unyasi [Lore] The Veld

[Bellosh]

The Veld - A Bountiful Expanse

 

Anybody from Equestria with a great interest in Unyasi would certainly know what the Veld is. The setting of numerous pony tales even from antiquity, the richly populated savannas of the southern continent have long captured the hearts and imaginations of the nomadic tribes who live there and those who live beyond. As it becomes easier to travel across the globe, the Veld will steadily become easier for world travelers to see these flatlands with their very own eyes.

 

The wide expanse of the Veld is the product of a tropical climate featuring a rainy season (Msimu wa Mvua) and a dry season (Msimu wa Moto). For half of the year, monsoons dump scores of rain upon the center of Unyasi to fill in bodies of water and give life to thorny acacia trees. When the monsoons stop, the trees turn barren and the green grass changes to a dull shade of brown. Whatever waterholes persist through the dry season will attract scores of animals to them.

 

And what an amazing variety of animal species there is living on the Unyasan savanna. Long-necked giraffes, titanic elephants, speedy gazelles, ferocious lions; they are undeniably the crown jewels of the Veld. Practically all creatures in the Veld are revered by the indigenous zebras of Unyasi and viewed with awe as exotic creatures by everyone else. The savanna may be a long ways away from Equestria or Aquellia, but the absence of legendary monsters in this ecosystem makes undertaking safaris and other sightseeing voyages a practical proposition.

 

As for the zebras themselves, most of the tribal villages in this region are found close to permanent bodies of water like major rivers. Being the breadbasket of Unyasi, much of the Veld close to the sea is taken up by small yet highly productive farms; any produce not needed for subsidence can be sold elsewhere in the land of the zebras. While most zebras here prefer staying put in riverside hamlets, a number of tribes see themselves as caretakers of the wider savanna. Such groups are nomadic, following the seasonal migration of other creatures, forming bonds with them, and deriving spiritual fulfillment from keeping the balance of nature preserved in the Veld...

~Unyasi and its Mysteries: A Pony's Guide