Shrine to the Old Gods
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@darkwalker57 I really like the world that you've built here. There is a lot of lore and depth, but enough openness that you can really tell that there is room for a player (or players) to be capable of manipulating and adding to it themselves. It's not too restrictive, not too open. Well-done. Definitely a sandbox I would love to play a game in!
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Religions
The Winged Court
This was considered to be the defacto founding religion of the world. Upon the founding of this religion, the Shelonan Theocracy was formed. The original 27 surviving light bringers are worshipped in this religion. Following the advent of the religion was a creation was a caste system to bring about order within the creations that would be later known as mankind. Following a descending order of Samnals, Bittals , Simca , Yihra , and Emet. The Samnals are individuals close to the deities, so close in fact that worshipping the ground a samnal walks is akin to worshipping the divines. Samnals can range from personal confidants, to even their chefs or foot rests. However all Samnals tend to attain a breath of divinity from who they serve. Usually they're thematically appropriate with a few exceptions, such as the deity of combat's samnals are capable of summoning and storing weaponry in various means or performing extrodinary combat feats. Be it as light, in pocket dimensions, or kicking a spear to skewer their opponents from miles away.
Bittals are those who propagate the spread of the religion. In other words, spiritual advisors, priests, shamans, diviners and the like. Despite this religion being fairly organized as a whole, terminology is not. As it's broken into various cults that work together. As such in large places of worship it's not uncommon to see a orthodox priest and a wild shaman in the same place. Usually in different sections of the grand place of worship.
Yihras are Scholars and Artisans of the world. This caste is a broad section as these can be researchers, alchemists, doctors, tailors, Smiths, inventors and the likes. Yihras work hand in hand with the next caste and in fact is one of the castes that most of the population used to belong too
Emets were the producers of the religion. However despite the necessity, it's considered to be only the third largest populated caste. With Bittals being second. The reason for this, was due to the divine spectacles used to create the utopia of old, Niravo. They were mainly farmers, miners, fishers and the like. But thanks to blessed fields of abundance, preserving mountains, and blazing craters, Nivora created some of the most effective methods of producing products. But their quality wasn't always assured. The major drawback of the old Religion of the Winged Court was stagnancy, as they maintained a barely passing bronze age till the fall of Nivora. Afterwards the religion became greatly disorganized as the Lightbringers sought to preserve their ideal world. As such very few folks retain worship of this religion in the modern day, instead opting to worship... -
The Radiant Hosts
The Radiant Host is a reformation of the Winged Court. Following the death of 13 lightbringers and the ascension of their Samnals. The advent and creation of this reformed religion was marked by the fall of Nivora. Naturally many individuals had faith in Nivora before it was crushed by the ice sheet. Nonetheless after the death of that many deities, the former Winged Court faith was naturally shaken to its very core, and in turn a new god by the name of Revache took the mantle as the main god of the pantheon. Renaming the Light-bringers as light wardens, and taking a more active role in the future of mankind. He would go on to rework the Samnal system, and create the first series of Holy Orders that traveled and propagated the faith of the new religion, while also creating and attaining foot holds in various governments across the world. However a number of the holy orders naturally were rooted out of governance in some nations. -
The Seneschal's Path
Following the advent of the Winged Court, the dregs of Shelonan Society who lived outside the city of Nivora grew disgruntled by the way life they were led to live. As beings not even considered worthy of a Caste, they were left to their own devices, riots would typically break out, outside the city, followed by violent and one sided suppressions by a handful of Samnals. After years of oppression the Amender would arrive and offer the unfortunate souls a path to a better life. Naturally however not everything comes for free. This Religious practice is a less organized religion, no written texts are made for the faith. Ultimately the world recognizes this as a religion, yet nothing exists to elaborate any form of spiritual actions and rites. The only things that are truly known of the religion, is that those who can properly follow the faith are called Arbiters, wearing garb of black and gold. They appear just as mysteriously as The Amender. Also that Amender will never answer the prayers of those who pray to them.
