way to control wind, earth, water, and fire. The controllers of these elements were called the Irheisz, or Heiszl people. The wizards.

For hundreds of years, the influence of the wizards was getting stronger, until many people felt oppressed. One thousand and five hundred years ago, a new nation that emerged from the east, calling themselves the Terran, had finally risen. To confront the wizards, the people of Terran summoned Aern. A group of Aerns emerged from hiding after thousands of years and joined forces. Together, they fought the wizards.

A great war broke out, and the wizards lost, many were killed. The rest fled to the Heiszl Valley, where they had come from. Long after that, even though the war ended, the wizards still did not dare to come out of their land.

It has been more than a thousand years since the war ended, but until now, the hatred between the Heiszl people and the Terran still exists, though not as much as it used to be. Perhaps the levels have decreased, turning into a dislike, or a reluctance to relate to each other. The Heiszl people closed themselves off from the outside world.

Of course, not all of them. I’m sure there are quite a few Heiszl people who are like Wester, who have no hatred for Terran people, and actually want to see the outside world. And there were quite a number of Terrans like Pierre, who had no hatred for the Heiszl people, and would prefer to live in peace with them, if possible. Yet, that is the Heiszl Valley, in all their glory, destruction, and closed nature.

Magic and secrets. From what I can learn, those are the two things that best describe the country of the Heiszl Valley. So maybe, when one day Wester gets back there, I can come along. Then the two of us could walk all the way to the center of the country. To see magic, and various other secrets.

After that, I will share more of my notes regarding the Valley of Wizards, which you need to know. So that you will no longer think of the people who live there as weirdos.

They are good people.

Like you too.

See you again.

Your smart friend

Mina