Liurnia of Lakes

Moving on to Liurnia, we notice the region has a much more extreme landscape. A huge lake, on which Raya Lucaria is managing to remain tall, flanked either side by high rise cliffs. The name, Liurnia of the Lakes, seems to be misleading initially as the area features only one lake that encompasses the entire valley. But the map helps here: “The majority of Liurnia… is sinking into a lake”. Thus, perhaps the region used to be made up of many, much smaller, lakes that have expanded and conjoined into what we see today. This would explain how the Academy Gate Town was set up beneath the Academy, and how various ruins found in the lake would have been established - that is, they were originally on dry land. If the name for the region is a misfit, it implies that what is causing Liurnia to sink down must be a relatively recent event, and the landscape of the Academy Gate-town can attest to that. The angles of its buildings almost seem as extreme as the ruins we found in Limgrave, which it must be noted are also found throughout Liurnia.

Given the east side of Liurnia features the highroad, and Raya Lucaria itself said they wouldn’t interfere in the Shattering, we can assume the change to the marshland is a more natural influence, as opposed to some result of armies marching through or warring in the area. Though it does seem that the eastern highroad does not currently lead all the way to Northern Liurnia, there is still little evidence of the activity of armies in the lake area. So, either the ground itself is losing stability or there has been an influx of water. The Lake of Rot does lie below this region, but we don’t know just how much lower this is, and the ancient architecture would suggest that its influence on the stability of the region is by no means a new one. The crystals above the Lake are interesting though. Perhaps they provide some form of protection that keeps Raya Lucaria standing strong, and may even be one of the reasons for the academy’s location.

We don’t think the flooding could be caused by weather changes - the region was already known for its ever-present fog, and if we look to the Weeping Peninsula, known for its endlessly rainy climate, we find no flooding of note. If we look instead for a source of water that could be flooding the lakes, we are led to the Ruin-Strewn Precipice, which, interestingly, features for the second time the archaic architecture that we saw in the pillars in Limgrave. These structures do in fact seem to be built for the water flow, so the water source, surely, isn’t a recent development. However, being so inlaid into the cliff could indicate that it was at some point hidden from the outside, and was actually within the cliff, leading the water somewhere underground. As such, it is possible that they were only unearthed in recent times. Indeed, if we look to the exit at the top we can see the site of many destroyed caravans and a number of omen, one of which is even crying.

Evidently a site of a lot of recent activity. Furthermore, it may have been the case that the Grand Lift of Dectus was not in action during the Shattering, as we find the medallion halves far away in Limgrave and Caelid, so the scaffolding up the precipice may have therefore only been carved out during that time. The pathway does seem very haphazardly crafted, as if it was only intended as a temporary solution. If so, it is possible that this waterfall was only released recently, by uncovering the structure, and is what is causing Liurnia to sink so quickly.