Elemental magic world

[Gaaron01234]

Hello all,


This is a world that I've been building on in my free time for many years now but this is the first time that I've tried to put this madness into written form.



First of all, let me thank you for your time. I very much appreciate your questions,  criticisms and of contributions. It's always one of my creates joys to see what other people would do or put into the worlds I create.



So what is this all about?


We find ourselves on a planet very much like earth but with one key difference. We humans are not the dominant species this time around. This title instead belongs to a race of magical creatures known as Elementals.


Key features :

•     Three Player races: Humans, Elementals and half Elementals.
  
•     The overall tone is optimistic and high fantasy but with pretty dark undertones.
  
•     The whole world is open with each continent being themed after a different element.
  
•     Tons of backstory with a long history and much attention to unnecessary detail.
  
•     The focus for now would be to shape the world at large. Religion, history, nations and such. We can focus on a more limited area to really flesh out afterwards.
  

So right now I'm working on the events of the distant past since the aftermath of the first war is the cause of most bigger-picture plots going on during the time period that I'd like to focus on. That said, I haven't even gotten to said war and am already at 1600 words. Seriously, never entrust me with fictional history.


I'll try to make something resembling a Timeline but I'll need tools I won't be able to access until Saturday. I could wait till then and make a proper first impression but alas, I'm impatient af and want to get this started.

 

[Borkus Lazorus]

half Elementals.

Wait a sec. We have inter-species relations? But, how does mating between a human and a fire elemental work without the human getting roasted alive in the process? 

 

[Gaaron01234]

Wait a sec. We have inter-species relations? But, how does mating between a human and a fire elemental work without the human getting roasted alive in the process? 





 

Elementals were the first creatures to rule the planet. The circumstances of their creation (I'll get to that eventually) though caused a slight instability that would cause a newborn Elemental to have a body made of flesh instead. This state is among Elementals viewed as a horrible curse as they loose their strong affinity to magic due to it. The Advantage that they weren't limited to a single Element Anymore was meanwhile mostly ignored.


It was later discovered through accident, that a "Human", as they called those with the condition, could at least partially be cured via a process called Elemtalization that led to the creation of half Elementals.


Half Elementals can safely interact (and mate) with either side of their heritage and their offspring can be any from any side (though the result is weighted dependent on the couple)


I hope that makes some kind of sense.

 

[Borkus Lazorus]

Elementals were the first creatures to rule the planet. The circumstances of their creation (I'll get to that eventually) though caused a slight instability that would cause a newborn Elemental to have a body made of flesh instead. This state is among Elementals viewed as a horrible curse as they loose their strong affinity to magic due to it. The Advantage that they weren't limited to a single Element Anymore was meanwhile mostly ignored.


It was later discovered through accident, that a "Human", as they called those with the condition, could at least partially be cured via a process called Elemtalization that led to the creation of half Elementals.


Half Elementals can safely interact (and mate) with either side of their heritage and their offspring can be any from any side (though the result is weighted dependent on the couple)


I hope that makes some kind of sense.

I smell a brewing of race wars and a lot of cultural conflicts coming a way in this universe....


Some questions, though.


- What kind of leadership does this world run on? A monarchy ruled by the strongest, and best elementals? A oligrachy? A meritocracy?


- Anatomy of the Elementals?


- How many types of elementals are there?


- Religion? 

 

[Gaaron01234]

I smell a brewing of race wars and a lot of cultural conflicts coming a way in this universe....


Some questions, though.


- What kind of leadership does this world run on? A monarchy ruled by the strongest, and best elementals? A oligrachy? A meritocracy?


- Anatomy of the Elementals?


- How many types of elementals are there?


- Religion? 






 

Half of these would be answered if I finally got around to finishing that timeline XD


There are Fire, Earth, Ice, Air, Water, Light, Darkness and Chaos Elementals. There are variants on each but these are the main groups. Though the Chaos ones died out when an ancient weapon was triggered and caused the creation of the other 7.


The 7 that were closest to the weapon gained immortality and have ruled as Kings since then. Each Continent is ruled by one of them.


They believe in 8 creator Gods, one for each Element, that created everything and then left.


