The Iconar Collective - An RP

[Channelknight Fadran]

Quote

SURE, WHY THE HECK NOT

IT'S MY OWN STORMING BIRTHDAY - I CAN DO WHATEVER THE SCUD I WANT

 

*ahem*

 

The Iconar Collective is the world* in which my main fantasy novel series is set (which, for now, also goes by the same name). It's a solar system comprising of six planets orbiting four suns in perfect sequence: there's the inner circle of four dwarf stars, then an outer circle of the six planets (I know it doesn't make much sense scientifically, but there's an awful lot of magic and deific hijinks going on around here). Each planet is home to one of the Collective's six sentient races and dozens of various cultures and societies.

In the center of this messed-up excuse for a star system is a seventh singular planet that is referred to as Midway in the common tongue - each Realm is connected to Midway through a magical portal bridge called the Parallarity, which acts as a sort of clock's hand in circling around through each one in sequence to open their Gates. There were once six ends to the Parallarity, such that the Gates would open every month - now there are three, with several ends being severed after the fall of the Order.

The six realms are as follows:

• Ivinan, home to the Ivari
• Feylore, home to the Fey
• Sunkane, home to the Demons
• Drakefell, home to the Drakes
• Vitera, home to the Sprites
• Carnon, home to the Shades

I will copy and paste all the information I've dumped about them here in this spoiler box for your (and my) convenience:

Spoiler

Ivinan

Spoiler

History

The people of Ivinan were the first of every realm to militarize, forming their first broad societies into feudal territories. Several centuries of conflict between nobles forged the same bloodlines that rule the kingdom to this day, wiping out entire families to bring rise to the big seven: Alnia, Potin, Sawngat, Kuishen, Gilgandar, Quen, and Ilur. They eventually unified under a more diplomatic competition for power, each vying for an heir to the Grand Throne by any means necessary--marriage, assassination, contract, blackmail, etc. The same methods are used between successions in battles of land, resources, and political favor.

Upon the founding of the Parallarity, the dukedoms turned their gazes to other opportunities. While the kingdom forged treaties and alliances (most notably with Feylore and Sunkane), the families began privately and quietly funding militias and armies. As peace turned to conflict, they combined their forces into one great pool of soldiers and generals, known as the Goldenrod Enclave. No one dukedom had enough military power to fight an entire realm, so this unification was devised. By contributing soldiers, weapons, resources, infrastructure, etc. in the wars against Drakefell and Carnon, they continued to subtly vy for power and influence.

This era ended when the Order of the Channelknights was founded. Land and prisoners were returned (though not without their prices), and the grand quest for war profiteering was ended. The dukedoms continued passively funding their militias, of course, but turned their gazes back to political and diplomatic influence over martial prowess. Efforts for an alliance with Vitera all failed due to the realm's lack of governmental structure, and while the conflict between Ivinan and Carnon slowly faded away, the hatred against Drakefell remained strong.

Of course, the Fall of the Channelknights brought this peace crashing down. As it was Sunkane's own Grand Elite who betrayed and destroyed the order, all alliances with the realm were shattered almost immediately. The dukedoms gladly broke out their military reserves and restarted funding martial ventures, pushing for an even greater unification of forces in order to push back against Sunkane. While Vitera and Feylore opted to stay as neutral as possible (both, however, profited greatly from subtly assisting the new alliance), Ivinan was pushed to ally with Carnon and Drakefell--very begrudgingly.

This new unification was named similarly to the last: in the year 2 of the Purification Era, the Silverclad Enclave was born. Militaristically, it was overwhelmingly consisted of Ivinan's soldliers. Drakefell wound up supplying mostly weapons and armor, while Carnon contributed barely anything. During this time, Ivinan accrued even more power and influence over the entire Collective, becoming arguably the most powerful of all the realms (tied with Sunkane).

Thus it remains up until the book series...

The Culture

In case you can't tell, Ivinan is the most humanistic of all the realms. It's largely based on the "medieval" era of Europe (put in quotations because I know you history geeks are gonna dunk on me about how the medieval era was actually then not then and had this but not that and, like... just shush. I mean back in the time when people had swords and wizards still existed and scud).

For any given person in Ivinan, the overwhelming likelihood is that they're a farmer. Despite all the political intrigue and militarism, Ivinan is by and large an agricultural kingdom. Most people will never be directly affected by what the big royal families do to and with each other, let alone care. They're born to their family's farm, learn to work it, then inherit it when they grow up. Some might be lucky enough to be born into a bit of wealth, hire some hands, and grow their franchise, but generally that's the extent of it.

However, Ivinan's prosperity means that it's far from airtight. It's entirely possible for anyone with enough tenacity, luck, and hard work to get ahead. Some will hone their magical abilities to get accepted into the Arcane Academy, opening up a whole world of career options from there. Others might try a pot at the Silverclad Enclave, serving their kingdom for a life of adventure (and relative job security at the cost of constant mortal peril). It's also not unheard of for commoners to run in with the smaller noble houses and marry into wealth, securing better lives for their children. Many will become merchants, craftsmen, or work in some other kind of trade.

On the other hand, though, it's also not difficult for the wealthy to fail and fall hard. It's incredibly important for the smaller noble houses to stay in favor with their superiors, as estates and equivalents are essentially playthings for the dukedoms. Entire ruling families can be ousted from their position at a moment's notice, whether it be as a punishment or due to their superiors replacing them as a prize for some other servant. Due to this, the best nobles learn to diversify their resources. They'll often invest in their neighbors and friends as a fallback, building relations to stay afloat for at least the rest of their own lives.

