It is currently Winter here. Much of the land is cold and desolate, but the desert is in magnificent bloom.
The spirits of the seasons didn’t always get along. Orderly transitions of power gave way to bloody campaigns between the servants of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. But the Druids of Eco were powerful, and they brought forth a solution: each Spirit would take their season to a separate reality, to rule for all time. And so Eco was split into four: Eco-Vir, Eco-Syl, Eco-Tem, and Eco-Fos.
There are... competing theories.
Eco is the graveyard of the gods. Well, at least four gods. Only the gods of the seasons have graves that mortals can visit: Vir can be visited in Spring, Syl in Summer, Tem in Fall, and Fos in Winter. At other times, their realms are hidden outside of reality. Other gods may have graves here as well - but only Eco’s druids know how to access them. The druids can slip through the four natural seasons and beyond, to the unnatural weirdscapes of the other dead gods.
Or
Eco isn’t real. Not exactly. The land is empty; the druids have at least four different illusions they weave, to convince visitors - and perhaps even the poor farmers - that the land is bountiful and natural. How the large population of humans is fed remains a mystery; the farms are illusory, but somehow the food provides sustenance.
Or
Eco is a perfectly normal realm; a capital city surrounded by farming towns. Nothing unusual at all. The obsession with the seasons is perfectly normal for a realm of humble farmers, harvesters, and fishers. Sure, there are stories about travelers somehow walking from Winter to Summer, or Autumn to Spring - but people do that everywhere, all the time! It just takes six months or so. Travelers probably just have curious month-long memory gaps. Perhaps they don’t know which wild mushrooms and berries to harvest - the poisonous ones steal time, after all.
The only known truth is this: Eco is ruled by druids, and these druids must lie. This can be determined simply enough, in a brief and mundane conversation. Whether this a curse, a pact, or a quirk is not known - the Druids haven’t given any of those explanations, so any of them could be true.
The city itself? Populous. Prosperous. Full of people rich from the bounty of the surrounding land and sea. People who welcome outsiders and their stories - but never share their own tales, and never leave their homeland. Simple folk have no time to fret about the nature of the universe, you understand. Everything in Eco is perfectly normal; no use stirring up panic with fanciful theories. Leave the thinking to the druids.
Notable Structures: Ecospire, Druids’ Rest, Bridge of Time, Mainland Tower, The Cornucopia, The Panchromaton, The Weirding Tree, Times’ Square.
Cultural Influence: 4. The mysteries of Eco are inspiring, but the people themselves produce little of cultural value. The druids grow curious chanting vines for export; this is the only cultural product of note.
Economic Influence: 5. The economy is simple and agrarian, and Eco’s people never leave home - not the qualities of an economic powerhouse. Still, their exports are valued, and they are integrated into the greater economy of Terra Trema.
Military Influence: 3. Eco is simple and agrarian; its people are not prone to fighting, and not skilled in battle. But they are numerous and led by powerful druids.
Defense: 17. Eco’s powerful druids appear capable of bending reality to their whims. Invading armies tend to get lost, never reaching the city.