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Sal Paraspas
An organized religion that worships the Seneschal, a reinterpretation of The Amender. The Religion has a low global following, and was founded by the saint Lawrence Halfdan. Following the eventual rise of the Winged court, the diaspora of mankind faded into myth and legend, and in turn a conman would go on to found a religion built upon the continued proliferation of life, liberty and egality. However the organization of the religion became increasingly more constrictive. In turn they would go on to create various doctorines centered on wealth accumulation.
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The Six Winds
The Six Winds Faith is a faith based upon the teachings of Demian. The Shepard who led their flock out of Nivora and into the Yilltar Tribelands. The Religion worships various new gods who walked alongside the congregation. These people were called "Herrschers" or "The Rulers" as they were called in the common tongue. After leaving Nivora, a key feature of the religion was the nomadic lifestyle, and creating worksites across the entire tribeland, Where spirits and the storied pasts of their heroes, spirits, and Herrschers would influence where grand forges, kilns, underground ferrmentation cellars, mines, and forestry locations would be located.
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The Church of the Aeons
A religion formed off the basis of astrology, the different celestial bodies up above Mezeran are worshipped as gods on the eastern continent, and it is believed that its possible to tap into various magics attributed to the aeons. The aeons being "powerful constellations" in a stretch of the night sky known as the Stellar Desert. A patch of sky comprised of only beautiful constellations of various colors. The powers typically drawn from the Aeons correspond accordingly, for example; The Aeon of Myriads grants strong healing magic, The Aeon of Ruin grants no base magic by itself, but allows for all types of magics to breach various defenses. Nonetheless the power of the Aeons are fickle, as at points they leave the sky entirely hence the stretch of land they inhabit is called the stellar desert, and in turn only a maximum of five Aeons can retain control over the heavens.
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The Congregation of Seismeche
The Congregation of Seismeche is effectively the centralized religion on across the Continent of Garrion, The Orsika Gulf, and the Isle of Uskas. It's considered the largest religion following the dissolution of the original Winged Court. It follows the worship of similar beings such as the Aeons, these beings are however called Etros. Etros are personifications of worldly elements, these being Mezeran herself, Pela the Eternal Flame, Purphoros the tempestuous, etc. This religion also incorporates the Amender, although they attribute them as a Zeitgeist, or the breath of change that naturally roled through the world every once in a while.
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The Basic Magic System
Mages in the world of Mezeran are broken up into various categories, and are further broken up into specializations. Almost everyone in the world is capable of magic however it doesn't mean they can just read a magical spell and immediately cast it, its heavily dependent on their growth as an individual.Hyperion:
The Commonly known magical energy of this world. The understanding of this energy was formed by the Lightbringers, as it was a byproduct of the war of the lightbringers before the formation of the winged court. Hyperion alone cannot create magical and fantastical forces, instead it needs something to manipulate such energies. Ultimately Hyperion is a completely inert source of energy.Silla
"The Kingdom" or "Domain." Every Mage has a Silla within them, A barren landscape within themselves. This landscape rests within the Sea of Identities and is the culmination of their experiences. They grow this initially small landscape within the Sea of Identities to draw further knowledge and to manipulate their growth.The Sea of Identities
The Sea is a metaphysical ocean between the realms, not much is entirely known of the sea, however what is known is that it's intrinsically tied to every single being across the land. Normally individuals can't consciously access the sea nor can they influence their growth. Those who can manipulate their Silla and the tides of the sea are far and few between. The Sea is comprised of millions of small islands, obelisks, floating ruins, and the like. In turn normally people enter the sea through sleep, and in turn the dreams one experiences in sleep are considered to be alternate identities they inhabit in a reflection of this very world. Tapping into these reflections augment the growth of the individual, as well as the personality slightly as they draw traits from their alternate selves. -
The Basic Paths of Magic
Elementalism
Despite mages being fairly rare in Mezeran, this path is however the most common. In turn, many folk associate mages with this path of magic, You can't expect the common man to not ask your local apprentice mage at the tavern to not huck a fireball or to cool their ale.