Similarly, most non-inheritor noble children will seek out alternate careers. Many will start businesses, trade caravans, or even buy out some of their family's own land to start their own estate. Some will become instruments for their family, turning their lives to intrigue and manipulation. Most daughters will become socialites to marry into other families, though it's certainly not unheard of for sons to do the same. Lateborn and illegitimate children will either wind up working with the uprosen commoners in trades. Most black market associates, spies, and assassins are actually noble by birth.

Arcana

The magic of Ivinan is that of the Collectives' physical elements, whose patron god is referred to as the Hand of Icona. There are six elements known as the Arcana, and their wielders Evokers. Most casters of this magic will only specifiy in a single Arcana, though it's completely possible to grow proficient in several or even master all six.

• Solids - The element of stone, wood, and metal. Solids casters move the most rigid and heavy of things by strength and assertion.
• Fluids - The element of water, blood, and rain. Fluids casters direct the flow of these things, leaning the movements this way and that.
• Vapors - The element of air, mist, and vacuum. Vapors casters deviate the chaotic path that every miniscule particle follows in unseeable pushes and pulls.
• Kinetics - The element of motion and potentiality. Kinetics casters can move the unmovable and cease the falls with their intimate knowledge of the worlds' mechanics.
• Polaritary - The element of lightning and magnetics. Polarity casters can redirect the likes of even light itself by controlling the duality of attractions.
• Calorics - The element of fire and heat. Calorics casters refine the position and concentration of energy to bring heat to even the coldest of places.

Small Stuff

Uhh... I don't really know what to put here? I can't very well go through every single town, city, subculture, norm, more, career, and institution.

So here's a list of stuff that I've actually decided upon:

• Corrin's from Draycott. It's a large town in Kuishen estate that farms all kinds of bulb crops. Onions, garlic, leeks, tulips, hyancinths... that sort of thing. They're closely connected to several other farming villages via a large market road, which keeps their economy (and their diet) nice and diversified.
• Originally I thought I'd have the Ivari have a broader skin tone range (darker darks and lighter lights), but I've... kinda just been drawing everyone as dark-ish skinned. So I've opted to make Ivinan a kingdom of darker-skinned people, and Feylore's gonna have all the white folks.
• Most people respect their ruling nobles. As nasty and backhanded as the politics get, it's generally considered bad business to treat the commoners badly; not to mention that each noble is just vying for the land and its resources, not how the land itself is ruled. It couldn't really matter less to the workers as to who's in charge.
• Architectural styles are... well, I guess I can't very well just say that they're 'gothic' or 'roman' or something. This is a completley different world, with completely different ideas of style. But I like cottages, cobblestone roads, stone castles, and dark wooden stuffs.

Feylore

Spoiler

History

Feylore has always been a relatively peaceful realm, striving for quality and efficiency exclusively within their own borders. After coming out of tribalism and into agriculture, the three continents were passively divided into eighteen kingdoms: four in the northeast, seven in the southeast, and then another seven in the west. Most evolved into monarchy and feudal ownership without much conflict, though plenty of intrgue and invisible power struggles played out in the background; pretty much just geographical divides and the fortune of land ownership created these.

They continued to keep to themselves even after the Parallarity gates first opened. Three new kingdoms were founded across the local land in Midway as various nobles broke off from their lords, but from there they didn't try to expand any further. They formed trade routes with their neighbors Ivinan and Sunkane - and joined the necessary alliance to maintain them as both realms waged war on Drakefell and Carnon. As the war dragged on and began to grow in scale, the nobles of Feylore came together and formed a series of unions to protect the wellfare of their own kingdom.

The treaty these nobles signed is known as the Peace of Feylore Charter, and declared military neutrality in all interrealmatic conflicts. The major points included banning foreign military forces from crossing or constructing fortresses on Feylore land, automatic denial of requests for military aid, and any necessary powers to ambassadors and administrators to mantain any further requirements. They still allowed private trade to occur, but still fell a little out of favor with Ivinan (who'd been vying to construct some Goldenrod Enclave outposts in Feylore Midway).

At the Founding of the Channelknights, still very little changed within Feylore's borders. A bitter political squabble erupted at the advent of a warrior possessing the power of gods from their own realm, but with the Order seeking a peaceful resoluton to the war anyways, the arguments eventually fizzled out. With a new Collective-wide union coming into fruition, each realm was expected to unify and become a more organized figure - Feylore, of course, had already done so. For the next several hundred years they continued to prosper, building the great mountain city of Elsinia and learning to transform their land.

Then, of course, the breaking of the Order sent the nation back into chaos. With every Realm it had become necessary to decide with whom to ally, but for Feylore especially the choice was massively consequential - the new war was, in fact, between none other than their ages-long allies Ivinan and Sunkane. A year of arguments, bickering, bribery, and fear eventually led to a second legendary conference in which Feylore effectively allied with Ivinan: but, of course, only in trade. The deal to prevent any military travel or establishment remained to prevent any potential violence from Sunkane - and for the most part it worked.

Nowadays it continues keeping to itself, but poverty has drastically increased with their resources quickly draining amidst the conflict. Thousands of citizens of Feylore move out to Ivinan, labeled as refugee-adjacents. Just like everyone else, the Realm is slowly slipping into chaos and decay...

Culture

While neutrality from other realms is the Feylore's policy of law, the ideal of disassociation is not one commonly upheld by the people there. Ever since the opening of the Parallels, the realm has served as a safe haven for people of all races - friend and foe alike. The nobility of Feylore can be quite callous and xenophobic, but the citizens share little to none of that mentality. Perhaps this is due to the simple, passive nature of ther society's structure: with so little interference between classes and the emphasis on simply "getting by," the need for any one fey peasant to shun an outsider is just nonexistent. Expanded to the population of an entire world, this basic form of welcome has made Feylore perhaps the most inviting realm of them all.

