Mythic Hyperborea

O King Apollo, son of great Zeus, whom thy father did furnish forth at thy birth with golden headband and lyre of shell, and giving thee moreover a swan-drawn chariot to drive, would have thee go to Delphi. But nevertheless, once mounted, thou bade thy swans fly to the land of the Hyperboreans.

— Alcaeus

Far north, near the icy regions of the North Pole, legends tell of an earthly paradise, the home of an ancient civilization guarded by the great god Apollo. Also known as Helixoia, Hyperborea is now a powerful regio.

According to some traditions, Hyperborea predated Greece and Rome, and even ancient Egypt and Babylon. A mighty race that treated magic as a mere toy ruled this civilization, a people whose very lives were intimately woven with magic. While most point to the legend of Plato and the mythic lost city of Atlantis as the source of civilization, certain esoteric traditions claim that Hyperborea was the origin of mankind.

From this golden age and civilization, the primal humans ventured to other regions of the Earth, establishing new civilizations, such as legendary Atlantis, hoary Egypt, and mighty Babylon. Legend has it that Apollo, the deity of the Old Ones, visited his Hyperborean demesne every 19 years, the same period over which the stars in the heavens return to the same place. The Celtic druids adopted this calendar cycle, and it was used by many within the Order of Hermes until the destruction of House Diedne.

Some Hermetic scholars link Hyperborea to the realm of Magic, in the same way that Arcadia is the highest realm of Faerie. In Mythic Europe, Hyperborea is a real place, a paradise on Earth, deeply connected to the Magic realm. By the 13th century, none have made the journey to the furthest north for a millennium.

Behind [the Ripaean Mountains] and beyond the north wind (if we are to believe this) lives a happy race known as the Hyperboreans who survive to a ripe old age and are famous for marvelous things handed down in stories. It is believed that here are the hinges on which the world turns and the extreme limits of the circuits of the stars. The Hyperboreans enjoy six months of daylight. The sun rises once a year, at midsummer, and sets once, at midwinter. It is a sunny region with an equable climate, free from all harmful gales. The Hyperboreans live in the woods and groves and worship gods both individually and in groups; all disharmony and sorrow are unknown. Death does not come until they have had their fill of life. Setting a banquet, they greet their old age

Abaris

The philosopher Porphyry writes that Pythagoras showed his golden thigh to Abaris, the Hyperborean priest of Apollo. Abaris was called "air-traveler," because he once rode on an arrow given to him by Apollo, by which he crossed rivers and seas, and reached inaccessible places.

Aristeas

Herodotus the historian mentions another Hyperborean, Aristeas of Proconessus, who was a member of a prestigious and respected family. Maximus of Tyre records that Aristeas would often have his spirit leave his body, which would fly off like a bird while he lay breathing distinctly and in a fashion close to death. His spirit would observe everything — land, seas, rivers, cities, and peoples — and then reenter his body and recount the various things that it had seen. Aristeas was also famous for living for over 250 years, a feat that saw the city of Metapontines erect a statue with the legend "Aristeas of Proconessus" in his honor.

Arge and Opis

A legend among the Delians tells of two Hyperborean women, Arge and Opis, who came to Delos accompanied by Apollo's sister, Artemis. The purpose of the visit was to pay tribute to Eileithyia (the goddess who presided over childbirth) for the birth of Apollo, to ensure quick and painless childbirth for themselves. Arge and Opis were later taken to Olympus by Artemis and became her servants.

The Hyperborean Necromancer

Lucian's Philopseudes tells of a mysterious unnamed Hyperborean necromancer who flew down from the sky near a small Roman estate and used necromancy and other magic to make a woman fall in love with the local lord. In doing so, he called down the moon and called up Hekate, and summoned the ghost of the lord's father.

Olen the Bard

A Hyperborean who made his home in Lycia, Olen composed many of the Hyperborean hymns once sung on Delos and the other Aegean islands.