The Mechanics of elementalism works heavily upon cause and effect and scientific understanding. In order to conjure a fireball, an elementalist must create the conditions for the eventuality. They will alter air temperatures around their hands to create the condition of ignition.
Elementalism is considered one of the more prestigious schools of magic, It's favored by soldiers and battlemages, -
Entropy
Entropists are mages who preside over the aspects of life and death. An entropic mage alters eventuality by manipulating the life force of beings. Necromancers tend to walk down the path of Entropy and develop their Silla to draw knowledge of their alternate selves. Unlike other schools of magic, very few teachers exist, little is known of the rituals and theories behind this magic as it's typically forbidden in many cities across Mezeran. To Ultimately grasp the power of this magic, students must understand that death is an omnipresent and constant variable. It's inherent in every being, from the simple pebble beneath your feet, to even the gods. Although death may vary from case by case, and interpretation. Entropy magics lack many offensive capabilities, instead focusing on as stated before, the manipulation of life force. Allowing for vampiric spells, blood magics, necromancy, and in some cases instant death spell. Recently however, purveyors of entropy have made a break through in the field of entropy. They have begun to recreate manifestations of death from their reflections in the sea of identities, summoning forth and creating blades that make wounds incapable of closing, living storms of death, sentient shadows, etc. -
Abundance
Abundance Magic is a school of magic heavily mired in the subjects of Thaumaturgy. This Magic is the most prestigious path, With this magic being capable of curing wounds and disease, purifying toxins in water, and temporarily enhancing one's own physical body to superhuman levels. However this is the most mentally and physical taxing for the caster.
An Abundance mage, when encountering a problem, for instance a wound. Would enter the Sea of Identities, search for a reflection where the body is intact, and transplants such a reality into our own. However this isn't a cure all, if they try to transplant a reality, for a disease or wound that's too deeply intwined with the individual. Such as to say cerebral defects. The use of Abundance could cause sudden brain death, or loss of sanity. As such many nations would rather choose to advance Mundane medicine. -
Mentalism
Mentalism is an exceedingly difficult magic, Unlike other magics in the world, this magic is ultimately impermanent. Unlike Elementalism, Abundance, and Entropy. This magic leaves no trace upon the world yet is requires a profound understanding over fundamental laws of the world. They practice in the Imaginary. As such True Mentalists are as rare as Painite. And their impact on history is even less felt. Nonetheless the mechanics of their magic is similar to elementalism and Abundance magic. They must produce the eventuality like elementalism, however they search the sea of identities for the possible cause and effect. If a Mentalist wished to kill someone, they would search for the death of a target in the sea of identities, and manifest ways for their death. However given the nature of the magic, these manifestations can't be seen by anyone other than the mentalist themselves and other mages who can sense Hyperion. However their impact upon the world till the de-manifestation can be seen. A tale of battle between a mentalist and a common foot soldier had the mentalist conjure forth some sort of invisible beast. However they were able to still hear the creature, and see byproducts of the creature such as a shadow, footprints and the like. A true mentalist however is predicted to supplant the imaginary, and instead however make these eventualities a true reality in this world. -
Psionics
Psionics is a school of magic heavily studied by Entropists. This school of magic is mired in the alteration of minds and emotion. The reason as to why this school of magic is studied frequently by entropists, is that it forces others to accept alternate realities. Once spells are cast, the victim can no longer distinguish Reality from fiction. To give a tangible example, If you were waylaid by three bandits, getting the bandits to believe that the others were monstrosities would be a sinch. However Psionics are beholden to the context of the situation. The success of the spell, is dictated by focus. As such in that situation, getting the bandits to think you were a long time friend would be more difficult than the previous spell, as focus is more directly projected towards the caster. And even then Psionics are heavily weighted in failure. Some individuals will naturally be more mentally resistant towards the school of magic. Spells such as Invisibility are attributed to this magic as well.
