Alright, this post will probably end up quite long and not have any pictures. Post content is some dump of info on the main regions/countries in a fantasy world I've had for years, called the 12th World for no apparent reason so far I have 2 stories that take place in different countries in this world and basically I'm trying to make my notes on it eventually comprehensive enough that any fantasy type story I come up with can take place here. mostly it's just really, really fun to come up with costume/fashions, specifically >.< Ceresa and Shai are the 2 I have most developed because those are the ones I have stories set in already [the rest beneath the cut------------------------->] --CERESA (denizen/of the country: Ceresan)(pronounced with a hard K sound) -environment: the country covers a lushly green valley, highlands, foothills, and constantly snowy mountain range. temperature is cold for most of the year. -religion: believe predominantly in the sun and moon deities. sun commonly represented as an eagle and moon as a wolf, tho humanoid depictions are common as well creation: people grew from the earth in the light of the sun and moon. the sun and moon lived together, lighting only half the planet, and the first humans lived with them and everything was great. but the people grew jealous of how the moon held the sun's attention, and their jealousy festered and turned into curses which blotted the moon and turned her into the chaos god. she lashed out at the sun but was able to gain control for a moment, which she used to flee so she wouldn't harm him anymore. the sun chased her though and that's why the sun and moon go around the earth. the moon is now trapped in a cycle, being taken over and then supressing the chaos god inside her over and over. death: the dead become god-like and ascend to the heavens as stars and join the court of the sun and moon; the non-virtuous dead are consumed by demons and reborn as one. while peace still lasted among the people and the gods, the dark side of the planet had become the birthplace of demons. with the sun's departure into the sky and with his traveling, his light left the land that the people lived on for the first time and the demons swarmed among them, killing many purpose in life: take care of the earth and fellow man to repent for the misdeeds towards the gods in the past. while the people were being massacred by demons, the moon wanted to save them even though they'd cursed her and she was now struggling by herself to contain the curse. so she sent down a flood-like pack of golden wolves to kill the demons and defend the humans. thus a pact was forged between people and the moon herself to cooperate in the protection of the realm. from then on when a human child was born and a golden wolf puppy found at the doorstep of the newborn's house, the two were raised to fight and defend the holy city Sentina, the largest city-state in ceresa, and belived to be the site of the first birth of humans, at the center of which is a tower dedicated to the sun, a site of old religious significance. this religion has been in decline over the past hundreds of years. many, if they think about the gods at all, believe them dead or as having abdicated. -political/cultural views: native religion has had declining influence on society and is now mostly a secular country, they are taking on many of reinen-blomme’s cultural views; there is a very divided nature to modern Ceresa, between those loyal to the traditions and those who are embracing modernity and reinen-blomme’s influence. historically ceresa had the most discrimination against beastmen, women, magic-users, etc. int’l relations: currently allied w/ reinen blomme and heavily influenced by their culture. they are making forays into expansionism and developing a military. this assimilation with reinen-blomme is supported by the youth who rebel against ceresa's historically "weak" state structure: loosely connected city-states... like the Polis of ancient greece. the heads of each state are supposed to serve in a parliament together that coordinates stuff for all the city states but not much big stuff usually happens universally so the cities remain pretty separate for the most part -views on magic: magic is feared and discouraged because of its dangerous nature and once was illegal but reinen-blomme’s influence has toned this down. beastmen have a natural proclivity to magic, and ceresa has a history of considering beastmen to be barbaric and dangerous and still has laws against allowing them in the military -main resource: their mountains are rich with ore; it is ceresa’s lethargic development which has left most of this potential untapped. the bounty of ore is what drew reinen-blomme to form an alliance with ceresa -art/architecture/etc: landscape painting and manuscript illumination, as well as star charts. Ceresa's prowess in astrology is very advanced and fortune telling by the stars is a storied old practice. ceresan fashion incorporates