Ilyana

1. #1Place: Karimreichselective

   Keys: Karim, Karimreich, Leisenburg

   Karimreich is a new empire, mostly populated by humans with a recent influx of dark elven migrants. Originally it was Leisenburg, a small kingdom that expanded into Rot-infested lands, taking advantage of a cultural willingness to harness the power of Rot magic to "tame" the tainted acquisitions. Leisenburgisch people have a belief that, as the only ones capable of truly controlling the Rot, they must secure the Rotlands around them, as quickly as possible, to stem the Rot.

   This willingness to use the Rot for "good" incurred the ire of both Sollas and Ledzia. The latter's Crusade against Leisenburg led to its destruction and to the formation of the Karimreich out of Leisenburg. There is a profound confidence swelling in Leisenburg with their proclamation as Karimreich, a new empire, and their mission of showing that the Rot can, and must, be controlled for the betterment of all.

   The people of Karimreich are known as Karim, or anachronistically as Leisenburgisch. The Karim language can be represented by German, as the culture and government of Karimreich is similar to our world's 1700s Prussia. The principal religion is the Cult of the Martyr Queen, and mages are controlled by both the Cult and by the Military Order of Magic, a wing of the Imperial state.

2. #2Place: Sneoviaselective

   Keys: Sneovia, Sneovic, Sneovian

   Sneovia is a majority-human empire, with substantial half elf and beastkin populations alongside a very minor elven presence. The climate ranges from temperate to subarctic. For a long time, Sneovia was a great power, having the largest territory in northeastern Lilane, a competent government, a peaceful population, and even expeditions to other parts of the world. Recently, after factional conflicts within the nobility, Sneovia has collapsed into a brutal civil war that even threatens to break the state apart.

   The cultural attitudes of Sneovia persist despite the civil war, including a rugged lifestyle, a communitarian, localist outlook, and general distaste for non-Songstress magic that feeds into a particular dislike of Karimreich. Mages were controlled in Sneovia by the Royal Academic System of the Arcane [RASA, or simply the 'Royal Academy'].

   Sneovians are not the only ethnic group in Sneovia. The survivors of the destruction of Ledzia mostly live in Sneovia, and Villny is a vassal of the Sneovian Empire. The Sneovian language can be represented by Russian, as Sneovic culture, governance and technology is mostly similar to our world's 1600s Russian Empire. The principal religion of Sneovia is the Sneovic Orthodox Church, though radical sects like the Church of the Burning Dawn and the Penitents of the Lantern are gaining popularity.

3. #3Place: Lilaneselective

   Keys: Lilane, Liliana

   Lilane is a large continent inhabited by multiple species. The people are known as Lilaneans, and the continent is named after the human heroine Liliana, who was notable not only for her grand skill in Songstress magic which she used to render some previously Rot infested areas habitable, but also her capability in bridging the gap between elves and humans and restoring peace between those two races. Northeastern Lilane was the site of the worst battles between humans and elves during the Cataclysm War, and is therefore less hospitable to life than other places in the world.

   States in northeastern Lilane include Karimreich, Sneovia, Karstien, Zietvo, Sollas, and (formerly) Ledzia. Kijo and Tarraste are known to exist elsewhere in the world.

4. #4Place: Karstienselective

   Keys: Karstien, dark · Secondary: elf, elves

   Karstien is an anomaly among "countries", first in being a single island, if very sizable, and second in hosting little in the way of natural landscape. Instead, Karstien is coated in pre-Cataclysm architecture that survived the Cataclysm itself, but the shifting of the land and the half-ruined state of its architecture resulted in the island becoming a labyrinth of winding districts and layers of city, with many not being able to see the sun at all.

   Karstien's only inhabitants are dark elves, and the country only established contact with the mainland recently, after scryers made mental contact with Karim mages. Because both Karstien and Karimreich practice Rot magic and see themselves as outcasts, cultural and political ties were quickly established. A friction point between the two countries is the fact that Karstien does not practice any form of mage control.

   Karstien's technology is more advanced than even that of Karimreich. While Karstien's inhabitants are not known to practice any religion, they do follow an honor-focused moral code known as the Precepts of the Duelist.

5. #5Place: Sollasselective

   Keys: Sollas, elf, elves

   Sollas is a "meritocratic" republic founded by elves who were seeking to recreate pre-Cataclysm society. It's still far from how "good" things were before the Cataclysm, but they've had some success, building a nation full of powerful Watchmaker Mages and high-tier Magitech. Consisting only of a prominent mountain range in northeastern Lilane (which acts as the perfect natural defense), Sollas supports itself materially by extracting resources from their vassal state Zietvo

   The state ideology of Sollas is that elves, being magically and intellectually gifted, are the best at leading society and protecting it from the Rot, and that humans, despite their idealism, far too easily fall into negative emotion and Rot. This ideology led them to subjugate Zietvo, to support the Ledzian Crusade against Leisenburg, and most recently to get involved in the Sneovian Civil War.

