Fantasy † Compromise Brings Delusion † Lore Page

[BookishSnowWhite]

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Gilded Continent

The Four Kingdoms Lore

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This page is for the lore and world building of the Gilded Continent. Below there will be five separate posts for each kingdom, Homeland included. These posts will be expanded as the roleplay goes on, areas are explored, people are created and the story progresses. Anything you'd like to add to the official 5 posts can be PMed to me. Aside from that, you can post what you'd like, but only if it pertains to world building. Layouts of castles, lists of servants, descriptions of clothes and locations, businesses within kingdoms, very minor characters, towns within the kingdom, geographies of the land, creatures, that sort of thing.
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Character Sheets:
† Compromise Brings Delusion † CS Page
OOC:
† Compromise Brings Delusion † OOC Page
Interest Check:
Compromise Brings Delusion (Arranged Marriage) (Accepting)

 

[BookishSnowWhite]

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Fire Kingdom

The Largest Kingdom

The people of the Fire Kingdom are hard working. They believe in hard work. There are many farmers, but equally so there are artisans. Everyone is pushed to achieve their dreams and share the rewards with everyone. The kingdom is close-knit, laughter and music pouring out of every corner of land, especially the pubs. They live at the base of a dormant volcano and a crescent ridge of mountains on the eastern end of Gilded. Sprawling fields and orchards surround the outside of the land. It is the largest of the kingdoms. The closer into the kingdom you travel, you will find small villages the dot the land, and finally the capital city with towering, rustic buildings and the well loved castle. Some people within the kingdom have varying ability with fire. Some have impossible tolerance to fire/heat, while some have ability to manipulate and control flame. Only descendants of the royal family have pure enough blood to create fire from within. Though there are those who speculate that some commoners and orphaned children may be rejected royals with the hidden ability to create flame. The jewels of the Fire Kingdom are the Flame Prince and Princess.

List of Creatures:
Humans - most dominate of the kingdom, often of distant royal bloodline.
Phoenixes- beings of near immortal age, born from their own ashes, comes in many forms.
Centaurs- second most dominate, half horse/half man, hard workers and musicians.
Satyrs- half goat/half man, gifted musicians and artists.
Dwarfs- making their home within the mountains, newest creatures welcome in the kingdom.
Purrsains- cat creatures, welcome in the kingdom.

Geography:
Residing alongside and at the base of the mountain range. Shares a border with all kingdoms. Dark Realm to the north. Industrial Empire to the South. Water Domain to the west.

 

[BookishSnowWhite]

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Water Kingdom

The Most Rich Kingdom

The Water Domain is called so because it controls no land on the continent. It resides within the Moonlight Ocean, the surrounding islands and the swampy marshes on the western edge of Gilded. The shimmering castle lies on the largest island not far from the mainland. They are the shipping capital of the world, and by far the richest. The people here value and admire opulence and honesty. Every inch of the kingdom is immaculate and intricate to the last detail. No one is valued more than the other, and the riches extend to all. They are a highly spiritual people who believe in the powers and magics of the world. No one goes hungry, and everyone has a relaxed and gentle demeanor. Some people in the kingdom have varying ability with fire. Some can breath under water, some can control and manipulate water. Members of the royal family have the abilities of the moon and can control the tides and call storms. The pearls of the Water Domain are the Water Prince and Princess.

(more to come...)

 

[BookishSnowWhite]

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Dark Realm

The Most Feared Kingdom

The Dark Realm is not what it seems. In the mountains to the north, their land resides, surrounded by deeps mists and fogs. The denizens of the realm are all magical creatures who have been shunned by the other kingdoms. These are the ugly and scary monsters that didn’t belong anywhere else. The vampires, the demons, the werewolves, the ghosts, the dark beings. However, they are not all all dark magical creatures. Many of them are just magical creatures who wanted to be with others of their kind. The realm is consistent of just one large city with a towering castle in the center. The decor is gothic and looming. The days are long and cold, and many of the citizens are bitter toward the other kingdoms. The royal family is an adopted mix of creatures. The pride of the Dark Realm are the Prince and Princess. They are feared by every kingdom and prefer to keep to themselves. As a group they are impossible to describe. Good and evil mingle and create a kingdom unlike any other.

[more to come...]