Anatomy is a bit more complicatet.


Elemental souls are Eternal and are in a circle of death and rebirth. Theiy Inhabit bodies made from worldly materials and move them using the Energy they received at birth.


They are in theory shapeshifters and can transform into any shape but can't change their body mass. Though the majority of Elementals have no conscious control over their form and default to a humanoid shape. Studies have shown that Elementals that regularly interact with the other two races are more likely to have a more defined form, resembling that of their half-brethren.


An Elemental can die either as they run out of energy and "burn out" or if their body is destroyed by an outside force. The soul then takes a long journey to the center of the planet and back before they can be reborn. Their Memories are wiped in that process.


Elementals that died an early death might reform a new body as they were not ready for their journey but their minds are already gone at that point. These creatures that act purely on instinct are referred to as feral Elementals.


A soul returning to the surface is too weak to create its own body. Two Elementals that wish to have I child prepare one from parts of themselves during an interaction that very much resembles human mating. The new body takes the shape of an egg at first and waits for the arrival of a soul. this process can take a few days and up to several years. Their Element is based on that of their Parents but also its surroundings during the egg stage. Mixed Elementals aren't unheard of but very rare due to the fact that most mixed bodies burn out very fast.


And yeah. Racial conflict is one of the darker Elements of the world. (no pun intended)

 

[Gaaron01234]

I've listed the key events of the world's history. The time Period I would like to focus on is from the Year 0BC onward


               Date                                                                      Event


The Beginning of Time                          |  The Eight Gods were Born and began their task of creating the everything


 A whole lot of creating later                  | Earth was the last world to be created and was given the gift of life. The Gods walked the earth and ruled over their creation like kings.


7,000 BC                                              | Jealousy drove the gods apart and eventually lead to the divine war


1,000 years of war later                        | The final Battle saw the death of all eight creators and the age of Gods ended.


for about  2,000 years                           |  The Chaos elementals who won the war ruled the planet unopposed and build a great empire


4,000 BC                                              | An old weapon from the war was reactivated and imbued each continent with a different Element, transforming the land and its inhabitants.


1,000 BC                                              | the first newborn Elementals had no affinity for any element. They were dubbed "Humans"


500 BC                                                 | Human Population was still well below 1%. Elemtalization was discovered and research towards curing the condition began


400 BC                                                 | The Facility at the north pole researching Elemtalization was destroyed


300 BC                                                 | The Elemtalization Program was put into motion to cure the ones infected with humanity. The number of Half Elementals would skyrocket over the next centuries and reach about 20% by 0BC.


0 BC                                                    | Earth's second moon Cadeus shattered. A whole lot of other bad things happened as well. The Elemtalization Program was officially canceled.


50 AC                                                  | the still growing number of humans were given a piece of land on every continent. You either lived there or not. Humans who managed to Elemtalize on their own could leave.


150 AC                                                | The Kings received a message from their goods.  The human plague would end if they performed a mass sacrifice.


170 AC                                                | The hidden resistance was formed with the goal to eventually create an independent human nation.


200 AC                                                | the unavoidable war between humans and Elementals broke out

 

[Gaaron01234]

Has it really been four months since I was last here? God I'm slow. But I'll be damnd if I ever dare to let go of this setting.
Well enough of that talk! I wasn't inactive for that time you know.
So below is what I'd imagine the religious beliefs of the elementals to look like and what they'd teach their children in history class.

The Era of the gods

In the beginning there was nothing. And from the nothing was born the chaos and the nothing made space for the beginning of time and the endless plane of space. It saw all and knew all and it gazed upon this empty space and declared "This is my canvas and I shall paint my paradise upon it."
But the chaos had no power over this realm. All the power was with the creation. The all powerful but blind and mindless. If the chaos had that power it could create its paradise so it reaches out to it. But it hesitated. "If I am all knowing but powerless and he is all powerful and mindless. Would we become one with power and mind or one with neither of them?" It could not risk this chance so it decided to make an experiment. It manages to split off a small part of itself and sends it off into the creation.
A flash of light fills the endless vacuum as creature creature made of pure light emerges. It has absorbed some of the creation and become the first god. The creature scanned it's surroundings. It knows why and how it was created but could not see or hear its maker.
The fusion gave power but took knowledge and perception. And the mind filled with optimism gained a body made of light. How curious. The chaos created 6 more smaller minds, each filled with a different thought as they got thrown into the creation. Skepticism became darkness. Caution became air. Nostalgia became ice. Diligence became earth. Kindness became water and passion became fire.
The seven knew what to do. Each was entrusted with as part of creation and they where to use it to create the paradise their father dreamed of.