Most citizens - the fey - are just farmers and tradesmen. They take pride in their own homes, towns, and labors. Friends and neighbors are like family, and outsiders are always welcome by the fire as long as they don't bother nobody and pull their own weight. National pride is significantly lower than it is in the likes of Ivinan, Sunkane, and Drakefell due to this more localized sense of belonging.

In wealthier parts you'll find the regular heirs and heiresses from the nobility, "new money" from particularly successful merchants, and numerous more specialized positions from those of diluted noble blood. Only these upper-class citizens will ever seek out any sort of military occupation, but even then they'll only ever become the likes of wall guards and artistic duelists. A small standing militia does exist for each region, but it's made half of mercenaries and half of farmers looking for a bit more passive income.

Thaumaty

The magic of Feylore is much less rigid than the likes of its neighbor, dealing in the essence of existing things rather than of nature - manifesting how a thing is perceived, coming appropriately from the godess known as the Eye of Icona. Thaumaty Mages, known more commonly as Translators, use their energy to take an existing thing and change its nature. The mechanics behind this are vague at best, but follow a simple formula: the difficulty and energy required to change a thing's nature is proportional to the complexity of the thing (before and after), the fundamental difference between the thing (also before versus after), and how long the object has been in its original state (a newly-broken pot, for example, is much easier to repair than one that's been sitting in the attic for three years).

Most Translators don't develop this power thoroughly, as the energy required to change something useless into something useful is often more than it would take just to go out and get the useful item like a normal person. It's an ability that's taught in small amounts to pretty much every fey since childhood, but is only really nurtured in the wealther ones who can afford a more complex education. As it stands, the vast majority of Translators will always minimize the three variables when casting due to the lack of true training in the art.

Other stuff

• Aurora and Lacy are both from Feylore. They were never taught any Thaumaty because they were raised half in orphanages and half on the street, but picked up a tiny amount from various folks along the way. Both would be weaker than the average fey anyways due to the lack of experience, but both being half-elves makes their Thaumaty even weaker.
• Fey are also referred to as elves in the writing, but I might boycott that at some point. They have lighter skin tones and hair that scales all the way from pitch black to pure white - there's a significant portion of class difference between those with blemished complexions and dirtier hair.
• Accents get thicker the higher you get on the social ladder. British elves - I know; so original.
• They have completely deforested several million acres of land. The land around Elsinia (the capital city) is barren and disgusting. 0/10 would not recommend.

Sunkane

Spoiler

History

The surface of Sunkane is a wasteland of jagged rock and blistering heat, with little in the way of water or wind. Only the toughest creatures such as galpas could survive up there, so instead the people of Sunkane evolved and developed under the ground, becoming dwellers of darkness.

Despite their seemingly primitive cave-dwelling tendencies, the demons of Sunkane quickly developed into industry as their population grew. They became master miners and smiths, shaping the sprawling network of caves to their will. They learned broke the surface to create chimney stacks for factories, dig deep for water reservoirs, and develop tougher steels than any other realm's. This industrialization roughly united what was once a very loose scattering of various tribes and clans, and with some difficulty (and their own fair share of infighitng) developed them into a council of monarchs.

Both these systems were tested upon the opening of the Parallarities. No other realm, after all, had evolved into darkness; diplomacy, it seemed, was impossible. Under threat of fading into inconsequentiality, each lord and lady began sending out militias and raiders to begin a broken sort of warfare. There was little to no coordination between forces, and none of them wielded anything remotely close to 'tactics.' In fact, the only force keeping these uprisings alive was their superior equipment and combat experience.

Though their neighbor Feylore backed out of their alliance in response to this, the kingdom of Ivinan joined in on the prospect of a conquest. This, ultimately, sealed the fate of the rest of the Collective. The two natons began working together to develop efficient methods of communication, such as creating dim lanterns for a vision middle ground and sharing their affinities for combat and tactical interworkings. By Ivinan's constant repeated request, Sunkane's many leaders came together to devise a new system of government. After nearly a year of constant back-and-forth debate, campaigning, duels, and threats, they eventually developed a system that actually fit their realm quite well: a military monarchy, with the greatest warrior and tactical leader serving as the Demon King.

The first - King Veren - wasted no time whipping the nation into shape. Under his direction Sunkane began to cut swaths of destruction into the lands of Drakefell and Carnon, taking a brutal approach to a seemingly uncounterable offensive. They became the ultimate ally for Ivinan, and together the two worlds spent years on conquest after conquest. New leaders came and went as duels for the throne carried on, but with each little political resistance followed, as none so far had displayed any real dissidence for the realm's current direction.

Of course, the Order of the Channelknights ultimately broke this cycle of destruction. Sunkane was even almost ready to fight back - until their own Channelknight fought and ascended to the throne, claiming the realm as her own. Dozens of challengers fought to supplant her, but none succeeded; and after a few years the anger had died down. For the next several generations this would be the case, with each next Channelknight taking the throne to lead their nation on to power and prosperity. One in particular - King Orlie - ordered the creation of the fortress called Mazin-Dar, which stands taller than any other tower and has since held against any and every enemy to come against it.

Most of the other realms blame Sunkane for the breaking of the Order. The story goes that Demon King Calakan betrayed his fellow Channelknights, killing four upon his own sword as his armies ore through Midway to conquest. It was Arcanae of Ivinan who ended him - at the cost of her own life. The Knights ceased to reincarnate from then, though no one truly knows why. Without them the war blazed back into action, with Sunkane now turning against their old ally Ivinan, seeking to become the one and only most powerful realm in the Collective.

