Feron is the second largest known continent on Velwythe and covers nearly 16,000,000km^2. Feron is also home to the oldest known human civilizations with records dating back to approximately 34,000PM.
The continent of Feron, though nearly the size of Atla, does not have the same climatological diversity. It lies farther south as a whole, than does Atla. Further, the continent is wider than it is tall, and runs along the equatorial regions of the planet, thus keeping a majority of the land in a similar climate zone. It does however, possess a number of scientific oddities much like Atla and the Archipelago.
At the kidney shaped continent’s heart is a massive desert encircled entirely by mountains. These mountains, known as The Mountains of Dramon, are shaped in an almost perfect circle, encasing a desert approximately 5,000,000 km^2 inside. Known as the Gateway to Dramon, the desert is the hottest and driest place on Velwythe. With precipitation totals as near as makes no difference, zero, it is considered the least hospitable place in the world. In addition, at the desert’s very center is a small area known as Hell. Hell has had the highest recorded temperatures and the least amount of precipitation of anywhere in the world.
While the formation of the Mountains of Dramon are almost universally considered to be the result of a massive impact crater, formed some 65,000,000 years ago, the cause of the Gateway to Dramon and Hell are less obvious. There is no known reason for the super arid climate inside the mountains, as all known meteorological and geographical understanding point to the area’s climate being very similar to the outlying countries. However, for all of recorded history, there has been a hot, lifeless desert at the continent’s heart and it shows no signs of changing.
The people of Feron are industrious, hard working and prosperous. However, there is a striking disparity in the cultural development across the continent. The eastern half of Feron, including a majority of the northern countries, is members of the Trinity Trade Council and just as Magi-Technologically developed as Atla. Raillines have been slower to spread across the land due to the difficulty in transporting the materials across the sea. Within the past three years the manufacturing plants that were once unique to Atla and two islands in the Archipelago have sprouted from the ground as though they were olive trees. It is estimated that within five years it will be possible to take a rail journey from the northeastern tip of Redding to the southeastern country of Krisos. The western half of Feron, however, is home to small tribes of indigenous hunter-gatherers.
Because of its relatively uniform and damp climate, Feron was a perfect location for the birth of humanity. It is believed that the first humans evolved in the northwestern tip of Feron and began to spread east shortly after. The first hints of civilization in the form of cave paintings and early stone tools date back to approximately 35,000 years. Despite the length of time humans have been colonizing Feron, technology and culture were slow to develop.
Though the natives of Feron left the land and sailed to what is now modern day Atla a full 15,000 years after the birth of civilization, progress in the following years was limited to the eastern half of the continent. Indeed, by that time the entire continent (save for the Gateway to Dramon) had been settled. Only the eastern half, with its access to the archipelago and Atla, were more inclined to grow through interaction with other people.
Something must have caused the uneven flow of information, limiting it to a primarily eastward direction. Whatever the cause, it remained in effect until recent times. Now, with the formation of the TTC, the Ferosian people have almost unanimously decided to protect and preserve a small portion of the central western side of Feron, leaving the civilization untouched. This initiative has seen little resistance across the rest of Velwythe primarily due to the remote location of the land.
Feron is not as highly populated as Atla, though many of the countries on the eastern half are more densely populated than Atla’s provinces. Three fourths of the entire population lives in only 40% of the landmass (the northeastern tip, along the eastern coast to the southeastern tip).
While Atla is known for wines and corn, Feron’s primary agricultural export is, and always has been its olives. That does not mean that the entire continent grows solely olives. Rather, Feron is one of the most prolific agricultural lands on Velwythe. However, from a luxury financial standpoint, a majority of the countries throughout Feron deal primarily in olives and olive oil-with fish a close second. A variety of olive oils is produced across the entire eastern half of the land. This breadth of choices for consumers has been a major factor in preventing wars and contentions over growing areas. Most countries on the eastern end of the continent are known for their own unique blends of oils, offering consumers enough choices to prevent a monopoly.
Feron’s combined military strength rivals Atlas, however it is distributed unequally. Four countries, most of which reside on the northeastern edge of the continent, control a vast majority of the continent’s military power. Redding, Agrilla, Nasca and Cape Town, countries all around the north east corner, have well developed militaries using modern day Magi-Tech. Agrilla was the first nation outside of Atla to purchase the PMC-147 for use by its military, with Cape Town following shortly after. The reason for the well-developed militaries is primarily the result of their geographic locations. With their proximity to the Archipelago and the Inner Ring, these four nations were unwittingly caught in conflicts many thousands of years ago, and have never cleansed their hands of the trouble. Peaceable nations at heart (all of which are members of the TTC), their militaries arose out of a defensive need. It is a rare occasion that any of the nations, not just the four mentioned, will launch an offensive. Moreover, most of those attacks have been in collaboration with Atla.
The people of Feron are known as Ferosians are. The Atlan language has always called the people Ferosians due to initial difficulties in translating the early Ferosian language. A proper translation for the people would be Feronians, though the name Ferosians has been around long enough that changing it now would be impossible.
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