Hyperoche and Laodice

The sacred virgins sent by the Hyperboreans to deliver Apollo's sacred relics to Delos, Hyperoche and Laodice failed to return home from their mission, despite being protected by five Hyperborean guards. It was the disappearance of Hyperoche and Laodice that caused the Hyperboreans to decide to rarely leave Hyperborea. In honor of Hyperoche and Laodice, the boys and girls of Delos in antiquity would offer locks of their hair.

with luxury, and then leap into the sea from a certain rock. This method of burial is the most serene.

— Pliny, Natural History, Book IV, 89

Hyperborea is an island hidden in a level 7 regio (although at its highest level it extends to a level 10 regio). Protected by an impregnable wall, great fiery gates are the only entrance, shut tight with a fourfold, bright bar, holding closed against all strangers. It is not possible to accidentally wander into Hyperborea. Only those who know the passwords, or who are invited, may enter.

Inside, the island is a veritable paradise, filled with every beautiful and gracious thing. A sweet, nourishing breeze floats across the island, which is perpetually bathed in the sustaining bright light of the eternal sun. Few sounds break the peace and serenity of Hyperborea.

Its common inhabitants are the Hyperboreans, a people who live in peace and harmony amid the sacred groves and woods of the island. All Hyperboreans possess Supernatural Powers, whether these are control of the elements, the ability to send their spirit into the astral regions of the sky, or to transform into graceful swans or jet-black crows. In their human form, they appear as radiant and goldenskinned men and women. A great many sacred animals to Apollo live on the island and in the waters surrounding it: snakes, dolphins, hawks, swans, crows, and oxen.

At the center of the island stands a great mountain, known as the Mountain of Salvation. At the pinnacle of the mountain is the great temple of Apollo Phoebus, in which the sun god resides. It stands so tall that it may only be reached by flight, or through spirit travel.

Needless to say, getting into Hyperborea is difficult, and is likely only to happen if characters are invited in by one of its residents. Learning the passwords to the gates of Hyperborea would be a major quest, and could involve tracking down the spirits or ghosts of famous Hyperboreans such as Abaris or the maids of Delos. An invitation may be given if the characters are returning the earthly remains of a Hyperborean priest, or a relic, with the intent to leave them in Hyperborea.

Every 19 years, at the time when the stars complete their revolutions — the vernal equinox of the rising of the Pleiads — Apollo Phoebus leaves his temple and goes among the Hyperborean people. During this time he sings, dances, and plays the harp, distributing his blessings to the faithful.

The scholars of the ancient world disputed the precise location of Hyperborea. Here are three other possible locations for the Land Beyond the North Wind.

• 1. According to Livy, whose interpretation of "bora" refers to the hills of Pelagonia, the Hyperboreans lived somewhere near Monastir, a mountain range in the Balkans of Macedonia. The legends told of sacred Hyperborean gifts being brought to Delos from distant regions of Dodona and the Maliac Gulf (in Greece), along what would become the Via Egnatia. This legend grew from the sheltered rose gardens and rich farming land on the Pierian side of the Bora Mountains in Paeonia, and welldeveloped sun-cults.
• 2. Based on the writings of Greek historian Hecateus, the

• Hyperboreans were British Celts, and their worship of Apollo was based on the importance of Bel, the sun god, in Celtic religion. The significance of songs to the Celtic bards and druids is evidence of this legend, as are the many ancient standing stone circles containing 19 stones, and the similarity of the Hyperborean and Celtic astrological calendars (both of which used 19-year cycles).

• 3. Hyperborea was Chinese Turkistan, and the griffins said to live with the Hyperboreans were the dragons on the Chinese flags. The great Hypergoraei Mountains were the Urals in Central Asia, which placed the Turks near the lands of Terraconta. There has even been suggestion that the Issedonians were ancient Tibetans (who may or may not exist in Mythic Europe).