Culture

Put simply, Sunkane is not a kind realm. Vicious creatures of the deep, toxic pools of acidic water, and the constant threat of sudden cave-ins all breed only the strongest of creatures. The demons, then, are propagators of strength. They are naturally wary of outsiders, rarely traveling outside their realm or beyond their walls in Midway. The few who do become outcasts in everything but name.

Demons take the most pride in their crafts and accomplishments; most notably combat or smithying, though that isn't to say the likes of scholars and artists are discounted. They live in halls of crafted stone and molded metal, creating shafts and frames to uphold the caverns natural and artificial alike. There is little need for private shelter without any weather to speak of, so the citizens instead keep their few private belongings in small offshoot caves and instead share in a large variety of common goods and wealth. Local militia leaders distribute this commonwealth, both by mandate and to maintain their position in civil references.

There is a direct hiearchy of warrior leaders in Sunkane, but the small seperations of influence from warrior to warrior are rarely used for direct command and more for the sly crucible of politics. Overall there are several vaguely distinct positions:

• Covent: Local leader of a few families and businesses. More of a distributer and sheriff than a true leader.
• Marshall: Oversees a larger swath of cave networks, who several covents will report to. Is a more general decisionary for local policies and whatnot.
• Daimyo: Representatives on the Sunkane Grand Council. They are expected to serve in the military and lead expeditions in addition to representing their many regions.
• Hashai: Akin to a king by the standards of any other realm - currently there are seven; one each from the seven Sunkane Cavern Nations. They are direct advisors to the Demon King themself.
• Demon King: Ruler of all Sunkane and general of the Demon Army. Perhaps the most powerful person in the entire Collective.

Occulta

This form of magic is perhaps the most direct in the Collective, drawing upon a demon's own inner power to strengthen them in physical tasks. While other systems of magic tend to manipulate the external world, Occulta instead enhances the user based on their own willpower. Wielders of Occulta are known as Invocators, and learn to imbue their inner magical strength into whatever life craft they deemed worthy of their passion.

Learning to harness Occulta is all but mandatory in Sunkane education, as one's prowess in it widly affects their accessibility to various occupations in the future. How the magic itself works is closely-guarded secret by the monarchies, and despite being a system of magic available to almost every citizen of Sunkane manages to elude spies and researchers as to its more detailed interworkings. Put simply, Occulta transforms magical energy into physical energy directly within the body, enhancing strength, agility, resilience, and so on.

Apprenticeships in trades and training in the military both teach specific applications of this energy, giving names to esoteric techniques and new abilities developed by prodigies and masters alike. These, too, are closely-guarded; and here by demon to demon. Few are documented by even the monarchy, and even fewer by outsiders.

Other Stuff

• Demons see in the dark as other people see in the light. Something something their eyes detect lack of light rather than abundance of it. Don't @ me; I know full well that it doesn't make sense.
• They also have green blood due to a chemical abundance of copper. This is 'cause I thought green blood would be cool.
• Originally I had developed a specific alloy unique to the demons called Shadow Steel. This name is lame. If you have ideas for a better one then lemme know.

Drakefell

Spoiler

History

Drakefell is a highly volcanic realm, though over a vast enough area is still plenty viable for survival. With periodically refreshed soil, flora is incredibly abundant and absolutely thrives. With little by way of cattle or livestock, the natives survived the first several millenia almost entirely on a vegetarian diet, simultaneously losing their scales (though keeping some as vestigial patterns through to today).

Known as Drakes, these people eventually developed from agricultural to developmental upon the advent of metallurgy. Homes were once ultimately mounds of roughly-hewn stone, but within just a few generations of learning to shape such things as copper and iron became beamed and trussed. Drakefell would grow to become home to a myriad of massive tiered city-states, gleaming day and night with their metal infrastructure and blazing forges. Unsurprisingly, this sudden boom in economic growht led to the formation of hundreds of clans battling for control in the harsh crucible of the market.

Little changed in the status quo since then besides the risings and fallings of various clans; but, of course, the founding of the Parallarity would throw this all into chaos. Drakefell's immediate neighbors were Sunkane and Vitera - the latter managing to maintain relative neutrality, and the former coming in alliance with Ivinan to declare war on them within just a few decades. Fearing annihilation, Carnon reached out in alliance to Drakefell, urging them to quickly unify and centralize their scattered clans and disputes to ensure neither realms would come to defeat.

While few - of course - were particularly eager to submit to their new enemies, the allure of profit was a force to be reckoned with. On one thing every battling clan seemed to agree: there was not to be any new central government to take their power away.

The solution was simple and effective. Less than a year after war was declared on Drakefell, they had effectively unified into a singular ruling bereaucracy: a council of representatives from each clan, for the ultimate benefit and prosperity of Drakefell. The internal squabblings would continue much as they always had, but now with an effective system of ratification to enforce a very rough system of laws and regulations. Ultimately this would come to do little more than organize and record the infighting, but at the very least it proved effective in the coming war - enough so to keep the "nation" more than afloat for several hundred years of war.

While it was the Channelknights of Ivinan and Sunkane who utlimately led the campaign to peace, Drakefell's was perhaps the most zealous. Ending the war meant a significant decrease in profits to each of the clans, but it was unpopular enough among the rest of the realm that none complained too much about it. They all quickly came to their feet either way, and with focus finally torn away from the development of weapons, armor, and various machines, the realm's ultimate level of achievement began to skyrocket once again. Drakefell entered a new era of blinding prosperity for dozens of generations.

