Universal Lore- Part 1, The High Realms(Voiskana- Civalthax)

Organizations on Elvaria

With the end of the Warring Era, there have been many opportunities for organization to arise than span many kingdoms from safer conditions and better kingdom relations. Many organizations are scattered around the lands of Elvaria, with some allied with certain kingdoms, and some that are strictly neutral. They vary in purpose and skills, as well as in ideals, traditions, and people. This list only includes the most notable of the elven(or mixed) organizations and is very general. Specifications will be provided on a different post, and organizations outside of Elvaria will be excluded. Additional groups may be added in the future and will be added accordingly along with a notifying post.

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Neutral Organizations These are unaligned to any kingdom.

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The Seekers

A group of battle-priests that was formed during the Ember War by the half-Flaernan-half-Dalirnan Kalathiv and Lustarisean Iniko after deserting their respective kingdoms out of dissatisfaction of the warring conditions(War of Shattered Ruby and the Ember War) and politics. They still exist in the modern day but don't get involved in politics unless they are directly threatened. Currently they have an ongoing dispute with the Hidden.

The Hidden

A group you could either call mercenaries, hitmen, thieves, or all of the above, it is comprised of exiles, deserters, and outlaws that make it almost their entire purpose to cause problems for the kingdoms and exact revenge on particular people(if they're still alive). This group formed near the start of the Ember War where some people were being incriminated for even mere suspicions of being involved in the assassinations of rulers and criminals for petty crime were being conscripted for the armies. The founder, Xie Sha'nie, was recently killed during a battle between the Seekers and the Hidden over their current dispute, and the organization has since been handed to the Avianaen deserter Phalikiron and Yukiosan exile Ostoril.

The Accord of Oracles

A small group of, well, oracles that has existed since the Age of the Empires and have been granted diplomatic immunity by all kingdoms(except Jivankova out of circumstances and they have their own oracles). The gift(or curse depending on how you view it) of foresight came from the Tilemgians during the brief time the Eternaveilan races had a hidden presence on Elvaria's surface and was given to 7 bloodlines, one from each kingom(including the minor kingdoms). The Lunarisian Velscira would found the Accord and her bloodline has survived to the modern times, with the current leader being the Zodianan Bas'nurilos.

The Academy of Blades

An academy located on an island between Haliskor, Elorinar, and Yinorael, the school staff are very secretive and highly selective with potential students. Graduates must swear a binding oath of secrecy or join the school as a teacher, and the school itself is neutral unless directly threatened. The staff teach a very peculiar type of magical combat which is reliant on blades(usually swords or daggers) that seems more reliant on willpower and spirit rather than Asurei. The founder is unknown to everyone other than the "headmaster" Walekrian Wei'Mo Tan-Shi, but is alive as far as anyone knows.

The Circle of Speakers

A small group of druids and beast callers, the group was founded after the founding of Floernia. Most of the members are Floernians and a few are Dysheraln, with other kingdoms' people being few and far between. All of the members have an unusual attunement with nature, whether it be being able to commune with fauna or with flora(this also includes understanding the hums of the Dysheraln which is how the group picks out fakers). They do not have a proper leader as it used to be Cirania and they felt no one could act as a replacement(suggesting so is practically heresy), so they have ambassadors instead to deal with politics.

The Vermillion Hand

A small group of blood mages(not quite into necromancer territory) that were the result of the experiments of Ilskorith Mavkoril, a deranged Yūregian scientist who was expelled from the Society of Harvesters for using live subjects in his experiments(further elaboration in the future) during the Ember War. Think Frankenstein but the people are still alive. The group is generally avoided by all the kingdoms and they tend to keep to themselves as well, only appearing if they are directly threatened. The founders and leaders of the group are Zorthex Kax'sarthi, Dal'zythal Akzonil(pseudonym), and Zikir'thal(pseudonym).

