Azalea and Camellia

1. #1Settingconstantselective
   "Ithyla." A land where magic is not common but not particularly rare. Invent details befitting such a location.

   The edges of the world ends in a sheer drop, where the oceans become waterfalls and vanish into a layer of clouds below. No one who has descended past them has ever returned. There is no place closer to the heavens than here, and as such, it receives the love of gods, even if they have abandoned humanity. Or had humanity abandoned them?

   Well, it hardly matters.

   Such is our home under the stars.

2. #2Royaltyselective

   Keys: prince, royal, crown, throne, authorit, rule, divin

   <empire_royalty> The word of royalty is law, and their authority is divinity. Even if the blood of god is watered down, they are still graced.

   His Holiness left behind five children, all no younger than 140 and no older than 300. Three princes, and two princesses, all immortal and eternally youthful, their aging slowing down as they grow older. There was a power struggle at first, but they all prefer proxy struggles and other games of power play using their territories and enterprises.

   All of them have made an agreement to not bear any offspring, and any exceptions would require acknowledgement from a majority. Combined, they currently have about a dozen or so almost-equally immortal progeny. </empire_royalty>

3. #3Flowerselective

   Keys: flower, mage, bless, power, magic, name

   Children of mages are named after flowers in hopes of inheriting great powers. It’s a curse to some, but it’s a blessing to many.

   After all, all flowers bloom someday.

4. #4World Treeselective

   Keys: tree, branch, wood

   The world tree is hidden from most. Its pieces, even when sliced off, will never die or rot, imbued with magic.

   Thus, even the smallest branch is worth an unimaginable sum.

5. #5Ecclesiaselective

   Keys: Ecclesia, church, empire

   After the gods fled, one remained. The god of war broke the unspoken contract, and he led an army to conquer the world. He swallowed the western continent and swept through the south. His forces were whittled at the end by the Land of the Fae, and when he tried to cross the waters to reach the other continent, the great mages empowered by the World Tree sank his fleet and dragged him to the bottom of the ocean.

   Now, all that remains are his progeny and the church that worships his power. Despite his evil, he was assuredly divine. And who was to say he was evil? Perhaps all he sought was peace and union. The Cathedral and the Castle coexist in the capital of the empire, Ecclesia.

6. #6Castleselective

   Keys: castle, king, prince, royal, knight

   The Castle, a towering, sprawling landmark in Ecclesia, was supposed to home the empire's royals and their confidants. These days, all bureaucratic work in the capital is done inside the castle, and most officials live in the residential quarters. The capital's knights also live and train there, and some accomplished knights are occasionally picked to escort royalty.

   It is a magical structure, its interior significantly larger than its exterior, currently housing the equivalent of a small town. While grand and expensively furnished, it is in no way ostentatious. Personal rooms might be.

   Ecclesia's knights belong to the king, not the church. Half of them are born and groomed into their roles as defenders of the empire, and the other half are nobility searching for fame, honor, or safety for their houses. Few of them know magic, and if they do, they are likely commanders of their own groups. They make up for it with their discipline, loyalty, and excellent sword skills.
7. #7Churchselective

   Keys: church, cathedral, god, bishop, priest, pagan

   The church of the Empire worship the god of war who shall never be named. They refer to him as God, his Holiness, and other singular monikers. Other gods, who have fled and abandoned humanity, are considered pagan gods. The south, before being assimilated into the empire, were "pagans". The east recognizes their existence, but only prays and offers to the World Tree in their land.

   The Bishop, aka the High Priest or the Pontiff, leads the Church. They worship a Saint whose being heals others when consumed. Even a single drop of blood closes wounds. They believe the Saint reincarnates every 100 years and is a mercy bestowed by God, but in truth, it is an act of pity thrown out by another god who watches over humanity, a blessing and a curse given to a random soul.

   The Cathedral itself is ornate and lavish and has living quarters for high ranking members.

8. #8Fontselective

   Keys: font, source, mountain, river, lake

   In the mountains north of Ecclesia, there is a large lake that is said to be the source of all rivers on the western continent. They refer to it as "The Font". An absurd notion, but it is one that the capital parrots endlessly. It is a place of ceremony, one that is closer to the heavens above all, or so the Head Priest says.
9. #9Faeselective

   Keys: fae, elf, elve

   The fae, or the elves, were a race that lived at south-eastern tip of the western continent, referred to as the Land of the Fae. Instead of worshipping gods, they communed with the land and its sprites who seemed to control all aspects of the world.

