#as it is in the books cuz it bad when just 1 volcano is active and erupts with the ashes and sulfur and all that imagine 14

[vaedar]

Headcanons: Valyrian Geography, Geology, Climate

       In this post, I'll be giving a general description of my headcanons for the geography, geology, climate and other related matters of the valyrian peninsula. It is important to remember that the details and descriptions given here apply only to interactions in this blog for RP purposes and references, they are not official nor canon unless stated otherwise. Also important to remark that some of the descriptions may not fit the laws of reality because this is fantasy and GRRM himself has stated so when people try to give logical, realistic and scientific explanations to how the ASOIAF world works.

Over here you may find more of my headcanons on Valyria. Under cut because it’s a little long.

Terrain

       The majority of the lands in the peninsula are filled with mountains, hills, cliffs and valleys between them. These mountainous regions were more common to the north and center, extending to the southern areas though with reduced heights ( sort of like a 'T' form ), along with the Fourteen Flames. Roads were built between these mountain paths to connect the valyrian cities. To the east and west, the mountain ranges were lower, considered to be more hills rather than mountains but cliffs were actually common right by the coasts. Beaches did exist but more to the south, as well as rivers that flowed in the valleys created between the mountains of the center, north, east and west ( as shown in the map ). Some of these beaches actually had black sand, one of the many effects of the volcanic activity in the peninsula.

Fourteen Flames

      It might be best to start off with the heart, life force and source of the Doom in the valyrian peninsula. The Fourteen Flames is the canon name given to a chain of active volcanoes, where creatures such as dragons and firewyrms could be found. They've been burning for thousands of years ( probably more ), even before the Valyrian Freehold was first founded. These volcanoes affected both directly and indirectly the entirety of the peninsula and a little beyond, in positive and not so positive ways. The valyrians with their magical prowess learned to control or tame the fury of the fires ( as they did with dragons ) to the point where civilization could thrive albeit the close proximity of such a dangerous and deadly force. They were mainly concentrated on the region between the cities of Tyria and Oros, north to Valyria but there were also isolated peaks scattered in other areas of the land. The more common types were composite volcanoes but there were also shield and cinder cone peaks.

On the positive aspects of the presence of these active ( but thanks to valyrian sorcery ) controlled volcanoes, volcanic soils ( in real life known as andisols ) developed and impacted agriculture, fauna and flora. It was particularly positive in the norther region of the peninsula, over at the Lands of the Long Summer, where produce was abundant ( back then, more so than the The Reach in Westeros ). It's from here that most of the food comes to feed the lands and peoples all around the peninsula and a little beyond, connected by the wide and long dragon or valyrian roads. All sorts of crops were grown ( tomatoes, olives, grapes, corn, citrus fruits, tea plants, vegetables and spices ), and from these, the best wines were produced. There was also a wide variety of plants and flowers.

Another positive and it's actually one of the things the valyrians are or were known for the most, are the precious minerals and materials mined from the area in the Fourteen Flames. The constant but controlled flow of magma from within the earth's crust and then of lava that solidifies, as well as volcanic ash; make these precious minerals and metals pretty abundant��though they are highly dangerous to mine. Amongst these minerals and ores mined were gold, silver, garnet, obsidian, and of course, the all famous metal for the 'magical alloy' integrated into valyrian steel ( on that in another post ).

On the negative aspects, the danger would probably be the highest hazard, not just for the risk of eruption but the quality of the air and how the volcanoes affect the general climate. This however, is something that valyrians did control through sorcery and other ways, and the rest of the peoples adapted through out thousands of years. The mining for slaves was fatal and hundreds ( and more ) died while mining in the Fourteen Flames.

Climate and Weather

In terms of general climate over the valyrian peninsula area, it can be comparable to that of a real life Mediterranean climate only a little hotter still. We know that seasons in the ASOIAF world are still not really explained but when the true summer time is on the valyrian peninsula, it's more often hot and dry rather than humid but not to the point of the arid dry climate of Dorne. The seasons of spring and fall are not really noticeable and during winter, the temperatures are generally more on the higher average of warmth for the winter period. Humidity is higher then and rains are far more common than summer season but it does not snow. At night, the temperatures did get a little lower but not much to make a significant difference from daylight temperatures. It's a pretty stable climate.

Particular things that do have association with the existence of the Fourteen Flames in the peninsula are the presence of more clouds, most of them from the volcanoes. The light of the sun does filter through however, enough to give the higher temperatures on the land. An effect of this interaction can be seen in the valyrian sunsets, which are commonly more vividly red  ( mixed with the blue, it could be thought to have purple hues as well ) rather than the more orange-yellow hued sunsets observed in the rest of the continent. In the evenings, the clouds maintained a somewhat red tone to them mixed with the dark grey, an effect of the faint glow originating from the Fourteen Flames reflected on the clouds and sky above the volcanic mountains.

After the Doom

|| To be applied to all verses taking place after 114 B.C., and based on the Path of the Last Embers storyline ||

The massive and simultaneous eruption by all Fourteen Flames changed the valyrian peninsula entirely. It was no longer an attached area of land but shattered in three main islands surrounded by dozens of smaller ones. The area where the Fourteen Flames stood is now known as the Smoking Sea. Though the majority of the volcanoes were swallowed by the catastrophic tsunamis and the sudden rising sea levels, there are those still above ground centuries after the Doom. It's their fires that can be seen in the distance away from the coast, the red hue reflected on the skies and clouds with even more intensity than before the Doom, as they are now active due to the lack of powerful valyrian magic to control them.

The peninsula was mainly shattered and divided into three main islands right over where the rivers used to flow through the land, where it was easier for the giant waves to wash inland and swallow it. Due to the submerged ground, the water is sometimes muddy and very difficult to navigate. A form of volcanic fog covers great part of the land ( mainly the northern area ) that remains as well as the entirety of the Smoking Sea, which can be toxic for unprotected people. The survivors of Valyria are protected from these toxins in the ruins of the city.

The climate does differ slightly from that before the Doom in the temperatures, now a little less warm and more humid, less sunlight manages to filter through the thicker clouds and fog. For long years, they were low enough to be considered cold or tempered but in the recent century or two, it has risen again enough to once again be on the warm and hotter side. Vegetation has slowly began to cover the ruins of the valyrian cities and the rest of the land, growing unhindered by civilization. Animals did survive the Doom and others from outside places, mostly flying or swimming fauna, have moved and now inhabit the remains of the shattered peninsula.

UPDATE:

It is important to remember that this is a fantasy world, so I would like to add that had the Doom taken place in our real life world, the whole planet would’ve been rendered uninhabitable and pretty much the human race would’ve gone extinct. In the best of circumstances, human race would’ve been thrust back into the stone age. So a reminder that these headcanons are all based on the fact that his is a fantasy world, and that laws of nature and physics do not always apply here, considering we have the factor of magic mixed into the equation, which is something Valyrians were skilled in. 

This is all for the general descriptions of the headcanon for now. Please do keep in mind that they have the purpose of serving as references and can be modified accordingly to the interactions. The images used are all found on my board of Valyria over at Pinterest, the artists and/or sources are there.