Calamity

A city of elves from around the Yiagilian and Elemortian kingdoms that live on an island. All of them have been expelled from their respective kingdoms due to being born with the Harbinger condition that causes their natural attunement with Asurei and the elements to be distorted and lead to incredibly destructive and unpredictable spellcasting, leading to the alternative names for the condition being Nature's Wrath and Wrathblood(note that sometimes it's a case to case basis on whether or not a Harbinger should or shouldn't remain in their kingdom). Regular cities were not built to handle such abilities, so Calamity was specially built to not collapse from all kinds of disasters and special training is given to young and new members so they do not create something unfixable. The founders and leaders all go under pseudonyms and their given names have been stricken from records across the kingdoms they came from. The group of leaders consists of the Zodianan Hollower(creates black holes), the Föllen Alatsan Earthshaker(creates earthquakes), and the Yukiosan Frostbite(freezes blood).

The Cult of the Doomsayers

An apocalypse-prophesying group with an obsession for death well beyond what even a Yūregian considers reasonable. Their main practices include inducing insanity as they believe it "opens eyes to the truth", sacrifices, and "trials of dedication" performed in accordance to a scripture that is nonsensical to anyone outside of the group. It is uncertain if members of the group can read it themselves. The leader is Yl'thirak Shattersoul who has never actually been seen and doesn't have a name that matches any currently existing elven race in the world, so it's generally believed that this is a pseudonym.

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Kingdom-Based Organizations This list excludes royal or noble councils. Organizations that came from a kingdom but expanded to span the continent or the world count under kingdom-based.

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The Lady's Bulwark

Half of the military and guard force of Åskorhal, the Bulwark consists of two sections: the Mountainguard and Heartkeepers. The Mountainguard manage the city and village guard along with being the majority of the footsoldiers should a war ever break out with another kingdom. The Heartkeepers regulate and guard the Mountainheart crystal ore veins and central crystal to prevent outsiders from gaining access to it and prevent overharvesting, as all Åskorhaia Elthir consider them to be the blood and heart of the Lady of the Mountains.

The Watcher's Spear

The other half of the military and guard force of Åskorhal, the Spear consists of two sections as well: the Dragonbreakers and Stormtamers. The Dragonbreakers tame and train the storm dragons native to the Gyvorkal mountains to use in aerial combat and scouting. The Stormtamers are split between those who ride dragons and those that don't, but they are the more proactive group when it comes to preventing outsiders from scaling the mountain. A more accurate description of them would be storm throwers as they harness the might of storms to hurl electrified spears at people that come too close to the mountains.

The Speakers of the Echo

A temple of priests from Avianaen that ritualistically blind themselves so they only need to focus on hearing, as they are the only people that can still hear the "echoes" that come from the sky. Sometimes these echoes are understandable, sometimes they aren't. The general populace assumes that the echo is the remaining voice of the Sky Lords, but a few believe the echo is something more, and some others believe it to be a trick of the mind trying to hear the wind. The Triumvirate of the Skyborne are part of the first group and leave the temple as an official establishment in the hopes that the Sky Lords(excluding Thiroaven) may come back one day.

The Elscorin

The descendants of the Avianaens that followed Thiroaven during the War of the Skylords and refused to renounce their loyalty even after his defeat. They were cursed by the blood of the Dragon Lord Enthivar and his people(dragons) when it touched their skin. Half of the loyalists became Gorasbora, those who cannot fly lest the wind tear their spirit and flesh apart. The other half became Haraspira, those who cannot land lest their hearts cease to beat and their bones crumble to dust. They together would form the Elscorin, which was less a group that wanted vengeance and more needed to rely on each other to survive.

The Board of Scholarship and Enlightenment(BSE)

Originating from Dalirna, the Board is meant to establish and regulate universities throughout Dalirna and any others they founded in conjunction with other kingdoms. They maintain a high quality of education with appropriate academic material and funding in order to ensure that graduates will be at the top of the job market for their major.

The Archivists’ Society

Originating in Dalirna, this society is basically a guild for writers around the world. They have their own weekly newspaper(more like a pamphlet or booklet) called The Inkwell where writers both in and out in the guild(but they have to pay a publishing fee) can submit writing to be published in the booklets.

Guild of the Elemortian Scribes(GES)

The more academic counterpart of the Archivists' Society, they generally deal with publishing and field writing for academic pursuits as well as copying of old texts to be preserved. Many professors are in this guild as it allows an easier passage from post-graduate to a job in the teaching profession.

