Fantasy Shadow of The Seal - Lore Page

[Wyll]

• World Map
• The Pillars of The Seal
• Races

• 
  
  The World of Tainam
  
  
  The world of Tainam is several thousand years old but the individual lands only started caring about exploring and interacting with each other just over a thousand years ago.
  
  Prior to that, the world was made up of small settlements, tribes and villages, each one distinct from the other. As time passed, however, settlements turned to communities, communities turned to town, towns turned to cities and cities turned to kingdoms. For several years, it seemed that everyone was content in growing and building their cities, each group of people learning to take advantage of the land around them. Eventually, they would establish trade routes, learning more about their neighbors and even the cities and kingdoms across the water.
  
  For a while, there was normalcy. But then Aya happened. One day, a rumbling was felt throughout every corner of the world and it seemed as though it was coming from the island of Al-Aya. A land that had previously gone unnoticed and undisturbed. All eyes turned toward the island and its secrets as earthquakes and floods changed the entire landscape of the world. The Garrim Isles started sinking; the continent of Ijapa was torn in two, forming the continents of Abas and Emem; the Abong Peaks emerges from the depths of the ocean...the world was never the same.
  
  However, the world started finding a new normal, the new lands learning to make peace with the world they now lived in. But where there is growth, there must be prosperity, and where there is prosperity, there must be greed. Greed in this world calls itself Falin. Just over 600 years ago, Falin brought war to the world of Tainam and once again, life was never the same for the people of Tainam. War and survival was now their new normal. And after four centuries of conflict, Falin conquered the entire continent of Hebron, renaming it the Falin Empire.
  
  
  Further information on individual locations and cities will be in the posts to follow, such that you are able to react and reply to each individually.
  (Wyll was too lazy to put them all in a nice tidy code and so had to justify a reason to send them as individual posts and that was the best he could do.)​
• 
  
  The library always has the same four pillars: The Bookie, The Keep, The Guill and The Seer.
  These roles are filled by different people as time goes on and those in the role pass on the torch to the next generation.
  These are the current Pillars.​
  
  Bookie
  The library doesn't stand without Bookie. He is the head librarian and oversees everything that happens in the library. His duties revolve around the hiring of librarians and their training, assigning missions, and protecting the library. Without exceptional combat skill, his arsenal is mainly made up of magic. He specialises in spatial magic and, in a general sense, this allows him to infuse his magic into objects and spaces, allowing him to move object with his mind, cast illusions. At its height, it allows him to freeze the area around him for a maximum of one minute. More to the library though, over the very many years he has been in charge of the library, he has been slowly weaving his magic into the library, creating a domain for himself. This domain ensures that nothing happens in the library without Bookie seeing it or hearing it. The domain gives him a pseudo-omnipresence within the library, even allowing him to teleport from one place in the library to another. Within the library, Bookie is a devastating threat and a near-unstoppable force. However, he will avoid violence and only resort to it if all other options have failed. He is the only Pillar that is seen by civilians and is definitely the Pillar most members will interact the most with. He usually sits in a quiet corner of the top floor of the library where he is out of sight from everyone but is still accessible to those who know where to look for him. Of all the Pillars, he is the oldest, seen as the wisest and all other Pillars look to him in terms of having the final say on any matter, whether it be hiring, missions, or general upkeep.
  
  
  Keep
  Keep is the Bookkeeper of the library and is a much quieter figure than the other three Pillars. Unless specifically sent to him, most people - even the librarians - don't have much interaction with him. His duties are mainly to bring new books into the library, create the code systems the librarians use and document all activities that go on Behind the Seal. Every spy mission, every assassination, every new hire, anything that happens at all, it is Keep's job to know and to write it down. Of the four Pillars, he has the lowest combat ability and magic ability, but his intellect is unmatched, in part due to his perfectly photographic memory. While it is his job to write down everything that happens, he only stores them for the benefit of others. Once he's written it down, he will remember it until the day he dies. He is a pivotal part in the assigning of missions and hiring of new people because he has all the information about similar missions and the places and even the people they are hiring from. If a potential recruit has ever crossed Keep's eyes or ears before, he brings that information to the other Pillars, in addition to everything he knows about them. Despite being the weakest Pillar, he is also the one Pillar you do not want to mess with because all other Pillars take it as their duty to protect him because they understand how valuable he is and they all agree to protect him since he isn't very great at protecting himself. ​
  
