Fantasy Skyheart - Lore

[SilverFlight]

Skyheart - Lore

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Lore Characters OOC MainArt

Since “The Cataclysm”, more than 800 years ago, mankind has lived on floating islands in the sky. The earth has long been covered in a sea of bruised clouds, but they lie far below the sky cities, forests and fields and people never bother with what lies beneath. Life is hard, technology is limited and the only way to travel between islands is by means of winged creatures that can be caught and tamed. The forests, planes and mountains on many islands are filled with dangerous beasts and this tamed mount will be a companion and protector for the entirety of a person’s life. Most humans belong to one of four great tribal clans, resting on the four largest islands that sit at the edge of the known lands in each of the four cardinal directions. The Cataclysm was a punishment from the gods, who saw the greed of mankind and decided to destroy them. The survivors were lifted up as a way to bring humans closer to the gods and founded the four great clans. Relations between the clans can be tense, and so, as a gesture of peace and unity between them, the coming of age ceremony they hold for every young man or woman that reaches 18 is done together, on a mountain island in the center of the known world.

The world is only just mastering the art of metal-working. The most learned people are those in the desert lands of Westeros and they covet their most advanced knowledge. The most valuable thing to a person is their bonded winged mount, that can carry them between islands. They are the source of life for almost everyone in the skyworld.


Here you will find information about the world and all the things in it. There are descriptions about each major clan, the customs, culture, the gods worshiped, and some of the beasts you’ll find in the skyworld.

• Map of Sky
• Map of Westeros Academy
• Story updates

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• 
  
  February 15th, 2020
  After waking up in a strange tent, missing one year's worth of their memories, the shaman Aurena urges our heroes to finish what they were put on the central island to do, tame their skybeasts and complete their proving. The journey up the mountain is dangerous and hard. The group learn more about each other with each passing day. A sudden attack by stonewargs leaves some gravely injured, and Ferro, their guide and proving witness even contemplates sending Gerel back.
  The next morning sees the youths miraculously healed of their injuries however, and they continue.
  The proving ground are at the peak of the mountain, which dips into a central hole like a dormant volcano. The proving provides challenges for each person, but they manage to persevere and tame their winged mounts.
  
  As soon as the last beast is tamed, a terribly earthquake shakes the ground, spooking all of the skybeasts perched on the peak. A giant skeletal wyvern, glowing with purple magic rises from the chasm along with six smaller undead creatures and they attack our heroes. It was Aldaf with his wind magic and his Seregios' projectile spikes that reveal the monsters' weakness: glowing purple orbs embedded in their chests where their hearts should be. Breaking those dispels the magic and the skeletons turn to dust. The battle is swift but brutal and finally, Matthias strikes the final blow, breaking the giant orb in the massive beast's chest and sending it plummeting back down into the chasm.
  
  Our heroes return to the proving camp at the base of the mountain for a grand celebration. Music dancing and piles of food and drink. The merriment lasts long into the night.
  After a the festivities out heroes retire, but in the small hours of the morning another threat appears. Undead creatures, like the giant that attacked them on the mountain, but these are small and quick, sent to kill stealthily, and they are targeting our heroes. They fight for their lives as the camp around them erupts into chaos.

 

[SilverFlight]

The Story​

Your characters are of age to compete in the proving, however they no memory of the past year of their lives, the year before they were set to take the proving. The only clues they have are the clothes on their backs, crafted for warriors in the distinct style of a clan, and the fact that they all awoke together. Throughout the story your characters will regain pieces of their memory as they complete quests and challenges set about this world of floating islands and the truth of what happened will be put together to understand what is yet to come.

Rules about the memory loss:

Basically, your characters have had normal lives right up until that missing year. They would have had families, belonged to a clan (or not), have learned skills and made friends and connections right up until the start of that year. Their friends and family will all recognize them, but they will have no idea what happened to them for that entire year. Some may even think they were dead. Your characters left home one night without a word and that was the last their families saw of them. They will wake up at the proving.