The Eyes of the Augurer

The mages' society of Dalirna, they encompass all the types of magic professions in the kingdom and their duties may range from managing the barriers around each city and town to actively monitoring and trying to divert major sandstorms into the sea, along with other things.

The Artisans’ Guild of Elemortia

Also originating in Dalirna but quickly became a powerhouse guild of all the Elemortian kingdoms, they deal with all crafted goods and have become an economic power and regulator to ensure fair trade between merchants, buyers, and sellers. Some say they can bypass kingdom regulations if need be, even though the Artisans' Guild didn't stem from the Dalirnan nobility or ruler.

The Pyres of Condemnation

The group that deals with prisoners and crime crackdowns in Flaerna. Public opinion of them isn't the highest, but they do their jobs well and provide large amounts of employment for Toliskvya Flaernans deemed too dangerous(more to themselves than others) for common trade jobs.

The Economic Sect of Flaerna

The sect is filled with rich nobles and businesses that flourished during the Ember War, with the majority being blacksmiths and ration producers(don't ask how a wasteland can make rations I don't have an answer tbh). It has recently made a shift towards more common trades but controls much of the flow of money coming in and out of Flaerna. They are in a sort of competition with the Artisans' Guild when it comes to controlling Flaernan markets.

The Global Trader’s Association For Bejeweled Goods(GTABG)

Coming from Föllen Alatsa, the organization controls the flow of jewelry and quality metals and gems to prevent imitations and ensure that the materials came from legal sources. Jewelers from other kingdoms with land that can produce precious minerals quickly joined the association when it was created, and the association would become close partners with the Artisans' Guild.

Mineral Harvester Coalition/Miner's Union(MHC)

This organization goes under two names for the two sides of it: the side that deals with exporting both common and precious minerals, and the side that deals with internal issues in Föllen Alatsa, namely the disconnect between the nobility and miners in terms of what actually goes on in the tunnels. The Miner's Union can be thought of as the side that deals with the ethics rather than business.

The Jewelrycrafts and Metallurgy Society(JMS)

Originally, they were part of the GTABG until they split off to focus less on the sales part of the trade and more on training and employment side of things, though they're still global. They also encompass smithing and the newly emerging engineering fields rather than only jewelry. For people seeking apprenticeships in any jewelling or metallurgy fields, the usual process is to join the Society stating your desired specialization and region, and then you'd be assigned to a master craftsmen from your kingdom with boarding and pay covered by the trade apprenticeship programs of the kingdom.

Wardens of the Bloodied Grotto

This group exists solely to keep regular civilians away from the Cave of Bloodied Quartz in order to protect them from the almost corruptive abilities of the quartz within. The group occupies the two guard towers at each of the two entrances and consists of trained guards ordered to immediately execute anyone that approaches within a certain distance of the blocked off entrances, as well as mages personally trained by Lustariseans to maintain the barrier that protects the stone around the cave to prevent someone mining into it by accident.

The Cave Watchers

The guard force of Föllen Alatsa's sprawling cave system, they have to deal with crime as well as monitoring the caves at all times to predict a collapse and minimize the potential deaths. Their methods aren't perfect, so it's very common for them to be skilled in healing and earthen magic whenever they fail to reach a collapse point in time to evacuate the miners. They also employ mages known as Earthspeakers whose specialty is to artificially stabilize major ore vein tunnels in order to further minimize risk of collapse points, and though they are more sensitive to tremors, when a tunnel is about to collapse there is little they can do but evacuate the people in it.

The Sentinels of The Archer

The Archer of Light was one of the first of the survivors to begin using light magic after the debris leftover from The Fall started to, well, fall. The accounts from that era of early Hikarinan history say that they would strike the debris in the sky with their arrows in order to expose more of the sky and sunlight, along with protecting those that hadn't adapted yet from the beasts that evolved during the darkness post-Fall. They left no descendants behind, but the Sentinels of The Archer would come around after their death to continue their duties. Nowadays, they're pretty much just the elite guard force of Hikarina. Many members swear an oath of celibacy but it isn't mandatory.

The Selectors

I wouldn't count this as a royal council because they aren't actually involved in political decisions so that's why they're here.

