Xalva
Xalva, the Corroded Expanse, is a realm of lifeless waters, endless salt flats, and stagnant brine pools, where the tide has long since ceased to flow. Unlike the ever-renewing waves of Thalassor, the waters of Xalva are thick with salt and death, forming vast crystallized wastelands where nothing grows.
It is a domain of decay and isolation, where water, the source of life, has instead become a force of erosion, preservation, and ruin.
Geography
Xalva’s landscape is dominated by salt and stagnation, with water that destroys rather than sustains.
- The White Flats – A blinding expanse of salt-crusted earth, stretching endlessly under the harsh sun. - The Bitter Tides – Stagnant, brackish pools of hypersalinated water, where nothing sinks, but nothing truly lives. - The Crystalline Shores – Former coastlines now frozen in salt, where ancient wrecks and ruins lie encased in a shimmering white tomb. - The Hollow Marsh – A vast brine swamp, where bones and driftwood remain perfectly preserved, untouched by decay. - The Pillars of Xare – Towering spires of crystallized salt, rising from the wasteland like monuments to the sea that once was.
Climate & Atmosphere
Xalva is a realm of stagnant air, dry heat, and the ever-present sting of salt upon the wind.
- No Rain, No Clouds – The sky is always clear, yet the land remains barren, as though nature itself has forsaken it. - Blistering Heat, Bone-Chilling Nights – The salt flats reflect the sun’s merciless light, yet at night, the cold seeps into the ground like a whispering ghost. - Salt-Laden Winds – The wind here does not carry life, only the dry taste of brine and dust. - The Mirage Veil – Heat and minerals in the air create phantom reflections, luring wanderers toward false lakes that dissolve upon approach.
The Spirit of Xalva
Xare, known as the Devourer of Shores, is the Ascended Spirit of Brine, embodying the slow, creeping death of water and the corrosive hunger of salt.
- Xare does not rage like storms, nor does he bring renewal—he simply waits, consuming all that lingers. - He is depicted as a figure of shifting salt and crystallized brine, his body breaking apart and reforming as the land around him dissolves into dust. - Some claim that those who listen too long to the winds of Xalva may hear Xare whispering to them, calling them to join the silent tide.
Mythology & Legends
- The Dying Sea – It is said that Xalva was once part of Thalassor, but its waters soured, cursed to remain lifeless and still for eternity. - The Salted Graves – Those who die in Xalva do not decay; instead, their bodies are encased in layers of salt, perfectly preserved in silence. - The Phantom Tides – Some claim that under the right light, Xalva's waters rise again, revealing ghostly ships and drowned civilizations lost to time.
Connection to Other Realms
Xalva stands between water, stone, and ruin, a place where the ocean has been forsaken, and the land is left to crumble.
- To the Abyss of Thalassor – The deep waters of Thalassor reject the stagnant brine, keeping Xalva forever separate from the true ocean. - To the Dunes of Zanarak – Where salt meets sand, the brine-hard flats crumble into shifting dunes, marking the passage into the desert’s ever-changing form. - To the Ruins of Umbrasil – Some say that beneath the salt, there are forgotten temples of twilight, where the past is frozen in brine, untouched by time.
Influence on Adaris
Xalva is feared and respected as a place where even water, the source of life, has turned against the living.
- Sailors and seafarers see Xare as a warning of what happens when the sea turns against those who depend on it. - Alchemists and mystics collect the white salt of Xalva, believing it holds the power of preservation and decay in equal measure. - It is said that those who bathe in the brine pools may see visions of what was lost—but only if they are willing to lose something in return.
"Water That Does Not Flow Is a Grave"
A saying among those who revere Xare, reminding all that stagnation leads only to ruin.