  Guille
  Even the most daring and skilled members know not to cross Guill. She is the Pillar in charge of combat training and oversees all the assassins. Before an assassin in fully hired, they must have a fight with Guill. For their own sake, they are permitted to use real weapons, whichever they choose and she is limited to a wooden dagger. Since this started, Guill hasn't sustained a single scratch. The fight is never to see if they will win against Guill - as that is taken to be an impossibility - but to see how the assassins fare in insurmountable odds. The match against Guill is to represent everything that could go wrong during an assassination and the best assassins are those that can keep their cool and keep their focus on finding new ways to overcome her. Those assassins that give up and forfeit...haven't been heard from since. She is known for her speed, surprising strength and versatility. Despite a clear preference for daggers, rumor has it that there is no weapon she is unable to use. She follows newer recruits on their first missions to ensure the assassination happens no matter what and is usually on standby in case an assassin runs into difficulty eliminating a target. In a way, she is the certainty behind every single letter sent out with The Seal. On the rare occasion she herself is sent out on a mission, that would only be because that mission is of the highest priority and a single mistake cannot be allowed. Of all the Pillars, she is the most feared.
  
  
  Seer
  With her shapeshifting ability and her seemingly all-seeing eyes, many fear Seer and are wise for doing so. She combines Bookie's magical prowess with Guill's combat prowess. She is the leader of the spies but is also an extremely capable fighter, not at the level of Guill, but not far off either. In fact, Seer is confirmed to be even faster than Guill. In terms of magic, it says a lot that Bookie learned his domain magic from her, however she herself doesn't use it. She specialises in mental magic. Able to read minds, create vivid illusions, communicate telepathically and even draw out the truth from someone whether they like it or not - whether it be the truth about their fears, their feelings, or a case she needs information on. Despite each of the Pillars (except Keep) having their own recruiting process, part of that process includes running potential candidates by Seer, who goes on to investigate the person to see if they could be a threat to the organisation. Of all the Pillars, she spends the least amount of time in the library and spends most of her time out in the field, casually surveying places she travels to. Similar to Guille, she's rarely assigned as the spy on a case and, when she is, it is because that case is treated as an extremely high priority case Because of that, it is safe to assume that any case that Seer is the spy on, Guille is the assassin on, and vice versa. Of all the Pillars, she is without a doubt the most dangerous. And given the skill of the other Pillars, that says a lot. ​
• 
  
  This is the current list of races but it is not exhaustive (I can't possibly know all Mid-Fantasy Races). If there is a race you would like for your character to have that you do not see here, please, please let me know and we'll see if we can add it to the list.​
  
  

  
  

  Allowed Races
  
  Humans
  Elves
  Dwarves
  Fairies
  Faefolk
  Giants
  Hobbits
  Mermaids and Merfolk
  Changelings
  Shapeshifters
  Elementals​

  
  

  Prohibited Races
  Angels
  Demons
  Demon Lords
  Vampires
  Werewolves
  Deities
  Ghouls
  Spirits
  Undead
  Succubae and Incubi​
  
  
  In terms of lifespan, the race with the shortest lifespans are the humans, with a life expectancy of a hundred years old and the races with the longest lifespans are the elves and faefolk with a life expectancy of about 500 years.
  For specifics of the races, a quick search told me that most online sources generally agree on information about the allowed races, so you're free to base your information about your character's race on information gathered from any reputable forum. If you're not sure whether something will be allowed or not, as always, you are more than welcome to ask me.​

 

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DeathUnchained roxybirdie Klown anyasjoy lostbird CloudySkyLoftyMoon WillOWispJJ q r o w mi casa lyn. CrimsonInk Dokka pancake_wizard hery Talathel

Forgot to mention it above, so here's information on the Magical Institutes.​

Doran
Magical Institute of the Doran Woodlands

Rumar
None

Kidem
Magical Institute of the Kidem
Western Magical Institue of Kidem
Eastern Magical Institute of Kidem

Kumi
None

Mt. Ianis
None

Garrim Isles
None

Cathior
None

Al-Lotoy
None (officially)

Lost Land
None

Falin
Magical Institute of Falin
First Magical Institute of Falin
Northern Magical Institute of Falin

Kehinde and Taiwo
Magical Institute of Kehinde
Magical Institute of Taiwo​

Institutes within the same city/kingdom are assumed to be of a similar level, however, there is a ranking for which cities/kingdoms are more known for their magic and that is as follows.
​

