The name “Kyol” is somewhat confusing. In my previous posts, Kyol has primarily referred to the Empire of New Kyol, an empire in the latter half of the postclassical era. This empire took their name in an attempt to call upon the glory of the Kyol Allegiance, the ancient empire from which New Kyol (alongside several other nations) sprung after its dramatic collapse. While these states differed significantly in technology and power structure, New Kyol took significantly after the old Alleigance with regard to many parts of the religion – thus, it made sense to talk about them as a direct through-line with the Allegiance when speaking about death practices. The Kyol Allegiance itself takes its name from the Kyol River valley where it originated. It is that valley I will talk about now.
The Kyol River lies on the western coast of the Continent, spilling down from a massive coastal mountain range. During the summer, the coast takes the brunt of the storms that have built up over the vast ocean that makes up much of the planet’s surface. The orthographic lift generated by the mountains sucks the remaining moisture out of the air, making the western coast one of the rainiest places on the planet. During the winter, the winds reverse course, and the same mountains that made Kyol so rainy in the summer block any residual moisture from the eastern portion of the continent. Because of the planet’s heightened axial tilt, temperatures regularly drop below freezing during the height of winter. This period is the cold drought, known as the dry season, where the plants lose their leaves to conserve water and prevent frostbite, turning the forest into a sea of brown and black branches.
The Valley is shielded from the worst of the weather. The mangroves of the coastline take the brunt of the cyclones, and the depression of the valley shelters it from some of the high winds. But it faces its own problems. During the summer, the river – and most of the low-lying ground in the valley – floods. Plants must adapt to surviving partial submersion for a third of the year or be restricted to the sides of the valley and rare patches of high ground.
Next up, I’ll be talking about some of the flora of this area, and the ways that they’ve adapted to this bioregion.