Rules about the character:

- Your character does have to:
- Adhere to the laws and traditions of the clan they belong to, and obey the universal laws and taboos.
- Not have themselves been made clanless before the game starts, but they can belong to clanless parents and have lived as clanless, just as long as they have a right to compete in the proving.
- Be between 18 and 24
- Have a beast that is no bigger than a horse. Sorry, no giant dragons, that would be OP.
- Acknowledge all the gods and goddesses, they can have a favorite, but you can't just pick one.


Your character does not have to:

- Choose a mount that aligns with their clan’s preferences, or pick a mount from the list I have created, you can literally choose anything that can fly (and preferably fly well as there will defs be the need for it)
- Choose the fighting style or weapon mastered by their clan (though they would have to learn the style of another clan by traveling to it)
- Dress like the people of their clan
- Have gone to the academy (that they remember) to know a magic discipline

 

[SilverFlight]

Land and Clan​

• Northaria
• Estendor
• Sudenta
• Westeros
• Central Island "Arebos"
• The land below the clouds

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  Capital: Doren
  
  Northaria is a harsh, snow-covered land for most of the year, with evergreen forests, glaciers and hidden hot springs. Its inhabitants dress in warm furs and have coats packed with goose down. They are sturdy and warlike, but honorable and fair. They are expert hunters and pelters and they farm root vegetables and hardy, northern berries.
  
  They have perfected the tempering of steel and make blades and armour sought after by all the clans. Their main exports are the weapons themselves, but also steel and iron ingots for crafting. Their warriors are trained with blade and throwing spear. Their preferred game is called “3-Ring” and involves tossing three rings about a field like frisbees all at once, trying to catch them around 3 goals posts at each end of the playing field. The ultimate form is played in the sky on winged mounts.
  
  Houses usually consist of a central lodge for each smaller family or community, where meals are held and stories are told by a large central fire pit, surrounded by several smaller houses where families will sleep.
  
  Each community then has a great hall for town affairs, marriages, meetings and ceremonies.
  
  The capital has the largest great hall, its pillars made of giant redwoods carved intricately to resemble standing warriors. The grand temple is an attachment to this great lodge. This clan favours the winged wolves and owl-headed gryphons that are native to the cold climates as their mounts, and generally prefer to challenge these beasts at their proving.
  
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  Capital: Ocris
  
  Estendor is temperate, with many islands covered in expansive grasslands. It snows for only a few months of the year, and in spring the grasslands are full of flowers. The people are warm and friendly but competitive. They dress in skins and wool of the animals they herd, and are famous for their weapons of stone. Though more brittle than steel, they are crafted in such a way that they are just as deadly, and the stone carving technique is a well-kept secret. These people have mastered the art of the stone sling and bolo. Their favourite game is something like Lacroix and it is called “Net Ball”, with netted baskets on sticks made to catch and carry a ball and lob it into a goal net. The ultimate form of this game is played in the sky with winged mounts.
  
  This clan produces much of the meat and milk traded among the clans, as well as skins, rawhide, leather and carvings of stone, bone and horn. Their stone sculptors are often hired to create intricate carvings to adorn temples. They farm maize, rice and cassava.
  
  These people often build their houses from wood frames and hide, easily movable to follow wild herds and move their flocks so as not to exhaust the land with over-grazing. Each community has a central lodge. And each family will have their own hide-skin dwelling. They use horses, flightless, and tame cattle to move their settlements and generally do not move to new islands unless they have to.
  
  There is one place where the people have settled and here the buildings are made from stone. The houses are built around a grand temple that has the largest and most intricate carvings adorning its walls. This clan favours winged horses, alicorns and perytons, beasts that are just as fast and agile on land as in the air as their chosen mounts.
  
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  Capital: Ayzu
  
  Sudenta is a tropical paradise, with soaring rainforest islands rich with fruit and medicinal herbs. Their clothes are woven cotton, flax and silks from the silkworms they cultivate, dyed with bright colours from the berries and bark they find in their forests. The people are gentle and resourceful, and value skill over strength. This clan has the best bow-makers in the skyworld and they are masters at crafting and building with wood. Their warriors are also incredible marksmen, and they are often also trained to make and use tipped darts.
  