The group consists of 9 members of unknown race(suspected to be elementals by regular citizens) that determine who will be the next Matriarch of Jivankova when the current one is close to her death. The process entails the General Selection of powerful Jivankira Elthir from the general populace, then the Proper Selection where the group of powerful individuals are further filtered through an examination, and then all of the final group are to undergo the ritual to become a Matriarch. The ritual almost always filters the final group to one person that survives, but if another person lives, the two are to duel to the death as there can only be one Matriarch alive at a time. The group that failed the Proper is executed to prevent a potential overthrow of the new Matriarch. The Selectors do not have any say in anything until the Matriarch is nearing death and the cycle continues.

The Assembly of Asuremancy

The Assembly consists of only Lustarisean and Geintori Asuremancers and is led by the Shin'nyo Apolis Asuremant, Suigimano Shinoto. They very rarely have a presence outside of Lustarise's caves, but are incredibly accomplished in the usage of Asurei well beyond what other elven races usually can achieve. There is a special screening done every 10 years from the birth of a Lustarisean up until their 200th birthday(for late bloomers this is usually the latest their talent will express itself) to determine whether or not they have the potential to join the Assembly. They are given the choice to accept or decline(but can join later) if they pass the screenings. Every Lustarisean and Geintori can use Asurei, but not every mage of their kind is a proper Asuremancer.

The Walekrian Guild of Fine and Performing Arts(WGFPA)

They contain most(if not all) the artists of both fine and performance arts in Walekria and aid them in gaining a name for themselves in the professional field as well as exhibiting their work. Similarly to JMS, apprenticeships and immediate employment are offered by the guild. As a side note, they do get offended if people call their musicians bards.

Royal Institution of Biological and Geographical Oceanographic Study(RIBGOS)

While it is a university, it also is an organization for graduate students of the university to further research into the field. They're paid well as is, but are able to take an extra job as a professor if they desire an extra income. Due to the nature of the job requiring being able to travel to the underwater parts of the university and cities, most of the members of the institution are Walekrians, but you may see the odd Zodianan from a water sanctuary here and there as well as other elven races in commissioned vehicles.

The Conservationists of Permafrost-Bound and Arctic Sea Artifacts(CPBAS)

As the(very long) name says, the organization's purpose is to conserve and research artifacts from the past that was frozen beneath the permafrost of Halinskor and under ice floes or floating in the sea. Yukiosans are not built to dive, so the organization is very reliant on the Anctora variant of Avianaens that are able to dive into the sea's twilight zone. They have a strict policy that any artifact they find that can be accurately traced to a living relative has to be returned to them unless they give explicit consent for the organization to keep it for history.

L’ombrene Necrose

A society meant to provide for the extra needs of Yūregian undead, such as repairing of injuries and providing materials to make their bodies last longer.

The Cult of the Black Moon

A Yūregian cult that worships the Black Moon. They are not as extremist as the Cult of the Doomsayers, but are still considered at least odd by general Yūregian society. They believe some sort of being lives inside the Black Moon and will lead them to another world when a great calamity befalls Elvaria. They're allowed to openly worship so long as they don't do anything illegal per se.

The Apothecarium

Yūregian society is currently split into 3 groups- the Apothecarium, the Necrivana, and the Oltharan. This split is occurring over the debate on whether or not necromancy is an ethical and proper "cure" for the curse or plague that affects Yūregian society. The Apothecarium is the side that is strictly against the practice of necromancy, believing that investing more research into alchemy would produce a cure that doesn't require dying first as they view the condition as the result of a disease. Besides politics, the Apothecarium is also a guild that produces the vast majority of medicine and potions in Yūregia.

The Necrivana

The Necrivana are the group in Yūregian society that believe necromancy is the only way to solve the condition which they consider to be a curse. This is the group supported by the majority of noble families.

The Oltharan

These are the Yūregians that are either advocates of both necromancy and alchemy as solutions or do not want to support either side in case the kingdom is torn apart in a civil war over this issue. They are actually the minority in views and have very little political backing as the society usually pushes people towards choosing a side.