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Advanced Magic Systems
The Samnal System
A Samnal is effectively a disciple to a Lightbringer, or now Lightwarden. These individuals are close to their respective deity, and are capable of calling upon their deities powers. As such they become forces to be reconned with. Samnals of the Dawn Bringer Revache grow in power at the height of the sun, and in turn are capable of immense feats of fire magic. Samnals of Huntress naturally can perform majestic feats of archery and have supernatural senses. Things of that nature. However Samnals can draw power from multiple deities as well, acting as bridges between the differences of the gods.
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Astral Magic
Astral Magic is a fluid form of magic, The magic is entirely dependent of the Aeons that preside within the Stellar Desert. The Aeons are constellations within the night sky. However this magic isn't dependent on the time of day, only upon the positions of the aeons themselves. As such as long as the caster has star light, be it from the aeons themselves or even sunlight. They are capable of casting powerful spells and combinations of spells. However This is a extremely volatile form of magic, as due to the low cost to the caster, with little to no fatigue on their part. If they try to draw upon an aeon not within the Stellar Desert, The caster will suffer grave consequences. Typically it leads to their death based upon the aeon they contacted.
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Arcane Syntax
Arcane Syntax is a recent and immense breakthrough made Lan Kessler. This study of magic is in its infancy, and has no form of accredidation by other mages, or even any other purveyors who have tapped into this field yet. Ultimately though, arcane syntax is the study of formulas and the composition of magical theory. As well as the combination of schools. Since this school is in its infancy, only two spells have been developed as of the present day. One being to create a Chimera through the use of Abundance and Entropy, and the other being to create a self heating skillet, which was made via engraving a complex hybrid formula upon the base of the skillet. He has yet to create a way to turn the skillet off however, and in turn it's perpetually scalding.
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Systems of Government/Cultural Development
The systems of government range drastically across the entirety of Mezeran. Ranging from tribal councils, to great empire bureaucracies.
The Principality of Barag
As the name suggests, the land is a principality, as such the Leader of the nation is typically multiple princes. They act as regent-monarchs till a definitive king is declared. The king is typically picked through a successionary competition, the competition being a basis of revenue generation to further innovation and prosperity throughout Barag. This works most of the time. Sometimes the succession leads to various tyrants to take the throne. This Successionary competition is a regular event, as the King can only remain in power for twenty years before another series of princes, usually nominated by various noble households. As such no definitive royal line exists in Barag, however many provinces typically back their liege lords. Nonetheless their liege lords will always have to earn their people's favor every competition as the noble households typically move with each competition as they are assigned different provinces each competition. Allowing for Barag to become a dynamic nation, and a melting pot of ideas.
Barag Architecture takes inspiration after Carsacossone's Architecture which is a french city -
The kingdom of Path'kis
The Kingdom of Path'kis is a kingdom ruled by a despotic Monarchy, it subjugated the three grand duchies around it, and in turn each duchy provides tribute to the kingdom in the form of goods, and soldiers, which are distributed once again to foreign duchies. This creates absolute subjugation for their vassals, as they have been effectively demilitarized with the Kingdom's standing army of foreign bodies to overlook their lands. Nonetheless, the kingdom despite being stalwart and stable, in terms of governance, it's created a strict sense of class hierarchy. Similar to real life feudal society with little to no social momentum. However, due to recent world events, The nation has begun to monopolize the manufactory of steel, and salt mining. As various deserts on the southern peninsula leads the eastern salt market. -
The Northland Consortium
The Northland Consortium is a large nation ran by various trade leagues, corporations, and guilds. The Land is broken up into provinces, and in turn many individuals live their entire lives as employees of their birthplace. As of 100 years ago, in order to endear their way of life to their customers on the continent of Garrion, they formed dozens of Knight clubs, which are sponsored knight orders that act as their sponsor's military might within the province. They also protect assets, act as body guards, and provide other services such as political assassination if the knight club was tailored for such services. Nonetheless as a way to break the monotony of working in factories, sweat shops, offices, and the like. People flock to join knight clubs. Although very few make the cut. Nonetheless their original aspects of chivalric honor faded with time, and they merely became another facet commerce.