  They export fruits, vegetables and medicines, and fine wood crafts. Their preferred game is like basketball or handball, involving a single ball which players must pass through a stone hoop at each end of the playing field. Players can only hold the ball in their hands for 3 seconds before they must pass it. They can also bounce the ball off of elbow, leg or hip. This is called “Hoop Ball”. Ultimate forms of this game are played in the sky with winged mounts.
  
  These people live in wooden dwellings that seem almost to be apart of the forest itself. Some are on the ground, but many are carved into living trees. They live in large communityies, not small family groups. Their temples are the only buildings made of stone, and they are designed as staggered pyramids, with large entrances at the base.
  
  These people favour the giant birds, often splendidly-coloured, the phoenix and Simurgh and thunder birds as well as feathered dragons.
  
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  Capital: To'bai
  
  Westeros is a desert land, with great stone palaces filled with ancient hieroglyphs. Their libraries have books dating back beyond the Cataclysm and their knowledge is very well-guarded. They taught magic to those with the gift for it, and the only magic academy in the world lies in their capital city. A great river provides most of the clan’s sustenance and they farm grains, oranges, figs and other warm-climate fruit, they also fish from the river.
  
  This clan’s warriors are masters of chain weapons and whips, and have a special, unique weapon that is effectively a bladed boomerang. This clan has the richest mines in all of skyworld and has mastered crafting in precious metal and gems. Their clothes are often adorned with gold or lapis-lazuli, and their leaders have grand headdresses made of these. The clothes they wear are often made of light fabrics and they are masters of paper-making and scroll-keeping. They have made great advancements in magic and technology and not only export their stones and precious metals, but teach mathematics, sciences, writing and other advanced learnings as well as magic.
  
  Their preferred sport is racing, and they breed fast beasts for races on the ground, and people who want a career in racing with choose to pair with a fast, agile skybeast for the sky races held every year.
  
  Most people of Westeros live in grand cities in stone houses, not in small communities. Their temples are smooth-sided pyramids and the temples of the capital are situated on the barren side of the great river that flows straight through the capital.
  
  The winged mounts preferred by Westeros are nimble wyverns, giant falcons or winged great cats and sand-dragons. Beasts that are often the fastest in the air.
  
  Westeros Academy
  
  The academy is located in the center of the city, built right against the Western river bank, nestled among the oldest buildings in To'Bai. The entire academy consists of two main building complexes: North and South and a courtyard in the center with a sports pitch, gardens and walkways. The southern complex houses the classrooms, alchemy lab, workshop and the training rotunda, a masterful work of engineering divided into four distinct rooms each built to withstand the training in one of the four physical elemental magics. Light magic training can be done in any of these rooms. The floor is cooled by water pumped up from a wheel in the river, which also provides water for the water elemental training. The lightning elemental room is sealed with rubber.
  The Northern complex houses the dorms, assistant lodgings and teachers apartments. Closest to the river sits a massive green house where herbology is taught. The library is in the North-Western corner of the complex and has a main entrance to admit non-students. There are stables in behind the senior's dormitories that house the skybeasts of the staff. The stables are off limits to students without strict supervision, but punishments often include cleaning out the stalls.
  
  Magic is not the only thing taught at the academy, oftentimes other students are admitted to learn engineering, alchemy, herbology and medicine. The academy admits anyone from any clan, will test them for magical potential and train them in that and any other skills they wish to learn.
  The academy is fairly autonomous and does not rely on the direction of the Westeros clan council, as much as they would like it to. Headmaster Candor has striven to keep the academy as neutral as possible, to protect his students and his staff from political disputes.
  
  Recently a special kind of magical research has been sanctioned, though it is kept very secret. There are four more types of elemental magic, and four teachers have been chosen to develop these skills.
  