Finios, the youngest and eager to please his father took his share and created a world of fire, as large and glorious as he could. Her stood on the sphere and proudly but soon noticed a problem. His world was soft and hollow and his feet began to sink into it. Her quickly jumped off it in fear that he might get swallowed whole otherwise.
Valessa, the second youngest laughed at her brothers antics. "Silly brother, how are we supposed to build paradise on a world that destroys all it touches? Let me show you how it is done." She took her share and made a world of water, as small and compact as she could. The gods set foot on the world and indeed, the compressed water could hold their weight. But the world was to close to the fire world and the heat made the water boil. She quickly moved the world farther away but this only caused it to freeze from the coldness of the empty space. The world style in a position were one half has frozen and the other boiling. The goddess have up, exhausted and defeated. Water may not be the best material after all.
These failures gave Franis an Idea. The frozen world was not her sisters intention bit it certainly had potential. She took her share and created a massive piece of ice, making sure that it was clear and it's surface smooth and shiny. She had just finished her work that the others noticed something. A small crack has appeared on the globe. Franis saw it but didn't think it a problem. She stepped on her world and immediately jumped off it. The crack was now slightly larger and it became apparent that the ice was to brittle to support any weight. Franis stayed back, trying to find the mistake she made bit the others moved on.
Gigantos carefully observed his siblings' attempts and carefully mixed the right kinds of rock to create his world. And his world did indeed seem to be stable. The gods descended into this world, happy to have finally finished the first step of their work. But as they worked the earth to give it the desires shape did they notice a problem. The rocks where solid and stable yes, but any attempt share them would just break them instead. The surface of the world soon became a jagged and broken wasteland and the gods once again had wasted a good opportunity, not knowing what they did wrong.
The remaining three siblings looked at each other. The world of rock was their best bet and they knew that their powers weren't sufficient for the task they had. They pleased to their father to intervene. "This mission is doomed! Please, end this before it ends in tragedy." But their father did not reply.
Alesos sighed in resignation. "If father will not respond then let's get over with it." He took his share of creation and made a big sphere filled with an assortment of gases, not really caring about what he created. Once done did he rip his world to shreds and shaped the town up parts into clouds and rings around the world. Once satisfied with his work did he say himself in the middle of his work. "It is useless yes but it at least looks better than what any of you made."
Aielis, the oldest finally spoke up. "Alesos had the right idea. We might have failed but let us still make the best of this." She took her share and made a single, beautiful light and carefully placed it in the center of it all were it shone brightly and illuminated the creations of all the others.
Darseos, the second oldest follows his sisters example and creates a small orb of darkness and lets it rotate around the light, letting their creations be bathed in both light and shadows in a beautiful play.

So there they stood and gazed upon the monument of their failure.