And, interestingly enough, they were the first to recover from the breaking of the Order, and the advent of a new war - once again against Sunkane, though now allied with Ivinan.

Business as usual, they all supposed.

Culture:

The drama in Drakefell is completely centered on the bickering in the courtrooms and marketplaces, but only a tiny fraction of even the bereaucrats themselves are ever featured in it. To focus only on the politics misses the staggering majority of Drakefell's citizens entirely, who exist in a incredibly diverse scattering of subcultures and demographics.

Just below the top bereaucrats are their subordinates and assistants, who are somewhat unofficially labeled as the "upper class." They are characterized by their immaculate homes, luxurious parties, attention to propriety, and their taste in the ever-evolving fashion trends. It's a sort of romantic lifestyle these individuals lead, which can only be imagined by the likes of the middle or lower classes.

Scholars and tradesmen consist the upper middle, often referred to as the merchant class. They are the fortunates of society, capable of pursuing their passions in academia or craftsmanship. Many are considered assets to the larger clans.

The lower middle, or the fortunates of the unfortunates. They live steady working jobs, most commonly in the likes of factories and smithies, though those are of course far from the only industries that Drakefell leads. At best these individuals might work their way up to an apprenticeship, but few ever really hold much hope for becoming any higher from the caste they were born into.

The poor, of course, are ignored by the aristocrats. Drakefell at large is more than wealthy enough to keep them alive and fed for the most part, and as the profiteers see it that is more than enough. Where it is popular they will donate to charities for building them homes in the slums, where the communities are far more tight-knit than any party could ever be.

Psionis:

Despite the seemingly vague ramifications of Psionis, the magic is perhaps the most complex and discrete in the Collective. Known as Visis, Psionis Mages are wielders of a power capable of vastly expanding the capabilities of their own minds. In studying the magic, the brain is a comparative logical device, capable of and's, or's, and if's. The essence of knowledge is in reason, and the essence of reason is in logic. Thus by enhancing one's own logical capabilities, one becomes more knowledgeable.

How the magic itself works is perhaps more unknown than its wielders would like, but the effects are well-documented across hundreds of generations. It's a simple form of self-enhancement, but working specifically in terms of the brain and nervous system. Calculations and the like are most notably increaed in speed and accuracy, with other effects such as improved reflexes, unnaturally quick and intelligent speech, and even the careful simulation of potential outcomes of various situations being some others available to the highly-skilled and highly-trained.

Other Stuff:

• There's lots of lava in Drakefell, and therefore lots and lots and lots of guardrails.
• idk I haven't really developed this one that much.

Vitera

Spoiler

History

No other realm in the entire Collective can hold a candle to the sheer diversity of Vitera's ecosystems. Comprised of mountainous continents, sprawling rainforests, tropical islands, vast coral reefs, glimmering caves, massive waterfalls, and dozens upon dozens more biomes and lands, it becomes impossible to truly specify distinct cultures and groups of people, let alone an overall history. How exactly the sprites evolved into being is unknown, and to this day no one is really sure where they gain their features. Sprites carry the unique property of having their physical features very distinctly match the surroundings to which they were born and raised, such as wooden skin and leafy hair, or a rocky carapace and veins of magma.

Unlike the other realms across the Collective, Vitera id not come to unify under even the likes of smaller local leaders. No true factions, kingdoms, or companies were ever truly made. Rather, the sprites stayed in wandering hermit groups consisting of large extended lineages, simply wandering from wonder to wonder and subsisting as the land allowed. Outsiders refer to these groups as tribes, but the word in their native tongue for it simply translates to "families." Some are more defensive than others, and there ahve been plenty of instances of families coming across each other and breaking into conflict - but more often than not, if they don't simply ignore each other then the two groups will join together for a time in reverie and opennness.

The opening of the Parallels went largely unnoticed by most, with only a few lucky (or perhaps not) families coming across the Gates and wandering on through. These found thesmelves in a far less friendly and comfortable world than they were used to: one with far too many enemies for anyone's liking. Throughout the years as the war raged on, the likes of Ivinan, Drakefell, Sunkane, and Carnon all took their turns in colonizing Viteran land. The space around the Gates on either end became a harsh, iondustrial fortress, and far too many "outposts" and factories wound up within the land for the sprites' liking.

It was a few years after the founding of the Order that the Channelknight of Vitera - called Oaracei - summoned together the elders from as many families as he could muster for the very first Gathering of Vitera. The details of that meeting have since been somewhat forgotten, but what is remembered is the Channelknight's instructions to them all on how best to stave off any future invaders. They say now that the elders of every family is far more connected to their homeworld than any other Sage, and that if threathened again that all of Vitera will come together to stand against their foe.

So it has remained, even to this day... not even the breaking of the Order could shatter this resolve. The many realms of the Iconar Collective have since let Vitera be.

Culture

How each family functions and whaht roles every individual takes differ from tribe to tribe, but there are plenty of commanalities between each to list. Most families are guided by a group of elders, who ultimately determine to where the family is to travel next and for how long they stay there. Most executive decisions are made by the elders and their closest subordinates among the adults, who generally take care of most of the actualy jobs.

What determines how and why a family does something is by the elders' garnered wisdom from the various places they wander to. In a sense, each of the various lands will shape the will of the family as much as it shapes their features. Each biome is large enough that most sprites will only visit a few over their lifetime, but over the course of generations this can lead to vast changes in how the family moves and operates. Many outsiders see these groups as overly traditional, but perhaps in this sense the families of Vitera are anything but.

