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~Soléiâ~

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Soléiâ is the western continent of the New World. It is somewhat thin and long, its northernmost reaches being well within the arctic circle of the planet. The continent is split in two halves which are connected by a very thin isthmus. This isthmus holds the capital city, Solzédniê.

Despite being separated from Solzédniê by a mountain range, due to historical and other factors (like a more agreeable climate), the majority of the Soléiân population lives in the southern half of the continent. Here, the average town size tends to be around 3,000-5,000 people, which includes smaller hamlets who consider themselves offshoots of the larger towns nearby. The further north one goes, however, the smaller the average town size becomes, with most towns often being less than 1,000 people in the northerly regions of Soléiâ, and the northernmost province being populated largely by small nomadic groups. During the early 3000s S.A., the largest city is the capital, whose population is around 250,000 people.

The southern portion of Soléiâ has a temperate climate, with snowy winters and hot summers. The environment consists of long, rolling hills and steep valleys interspersed with broadleaf forests, meadows, and farms. Beyond the provinces of Šlezjâ and Mârsêl, the broadleaf forests are exchanged for evergreens, and the summers become generally cool, and the winters long and harsh. The northernmost province, Plênšnov, is a barren tundra with extremely long, cold winters.

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~Notable Locations~

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Solzédniê — The capital of Soléiâ.
Pozjuvil — Suzette's home at the beginning of String of Stardust.
Pšêkse — Alexander's home town.
Bydlin — Florence's home.
Florêvêr — Hikaru's former home.
Ilyavil — Max's home; the largest city in Soléiâ as of Hydrangeas for Concrete.
Florêt Folwêkhdin — The Forbidden Forest, a strip of forest untouched due to fae activity.

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~Asàshí~

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Asàshí is the eastern continent of the New World. It is roughly elliptical, with long strings of islands on the northeast and southwest of the continent. The continent lays fairly far south on the planet, with its southernmost regions around or on the equator. The capital, Asàshí-Zhaùlá (Asàshí City), is in the northern part of the continent, and relatively close to the coast.

Most of the population of Asàshí live in the provinces around the capital. By the 3000s S.A., in this region it is a little difficult to tell where one town ends and the other begins, and even “rural” villages are not far away from a larger city. Although the population of Asàshí-Zhaùlá is technically around 375,000 people, the size of the metro area is massive, and its population numbers in multiple millions. The population sharply dips once one goes further south, however; while the cities tend to be large, numbering around 10,000-15,000 people, most people live in tiny independant villages of a few hundred people or less. About half of the population of Asàshí live in the region surrounding the capital.

The northern portion of Asàshí has a temperate climate, with snowy winters and hot summers. The environment here is mostly a large plain, full of towns, farms, and interspersed with a few broadleaf forests and other wild areas. From the provinces of Jíngzhoù and Pyóhua onwards to the south, the environment becomes extremely rough and hilly, and is largely covered in tropical rainforests. This becomes more extreme in the province of Shizùó, which is covered in numerous large mountains and even more forests; however, the environment here is colder due to the high altitude of nearly the entire region. The mountains taper off in Sàmáng, a province which entirely consists of a hot, sparsely populated desert.

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~Notable Locations~

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Asàshí-Zhaùlá — The capital of Asàshí.
Yuanlì — Hikaru's home town.
Haìbarin — Hikaru's former home; the largest port city of Asàshí.
Onna — Hikaru's temporary home.
Sábishì — Yuu's home town.
Bidaúshi — Samanta's home town; the first settlement of the New World.

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~The Old World~

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A continent said to exist somewhere on the other half of the Earth, the Old World is the cradle of human civilization. At the behest of Mère Terre, humanity was banished from this continent well over 3,000 years before the beginning of String of Stardust. The Old World hasn't been found ever since; and so, the exact nature of its layout, what cities and peoples existed upon it, and many more things are shrouded in mystery—only those artifacts which were brought over during the exodus, and a few lucky things which happen to wash up upon the shores of the New World continents elucidate anything about this mysterious land.

While mostly shrouded in mystery, some things are known about the Old World. The largest city known on the continent was Shinanna, which laid on a fertile river in the desert, near the coast of the continent; in its heyday, this city was the center of worship for Maiden Moon. Another city, nearly as large and often considered more important in the modern era, was Arinasa. Arinasa laid on a warm, grassy plain, and was the center of worship for Lady Sun. Aside from its size, this city is notable due to the fact that, after the exodus from the Old World, Lady Sun chose the remaining Arinasans to be the royal family of New World civilization; while rogue monarchies were established at various places during various times of history, as of String of Stardust the royal families of Soléiâ and Asàshí are descended from the Arinasans.

The last major city known was Kibah, the center of worship for Mère Terre. This city was said to exist deep within a dark, sprawling forest or jungle. While it was never as prosperous as the forementioned cities, it was considered especially sacred in its time due to its connection to the mother of life. That said, due to its relatively lowkey nature and surprisingly uneventful decline during the political dramas which brought the end of the Old World, later historians tend not to care about this place very much.