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  In the center of all these great lands lies an island with a single, solitary mountain. This is Arebos, the God mountain, the closest place to the realm of the Gods. The weather is always harsh on the slopes of the mountain, cold and unforgiving. Thunderstorms are frequent, as well as hail and snow further up. On the ground close to the mountain’s base there is a grand stone temple, adorned with treasures from all the four clans. During the proving the four clans build a tent city with trading stalls, fresh food and entertainment. The central tent just in front fo the temple is for the youths traking the proving that year.
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  Nothing is known about what lies below the clouds. Most people believe there isn’t even a world down there anymore, just an open, dark nothingness filled with poison or ancient demons. Those that have been below and survived are banished and no one will speak to them, so their stories are never passed on. One does not ask, and one should never know.

 

[SilverFlight]

Customs, culture and relations​

• Customs & culture
• Clan connections and learning skills
• Clan relations
• Taboos & punishments

• 
  
  Each year, the men and women who have come of age, from every clan, will go there for a proving ceremony, to earn their place among the clans. Most choose their own clan, but it is possible at this point, to run for another clan, and if the proving is passed, you have the right to join it. If you do not feel ready for the proving you can choose not to take it at 18, but you must know one year before that you will compete in it and place your name on a roster for the following year.
  
  The mountain is filled with dangerous monsters, and part of the proving involves fighting your way up the slopes. Once at the top the candidates are expected to catch and tame their very own winged mount, which, through the blessing of the gods, can be trapped in a crystal amulet, crafted by masters of magic in Westeros. Children who were born to clanless parents have the right to compete here when they turn 18, and only if they are successful can they choose a clan to join, though they must forsake their parents to do so.
  
  Once the proving is passed your clan (old or new) will craft you a saddle for your beast and a weapon of your choice. Gifts to welcome you to the clan as a full adult.
  
  If a skybeast is killed in battle or by accident the rider will enter a period of mourning for one year, but if the clan or the warrior is in a direct conflict, this period can be shortened to an intense day-long ceremony, after which the warrior can climb the mountain and tame a new beast. On extremely rare occasions, a beast will fly down and volunteer itself, but this has only ever happened in legend.
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  The people of the clans are often happy to welcome youths from other clans who want to learn a style of fighting or a craft, so being born into one clan does not mean they can’t learn the weapons or fighting style of another. If they wish to learn magic they must have attended the academy in Westeros at some point (but actually, your character can know magic without the memory of going, it will have something to do with that missing year)
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  The clan chiefs are proud people, they take offense at small things and there has always been the suspicion of theft or sabotage. On very rare occasions there will be skirmishes and land disputes for some of the islands on the borders of clan lands and alliances are built and broken all the time.
  
  Northaria and Estendor are frequently allied, though Estendor has good relations with Sudenta.
  
  Sudenta is often allied with Westeros, though they bicker frequently about their trade caravans going missing in Westeros lands.
  
  Westeros and Northaria are often opposed, and this animosity has bled into the people to a certain degree in the form of prejudice. Often families will refuse to deal with members of the opposing clan, though this is not a solid rule. Northaria and Westeros are most frequently involved in land disputes.
  
  Sometimes warriors from lesser clans are hired to attack or sabotage clan enemies. This is very hard to prove, and can sometimes lead to a major clan attacking the small clan in an attempt to wipe it out. All four of the major clans have been responsible for this in their 800-year history.
• 
  
  There are somethings that are forbidden and the most important rules are shared between all the people of the sky world because survival quite often depends on them.
  
  There are the general rules: stealing, and violence outside of honorable challenges is punished by temporary exile from the clans, or fines in goods or treasures, depending on the severity of the crime.
  
  Murder, of either a human or their bonded skybeast, and the breaking of principle taboos will make someone “clanless” for the rest of your life. They can never rejoin any clan and clan will trade with them, or help them. They will not escape this status, but their children have a chance to earn a clan in the proving when they turn 18. Generally however, living off of clan lands is a death sentence, as the wilds are filled with savage monsters and very little food.
  
  It is taboo to ever venture below the dark clouds, those that do very often never return. Punishment for the very rare case of survival is loss of clan status immediately.
  