1. Kidem and Falin share first place as the magical powerhouses of their respective continents with several years to learn, study, practice and perfect their magic and their teaching of it.
   9.2/10​
2. Doran - thanks to its connection and appreciation of nature, Doran benefits from near infinite access to resources
   8.7/10​
3. Al-Lotoy - I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, but Al-Lotoy does have a place to learn magic (just not an institute). The magic here is experimental, powerful and dangerous.
   8/10​
4. Kehinde and Taiwo - While the magical institutes here are, by no means, bad, they simply aren't as good or powerful as the ones above them.
   7/10​

 

[Wyll]

Bookie and Seer

Despite the fact that their personalities couldn't be any more different, Bookie and Seer - of all the Pillars have a particularly close relationship - enough that there were rumors that they may have been courting each other, but the thought of it is repulsive to both of them. Their relationship is more akin to that of a sister and the one brother that she actually likes.

They pool their information together and have a mutual respect for each other. When decisions need to be made, the two of them often tend to agree with each other, often seeing things from the same or similar points of view.

Bookie speaks of Seer in a way that is unfamiliar to the Agents. The Seer he talks about is kind and compassionate an the Seer that they'd gotten to know is anything but that. Meanwhile, Seer speaks of a dangerous and fiery Bookie that is completely unknown to the Agents.

It is generally understood that if you have a problem with one of them, your best bet is to go get the other one.

 

[Wyll]

The Fleet vs. The Seal

The Errant Fleet is most famous - or infamous, depending on who you ask - for wiping out the entire Kingdom of Lotoy in one night. The Seal is also known for wiping out entire lineages in a single night. One thing is for certain - if you find yourself facing either one of them, the best thing to do is assume your defeat. However, what would happen if the two of them were to face each other?

Falin once asked this question an was displeased with the answer. For decades, The Seal has chipped away at the heart of Falin, doing so so efficiently that Falin could do nothing but stand by and watch. Eventually, knowing that The Fleet was not against involving themselves in the wars of others, Falin tried recruiting The Fleet to help them defend their kingdom. The emissaries of Falin met the emissaries of The Fleet on open water and began discussions. The Discussion went well, The Fleet seeming willing to comply, until one vital question was asked.
"You have requested quite a lot from us and are willing to pay wealth many nations don't even have. Who is your enemy?" Upon learning that Falin was trying to repel The Seal, the emissaries of The Fleet went silent. They all looked to each other, nodded, and stood without saying another word. They got back on their ship and promptly sunk the Falin ship. Two letters were sent that day: one to The Seal and one to Falin.
To Falin, it simply read:

We will not engage The Seal.

To The Seal, it read:

Falin sought us concerning you.

Fear not, our truce remains.

It wasn't the first time someone had approached one side concerning the other. The first time was when The Seal was given a mission to cut off one of the heads of The Fleet. It was the Guille of that generation that rejected the mission, understanding that - even if it were possible - the losses on both sides would be too great to justify with any amount of coin. As a result, all Four Pillars of that generation approached The Fleet, seeking a truce for a war that had never begun.

After considerations, The Fleet agreed that conflict with The Seal was best avoided as neither could say for sure who would prevail.

As such, neither side has ever and - if all stays the same - will ever raised a hand against the other.

 

[Wyll]

Bookie's Lineage

It is said that the title of Bookie is the oldest and most crucial amongst all the Pillars - going back all the way to the first days of The Seal, so far back that they didn't even have a name yet. Not only that though, the title of Bookie, for as long as it has existed, has been hereditary, each Bookie taking over the position from their father. It is said that the Bookie likely knows more about the history of The Seal than even the Keep, simply because they grew up on those stories from birth.

The same holds true for the Bookie of this generation. He is the seventh in the line of Bookies that have served The Seal and he has done so with a great sense of pride and responsibility. However, he was also the first Bookie not to tell his son about his involvement with The Seal. Bookie claims that the life of The Seal isn't one that should be inherited, but one that should be found as all other Agents were found. In his eyes, that is even more true for the Pillars. Due to the influence they have, Bookie believes that Pillars should knowingly and willingly strive for their position, not simply be born into it.

