Trans-Herridan Wall

The Trans-Herridan Wall (officially the *Herridan Containment Barrier* in Myrahan legal documents) is a colossal fortified boundary and penal colony in the Grey World of Myrah. Stretching approximately 1,800 kilometres through rugged mountain passes, arid plateaus, and the fringes of the Eastern Sea, it physically and magically divides the densely populated capital megaregion of Thallius from the lawless Herridan Outlands, a vast wilderness inhabited by rebel factions, political exiles, and communities that reject the magi-aristocracy’s rule.

Constructed primarily of reinforced grey-stone concrete infused with permanent warding spells, the wall stands 40–60 metres high in most sections, with watchtowers rising an additional 30 metres at regular intervals. It is widely regarded in Myrahan historiography as the single largest public-works and security project.

Etymology

The name “Trans-Herridan” derives from the Old Myrahan prefix *trans-* (“across” or “beyond”) and the pre-revolutionary geographical term *Herridan*, originally referring to the high eastern plateau and its associated river system. After the revolution the term was repurposed to designate everything “outside” the new order, turning a once-neutral place-name into a synonym for exile and resistance.

History

Construction was ordered in 12 AR (post Arcanian Revolution) by the original Grand Magi triumvirate — Archmagus Veyra Thal, High Enchanter Korrus Veyn, and Warden-Sorcerer Lirra Kael [Author's Note: names to be replaced later…]] — who seized power immediately following the Arcanian Revolution. The triumvirate declared the project an “eternal safeguard of the magical order,” citing the need to protect the newly centralized magi cities from “unregulated non-arcane elements” and to provide a controlled outlet for dissenters.

The first 400 kilometers were completed within six years using a combination of conscripted non-magi labor, elemental magic for quarrying, and illusionary barriers to conceal progress from potential saboteurs. Subsequent expansions continued under later Grand Magi councils, with major extensions in 47 AR and 119 AR. By 203 AR the wall had reached its present length and was officially redesignated a “self-sustaining administrative zone.”

Structure and Defenses

The wall is not just a single continuous rampart but also a linear system:

Outer curtain: 12-metre-thick base, topped with anti-climb wards and automated lightning arrays for areas that need the greatest security.

Inner curtain: Lower security but heavily enchanted, containing most of the exile camps themselves.

Watchtower network: 187 major towers, each housing a permanent garrison of 50–200 personnel and linked by teleportation portals for rapid reinforcement.

Magical overlay: A continuous dome-like ward that prevents unauthorized planar travel or large-scale spellcasting near the barrier.

Visual records and survivor accounts describe the wall as a serpentine ribbon of grey concrete cutting across shadowed mountain ranges and dust-choked plains, often under the perpetual overcast skies characteristic of the Grey World.

Function as Penal Colony

In addition to its defensive role, the Trans-Herridan Wall functions as Myrah’s primary site of permanent exile. Individuals convicted of “arcane sedition,” property sabotage against magi holdings, or association with outlaw groups are sentenced to “translocation beyond the Herridan line.” Once inside the Outlands-side camps, prisoners receive minimal rations, no magical medical aid, and are forbidden from crossing back under penalty of summary execution by wall patrols. Conditions are deliberately lethal; the combination of exposure, scarce resources, and periodic purges has earned the wall the colloquial title “the slow death sentence” among Thallius underclass populations.

Rebel groups in the Outlands have repeatedly attempted to tunnel under, scale, or magically breach sections of the wall, with the largest recorded uprising occurring in 178 AR. All such attempts have been repelled, often with heavy loss of life.

Cultural and Political Significance

Within Myrahan society the wall serves as the ultimate symbol of the post-revolutionary order: an immovable line between the “protected” magi heartland and the chaotic exterior. Propaganda films and academy curricula portray it as a “shield of civilization.” The phrase “sent to Herridan” is used in everyday speech as a euphemism for certain death or disappearance.

In popular culture the Trans-Herridan Wall features prominently in the multi-world narrative *William’s Story: Shatter The World*, where it is first introduced as the looming threat hanging over the protagonist’s early life in Thallius. Concept art commonly depict the wall snaking through storm-lashed mountains with Thallius’s spires visible in the distance, sometimes under the looming celestial body visible from the Grey World.

See also

- Arcanian Revolution - Grand Magi - Myrah (Grey World) - Herridan Outlands