#yulyoch

Yesterday I told you about the Yulyoch and the danger that it poses. Today? I want to tell you the secret that it hides.

You see, a trip into the Yulyoch may be a one-way trip, but it is by no means a guaranteed trip to the afterlife. When the current rips you away from the world you know, it sends you plummeting down down down, racing you along stone that has been polished into a smooth surface over eons, before dropping you into a large cavern.

Almost 3,000 feet deep into the dirt and stone, you’ll find yourself in a rather large cave system, known to those who call it home as Doi. It’s like a whole other world there, the only true light coming from the bioluminescent glow of the lichen, moss, and vines that cover the walls casting the rooms in a pale blue glow. Mushrooms taller than even the largest Kiall dot the landscape, and from the main cavern you can see 6 smaller offshoots.

The river runs straight through the center of the main cavern, with a sturdy bridge made of stone and clay connecting to the two halves. Running across the river you’ll find 7 different nets, each designed to catch different size items, with the one at the end of the cavern so tight knit that only water can pass. These allow the Doi to collect any and everything that may wash down from above - from supplies to new citizens.

On average, only 3-5 of the 10 or so people who enter will survive the trip from Yulyoch to the cavern, as there is a high risk of hitting your head on a rock or drowning during the trip.

The river disappears beyond the curve of the cavern, but if you stand at just the right spot on the Northern shore, you can spot a small beach they call Hadni - it’s the last place on the river where you can turn back and live in the Doi community. Beyond that point, your odds of survival drop to a mere 5%.

On the northern side of the cavern, you’ll find a handful of small buildings, storage and gathering places. You’ll also find three offshoot caverns known as Raru, Mogri, and Har.

If you enter the Raru offshoot, you’ll be greeted by an almost 2 mile walk to a cave that’s around 2 acres in size, and it gets it name from the Vasi word for dew. Raru is closest to the magma chamber that heats the whole system, and the high temperature and humidity means that the walls are covered in water at all times. A small species of cave bird calls this area home, and it’s a nice place to relax when you need a break.

To the east of Raru lies Mogri, named for the Vasi word for plant/bury. Of course this is where the best soil is in all of the caves, and they manage to grow a handful of crops in the cavern, enough to ensure their community can eat and survive.

Next to Mogri lies Har (Vasi for light or illuminate), and while the other caves are lovely it’s my personal favorite. The rock walls here are made of a rather reflective surface and with all of the bioluminescent glow, this cave is so bright it’s almost blinding at times. The people of Doi have managed to get their hands on seeds from plants from above and they seem to thrive in this small cave. It’s like they carved out a chunk of the world above and planted it down deep below the surface. There are even a handful of chickens in this cave after one person fell in while running from a bear who she’d stumbled across while gathering eggs from her chickens. It was hard, but they managed to hatch a small flock of the birds.

The Southern shore of the main cavern is covered in the large mushrooms, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. These mushrooms provide oxygen and food for the Doi people, and they are carefully managed. On this side of the river, you’ll also find the remaining 3 caverns: Rayi, Ral, and Vikbus.

Rayi (Vasi for safe, steady) and Vikbus (Vasi for life, live) are where are all of the Doi people build their homes. They’re the least humid of all the caverns and while they may stay cooler than the others, their temperature is more stable and with the shorter ceiling heights there’s a lot less echoing, making it ideal for having privacy in small stone homes.

Between Rayi and Vikbus lies the smallest of all the caverns, Ral (Vasi for Hope). Small shrines line the edges of Ral, each dedicated to a different favored deity. As new people arrive with new favorites deities, new shrines appear over time. This cavern is their spiritual home and it’s not uncommon for new arrivals to spend a lot of their time here, looking for peace or guidance from any deity who will listen.

Life in Doi is very simple, and those who call it home tend to be forgiving, not holding your life above against you. It doesn’t tend to take long to find your place in the community, whether that be in gardening, livestock, healing, or construction. Some people find love, some simply find a new reason to keep going. The Doi are a very unique culture, one that I can’t imagine existing anywhere but in that cavern beneath the ground.

Remember when I told you about the Okini, and I mentioned they were only native to one cave system in Erothe/Feirr? Yeah, this is where I meant. The Okini live in Doi, and keep the people there company. The Okini are almost a thing of legend with how rare it is to see them outside of the Doi caverns, in fact the only time they are seen is when their chosen companion manages to escape…