As such, all Bookie's son, Eltan, knows about his father's work is that he is a librarian. Bookie introduced the other Pillars as his close friends who help him keep the library in order. However, due to how intimidated the young man is by Guille and Seer, and sharing his father's love for books and stories, Eltan spends majority of his time with Keep, rummaging through archives that he's been told are simply stories and musings. The Pillars have agreed to keep Bookie's secret, but all of them - each for reasons of their own - have silent and unspoken criticisms.

 

[Wyll]

Bookie's Lineage

Before Aya was rumored to be the magical center of Tainam, it was confirmed to be the magnetic center of the world. All magnetic objects are pulled - often times, imperceptibly toward Aya and all compasses directly point at the center of Aya.

Aya is also the coldest part of Tainam - stuck in a permanent winter. It is currently unknown whether this is due to geographical reasons or magical reasons, but the fact remains that Aya is, very much, the "Antarctica" of Tainam. Additionally, the closer a place gets to Aya, the colder it is, with the Desert of Abas being furthest away and never experiencing snow (or even temperatures below 68°F/20°C. On the other end of the spectrum, while the villages around Falin are the closest, the closest kingdom to Aya is the Kingdom of Cathior, now under the control of the Falin Empire.

Cathior is constantly cold, with temperatures often around 55°F/12°C. Cathior is also one of the few places in Tainam to get prolonged periods of snow. However, it is often said that one of the most beautiful things to witness is the sight of the people of Cathior sending floating lanterns up with their Night Cries when the snow falls. On the nights that are supposed to be the coldest, the community comes together to warm each other up with their songs and their candles.

Due to weather and climate being as a result of conditions on Aya, rather than rotations and orbits, there are no set "seasons" in Tainam. For instance, Abas would have no concept of Winter and Cathior would have no concept of Summer. If anything, it would seem to revolve around the blast of light that comes from the tower standing in the middle of Aya once a year. The day of that blast of light is the hottest day experienced anywhere in Tainam and a half-year later (the day between two blasts) is the coldest day of the year.

 

[Wyll]

The Wealth of The Fleet

There are rumors, unconfirmed as they may be, that - despite not having borders and walls and marked territory - the Errant Fleet might be the wealthiest civilization in Tainam. The beaches of Garrim were once littered with all manner of precious stones as a result of the water crashing against their carbon-rich shores. There were endless mines and tunnels that hadn't even begun to be explored. In fact, it is speculated that the wealth hidden in those mines is the reason Garrim was so famously picked upon once the land started sinking. It was taken as a last-ditch effort of those around to try and claim the wealth of Garrim.

However, those mines never actually got to be explored. The tunnels never fully discovered. And so, there is no clear indication as to whether it was all just myth, or if there was factual grounding behind it. One thing is clear now though...whatever wealth lies in the sunken ruins of Garrim now fully belongs to The Fleet. Other than merfolk, the men and women of The Fleet are likely the only ones that are capable of exploring those caves as they are now. Even if they weren't, with the might of The fleet as it is now, very few dare think themselves bold enough to enter fleet waters with the intention of running away with treasure. While there are some that have attempted, those trips end similar to how trips to Aya end.

There is one cave though, that The Fleet often talks about. They call it The Moonlight Cave. It is a cave that must be found and its location never shared, even with members of The Fleet. Finding the Moonlight Cave is one of the highest achievement a member of The Fleet can reach and, when asked how they knew they'd found the right one, each and every person would give the same answer. "There is no other cave like it. When you find it, there will be no doubt that you are in the right place."

 

[Wyll]

The Songs Never Heard

Prior to Falin's invasion, Cathior was comparable in beauty to the Doran Woodlands. It was surrounded by mountains, some of the kingdom actually built into the mountains. These mountains were known as the Singing Hills of Cathior and were the pride and joy of the kingdom. The Hills have been silent ever since Falin took over, but there are rumors - unconfirmed, of course - that there are people hidden in the mountains and holding out until Falin gives up their occupation. The guards and soldiers have been searching for the last 70 years for the enry to the singing hills, but haven't been able to find anything.

In addition to the Singing Hills, the roads were built into beautiful flower fields that filled the air with such a pleasing aroma that even those travelling nearby Cathior would be able to smell it.

However, Cathior is most known for - or, at least, was most known for - their festivals and celebrations. It seemed as though there wasn't a single month that went by without Cathior celebrating something. It was full of music, dancing, eating, drinking and there were stories told of these celebrations for years to come. Of all their festivals, the three biggest were:

1. Flower Festival: which lasts a week long and is essentially a one-week Valentine's day.
   
   
2. The Braiding: The whole community gathers, lining the streets and braiding one long Cord that essentially travels throughout the entire city
   
   
3. Snow's First Song: The Night Cry on the first night it snows. This is the night when the most amount of lanterns are in the sky and all the streets are filled with people.