Allivancy

Those who wield the energy of the land are called Sages. It is an ability that is accrued over decades of experience in most cases, with the slow and steady march of time and wisdom being each individual's primary teacher. There are some cases in which sprites and their offpsring will abandon their family's way of life - oftentimes they'll find themselves either more rapidly and academically growing in Allivancy, or cutting off their connction to it completely.

The exact mechanics of Allivancy are vague at best, but seem to be very closely connected to the Viterans' physical features and the shape of the land.  The elders of Vitera will speak of the land having will through magic that shapes every individual to walk within it - and then, through connection to this constant flow, one can become more like the land. Those who wield it outside of the traditional setting often record sensations of "feeling" the world around them in a sort of extended sensory fashion, and the nature of the land granting them various strengths and waeknesses akin to how it is perceived.

Most scholars agree in this: far too little is known about how Allivancy works.

Other Stuff:

• This one's a tad scuffed if you can't tell
• It's hard to incorporate a planet with soft worldbuilding vibes into a solar system with hard worldbuilding rules.
• No you can't be an eight-foot-tall blue person

Carnon

Spoiler

History

As a very image-oriented sort of place, the locals of Carnon quite effectively transformed their somewhat unremarkable realm into a sancturary of art and mastery. Vast and sprawling cities glitter with gold and jewels, flags of verdant colors and patterns, streets emblazoned with the handiwork of masters and children alike - all this just to come within just generations of developing beyond basic agriculture and into industry. As soon as art became available, in a sense, it became the realm's greatest strength and pride.

The realm since split into several fueding kingdoms, of which there have become too many to list here. The hiearchy of peasant to king is sometimes fuzzy without any real official titles to speak of, but the flow of power and distribution of welath was clear enough regardless. Rulers flaunted their influence by erecting statues, palaces, and catherdrals to decorate with paintings and tapestries from only the finest of masters.

It came as little surprise that Carnon was one of hte fastest to grow and spread their influence upon the opening of the Parallarity, and quickly found kinship (and strength) with their distant neighbor Drakefell as the Collective turned to war. Feuds and conflicts had of course sprung up before, Carnon was remarkably unprepared for an all-out war with Ivinan and Sunkane, and under the strict direction of Drakefell was forced to form a hastily-trained national army. Needless to say this force didn't do so well, and over the next several generations Carnon found itself being ransacked time and again by its enemies. Perhaps centuries or even milleniums' worth of art and treasure, lost.

So then Carnon was perhaps the most relieved when peace was called after the founding of the Order. They fought long and hard in the war of words to follow, and while they were paid significantly more in reparations than any other realm, the amount received could  barely compare to the amount lost. But they were nothing if not persistent, and over the next several generations began to reconstruct their grand realm with new extravangant works of art and artifacts. New lines of kings and nobles arose and fell, eras came and went - but Carnon's beauty remained.

The Breaking of the Order then, of course, came as a very ominous development. Ivinan moved to ally with them against Sunkane, testing Carnon's will to survive against its deepeset grudges. The various kings all eventually agreed to the alliance out of self-preservation more than anything, and began raising another army to defend their borders. As it stands Carnon's influence is very lackluster in the war, as apart from defending their own territory they rarely contribute anything to the cause of defeating Sunkane.

Culture

The people of Carnon - Shades - are almost entirely unremarkable physically, save for one incredibly obvious trait: their skin tone is always a single shade of vibrant color. Anything across the rainbow is eligible for the these individuals, ranging from bright red to deep blue to hot pink to rusty yellow. Outfits here tend towards flaunting these traits, often to the offense of more prudish members of other races. What color an individual shade takes on at birth is usually completely random and unrelated to their lineage, but how vibrant the tone itself is does generally depend on the parents. In general, vibrancy is seen as a more disireable trait - perhaps it is from here that the beginnings of Carnon's hiearchy is derived.

At the cusp of Sunkane's society are the kings and their nobles, who wear only teh finest jewelry, dine on the most lavish meals, and live from palace to palace surrounded by shining brilliance wherever they go. They, of course, feature the most vibrant skin tones of all shades in Carnon, selecting spouses carefully to maintain this status quo. How each house governs and passes through generations varies, but in general most follow what many would consider to be a very standard autocratic model.

Throughout the ranks below the nobles are the artists, crastsmen, and then workers at the very bottom. Those who sew, loom, metalwork, jewel, and the like are all carried in high praise throughout Carnon - oftentimes they become wealthy enough to start kingdoms of their own. Below them are the craftsmen, who do similar work but with a lesser degree of beauty. Still, they're more disireable than the peasantfolk who still plow the fields and chop the wood while their realm flaunts its wealth for all the Collective to see.

Spectrescence

The ultimate life energy of a living thing is known by many names: magic, aura, chi, soul. It is the very life force by which all creatures live, and it is the very energy that allows them to control the world in such supernatural ways. The Miragi of Carnon have a rather unique form of magic that allows them to detect and read this flow of energy in other creatures, and - with enough training and subtetly - even control it.

Learning to read a person's magical energy is considered basic training for any child who wishes to develop their Spectral skill. One doesn't sense it in a traditional manner, but rather feels it - similar to how one feels their own arm. Altering the flow of energy is also as intuitive as moving one's arm, but much less carefree in nature. Even without knowing, every person is unconsciously aware of their magical energy, and can easily detect if something goes amiss with it. The essence of spectrescence is in controlling one's energy subtely enough for them not to notice, so that the energy will more fluidly bend to your will wihout interference.

Other Stuff

• No, I didn't just write these to have hot color people
• ...
• ...
• ...
• .....okay, maybe I did just write them to have hot color people

 

So when is this RP taking place?

