Arcadia (The Longest Journey)

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Arcadia is one of the twin worlds that the Earth has been Divided into, as featured in the adventure game The Longest Journey and its sequel, Dreamfall. Unlike its cyberpunk counterpart Stark, Arcadia is a fantasy realm, where magic, ancient mysteries and a number of fantasy races and creatures are native. According to the ancient Balance between the two worlds, science and technology are almost impossible to advance in Arcadia, just as magic is impossible in Stark. As seen in Dreamfall, the best Arcadian scientists working for the Azadi Empire have not yet passed the stage of steam technologies, and even that technology is aided and augmented through the use of magic.

[edit] Regions

Inside the world of Arcadia, the places named in The Longest Journey include the country of Ayrede, the Unified Country, which holds the headquarters of the Order of the Sentinel, located in the prosperous port city of Marcuria. It stretches from the Plains of Nehrah in the north to the Great Sea in the south.

North of Ayrede, past the Border Mountains, live the Venar, a mysterious race who perceive time differently from all other races, therefore have very little contact with them. To the inhabitants of Ayrede, those lands are called the Northlands, while for the south continent that name also includes Ayrede, and any other place north of the Great Sea. West of Ayrede lies the nation of Tyren, allies of the Vanguard, and enemies of the Unified Country. East of Ayrede is Corasan, homeland of the Bay of Fire. Ayrede acts as a wall between the two great powers of Arcadia. South, across the Sea of Songs, lie the Southlands and a gigantic desert known as Bakshe'va, named after the once glorious empire that used to be there, whose capital was Changa'griel.

At the bottom of the Sea of Songs, near the Kingdom of Ge'en, live the mermaid-like creatures called Maerum. Near their city, lies the island of Alais, home to the Alatien and some Stickmen tribes. And somewhere in the seas of Arcadia, live the mysterious Dark People, whose living city is floating with the ocean currents, always changing its location.