 

[BookishSnowWhite]

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Industrial Empire

The Most Advanced Kingdom

The Industrial Empire is a land of difference. As a whole they have denied magic and instead turned to harnessing it for advancement. Magic creatures have been cast out of the kingdom that was once home to them. Only wizards and mages, who are now scientists and engineers, remain. The city lies to the barren desert to the south of Gilded. From the empty land rises a dark city with steam and street lights. Trains travel through the city and magic powered electricity powers the towering buildings. The people of the Industrial Empire are smart, but selfish. They work for the greater good, but often seem to forget the people. The wealth distribution is more than unequal, with many orphans and homeless people in the city. Everyone works, but not everyone has much to speak of. The wealthy are the rulers and they search for ways to harness the power of magic without the mythology. The people of the city may or may not have magic powers, but if they are not registered there will be hell to pay. The royal family is the richest, and the royal Son and Daughter have no set standing in the Empire.

[more to come...]

 

[BookishSnowWhite]

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Homeland

At the heart of the four kingdoms, there is a small area of land called the Homeland. Four grand oak trees stand proudly over a giant open patio with a ceiling of billowing curtains and sheets. Magic sustains and grooms the land, the lawns and flowers. At the center of the patio is a tall pedestal with a large glass orb. It is said the power of the land is withing the grand Gilded Orb. There are traces of magic from all the original families and rulers who have lived and died. The Gilded Orb is the source of all power and sustainable life for the entire continent. It is beloved or admired by all and it's existence could never be called into question.

[more to come...]

 

[Haeo]

Here's a chunk of what I have so far.

My view of the Dark Kingdom is that the walled city has been a bastion against all of the less united races and factions that populate the region. It seems to be both large and broken with innumerable mountains, difficult and dangerous passes, thick and deep fog, and deep valleys full of dark forests and chilly marshes. The mountains are so high that the peaks of many are barren of snow or life as the clouds that bear precipitation never rise so high and the winds at those altitudes are potent enough that even drakes have been observed dying against the mountainsides after failing to watch their altitude carefully enough.

I'm thinking of adding a region to the north of the Dark Kingdom that's too dangerous to really explore much. The Fell Warrens, honeycombed with tunnels and caverns and dotted by the occasional dormant volcano, are mostly populated by monsters too different to be communicated with or befriended. It's a massive region of territorial beasts, races, and powers that share very little beside their tendency to slaughter intruders in their territories.

This region is why the exiles from the Industrial Kingdom couldn't flee farther north and also why they fight without honor or dignity in war. They have nowhere to retreat to. They are fighting for survival with powerful threats on all sides. The Prince was able to use the desperate, irregular fighting style, and the diversity of his forces to his advantage in the war. Some of the species he recruited to bolster the pass defenses have since settled those passes, particularly in places with sheer cliffs and other places with similar natural defenses. I will develop some of them later.

There are passes that come close to going above the treeline and these are the hunting ground of the drakes that live between the tree line and the snowline. The drakes are, as yet, untamed and cooperatively territorial. That is, they will work together to attack intruders in their airspace or the highest portions of the passes.

This is a rough map for general reference that I worked out with BookishSnowWhite. Sorry if the blur is a bit much but I took the picture with my phone and it's camera isn't that great... Neither is my drawing skill, come to think of it. Notes follow the image. North is to the right.
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NOTES:
- There are two major passes and several minor ones along the Dark Kingdom/Fire Kingdom border. The major ones are the Wretched Souls Pass, which lies more toward the eastern end of Dark Kingdom territory, and the Howling Pass, which lies more toward the center. Both of these passes are steep, winding, and narrow with many places only wide enough four three men to walk shoulder to shoulder. They are also both prone to forking and branching, though all branches and forks rejoin the main path after some distance. However, the Howling Pass is much higher than the Wretched Souls Pass and great stretches of it are within the hunting range of the drakes.

- There are no known passes that cross the mountains between the Dark Kingdom and the Water Kingdom.

- There is a large river valley that crosses the mountains between the Fire and Water Kingdoms, allowing swift travel between their capital cities. Nothing further has yet been decided about this region and it is wide open to further development by those with the interest.

- There is a long and treacherous pass, as yet unnamed, that follows the mountain range's tail down to the Homeland.(Homeland is marked with an "H".) This pass was the primary route used by the creatures and people who were exiled from the Industrial Kingdom as it allowed them to avoid entering either the Water or Fire Kingdoms. However, this pass is extremely unstable due to landslides and those using it have to cross the river that connects the Water and Fire Kingdoms. Furthermore, numerous populations of less civilized creatures inhabit the range and many of those refugees in generations past met their demise at their hands. The route of this pass is known to all Kingdoms from the Homeland up til it enters the western wilderness of the northern region. This area is unmapped. The exact route used by the ancestors of the Dark Kingdom is unknown as it was never recorded or passed down for fear of pursuit.

