The World of Ys is a fantasy mirror of the real world, with its most notable difference being having two moons instead of one. So far, three continents are shown to exist in this world: Eresia, Afroca, and the lost Atlas continent. The only ocean shown so far is the Atlas Ocean. The inhabitants of the world are divided between Eresians, Afrocans, the Rehda, and the lost Eldeen race, as well as many different animals and monsters, both natural and man-made.
History
Creation
It is said that since the creation of the world of Ys, the Five Dragons of Altago have existed. These deities are located in the Afroca continent, and embody different elements of nature: Rada-Manj embodies earth and growth, Angue-Barl flame and power, Mu-Anti wind and peace, O-Balon sea and prosperity, and Ze-Kalios embodies the moons and the transmigration of souls. Together, they sustain the harmony of the world. If this harmony is disrupted, the Wind of Destruction appears, which ultimately summons The Root of All Existence to destroy the world and reset it to a harmonious state. The Wind of Destruction may only be stopped by a Dragon Warrior who manages to defeat the Root. This process has occurred many times in the past, resulting in many history cycles being lost to the Wind of Destruction.
Ancient Past
In the distant past of the current history cycle of the series, a race called the Eldeen prospered in the Atlas continent. The Eldeen discovered a translucent mineral called emel, which they were able to refine into emelas. Three basic types of emelas were developed: blue emelas with the power of wind, red emelas with the power of fire, and yellow emelas with the power of lightning. Furthermore, the Eldeen were able to create black emelas, which combines the power of all three basic emelas, and white emelas, with the power of life, and also able to control its black counterpart. The emelas technology allowed the Eldeen civilization to prosper greatly, and in time they discarded their natural bodies for bodies made of white emelas, becoming essentially immortal. Due to this, other races began to revere them as gods, calling them the Winged Ones.
A group of humans which came to be known as the Darklings envied the immortality of the Eldeen, and sought to steal the secrets of their technology. They managed to create basic emelas, but were unable to refine the black and white types. Instead, they only obtained the so-called ash emelas, a weaker version of the black type. The Darklings used ash emelas to wage war against the Eldeen, with the goal of controlling the Ark of Napishtim, the Eldeen weather control system that held much of their power and secrets. However, the Darklings were unable to control the black emelas of the Ark without white emelas, causing the Ark to go berserk and to flood nearly all of the Atlas continent. This flood caused great geographical changes in the world, and resulted in the near total loss of the Eldeen race.
Despite the flood, the Eldeen did manage to seal the Ark, and hid the remnants of the Atlas continent within the Great Vortex. A few Eldeen survivors fled to the continent of Eresia, with some Darklings chasing after them as well, and their presence greatly altered the history of the Eresians in many different ways. Although very few people in the present know of the Eldeen civilization, remnants of their technology may be found in several regions of Eresia.
Present
So far, the Ys series have taken place mostly in the continent of Eresia, which in the present time has been conquered by the Romun Empire, with their seat of power located in Romn. The Romun forces have extended north towards Britai, west towards Ispani, east towards the River Tigres, and south across the Medo Sea towards the city of Xandria, in the continent of Afroca; these borders are usually marked on Ys world maps with a red border. This Romun expansion threatened the economic and political power of the Afrocan Kingdom of Altago, leading to the two regional powers going to war for naval supremacy. The result was a truce that merely deterred the Empire's expansion temporarily.
Across the Atlas Ocean, to the west, lies the Vortex of Canaan, a perpetual storm that isolates the few surviving islands of the lost Atlas continent from the outside world. In Ys world maps, it is surrounded by a red line marked as "a borderline to dangerous sea area". The Romun Empire had sent forces near the Vortex, led by Admiral Agares and Ernst, to scout and conquer the land within. The Islands of Canaan do become accessible to the rest of the world after the events of Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim.
Locations
These are the known locations and areas in the world of Ys, followed by their real-world counterparts.
Eresia Continent
The Eresia continent is based on Eurasia. It is inhabited by Eresians, and it is bordered by Afroca on the south and by the Atlas Ocean on the west. It is comprised of:
- Europe (Europe)
- Ispani Region (Spain/Iberian Peninsula)
- Gllia Region (Gaul/France)
- The Alp Region (Alps)
- Britai Region (Britain)
- Garman Region (Germany)
- Felghana (Switzerland but located in Northern Germany)
- Danmerk (Denmark)
- Europe Region (Southern Europe)
- Romn (Rome)
- Medo Sea (Meditterranean Sea)
- Obelia Gulf (Bay of Biscay)
- Greek (Greece)
- Athnai (Athens)
- Sounion (Sounion)
- Gaete Sea (Aegean Sea)
- Seiren Island (Saronic Islands)
- Orietta Region (Middle East)
Afroca Continent
The Afroca continent is based on Africa. It is inhabited by Afrocans, and it is bordered by Eurasia on the north and by the Atlas Ocean on the west. It is comprised of:
- Altago (Carthage/Tunisia)
- Shala Desert (Sahara Desert)
- Xandria (Alexandria)
Atlas Continent
The sunken Atlas continent is based on the mythical Atlantis and real world Americas. It is inhabited by the Rehda, and located due west from Eresia, across the eponymous Atlas Ocean. It is perpetually bordered by the Great Vortex. Its remnants consist of:
- Canaan Islands (Caribbean, named after Canaan)
- Canaan Island
- Quatera Island
- Zemeth Island
- The Ark of Napishtim (based on the ark of Utnapishtim)
- Vortex of Canaan (based on the Bermuda Triangle)
Explorable Regions
Each game in the Ys series takes place in a different area of the world. So far, these are the explorable regions by game:
- Origin: Darm Tower (possibly inspired by the Tower of Babel)
- Ancient Ys Vanished: Omen: Esteria (Brittany in France)
- Ancient Ys Vanished: The Final Chapter: Ys (mythical city off the northern French coast)
- The Oath in Felghana: Felghana (Switzerland but located in Northern Germany)
- Memories of Celceta: Celceta (Celtiberia in Spain/Iberian Peninsula)
- Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand: Xandria (Alexandria in Egypt)
- The Ark of Napishtim: Canaan Islands (Caribbean islands in the Atlantic Ocean)
- SEVEN: Altago (Carthage/Tunisia in North Africa)
- Lacrimosa of DANA: Seiren Island (Saronic Islands in the Aegean Sea)
- Monstrum Nox: Balduq (Paris in France)
- Nordics: Obelia Gulf (Bay of Biscay in the coast of Spain and France)
According to the manual of the very first Ys game released on the PC-88 in 1987, which has been reprinted several times in Japanese materials and has served as a partial basis for the backstories of Ys IV, Ys V and Ys SEVEN, Adol Christin does explore central Afroca and the North Pole during his lifetime. This means that the aforementioned areas exist in the world of Ys, although they haven't been made explorable yet.