Well before the events of my novels, of course. This will be after the Fall of the Channelknights and well into the war between Ivinan (plus Drakefell and technically Carnon) and Sunkane. As of now I haven't decided on any major historical events around which this story might be taking place.

What will we be doing?

I'm not actually sure yet. Would you guys like to be scholars trying to research magic and lore? Mercenaries for hire? Merchants trying to make their way through the war? I'm down for just about anything.

When will we be doing it?

As soon as we figure out what it is that we're doing in the first place, and then as soon as I can get my writing back up in its game again.

I'm game. How do I make a character?

Here's a blank sheet. If you have questions about magic lemme know. Interracial marriages happen all the time, so you can totally be a mix between a demon and a shade or whatever it is you want to try (note that being one race doesn't necessarily mean you were born and raised in your realm of origin). Magic is hereditary, so being mixed does grant you access to multiple forms - however, you'll be weaker in each depending on how impure the bloodline is. I'd prefer it if we didn't turn this into an adventure group of a bunch of fourteen-year-olds, but I guess if you really want to play a child you can ask about it.

Spoiler

Name: 

Race and Origin:

Magic:  

Age: 

Physical Characteristics: 

Personality and Such: 

Backstory: 

Skills and Profession: 

 

 

Join I guess

 

[Quivil]

Ooooo prettttyyyyy!

[Frustration]

An excuse to pressure Fadran on lore and magic?

Excelent.

I won't be availible today, but I'm down for some point soon, definately magic related.

Do we want to do an evil RP?

Edited April 29, 2023 by Frustration

[The Bookwyrm]

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This is awesome and I love it and I want to join.

...I'm guessing I'm not allowed to be a mysterious traveler from beyond the stars?

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 hour ago, The Bookwyrm said:

 

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I'm afraid not

 

[Quivil]

Can I be a demon? Or should I be only half-demon at the most?

[Edema Rue]

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Ooooh let's try this!

...yes, I just spent valuable time reading every single word of that. 

Can I be a shade? 

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

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._. did you think I'd posted all the racial options for you to not pick which one you want

 

[Quivil]

On 4/30/2023 at 2:15 AM, Channelknight Fadran said:

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._. did you think I'd posted all the racial options for you to not pick which one you want

 

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just cause vampires and lycanthropes exist in the TTRPG worlds my dad invents doesnt mean we get to be them, so yes we're asking if there's banned races listed

and i asked because it would be a little tricky for the group to have a demon/someone who can only see in the dark

 

[J. Magi]

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This looks super cool, I would love to be involved!

now I have to figure out what kind of character to be . . .

Spoiler

also reading your lore really brightened my day (it's been kinda crappy so far)

 

 

[Edema Rue]

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Well...I guess we just make character sheets? 

Spoiler

Name: Eceline (she/her)

Race and Origin: Shade, Carnon.

Magic: Is quite practiced with spectrescence (however you spell that).

Age: 26

Physical Characteristics: She has deep green skin, and pale, silvery hair. 

Personality and Such: She never starts conversations, or does more than people ask (or pay) her to do. She likes making fun of quite literally anyone.

Backstory: She never had much skill with creating art, but learned from a young age to steal it (Courtesy of her parents). She grew up as a farmer, and has always been paranoid about being poor or disrespected, and so has worked to develop what skills she has. She's never left her realm before, though.

Skills and Profession: As we've said, she's a thief. She steals art all over Carnon. She's practiced with magic, and good at breaking into places. 

Tell me if I'm doing stuff wrong, pretty please

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 hour ago, Edema Ruh said:

 

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Looks

(>._.)>

savvy

 

[Frustration]

I didn't get anyone saying no for an evil character, so here we go,

also sorry for presumptive worldbuilding Fadran, You of course have line item veto power.

Spoiler

Name: Itzel

Race: Sprites

Magic: Allivancy

Sex: Male

Description: Itzel is a large well muscles sprite, with rock like skin. He was born and raised on Sunkane, which deeply influenced his philosophy and nature.

Age: Itzel is just barely entering his prime, full of energy and passion.

Backstory: Itzel was raised on Sunkane, becoming both strong, and convinced that industry and mechanisation were natural processes as he aged. He claims "When a bird carves a stick to dig insects out of logs we call that natural, why do we then say that the machines we build are not?" From the time he became aware of the war, he became an arms dealer, traveling the collective in search of magics, and technology that he could weaponize and sell.

Skills: Investigating, research and development, marketing, and all manner of ways to kill.

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

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...How loosely are you defining "evil" here?

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

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Looks like so far we've had two morally questionable characters. Guess that means it's my job to be the stick in the mud!

Spoiler

Name: Ahnalyn Olivan Periston

Race and Origin: Fey, from Drakefell (her grandmother was a Drake)

Magic: Mostly Thaumaty, with a pinch of Psionis mixed in

Age: 20

Physical Characteristics: idk yet. hot, I guess

Personality and Such: Something of a dreamer - definitely the sort of character I'm going to figure out on the way.

Backstory: Raised in a Thaumaty practice in a small Drakefell town, where her parents, grandfather, cousins, and siblings all make their crescents on odd jobs requiring Translation. She loves her family but never really wanted to carry on the business, so at the ripe old age of 18 she set out with a backpack and some coin to figure out her own thing.

Skills and Profession: By now she's good at the whole "survival" thing, but she still hasn't really found a job or whatever.

 

 

[J. Magi]

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Here's my character:

Spoiler

Name: Crowe 

Race and Origin: Shade, he was born on Carnon but he travels a lot so he could really be anywhere

Magic:  He can use some of the Spectrescence stuff because he's a shade. He's not extremely powerful though, he uses it to sense people who might be sneaking up on him in combat or people in other rooms etc. (I'm assuming this works like the BioChroma in Warbreaker, correct me if I'm wrong).