The Society of Harvesters

A Yūregian group of necromancers that work towards finding a solution for the "curse" that affects Yūregian society. They are led by the Premiède Patrimonte Mähdrecher, Roderikcht Marcheuse Fantoine, and thus holds a fair amount of political influence as well as noble support.

The International Academia of Astronomical Sciences and Observatories(IAASO)

Founded in Zodiana, the academia is both an actual university and an organization. Unlike RIBGOS, members of other kingdoms are able to attend the academia and join the organization as a researcher(side jobs as professors are also offered) so long as they have the sufficient drive to study astronomy and have completed their basic schooling.

The Royal Zodianian Society of Traditions(RZST)

The Society manages festivals and prepares the kingdom's cities and towns for observances of events significant to Zodianan culture. This organization was created when the Ember War ended, as though tradition dictated that affairs of tradition were given to the youngest member of the royal family, there is only one living member of the direct bloodline left so it would be better to relegate the duty to a separate party.

The 13 Sanctuaries

Zodiana has 13 sanctuaries that each specialize in their own craft or production along with allowing Zodianans to study one element besides the stellar energy they are born with. The main 12 sanctuaries have their own leader that is a member of the Starsword Council, and the sanctuaries themselves are split into 6 elements: flame(Ailes and Laeis), water(Cavenor and Saritoris), earth(Tevara and Secrion), nature(Vogira and Cariscron), ice(Peisica and Aquival), and air(Gimera and Larinen). The 13th sanctuary, Ocphis, is limited to Sarkathian Zodianans as it embodies the purest form of Qilanar's power, and those that feel most drawn to it are rejected by other elements. Elven races from the Elemortian kingdoms are able to attend the universities each Sanctuary contains but the populations are still majority Zodianan.

The Global Committee of the Culinary Arts(GCCA)

A recently formed group that is the board of culinary achievements and consists of top chefs from every kingdom(except Åskorhal, Jivankova, and Lustarise for obvious reasons). It used to exist during the Cycelian Empires Era but had been dissolved after The Fall, and has since been remade for the sake of tradition. Their most recent(and first) activity was the Global Elvarian Cooking Competition, a resurrection of one of the old traditions of the original GCCA. The chefs on the committee plan on creating a special restaurant rating system to identify restaurants and taverns with excellent food and dining experiences to award them in order to bring them the popularity they deserve.

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Taglist for writing-

@aneci

If anyone else would like to join the taglist, feel free to DM me or send in an ask! I will also have a separate taglist for art posts.

I'm looking back at my old writing for the next universal lore post, and there's a lot of concepts I don't remember the other details of because I never wrote them down. Some of this shit is too big brain for current me but I will continue to try to sound smart even if I don't even know what past me was talking about

The Current State of Elvaria

Ember War is over, everyone is sad and trying to bring back order but some people try to celebrate because no more war So because Salgirtus is dead and had no kids, the throne now passes to his younger sister, so it's now Queen Lidisina Mirankis Zhonal of Zodiana Leonnox didn't want to deal with the humiliation of Flaerna getting its ass handed to it and also didn't want to deal with the political fallout so he abdicates his throne to his cousin, now known as King Garaxyran Alaystav Kolvastran of Flaerna With the old Treaty of Elorinar having been violated many times over, a new treaty is drafted by Queen Lidisina and the representatives sent by they various kingdoms around Elorinar in the hopes that peace will last longer, called the Treaty of Elemortia Floernia, Dalirna, Zodiana(by default for obvious reasons), Walekria, and Föllen Alatsa immediately vote to ratify it because they're sick of war(Warring Era lasted for 22,500 years) Offers are extended to Åskorhal, Yukiosa, Lustarise, Jivankova, and Avianaen(they were found around the end of the Ember War), Queen Vethørigya of Åskorhal basically tells Lidisina to fuck off with the terms but Yukiosa and Avianaen would agree to ratify the treaty