furs, bone, hides and decorative stitching. clothes, decorative tapestry/flags, brickwork often incorporate ceresa's blocky letters into patterns as decoration, the words acting like talismans of luck or warding. buildings are mostly stone and rather simple but painted with elaborate knotted designs (where the climate allows) -other: Ceresa’s past scarred by infighting and poor leadership, as well as its native belief system encouraging caution, timidity, and guilt when it comes to matters of the earth, led to ceresa being rather stunted in the development of technology compared to reinen-blomme. so when reinen-blomme came in they pretty much swept the country off its feet. the passivity of their traditional culture and the new ambition of their modern culture clash very much (and sakora represents a combination of the two and is often caught in conflict between the two ideals) there is also a large mercenary culture in ceresa. the story set mainly in Ceresa is called Esta: The Heart of the World. Sakora Esta (when this story started it was an inuyasha ripoff... her name was sakura, end me really, but what am I supposed to do it's been so long it sticks SO YEAH I just changed the spelling) and Mamoto are the main characters; Mamoto (and his wolf Senae) is one of the protectors of the realm. except the thing is, there hasn't been any new protectors for hundreds of years; mamoto was the last known one. in his time, he had failed to protect Sentina from a mysterious magic user and, being manipulated, ended up killing the lord of the city, for which he was banished. he was thus the last protector ever chosen, and the tradition started to fade out fo importance, belief in the gods themselves following. old magic of the pact with the gods kept him alive, though in a trancelike state he lived only out of duty to protect the city for hundreds of years. Sakora finds him and together they try to defend the city again from the resurgence of that old enemy. In any case the origin story and the story of the sun and moon gods are important, mamoto represents an avatar of the moon and sakora represents an avatar of the sun (the first ever!) 2 other important characters, the sisters leara and morga, are from a secluded mountain colony that has been largely separate from the main society of ceresa and is located on the one of the hugest mountns in the land, believed by ceresans to be the closest place to the realm of the gods. this type of area is hardly influenced by modern vices and ends up being hyper-traditional, almost cult-like. leara, the younger sister, is held prisoner and reviled because she is believed to be cursed, an avatar of the chaos god. the antagonist of the story eventually obtains her and morga for plot purposes --SHAI (denizen: Shai | of the country: Shaiin) -environment: a small country. mainland is on a peninsula mostly isolated from the rest of the continent by mountains and humanmade walls, many islands also make up a bulk of the country. temperate/tropical climate -religion: ancestor worship; some sects believe in deities but they are the minority, otherwise deity worship is distrusted. intellectualism is valued and documentation of things is a centerpiece of everyday functioning; scholarly study and documentation are integrated with meditation as part of religious practice. religious buildings are sparse, very small single room cepts where the dead are prayed to (though every home includes a personal altar for the same purposes) with towers outside as places for offerings. creation: the sun set into the ocean like a seed into the dirt and in a green flash of light people were born in the sea. simple as that, not much beyond. mostly to emphasize the peoples' connection to the sea death: reincarnation, each cycle your soul grows, eventually reaching enlightenment and being released as energy into the universe. a person's way of being is said to indicate how far progressed their soul is, the farther along the wiser and more magnanimous the person is. purpose in life: to learn, to bring your next incarnation as close as possible to enlightenment, to record and glorify the lives of your forebears for the sake of your descendants. -political/cultural views: isolationist, pacifist. they refused an alliance with reinen-blomme and were invaded instead. they don't have a standard peoples' military, instead they have a small but incredibly highly trained force made up of criminals and society's refuse, broken and remade into emotionless, ruthless, highly controlled soldiers. it was enough to defend the country on a small scale but suffice to say it couldn't stand up to reinen-blomme. society is ordered, built on strict manners and norms, names and family lineage are very important. youth street culture is much looser and rebellious in comparison, and has grown since reinen-blomme's occupation of the country has unbalanced the economy and pushed many into poverty int’l relations: aside from fair trade, shai is generally steeled against influence from other cultures. foreigners aren’t welcome in many places structure: hereditary monarchy + peoples’ elected council of advisors. 