   When the god of war arrived, he demanded the enslavement of the most powerful sprites. They resisted but could not win, and were all purged. Only a few escaped, and combined with those who weren't living there at the time, the population of the race is terribly low even to this day.

   Many hold bitter sentiments, but the news of the god's death seemed to settle most of their unrest.

10. #10<lore>constantselective
11. #11</lore>constantselective
12. #12Geographyconstantselective
    There are two continents:

    The west is made up of the northern Empire and the southern city-states, forming a landmass reminiscent of a curved, reversed teardrop—or perhaps a crescent, often referred to as "Ecclesia". Past the states is the Land of the Fae.

    The east, called "Tilua", has the world tree at its center, whose roots render the surrounding lands unnavigable. Emari, the second largest nation in Ithyla, stretches from the area east of the world tree down to the south. To the north, there is nothing but mountains and ravines composed of dead earth. The remaining lands are home to various smaller nations inhabited by all manner of magical races.

13. #13Emariselective

    Keys: Emari, east, emper, Rengekyo

    A land that pays its respects to the world tree instead of any singular god. One that is imbued with magic and serves as the home to strange races. It appears as Edo/Meiji Period Japan, but Japan and normal human history do not exist in this setting. Cobblestone paths, wooden buildings, paper walls, open-front stores, banners, silks, palanquins, teahouses, and shrines. Ancient Emari is governed by a warrior class that, over time, proves unsatisfactory for various reasons, though any citizen might only witness a fraction of it.

    Eventually, it would fall to the guilds, primarily the merchants', scholars', and mages'. They swept through all the major cities and won after a messy, messy war.

    Despite opposing the Empire, ironically, they have a line of emperors and empresses as the head of state. A council of guild leaders and experts make up the rest of the governing body. The magic of the royals typically gives them unparalleled political power (i.e. forecasting, divination), which allows them to uphold a cutthroat meritocracy while easily remaining at the top.

    Though they used to trade frequently with the Land of the Fae due to proximity, the Empire and their city states allow for gold to flow even faster.

14. #14Red Finchesselective

    Keys: finch, trade

    The Red Finch Trading Company is a household name in the southern city states.

    There's a good reason why they're still at the top: they make sure no one gets away with anything. Their hunting dogs are everywhere, and they got enough coin to employ almost every psychic they can find. If you cheat them, you better bet someone will knock at your door, no matter how far you run.

    They have a lot of prized dogs, and a good number of them are headcrackers (psychics). More than anyone else. They run them down the ground, but they pay so damn well that mages take the coin over their own health.

15. #15Psychicselective

    Keys: psychic, tele, mind

    The traditional line of work for psychics has always been bureaucracy and crown-sanctioned investigations, but where there's demand, there's a way.

    As it turns out, being able to read, overwrite, and crush minds gives them quite an advantage in the field. It's nothing like picking out lies in a court or interrogating a locked-up criminal. It's messy now. Dangerous. Lethal.

    The field workers, associated with the dirtier side of businesses, are called "headcrackers". The constant use of their magic wears on them, grinds them down into dust. After all, it's less like "reading" and more like "experiencing" memories.

    The best ones know how to disassociate. Separate themselves before and after reads. Have techniques to self-incise.

    It's never enough.

16. #16Dwarfselective

    Keys: dwarf, dwarves, rum

    An inherently magical race. Usually named after roots. Dwarves are incredibly heat resistant, and their tough skin requires a lot to cut. Dulled senses, too. Their foods seem overseasoned for other races, and it's something most of them forget about until they bump into another race.

    They age slowly, and their average life span is about 300-400 years. Typically, they have olive skin and pointy ears, and most look overly youthful. If they've got wrinkles or a white beard, they're certified ancient. Did you know they glow while working near a forge too long? The stereotype is that they usually get very absorbed in something and spend a decade or two in a hole working on it without paying attention to anything else.

    They are (almost) all able to construct rudimentary forges and use mana to hammer metals, meaning they can do blacksmith work just about anywhere. Other forms of magic are rare for them and are usually a byproduct of blood-mixing.

    Because they're used to living in hot, suffocating conditions, dwarves like wearing breezy outfits or things that cover just enough.

    There's a trope that rural dwarves all live in mountains or quarries, and it's only half true. Well-connected ones are central to railways and other modern infrastructure.

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