Jivankova isn't even visible to the other kingdoms because of their weird ass barrier that makes Kavathanar "disappear" so they don't have to deal with other kingdoms Lustarise just doesn't care, they don't sign and return to isolation but send some of their mages to Dalirna for a bit to help them rebuild and recover due to similar ideals regarding the pursuit of knowledge Flaerna is pretty much forced into it because A, they don't have the forces to bother trying to fight it off, B, they kinda started the war, and C, the other kingdoms are in the position of being able to straight up invade if needed to force a signature from Flaerna So what made Flaerna and Åskorhal so against signing it? They'd be forced to demilitarize(this term specifically aimed at Flaerna), and should any kingdom be attacked by an outside kingdom, all the kingdoms in the alliance detailed by the treaty must get involved to quickly end the war and quell the threat through war Basically, if shit happens, they get another continent spanning war and Åskorhal doesn't want to deal with that The Military Sect of the Scorching Council is dissolved and all of the soldiers in the Flaernan military are honourably discharged, with the ones that fled returning to Flaerna to help rebuild So now the kingdoms that ratified the treaty are in a massive alliance called Elemortia, or the Order of the Elemental Kingdoms, and they also have to help each other rebuild which also includes setting aside what happened in the Ember War so The Beef™ doesn't create yet another war

Lidisina also creates the Starsworn Council in Zodiana to remove some ruler duties from herself because now that war is over she has to deal with a whole lot of shit and also because, well, her immediate family is dead so she doesn't want to solo rule or appoint a singular advisor she may have to marry to for public image

She also sails to Yinorael as a second thought realizing that it would be a good idea to make the two kingdoms over there enter a Non-Aggression pact so war doesn't break out there since it was terrible in Elorinar Both Hikarina and Yūregina choose to ratify it, but on terse agreement, so now there's the Order of Yiagilia but it's not a very stable order Good enough for now though So now it's year 233 post-Ember War, what's going on now? Yūregina, in a bid to try to stop the plague, has been experimenting with necromancy since it turns out that dying and being reanimated does actually stop the progression of the plague, but of course, no reproduction(if anyone wants further elaboration on how Yūregian necromancy works and why it's only them that can do it, just ask in my ask blog Consulting the bored Altersaean) and Hikarina doesn't like it at all They're still at their trade disputes though There's a running problem along trade cities(usually on borders of kingdoms) where a strange shadowy elf-like being is sowing chaos in the cities and capital cities are on high alert The Fractured Span, a section of the sea floor that's basically collapsing in on itself, is, well, collapsing in on itself and Walekrian researchers are trying to figure out wtf is happening Yukiosan researchers are still researching strange relics that are out of place in the technological skill of the modern and Classical Kingdoms(as far as they know because they don't know about big brain Estellis) Jivankova only opens up their barrier every 5,000 years for a week at a time so right now there has only been one expedition from outside kingdoms to document and understand the lands of Kavathanar and the Jivankira Elthir, missives are sent between kingdoms to exchange information about each other Hikarina just has a little cultural dispute with some people petitioning for the capital city of Arenlia to have the name changed to Punjaranm-Ka-Sanhar, as Hikarinian culture has diverged much from Solarian culture. The royal family has left the name as is to keep as a reminder of the legacy of the Three Kingdoms And of course, some brewing political problems in Föllen Alatsa because classist divides. So basically, Caldivelle is the only city at the mouth of the caves and sprawls along the sides and ground of the cave mouth. The higher up you go, the more wealthy the people are, with some manors built into the cave walls or protruding from them. Closer down you go and into the cave are wealthy craftsmen, and anything further than surface level overshadowed by extravagant buildings from the upper echelons of society are mostly upper middle class dwellings. Even further down are workers. Some people have openly questioned the nobility and royalty about wtf is with the very obvious divides, but they've been dismissed so far since there's no one actually homeless and people live pretty okay lives because of employment and shelter programs to account for a slowly growing population. Very little social mobility though, especially for those that come from the Lower Gem Deposit Tunnels. Caleivelle's Alhiana Alatsi residents especially take issue as if the tunnels collapse one day, they all go down. There isn't a way out other than lifts and long winded routes and a small amount of teleporters, and there aren't many Alhiana living in Caldivelle to relay their complaints to

i think one of the reasons i get mildly annoyed about worldbuilding threads that are 200 tweets of why you should care about where blue dye comes from in your world before saying someone is wearing blue is that so few of them go up to the second level of "and that should impact your characters somehow" - i don't care that blue dye comes from pressing berries that only grow in one kingdom a thousand miles away if people are casually wearing blue