- Furthermore, I'd like to clarify something about the Wraiths. As I imagine them, they aren't undead. They're closer to a kind of colonial slime with skeletal cores that are visible through their flesh. Individual adults separate from the colony when they become intelligent and fashion armor to protect their bodies. They are very hard to hurt but if an attack is strong enough to hurt them, it is going to kill them. They're highly magical but also very alien to other creatures that have a humanoid adult form. They are native to the wild mountain caverns just northeast of the Dark Kingdom, though very little information about them is available outside the Prince's own personal circle.

I'm open to further ideas or questions of any kind.

 

[billthesomething]

Professor Santana's Guide to the Mind
Chapter 43: Soldier's Heart​

The Soldier's Heart is a mental illness found amongst All Sapient Species, It is named such due to mainly being found amongst retired soldiers/warriors (Though there do exist cases, of those not in the military suffering from this sickness) particularly amongst those who went through some sort of traumatic event during service.

For example, the few survivors of the Massacre at the Singed River, all had some form of Soldier's Heart

Those suffering from Soldier's Heart often seek out methods of self-medication often these methods include the consumption of alcohol, usage of narcotics, or self-harm. Sometimes a victim of Soldier's Heart feels unable to live the life of a civilian, so they choose to take up occupations that share similarities with the military, (See next page for list of common occupations) thanks to their inability to rejoin the military itself, due to being listed as mentally unstable & unfit for combat, so they take the second option.

A notable trait of Soldier's Heart is the diverse list of symptoms found amongst those who suffer from it, making it so that there aren't two patients who suffer from the same list of symptoms. One case of such drastically different list of symptoms from two survivors of The Massacre at The Singed River, it should be noted that both of the subjects were apart of the Freeman Division.

Subject One, for example, would start uncontrollably weeping when exposed to the sight of blood (It didn't matter where the blood came from, be it from an animal or someone of the same races as the subject) But Subject Two didn't appear to give any unusual reaction to being exposed to the sight of blood

Another example is from Subject Two, who would go catatonic when startled, but subject one wouldn't.

numerous tests were performed on the two subjects and only two test showed both subjects suffering from the same symptom. Sudden & Violent Aggression, When both subjects were exposed to a recreation of the emblem for the Steam-Emmiters Division of The Industrial Empire, they reacted with extreme hostility and were unable to calm down, this was later followed by them going on a rampage throughout the hospital and fortunately for all involved, there were no fatalities.

their rampage came to an end when the on-site mages were able to get ahold of them and cast a sleeping spell upon them

(it should be noted that subject one's S.V.A symptom had nothing to do with his berserker training, in-fact it's my belief that Subject One's training allowed him to subconsciously restrain himself somewhat)

 

[Haeo]

I would like to clarify the current state of trade and politics as they stand.

First, with the Dark Realm.

The current political state between the Dark Realm and the others is as follows.

Fire Kingdom - Armistice, no hostilities but no trade and border crossing without specific diplomatic permission or a Royal Messenger's Seal would be an act of war.
Water Domain - Armistice, same restrictions though there was no active conflict between them. This is due to their alliance with the Fire Kingdom
Industrial Empire - There is no current diplomatic relationship between the Dark Realm and the Industrial Empire due to their history and mutual lack of respect.

The current state of trade relating to the Dark Realm is as follows.

There is no legal trade between the Dark Realm and other lands at present though this is a project of the current Crown Prince.

There is limited black market trade between private individuals in other regions and less scrupulous traders in the Dark Realm. However, this is largely limited to small uncut stones, hides, and furs due to close attention paid to the continuing internal economic development of the Dark Realm. As a result, it is widely believed that the craftsmanship of the Dark Realm is extremely primitive. Small exceptions to this can occur in rare circumstances.

Furs are typically thick and luxurious, supposedly from giant or monstrous wolves or bears.
Hides are typically from mountain deer or large reptiles.
Uncut stones are typically amethyst, sapphire, pure mica, or emerald.

More information to follow after I confer with the other Princes and our Most Glorious Leader.

 

[billthesomething]

The House Hippo

Is a common nocturnal household pest, that is found mostly in the water kingdom (Though is found in nearly every kingdom/country, the only exception being The Industrial Empire) are known to chew through walls and sneaking into food storage to devour wheat products & potatoes.​

 

[billthesomething]

Wodan
The Patron God Of Hunts, Berserkerz, Fathers & Outcasts.

