Avala

Avala
The forsaken land, Avala, is a lifeless place abandoned by it's former people two generations ago. Little is known of the continent itself, or the events that led to it's people fleeing to Thistleland. It's size, location and ecosystem are lost to legend.

Three groups of people can claim their heritage back to Avala: The former inhabitants of Avala, their former militia now called the Adventure Scouts, and the East Avala Company.

History
Depending on who you ask, there are different stories as to the fall of Avala.

According to the holders of such records the Mages, and by extension the Adventure Guild as a whole, the people of Avala were uses of very strong and high level magic, including Inertia Engines and Teleportation. During their quest to gain ever more powerful magic and to spread their influence, the people of Avala repeatable and doggedly abandoned safe and responsible magic practices which resulted in a catastrophe with their continent, rendering their entire continent both uninhabitable and inescapable. After developing communications that were sufficiently advanced to be detected by the more advanced and noble Mages, the people of Avala begged the Mages for co-ordinates to be able to safely teleport their people out of their homeland. The Mages graciously accepted, on the condition that the people of Avala submit themselves to Mage inspection on arrival to ensure more dangerous and unstable magical items are secured by those more advanced (The Mages, naturally)

While unable to openly voice against the official history, there is sentiment amongst the people of Avala that the Mage version of history may not be entirely correct. The single main difference between their version and the Mages is that far from destroying their continent, the Avala magic actually was saving it's people from the death and destruction being administered to their continent, keeping them alive to be able to evacuate. Exactly what disaster they were inflicted with is dismissed largely as lost to time and claimed Mage 'improvements' to the history.

Whatever truly happened in Avala, it is widely accepted that the events that unfolded are directly responsible for most descendants of Avala being smaller, more prey-like creatures, with fewer large predators in the population. The most detailed explanation thus far given is that "The big, the bold and the strong were the first to fall".

Locations
Little is known on named landmarks in Avala, the maps once held by the Mages no longer being available.

It is known that the East Avala Company traded with two other unknown continents to the east of Avala (leading to the company's name), and in order to do so had at least two ports they used to trade. As Avala relied on teleportation magic over physical ships, the ports were teleportation based. The loss of all the ports, and safe teleportation co-ordinates to these two continents held within them, early in the fall of Avala is cited as one of the key reasons the population was unable to escape to safety earlier in the continents fall.

Settlement in Avala was known to be smaller and more scattered then in Thistleland, based on how the people of Avala settles within Thistleland itself and mentions by both descendants and the Mages. It is not known how this affected the fall, but it is likely it did not benefit the people.

During the fall the militia, now known as the Adventure Scouts, had been known to build a number of hard points, bunkers and shelters in order to protect their citizens. While no detailed information exists (possibly outside Mage control) as to where these military structures lay or how they were used, it is implied in Avala stories that the local populations fled to these locations, and were admitted entry during the long period between the fall and the evacuation.