  It is also taboo to kill any flying creature outside of a ceremonial hunt, unless you are directly attacked, unprovoked. If a flighted creature is killed you must go to the nearest temple and beg forgiveness from the gods, performing funeral rights for the animal. Even after that most believe you will be cursed with ill-fortune, and the more superstitious will avoid you.

 

[SilverFlight]

The Gods & Magic​

• The Gods
• Magic
• Spiritual beliefs

• 
  There are five deities, all representing an attribute of the sky. All gods are human and depicted with wings, usually surrounded by the element they gift to their blessed. Their idols sit at the back of each temple, behind the alter and are the grandest in the four main cities of the four great clans.
  
  Helian
  
  The sun god is a fierce warrior and teaches fire magic to those he has blessed. He is known to be courageous but rash, honorable, but prideful. People pray to this god when they are about to go into battle, or enter a big sports game.
  
  Celesta
  
  The goddess of stars is multi-faced and her blessed have the ability to command light and create illusions. She is known to be creative and cunning, perceptive and persuasive but sometimes cruel. People invoke Celesta when there are big changes in their lives or when they must make hard decisions.
  
  Lunenan
  
  The moon goddess gifts her chosen with the ability to control water. She is known for being gentle, kind and nurturing but provoke her wrath and she can be very destructive. People pray to Lunanen when they or their loved ones are sick or injured, or if they have been wronged and they wish for vengeance.
  
  Ventar
  
  The wind goddess grants mastery over air and wind. She is crafty and quick, a trickster and is very good at solving problems, but will always ask for something in return. People pray to this goddess when they must make a journey or run into a problem they cannot solve.
  
  Casseus
  
  The cloud god grants power over lightning. Casseus is direct, practical and disciplined, but he can be unforgiving and his retribution is violent. If someone is struck by lightning it is believed they must have offended Casseus. People pray to this god when they have a test to pass or wish to do well in a ceremony or clan event.
  
  All four clans bow to these five deities and they are all revered and worshiped in their respective temples in the capital cities.
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  Magic can only be taught to people with a gift for it. Only about one in ten people have the gift of magic and the best way to master your gift is to train with the experts in Westeros. The academy there will accept anyone with the gift and training is free. There are some parents who will teach their gifted children the basics, but it is known that true mastery comes from the academy.
  
  Generally magic costs physical stamina and prolonged use of it in combat can fatigue a person just as if they were running or fighting with a weapon. The caster must have a very tight control on how much magic they use in an act, and cut a spell short if they are going to use too much. Mages have killed themselves by trying to control something too large.
  
  Generally, when you begin your character will have an ability that is stronger than most npcs, but they will be limited. Your character will not be able to summon tidal waves or tornadoes for example, but would be able to knock a big monster off balance, so using small amounts of magic in strategic ways is the best tactic. Water mages could freeze the ground into ice to make targets slip, light mages could use flashes to blind opponents, or use double illusions to cause confusion. A fire mage could set fur or clothes on fire, and cause major burns, but not kill an enemy with one attack.
  
  A mage's gift manifests in only a single element. You cannot have more than one. Generally the mage offers more worship to the god of their element, but all clansmen celebrate a d acknowledge all the gods.
• 
  There is only one major belief system in the world and it is centered around the five elemental deities. These gods have temples dedicated to them and are worshiped by all. Elemental mages might favour their patron god, but will worship all of them. Aside from the main gods, people also believe that their ancestors are looking after them, and often have small house shrines dedicated to those that have passed on. It is believed that a good or an innocent soul will rise to join the gods, but may also choose to be reincarnated as a person, or as a beast to help guide their living relatives. Souls that have done great evil in their lives are too heavy, and instead will sink below the clouds and become trapped in the world below. It is believed that the realm below the clouds is filled with evil spirits.

 

[SilverFlight]

Skybeasts and bonding​

Generally, skybeasts are defined as any winged (flying) beast that can bear a rider. They are more intelligent than other monsters and often they are fierce and aggressive when provoked, not to to mention very dangerous.