Age: 23

Physical Characteristics: His skin is like a (light-ish) sky blue, which is pretty vibrant but he won't answer any questions about his heritage. He's got a lean body type is and is average height. He also has black hair and freckles. In my brain he has like a cool pirate coat thing but I realize that's not super important.

Personality and Such: He's very friendly and optimistic, he likes being around people and giving those people weird nicknames they didn't agree too and making stupid puns about said nicknames. He may seem a bit annoying at first but he's a good guy, and can be incredibly loyal if you pay him enough become one of his friends.

Backstory: My dude is a mercenary, he travels around looking for work. You can run into him wherever is best, you could hire him but he'll probably tag along out of curiosity if you don't. His doesn't talk much about his family but that's probably just to keep them safe considering his profession. He may seem indifferent at first, but he has pretty strong morals. Lets call him chaotic good, he'll always do what he thinks is right, but he isn't against breaking the law if he thinks its for the greater good. He certainly isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. If someone with questionable intentions hires him to do something he sees as wrong, and he's offered a very tempting sum for his work, he'll probably just scam them. He gets money, the bad guys loose, everybody's happy.

Skills and Profession: Like I said, he's a mercenary, which means he's pretty much mastered the art of hitting things with a sharp stick. He has an axe with him, but he can use other weapons if needed. He can also juggle, and is very proud of this fact.

lol its kinda long, sorry about that.

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Justice_Magician

[Frustration]

3 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

 

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I literally intentionally escalate the war and prevent peace for my own profit.

 

[Edema Rue]

2 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

 

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I mean, morally questionable isn't the first word I'd use...she just can't make art, and art seems important where she's from, so she steals it! For money!

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

[Channelknight Fadran]

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BY THE WAY

You're more likely to find some races than others out in the wild. Not gonna veto anyone's characters yet but there are already two sprites which is wayyyy above the average for pretty much any demographic. I'll rank how likely each one is for your consideration:

• Ivari: High
• Fey: High
• Demon: Low
• Drake: Medium
• Shade: Medium
• Sprite: Low

 

[DramaQueen]

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Hello yes I am the other sprite and my character sheet is fairly chonky so open this spoiler box at your own risk.

Spoiler

Name: Valtameri (Val/Alta/Meri/basically any other nickname you come up with; she's heard it all)

Pronouns: She/xer (she/her/hers and xe/xer/xers; all fem pronouns but neopronouns cuz xe is most definitely not cis). However, she's only out to one person who is not any of you, so y'all can just use she/her in-character from now until if/when she comes out. I would prefer that out of character you at least try to remember to use her neopronouns occasionally.

Race and Origin: Sprite - Vitera, but her father is Ivari.

Magic: Sage - Allivancy, though xe does also know a fair amount of Fluid Arcana from xer father's side.

Age: 27

Physical Characteristics: Long, flowy dark blue hair reminiscent of the ocean, scaled light blue skin, coral horns and other (occasionally inconvenient) coral protrusions. She also has a sand dollar birthmark on the back of xer right shoulder.

Personality: Very childish and temperamental, but at times has moments of startling clarity and wisdom. She's almost always upset if no one else is, but as soon as someone else needs calming, she can snap out of it and step in to help them. However, xe will (at this point in her life; liable to change over the course of the RP) always put xer needs first, regardless of who it might hurt or who xe may abandon.

Backstory: Born and raised near an ocean with white sandy beaches and dark blue waves. She spent her childhood playing and swimming in the ocean so often xer family joked that xe spent more time in the waves than xe did out, and in all honesty, that wasn't far from the truth. She also spent a lot of time practicing her Arcana with her father guiding her. It didn't come as naturally as Allivancy, but xe became fairly capable with it. She loved catching all the critters that lived in the shallower parts of the ocean, often begging her parents to let her keep them as pets, but xe always ended up returning them to their home. Xe has also always had an interest in the history and politics between realms and often wished she could be more involved - though, as her family often reminded her, things get less and less peaceful the more involved you are. However, once the elders of her family decided it was time to move on from her beloved ocean, xe decided it was time to leave. Thanks to xer Ivari father, she was able to learn the location of a Parallarity, and she left to Ivinan as soon as she could.

Skills: Swimming, dancing, catching animals, history, befriending kids, comforting people, debating, and she can be very manipulative if she wants to be.

Profession: Currently working as a farmhand on a farm in Ivinan as near to the ocean as she could find. She doesn't love it, but it makes xer a living, and she has time to learn about histories and spend time in the waves.

Val is an OC I've had since October and she fit too well to not use her.

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by DramaQueen

[Channelknight Fadran]

Love the character

 

however

 

 

The Iconar Collective can be a very... traditionalist sort of place

Basically: I'm all for having a character who isn't completely cisgender, but you'd best believe there aren't many accepting and supportive allies across the Collective who refers to them as anything besides their birth sex.

[DramaQueen]

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I thought that might be the case. Then xe's not currently out to anyone except her dad (he's the person xe has the closest relationship with, she knew he'd accept xer), which means she won't be out to y'all so just use she/her for now, but I will still be using xer neopronouns in my posts. 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by DramaQueen

[J. Magi]

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Val is an OC I've had since October and she fit too well to not use her.

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this is what I do every time I join an rp lol

 

[DramaQueen]

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Most of my developed OCs are either in books/stories (which doesn't disqualify them from RP usage, but it does make me less inclined to use them) or were created for an RP.

Val is the first OC I've had who just exists on xer own.