Wodan is held in great esteem in The Dark Realms, due to his love for outcasts.
Having been born the smallest of the many offsprings between the Primordial Beings known as Svarta Maria & Harraldur Hvcitur, disowned and cast-out by his parents, due to his size and sickly appearance. And so since his birth to the day, he slew his eldest sibling: The dragon known as Loptir. Wodan fought to survive. growing larger & stronger with every single kill.​

 

[billthesomething]

Chef Reel's Study of the various cuisine of the four Kingdoms
Coal-Ale
A popular drink amongst soldiers of the dark realm's armies, especially amongst those who have the misfortune to be stationed near the border of Jotunheim. Coal-Ale was created by an unknown soldier somewhere during the early years of the dark realm when attacks from the frost giants were common. The original recipe's ingredients included Coal, Lantern Oil. Mushroom Whiskey, Nerubian Venom, all of this needed to boiled over a fire for at least three minutes, if done correctly these ingredients would be transformed into a beverage capable of sending those with weak livers to the nearest healer.

Nowadays the coal has been swapped with charcoal.​

 

[Haeo]

Nightkin Lore:​

The Nightkin were created during desperate times by a coven of witches who had been wrongfully blamed for certain evils and driven into dangerous and wild lands. Several were pregnant and the group feared for their continued survival. In these dark moments they turned from the best path and used darker spells and sacrifices to infuse magic into their unborn offspring. The children who survived were the first of the Nightkin.

First point. Nightkin cannot sleep.
Second point. All offspring of Nightkin are Nightkin.
Third point. All Nightkin are born with their powers functional, though weak.

Nightkin have augmented physical abilities as well as inborn magical powers. However, they cannot learn magic of any other form.

The powers available to Nightkin are categorized as follows.

Glance: Fast as a glance but not terribly powerful. Very common.
-Fire
-Ice
-Domination: Limited to non-persons. control is permanent.

Gesture: as fast as a wave of a hand and moderately strong for most. Quite common.
-Fire
-Ice
-Motion

Grip: Extremely time consuming and very, very powerful. Extremely rare. Use requires bare hand contact for an extended period of time.
-Rewriting the nature of a thing
-Creating an exact duplicate of a thing

 

[lissamissal]

Username: Lissamissal
Name: Katrina Baymoon
Gender: Female
Race: Human (Water Royal Bloodline)
Age: 25
Kingdom: Water Kingdom
Position: Water Princess
Powers: Water bending, Storm Calling
Weapon: Extreme control over tides and storms.
Bio: Katrina Baymoon is the oldest of the Water Domain siblings. She is the most dutiful to her people and aims to be a great queen. Her strength in politics, is easily shown during intellectual conversation with her people and her friends. Of all her siblings, she considers herself to most polished and open to life as a royal heir. Her love for her people and family runs deep, but she is not one to show much emotion when in the limelight.

Katrina Baymoon died a mere six months before her arranged marriage, throwing her family and Kingdom into a great depression. Her role in the marriage alliance is carried on by her younger and naïve sister Kai. It is alleged that her death was caused by a poison from the Red Bandit, however their relationship may run deeper than many know.

Spoiler: Katrina Baymoon

"Because there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times its sent away"

 

[billthesomething]

Zaratans
(World Turtles)

Zaratans are turtles known for the immense size. When born a Zaratan is the size of a cow and only continues to grow in size with age, their diets for the first hundred years consist mainly of coral, rocks, and seaweed, which is the reason for why island begins to grow on the Zaratan's back, when around five-hundred years old (About the time when most Zaratan's organs begin to become harder than diamonds) they begin feasting on Plankton, Moss, Krill, and the occasional fish. Zaratans are known to be very calm and stubborn creatures, that hard to intimidate. Most other large sea life (Such as Leviathans, Megalodons, Tiamets, Krakens) tend to avoid them whenever possible. Cause there too much trouble

A notable Zaratan is Atun (affectionately referred to as Anna by the Water Kingdom Citizens)
The Zaratan that was settled on by the water kingdom​

 

[billthesomething]

The 21st Singers Regiment​

The Singers is the name of a Dark Realm Guard Regiment, often shortened to simply just The Singers. The Regiment was unofficially Founded in the early days of the Dark Realm, but it wouldn't be officially recognized as an actual regiment by the Dark Realm until after the Battle of The Jotenheim Border, which The Singers are often credited as the regiment that allowed for a decisive victory for The Dark Realm.

Not due to any strategic brilliance, but rather thanks to the regiment's odd practice of singing to keep morale up of other squads. The squad consists almost mainly of Bards and Archers.