The chaos was brought to tears as it witnessed it's children's failures. It wished so much that it could interfere but it was powerless. It looked at what little was left of creation and decided to give things once last try. And thus was the last good born, filled with wisdom and holding domain over no element, the emperor.
The others where surprised by the sudden appearance of the new figure and got ready to fight the intruder. But he just stood still and held his arms towards them. There, held by his hands, was the last bit of creation that was left, barely enough to make another world. "My siblings, this is all that is left. Father had not given up yet and neither should you. What you seven alone could not do, we shall achieve together. So please lend me your strength."
There was a long silence among the gods as they watched their new sibling with weary eyes.
Aielis eventually stepped closer and carefully poked the little bit of creation that was left. "We had so much more but failed, youngest brother. Do you really believe that you can do better with so little?" But the emperor stood firm. "I won't, eldest sister, but we will together. And I do not believe, I know."
Satisfied with the answer did the goddess nod and held the hands of her brother in support. One after the other joined that way until all eight had formed a circle around their last hope.
They were ready to begin their work and the emperor, to their surprise, handed the creation over to them. "First we need a body made to last and sturdy. Brother, add your hardest rocks and make paradise eternal." So it was done and a sphere of hard but brittle rock was made.
Darseos laughed. "And the rock could not be worked as it was to hard and paradise was lost." But the emperor calmly continued. " Youngest brother, let your fire be the fierce of change and melt the stone, so we can shape it freely." Finios did so and the gods looked on in awe at the rock was worked like clay. Once satisfied with the shape did he carefully hand the planet to Franis. "Now as the flames enabled change shall your ice preserve it so the shape will stay as we step onto it." And thus was the planet shaped and the shape made solid again.
"The canvas is made, now we must paint the background. Brother, surround it with air so it is shielded from the emptiness of space. Sister fill the dents worth water so life can flourish." Alesos and Valessa did so and the base of paradise was finished. The planet that its inhabitants would millennia later describe as 'blue'.
And lastly did the emperor hand the planet to the eldest siblings. "You know best of the play between light and darkness, night and day. Please choose a place for this world to suit so it can bask in the beauty of your creations."
Aielis and Darseos pondered for a while before placing the world into a place where it would sit in darkness and light for the same amount of time as the two switched again and again.
And lastly did the emperor add his own gift to the work. He filled the oceans with fish, covered the land in greenery, let birds soar the sky, animals roam the plains and finally a species shaped after the gods themselves to rule over all other creatures.
And the gods shed their celestial bodies so they could walk the earth and live among the creatures they created.

The creatures thrived under the rule of their benevolent gods and a sprawling empire soon spanned the globe.
But not all was peaceful. The gods murmured amongst themselves in discontent. Their youngest had the privilege of creating the Elementals and they stood above all other life. It was an insult that their creatures had to be inferior by design and it wasn't long until they challenged their brothers rule, creating all kinds of beasts by their own design. But it was clear that only one could rule the planet and conflict was inevitable. Thus began the divine war.

The gods initially participated themselves in the battles but soon found that their powers were far to vast to be used in combat as each attack threatened to tear the world apart. So they were forced to stand back and watch as their creations destroyed each other in their name.
It soon became clear that the war would be very lopsided. The headstart in technology and their magical advantage allowed the children of chaos to be on equal footing with all the other participants combined and the gods reluctantly agreed to join forces, at least until their youngest brother could be removed.
The fighting went back and forth for several centuries as neither side was ready to give in and their supplies were basically infinite thanks to the support of the gods. And they had all the reason to not back down as a loss would equal the loser’s extinction. It was the gods who eventually grew tired of the state of the world and conducted a plan to end the war once and for all.

They erected an enormous fortress at the northernmost point of the planet and called out to their enemy. “This is our final bastion and we will protect it with all our might. Capture it and we will admit defeat and leave this world forever.” The Emperor was weary of it being a trap but he could not resist the temptation of ending the conflict for good. And so did he personally lead his armies through the gates of the fortress to confront his elders.

Every step into the fortress was hard fought as thousands of elementals threw themselves at the intruders. But the Emperor's troops slowly pushed forwards. As hard as the battle raged, the gods did not interfere even though the emperor himself stood amidst the battlefield and personally battled for the first in centuries.
Days and weeks of relentless fighting passed and the invading army finally reached the innermost sanctum. Little did they notice how every door they passed got locked shortly after the last soldier got out of sight and how countless traps sprung to life after there was no one left to trigger them. The rule was perfect and the army that took weeks to enter would require years to leave once again.
The seven gods waited at the heart of the fortress. They had spend the weeks of fighting in meditation and rituals, preparing for their final and greatest creation to be unleashed. A prismatic light erupted from the temple that served as the fortresses heart just as the emperor pushed open the door. The light consumed the gods, the emperor, the armies and eventually the entire fortress. All doors were sealed, the traps set to keep intruders away for all eternity and all life, both mortal and divine, was snuffed out in an instant.
And so ended the time when gods could walk the earth.


And that's only part one! Maybe I should write these in more sizable chunks.