However, the most recent generations know nothing of that. To them, those festivals are nothing more than tall tales and legends. All they have known is smoke and the hard labor of trying to build a city back up, brick by brick.

 

[Wyll]

The Brath of Death - Al-Lotoy

Many assume that the permanent smell of death in The Empire's northeast comes from the Lost Land, due to it being a desolate waste. However, it is much more accurate to say that the smell comes from the dead bodies that litter the streets and halls of Al-Lotoy.

They weren't killed per se, but Al-Lotoy is the kind of place where, once you get lost, you will never be found unless by someone from Al-Lotoy (and the fact that you got lost shows that you're not one of them, so they're unlikely to go out of their way to help you). Most of the people that have died have died from starvation or the madness that plagues the walls of Al-Lotoy.

No matter where you are in Al-Lotoy or the Lost Land, the air is saturated with the stench of death. The smell is strong enough to even touch some areas of Cathior and the outer villages of Falin.

Falin has promised god money for anybody willing to provide information of the labyrinth of Al-Lotoy. However, the mysterious leaders of Al-Lotoy seem to strike either enough fear, respect or admiration from their followers that none have dared sell the information to Falin, despite the promised riches.

 

[Wyll]

Before the Lands were Lost - Lotoy

With the Falin Empire being as mighty as it was, it can be hard to believe that a single kingdom was able to stop their advance. However, at that time, Lotoy was the largest kingdom by population and by area - they held Falin back by she sheer might of their size alone. Due to being close to water, Lotoy was also able to hold out during a 2-month siege. By every definition, Lotoy was deemed to be impenetrable.

Because of their size, they also boasted of the largest academy and the highest number of academies within a kingdom - having four official and acknowledged academies. Because of this, in its earlier days, The Seal had considered setting up in Lotoy, because of its proximity to Falin, their great enemy. However, the threat of the kingdom being invaded - no matter how well they held out - dissuaded the Seal and so they set up in Kidem.

However, even now, The Seal still looks to the Lost Land of Lotoy. With its libraries and academies, both Bookie and Seer believe that there are important documents buried beneath the ruins of Lotoy that could tell them more about the history of the world, books and stories that aren't available anywhere else. They believe they are still there because it is unlikely that the thieves and robbers currently there have any interest in them. And The Errant Fleet is famous for not caring about the history of kingdoms other than their own.

The night of the attack by the Fleet, none were spared. A few tried to hide, to wait out the attack. But they died of hunger and thirst before they could make it to the closest village. Therefore, until this day, nobody can say for sure what The Fleet did to Lotoy because not a single witness lived to tell the tale. Except those tomes that may have been buried there for the last 170 years.

 

[Wyll]

The War before the War - Falin

It is common knowledge that Falin introduced war to the world. But very few ever ask who introduced war to Falin.

It started with two Elven brothers - twins even - alike in almost every way. Both were talented fighters and brilliant scholars, very much the pride of Falin. Due to the fact that they were twins, their father had declared that over the course of their years, they would be tested to see which one of them was more fit for the throne. The older, Anwyll, was known for his heart for the people and wisdom in financial and political affairs. His younger brother, Ailen, was more known for his knowledge of history and geography, able to draw the world map from memory at a young age.

In terms of combat ability, the two were a perfect match for each other. Their sparring matches were always a joy to watch. Even their magical affinity was almost equal, with Ailen taking a very slight edge over his brother. With the two of them as evenly matched as they were, and the gap between them not seeming to grow much, the emperor of the time was forced to make a decision on who would take the throne. There was an even more urgent need for a decision as the Emperor fell terribly ill - a type of illness that could not be cured by magic and the greatest physicians declared would mean the death of the Emperor.

On the night he was to die, the Emperor signed a letter to be given to the court. It stated that Anwyll was to be in charge of domestic relations while Ailen would be in charge of international relations. Given their strengths, this pleased the court as well as the brothers. However, it wasn't even a year that Ailen took control of international relations that the first set of troops were sent to the borders of Kehinde and Taiwo. Ailen refused to listen to reason, insisting that this was best. And, thanks to the letter signed by the emperor himself, none had the power to overrule him.