No post this weekend unless someone wants to suggest a topic, my mind is blank right now lmao

Writing tool for your fight scenes.

yo! do you have a tag list for your writing/worldbuilding posts? absolutely love your stuff but i cannot keep up b/c of the amount if people i follow haha

Hello and thank you so much! I don't have a tag list yet but I can add some from here on out for art and writing posts 👐

Universal Lore- Part 2, The Realms of Death(The Realm of Endless White & The Realm of Skybeasts)

When observing the order of realms in this existence, it is fair to say that the High Realms are roughly in the same level as The Realm of Endless White, but most denizens of either will never encounter the other.

This realm is, as it is aptly named, pure white. There is no civilization there, and when first entering it may seem that there is simply nothing there at all. It is simply a realm of expansive ground that has no variation in topography- but there is "life", or rather the remnants of life.

To explain the Realm of Endless White, you must first know of the Realm of Skybeasts, where all dead from the Lower Planes must pass through first before they reach the White.

Whether they have sinned or were gracious in life, or were mere children or elderly before their deaths, all life of the Lower Planes is sent here and enters through a doorway known as Telvorshei Ermelorisk, or "From Where We Emerged". No living being*¹ has ever crossed through this entryway or has gazed through it to describe its appearance- but for those nearing death and those who have already died, on both ways there is only a white light within the doorway. High Realms races are unaware of the existence of this realm and none have ever entered it*².

The doorway is located in a fixed spot within the Realm of Skybeasts, but whether the entry into a realm of death is a peaceful or horrifying ordeal is a matter of your own luck. As anyone who has died would quickly find out, the Realm of Skybeasts, also known as The Plateau, is filled with strange beasts known as skybeasts, and the vast majority of them are incredibly aggressive and possess a great many ways to kill a soul, including various venoms, spikes, and teeth.

If a soul did not get mauled by a skybeast as soon as they emerged, they will very quickly also realize that in contrast with the inviting clouds that create the ground of the realm, there are a great many eyes that dot the sky in all sorts of colours and forms that a mortal never would've thought existed. On a calm period, these eyes are inactive and appear to not be present(thought if you look closely they are closed). On an active period, they will randomly emit blasts of energy that can disintegrate any soul they land on. In the distance there is also a giant gaping maw that opens during these active periods and vacuums up souls that happen to be near it.

If you manage to survive this and travel in any direction away from the maw, you will come across rudimentary shelters and outposts surrounded by fences made of various Skybeast parts.

These are the only major signs of civilization and a souls' best chance of making it to the Realm of Endless White.

The outposts are roughly the size of a town and they have very simplistic names, with the inhabitants are a mix of races from across the Lower Planes. There is no major language barrier as souls appear knowing a common language along with whatever is their native tongue, but abstract ideas that are unique to specific worlds are not automatically learned by souls from worlds without them.

As for the condition of the people and whether or not they can die, people who die at the age of adulthood for their kind will appear in the Plateau at their peak strength in life and with whatever they had on their person when they died(if they were stabbed or shot they carry the thing that was stuck into them too), but are incapable of learning new spells from other souls. Children and adolescents will appear at the age they died but will be able to grow up to the age their species considers as mature and can learn new spells. The only ways to permanently die in the realm are to be consumed by the maw, be completely eaten by a skybeast, or be blasted into smithereens by the Eyes. Souls that suffer a temporary death may slowly regenerate if a part of them remains or will reappear at Telvorshei Ermelorisk.

Life in these settlements is considered somewhat tribal, with the main concerns being food(appetites are significantly slower than in life), shelter, hunting and resource gathering, and weapon crafting. Some settlements that are close to each other will choose to specialize in weapon crafting, some in building, and some in medicine. Souls that are known to have a violent nature that cannot be persuaded to become skybeast hunters are kicked out of the settlements and left to fend for themselves.

Banditry does exist in the Plateau but is rare as some settlements may have domesticated the more tame skybeasts. Whether or not a settlement is raided also depends on the actual species(plural) in the settlement and what kind of technology the people have, so a bandit group composed of species without magic would not try to go against a settlement composed of species with magic or with technology sufficient enough to compensate for a lack of magic.