   Internally, Sollas organizes its society as efficiently possible with the help of an intensive, Byzantine bureaucracy. This push for efficiency has resulted in a deeply lopsided social order where the "incompetent" are pushed to the bottom, or even exiled entirely, while those who are helpful are maintained at the eternal top.

   Sollas' technological level is unknown to all outsiders, but is understood to be extraordinarily high thanks to their use of Pre-Cataclysm technology and magic. Sollas can be compared to the Byzantine Empire, and Sollasian as a language can be represented by Koine Greek. The predominant religion of Sollas is their revived Watchmaker's Court.

6. #6Race: Beastkinselective

   Keys: beastkin, lisrumi

   Beastkin are the children of the Rot. During the Cataclysm, as entire regions were tainted by Rot magic, human mothers began to give birth to children with animal features: ears, tails, bestial eyes, animalistic instincts. Usually beastkin have the traits of a particular animal, for example foxes, birds, cats, or wolves. Among most human populations, beastkin are stigmatized-- their animal features are visible evidence of Rot corruption, and their bestial thoughts make it hard for them to fit into human society. They often form nomadic or monastic groups or, as individuals, become drifters, shepherds, or lone hunters.

   Beastkin live shorter lives than humans and it's rare to see one over 60. They tend to be better casters of Songstress magic and Rot magic even than humans, and are sometimes stronger. Their animal nature sometimes strengthens as they age, a mental degeneration sometimes called Tierwerden.

   Specific populations often have specific names-- the Ledzian foxkin are called lisrumi; the wolfkin of Sud-Karim are called wulfvolk.

   (They're kemonomimi, but don't use that word.)

7. #7Religion: Ranger-Heroselective

   Keys: ranger-hero, green ranger

   The "Ranger-Hero" (reindžeris-herojus) or sometimes even just the "Green Ranger" or "Green Forester", is the principal religious figure of Zietvo. Ziets had always been more pleased with tales of individual heroism and idealism than metaphysical concepts, and hold that the natural beauty of forests offers man his greatest link to hope. This continues to the present, with Ziet protection of nature being the most vigorous out of any other nation in the region.

   The Ranger-Hero themselves, meanwhile, is an ideal-type of the selfless figure that will eternally do what is "righteous" against all currents, protecting the land from demons, corruption, physical destruction, or (as was more the case historically) foreigners.

8. #8Event: Leisenburgisch Crusade, Destruction of Ledziaselective

   Keys: Crusade

   About four hundred years before the present, the human nation of Ledzia, with backing from the elven nation Sollas, declared a holy war against what was then Leisenburg, in the hope of preventing the Leisenburgisch from practicing Rot magic. As zealots joined the war, this quickly turned into a war of extermination. The Ledzian army murdered Leisenburgisch queen Heide Karim at a diplomatic meeting, as well as her entire retinue, reportedly for her "arrogance." In their fury, the Leisenburgisch doubled down on Rot use, and destroyed Ledzia, rendering it effectively uninhabitable and massacring its inhabitants before expelling the survivors into Sneovia.

9. #9Place: Ledziaselective

   Keys: Ledzia, Lendia

   Ledzia, also known as "Lendia" to most others, was once a human majority kingdom, with a negligible smattering of other races. The Ledzian people held a deeply zealous view on the Rot because their land existed on the border of Rot-tainted lands like the Black Woods, which colored their religion and culture, and influenced their eventual decision to initiate a Crusade against Leisenburg.

   After the murder of Heide Karim, then-queen of Leisenburg, Ledzia was destroyed by the Leisenburgisch, its people were massacred, and the surviving Ledzians were scattered, mostly into Sneovia. Many of them were corrupted by the Rot and became beastkin, specifically the fox-eared lisrumi, but human Ledzians do still exist. The territory that was Ledzia is a Rot-tainted ruin, populated only by Aberrations, described by one chronicler as "nothing but ash and dust."

   Ledzian as a culture and language is similar to Polish. Ledzians typically worship the Whispering Dragon, or have converted to Sneovic Orthodoxy.

10. #10Event: Cataclysmselective

    Keys: Cataclysm

    The Cataclysm was the beginning of the present era, and also a devastating war that ravaged Lilane (and presumably the other continents). Starting with the development of Songstress magic, humans began to push back against elven supremacy and rigid order, which led to both massive conflict and eventually to the first Rot eruptions that rendered large swathes of the continent uninhabitable. In the 1500 years since, elves and humans have settled into new polities and learned to live with one another, but the Cataclysm still leaves deep scars on the world.

11. #11Event: Sneovic Civil Warselective

    Keys: Civil War, Troubles · Secondary: Sneov

    Sneovia, a large human empire in the north of Lilane, has been wracked by factional warfare for fifteen years, after the murder of its royal family. Only the youngest member of House Snevov survived, Prince Illya. The Royalist faction in Novorsk has declared him the new Tsar, and wages war against the Militarists in Mavlensk, a nationalist faction in Villny, a Sollasian-backed naval/merchant faction in coastal Privoslavl, and a Karim-backed Cossack separatist movement in Chyadansk. The Sneovic Empire has thoroughly fractured and corrupted over the fifteen-year war.