10 years of occupation by reinen-blomme has seen most of their governing council replaced by blommiens and the queen’s power stripped. kept as a hostage against their whole country, her and her family are forbidden to leave their palace. The country apparently has a bloody history of independent tribes warring viciously. the single monarch with a council was established by a traveling wise man of unknown origin (now revered as the figurative father of all modern shai, and the women of the tribes the mothers, which explains the high occurence of women in positions of power), who brought law and logic and deemed the first queen be a daughter of a marriage between the two weakest tribes. Then a council of one representative per historical tribe was made and the land unified as Shai. The shai found themselves fast learners and reasonable people and have since prided themselves for their civil discourse and adaptability. -views on magic: merely another skill to be honed -main resource: knowledge of science and medicine, maritime expertise -art/architecture/etc: calligraphy, manuscripts; cloth dyes, lavishly embroidered patterns and beading. most urban areas are built around transport of water, often w/ canals, buildings feature prominent “headdresses” that describe the function and/or history of the building. buildings are built primarily out of wood and white sandstone bricks/plaster made from the unique white sand in the country, and decorated in patterns with colorful stones, sea glass, mosaics, etc. metal decorations are brass or copper. motifs are often geometric shapes or, if they’re images of actual things, often involve tesselation or some other geometry. all shai are taught to appreciate learning and the arts of poetry/storytelling. visual art like mosaic and landscaping is decorative and secondary to written art (for instance a poem about one's feeling in a beautiful garden are valued over the actual garden itself), but still appreciated. -other: history is treated as legend and legend as history in this country. facts that are obviously not literally possible are told alongside actual events for moral lessons. one such legend is before the wise man came, the tribes warred so violently that their rivers ran red and the sand grew white with the dust of countless human bones, and this is the origin of the white sand, a reminder. there is a hard delineation between private life and public behavior. shaiin culture is typically restrained and polite, and there are many implicit etiquette rules (such as personal space in relation to how close to your family an individual is, not to tread in certain places, rules for eating, etc. many of which blommiens break and end up trying the patience of many) an ideal shai man represents a pillar of strength and humility; unshakable demeanor, eloquence, introspective, and beautiful. an ideal shai woman is uncompromising and confident, dedicated to the preservation of her family’s history and the advancement of society for the sake of all. every establishment offers food as a courtesy and sign of goodwill, though it is rude to overeat and rely on food in places that aren’t restaurants. offering trinkets in gratitude for good service or inspiration is very important to shaiin social culture, and many service buildings have spaces on their outer walls for people to leave things. it is considered polite to leave these things anonymously and humbly. manners/social mores are very important and stringent especially in higher society; one reason foreigners are mistrusted is because of their difficulty adhering to the complicated social manners more info of Shai can be gleaned from profiles of the characters from Meitin Douja, which takes place in Shai --REINEN-BLOMME (denizen:Blommienne | of the country: Blommien) -environment: reinen-blomme is very large and, including captured land, covers many different climates. The main bulk of the country is wide shrubby plains and hills. -religion: believe in one god with thousands of arms/branches. they believe that anyone else’s gods are merely one of their god’s “arms”. omniscient/omnipotent/omnipresent. this religion is central to their culture and they use it to absorb other smaller religions. creation: there are three different realms: the god-realm where their god exists and watches from, the middle-realm where physical bodies exist, and the demon realm where humans’ souls are. the 3 realms exist simultaneously and overlapping. while a human’s body exists in the middle realm their soul (which is actually a piece of the god’s soul) exists in the demon realm. a human’s body is made by humans, and the body is animated by a spirit made from god’s breath, and the soul provides them with morality and meaning. so, humans were created by god to be stewards of his own soul. theme of threes: 3 