Now, the Plateau does have a sort of leadership, albeit very distant from the regular souls.

The beings are not of any race among the souls of the Plateau, so souls that have encountered them before(and have the concept of divinity on their world) view them as strange gods. Those from races without the concept of divinity have two different views, one being that they are of a long extinct race and have evolved after spending many uncountable years in the Plateau, and the second that they are actually native to the Plateau but evolved to become more intelligent than the skybeasts.

The leaders themselves are known as the 7 Elders by souls and are split into two groups: The Supreme Ones and The Fragments.

From what little souls have heard about them, their names have the prefix "The Elder of" and are something akin to Many Eyes, Many Arms, Many Legs, Fragmented Life, Fragmented Death, Fragmented Time, and Fragmented Space. The maw in the land and the eyes in the sky are part of what used to be an 8th Elder known as Many Mouths, according to souls that have been in the realm from the first few thousand deaths in existence. Now, the 8th is known as The Devourer of the Plateau.

The Elders live in a very out of place citadel with geometric patterning and a large central chamber that few have ever seen, and it is generally accepted that the Elders are strange in that they have never left the Plateau.

Souls are able to leave the Plateau whenever they hit a kill quota of skybeasts, and this number tends to be higher for those that have committed something their society considers to be negative and lower for younger souls that couldn't actually commit anything considered a crime, but it isn't uncommon for souls to have quotas that are unreasonable for what they have done in life.

The Elders, though, have been present for as long as anyone knows, unable to pass on or perhaps unwilling, as the Devourer has consumed some trillions of skybeasts but has yet to disappear.

And so the focus must return to the Realm of Endless White, also known as The White or The Expanse, to complete this description.

When a soul has reached their kill quota in the Plateau, they will appear in The White in simple garb considered to be casual or sleepwear from the species they came from. In The White there is no need to eat or sleep, only to just exist. Desires such as lust or greed do not exist, and so the personalities of the souls that make it there are very watered down. Some souls choose to lay down and sleep until the end of everything, and some others choose to travel around and learn of the many races in existence with there being no skybeasts to fear anymore.

Curiously, some Altersaeans, Spaelculans, and Tilemgians have appeared in this realm before, but not many of them.

Now, the only way to permanently kill a High Realms being is to slay them in their home realm under specific circumstances and methods, which will lead to two outcomes for them: one is two simply cease to exist, the other is to appear in The White. Due to The Tearing, there are a fair amount of Tilemgians there, but all the High Realms races that appear will lose their connection to their creators and thus their abilities, with some also facing severe memory loss.

Voiskanans are believed to also follow these outcomes, however what few Voiskanans that are seen to make it to The White only maintain their existence for a few seconds before fading into nothingness, as their souls will always be incomplete and thus return to their origins.

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¹- The most immediately noticeable case is with Yūregian undead, which are technically not alive but also aren't fully dead. A Yūregian necromancer can raise a body if it's intact enough, but on the soul end, the closer a Yūregian soul gets to reaching the quota, the harder it is to raise them into undeath. If the soul manages to meet the quota, they can no longer be raised as The White fully severs the connection between the Lower Planes and Realms of Death. However, this almost never happens as necromancers are fast acting enough to prevent a soul from being in the Plateau for more than a week. As to whether the necromancers know of the Plateau, the memories of it are wiped from the undead individual and are restored temporarily each time they return to it.

²- Tilemgians may become the first exception to this as they are now semi-mortal after the Tearing of Boriasonde, so it's possible that a few that don't end up ceasing to exist after death will end up in the Plateau. Alternatively, the descendant races of them that are scattered throughout existence could reach total mortality close enough that at some point they'd be admitted to the realm as any other mortal race would.

There will be a short story posted at some point that will explain the origins of the Elders, so look out for it! This post will be linked to it too.

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Taglist for writing-

@aneci

If anyone else would like to join the taglist, feel free to DM me or send in an ask! I will also have a separate taglist for art posts.

Maps of current day Elvaria, made on Inkarnate.

Proper post scheduled to 12:30 PM EST, see you guys :)