Westeros has created a magic using special gemstones that will enable you to form a bond with one beast that lets the creature feel your emotions and intent. As long as you wear the amulet, your bonded creature will understand what you want it to do, so you can control it with a thought. Oftentimes the creature will reflect your emotions towards things or people, but not always. Some strong-minded beasts might disagree with their riders and be harder to control until a trust is built.

The beasts, once bonded, will not fight with another bonded beast unless their rider is directly attacked. The beasts are almost always very protective of their riders, and will fight bravely by their side against any threat.
The gemstones have an extremely powerful magic that allows the beast to be safeguarded in the amulet until the creatures are needed. There is a single word to seal the creature and release it. Simply hold the amulet and say "Koray." You must be touching the amulet for this to work.

• Gryphon
• Peryton
• Thunderbird
• Phoenix
• Alicorn & Pegasus
• Dragon & Wyvern

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  Gryphons have the front talons, head and wings of a bird of prey and the body of a big cat. They are often solitary but can live in groups when rearing young. They are a balanced mount in speed, agility, strength and intelligence and depending on their builds, they can have advantages in different categories. They are generally good at problem solving, and following complex instructions.
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  These creatures look like deer with great wings and often have hind legs ending in deadly talons. They are agile and can run on ground nearly as fast as they can fly through the air. They are clever but flighty and are prey for some of the other skybeasts. Their great, pointed antlers and talons make them just as dangerous as the carnivorous beasts.
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  These creatures cannot summon lightning, but their feathers do generate electricity and they can shock people they do not want touching them. They may also be able to prevent lightning from striking their riders. They are large birds and come in a variety of shapes and colours. They are often slower but stronger than some of the other skybeasts.
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  These creatures are fireproof and are generally very colourful. They are also some of the rarest creatures. They are not particularly fast or strong, but they have the ability to heal non-fatal injuries and cure poison with their tears. They can also recover from serious injuries on their own if given enough time to rest and they never become sick.
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  These creatures are just as fast on land as in the sky and they are powerful, though not as agile as the peryton. They live in flocks year-round and generally are very difficult to single out. They are often loyal and fearless. The horn of an alicorn grows continuously and it must sharpen the horn on trees to file it down in the wild. The powder from the horn filing is actually one of the most effective healing ingredients, and can heal injuries faster, prevent infection and even purify water.
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  Both these creatures come in so many shapes and sizes it is impossible to categorize them. Generally a wyvern will have two legs and two wings, like a bird, and a dragon will have four legs and wings. They can be feathered or not, but generally all are covered in hard scales that act as armour. They can be stubborn and willful and very single-minded and are some of the hardest animals to bond with and tame. Often they have a breath weapon: fire, ice or lightning, though beasts with this type of weapon are large, bulky, and tend not to be very fast or agile.

Not all beasts have been covered here, and you can certainly pick something off this list if you like, this is just to give people ideas.

 

[SilverFlight]

Bestiary​

• Stonewarg
• Deathborn

• 
  
  Stonewargs are native only to the slopes of Mount Arebos. They are aggressive and quite violent towards humans. They hunt in groups of between five and fifteen and use strategy to take down their pray. They preferred form of hunting is to get the high ground above their pray and maim or kill it by throwing rocks down at it. There will usually be a secondary attacking pack moving to flank the prey while it is disoriented and close in. They rely primarily on heaing and smell as their sight is quite poor. Their jaws are incredibly strong and they have sharp claws on the ends of their gorilla-like arms. Blows from these arms can break the spine of a fully-grown bear. Their weakness lies in their soft underbelly, which is exposed when they rear onto their hind legs.
• 
  
  The deathborn is a term used to describe all strange skeletal creatures, seemingly brought back from the dead by some foul magic. These creatures come from the forsaken underworld below the clouds and are targeting our heroes relentlessly. They come in all shapes and sizes, from the giant wyvern that attacked on the mountain during the proving, to the small assassin-class dragon creatures that accosted them in the camp. It seems this spell can be cast upon any creature after it has died, and placing an enchanted glass orb in their chests can re-animate the corpses and turn them into mindless, killing demons.