realms, 3 human components (body, spirit, soul), 3 aspects of god’s nature (male, female, neither) death: a virtuous person’s soul is released to the god-realm to rejoin god and their spirit is moved to the god-realm. a bad person’s soul wanders the demon realm until it can attach to a new body, and their spirit is tortured and preyed upon by the demons that inhabit the demon realm. purpose in life: protect the souls of men and ensure that as many as possible live serving their god so that its soul can become complete again -political/cultural views: reinen-blomme is the best! a bastion of blessed light in the realm of mortals! come join our club and we'll let you touch a dragon maybe! int’l relations: their modus operandi is pretty much to take over other countries but in the most polite and friendly way possible such that they aren’t REALLY taking over their country, their culture is just virulent enough to effectively let them manipulate their allies. however if force is necessary they will do force no problem structure: theocracy led by the holy king and his cabinet, further divided into states with each state led by a Duke. captured territories are ruled by Earls and alliances are managed by Marquis (alliances are treated somewhat like territories except with less rebellions to put down); all these are members of the cabinet -views on magic: it’s a gift from god, so it’s a-ok! reinen-blomme’s total ok-ness with magic led to the creation of a magic-based branch of their military, unique in a world where many places suppress magic -main resource: -art/architecture/etc: masonry and metallurgy in wide application, also a pioneer in animal husbandry. dragon motifs -other: --OURD / OURDISH TRIBES (denizen:Doriou | of the country: Ourdish) -environment: desert desert desert. there is evidence that much of it used to be under a sea, with salt flats and bizarre colossal structures of coral
-religion: revolve around the native fauna of the desert, most significantly the drakehonds. most practice of religion comes in the form of small daily rituals. the cycle of rainy and dry season is charted carefully using the stars and various holidays relating to that cycle are celebrated creation: doriou people believe they specifically were created from the dreams of drakehonds. as a testament to their ourdish isolationism, they don’t have an explanation for non-doriou peoples’ existence and frankly they don’t really care death: much emphasis is put on mourning rituals. it is believed the dead go to sleep and their dreams steer the lives of those left behind, so there are many rituals intended to please the dead and keep their good favor purpose in life: to live a life of benefit to others and function as part of your unit (family, tribe, etc) -political/cultural views: Ourd is not really a standard country, there is no center of leadership and no set borders, mostly tribes spread around, many nomadic and some not. in fact most of ourdish land is actually claimed by either reinen-blomme or ceresa but the doriou pay little attention to such borders. as such other countries give little heed to any claim the doriou might have on their ancestral land. they’re a very hardy culture that survives in such a state. the doriou don’t have a standard currency and are used to simply trading useable goods for more useable goods or just trading services which makes dealing with them somewhat frustrating for other countries. The doriou prize pragmatism. int’l relations: because things like that are handled on a personal basis and no one person speaks for all doriou, there are many different stances on foreigners, but in general the doriou maintain an air of exclusivity and avoid dealing with non-doriou in all but the most cordial of ways. some tribes living close to foreign influence assimilate into those cultures to an extent, but the people always maintain their stubborn doriou... doriou-ness. structure: tribes are built around elders and run like a large family where responsibility for everyone is expected of every member, larger settlements are broken into blocks which function basically the same as the tribes -views on magic: magic does not run strong in the doriou so it is a mystery to most; though the general consensus is that it is acceptable -main resource: glasswork; blowing/shaping, mosaic, and stained glass -art/architecture/etc: dance is a major part of their rituals as well as singing. permanent buildings are brick and moveable ones are either small and collapsible frames with leather or on wheels/skis for pulling. meaningful trinkets are often displayed by doors as decoration. Many practice body modification to show control over their bodies and also to demonstrate the strength in existing inside a dream. -other: NOTE: the “ourdish people” refer to themselves as “Doriou” or “the doriou”; ourd is the name of the land, and it is only foreigners who ever refer to them as the Ourdish people.
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