12. #12Religion: Cult of the Martyr Queenselective

    Keys: martyr queen, heide karim, feurkreuz

    The state cult of Karimreich is the Cult of the Martyr Queen. Karim venerate the last queen of Leisenburg, Heide Karim, who was martyred at the hands of the Ledzian delegation she had met to negotiate with. Outrage at the massacre of the Queen and of her entourage fueled a mass Rot possession in the Leisenburgisch Army, which fought back the Ledzians, expelling them from Leisenburg.

    The Leisenburgisch, who would become the Karim, took the lesson from this that kindness will be taken advantage of by the enemy, that good risks being punished by evil, and so it is on the modern Reich citizen to remain eternally cautious, and to always strike first. It is a highly martial and survival-focused faith with a strong undertone of both nationalism and Rot. The Martyr Queen is regarded as the eternal protector of Karimreich even in death, and this veneration extends to the modern imperial family, House Karim. Its symbol is the cross-- Rot mages of the Feuerkreuz had been prominent before the death of the Queen, and this symbol was carried forward, so that She is always represented in a black robe on the cross.

13. #13Place: Kijoselective

    Keys: Kijo

    Kijo is an island nation located elsewhere in the world, though it is somewhere off the coast of the main continent of Lilane. People and artifacts from Kijo occasionally make it to northeastern Lilane. The culture is broadly comparable to our world's Sengoku Japan; the language can be represented by Japanese.

14. #14Concept: Songstress Magicselective

    Keys: Songstress, Liberta

    "From how the world COULD BE."

    Songstress magic, the Symphonia Liberta, relies on the dreams, ideals, and hopes of the caster. It is the most obviously musical of the magical styles, and also the most variable. It often manifests as complex harmonies emanating from the caster, if it is not performed as a musical piece to begin with.

    Despite the idealism of the Songstress ethos, it is also deeply fragile. Many cannot properly wield Songstress magic as it requires a near constant positive state of mind and unshakeable faith in a myth or ideal. Losing faith often results in a severe diminution of magical power, and even minor doubt can shake the caster's ability.

    Importantly, the ideal of a Songstress mage need not always be good. What fuels the Song is the strength of the caster's belief, and this can be directed toward ends that others (though not the caster) would recognize as evil.

15. #15Religion: Church of the Burning Dawnselective

    Keys: burning dawn

    The Church of the Burning Dawn is a splinter faction of the Sneovic Orthodox Church that has grown much more zealous and violent through the experience of the Civil War. While they still believe in the Eternal Light and its eventual triumph in the Final Dawn, the zealots of the Burning Dawn have come to believe that the Final Dawn will destroy Sneovia's enemies- Rot mages, Karim, dark elves, demonkin, and beastkin, as well as all manner of mundane evils. Additionally, the Church has grown to be much more hierarchical-- as well as sex-egalitarian. The current High Priestess of the Burning Dawn is a woman.

    Despite its vicious character, the Church of the Burning Dawn is still a Songstress faith; idealism and hope are channeled toward the idea of total destruction of evil. It bears certain similarities to the Purificationist zealotry of Old Ledzia.

16. #16Place: Zietvoselective

    Keys: ziet

    Zietvo is a confederation of smaller states under the protection/suzerainty of the elven republic Sollas. Sollas uses Zietvo as a store of soldiers/labor and as a source of resources and food; people in Zietvo regard this as just because they adhere to the Watchmaker ideology of Sollas, which posits a divine hierarchy with elves on top. Life in Zietvo is generally peaceful and agrarian, though the political situation is highly fractured between theocratic city-states, petty human kingdoms, beastkin reserves, and so on.

    The inhabitants of Zietvo are culturally varied, but there is an underlying unity that justifies the use of the term "Ziet" to describe all of them. They mostly follow the Watchmaker's Court, religiously speaking, though Sollas tolerates some Songstress magic, as well as veneration of the Ranger-Hero. The language can be represented by Lithuanian.

17. #17Place: Tarrasteselective

    Keys: tarraste

    Tarraste is another continent in the world, to the east of Lilane. Very little is known about it; before the civil war began Sneovia had begun to send expeditions to explore the new continent.

18. #18Religion: Precepts of the Duelistselective

    Keys: duelist, precepts

    The dark elves of Karstien, in the absence of the Watchmaker's Court, are intensely preoccupied with correct behavior, with honor and dishonor, and with their social rank; they originally did not have a state as such but rather an interlocking network of obligation and patronage. The ideal-type of the "Duelist" became the central figure of society, and all were expected to either duel their way into control and leadership, or simply abide by the results of combat held by their betters. A multitude of rules about duels, those being the Precepts, entirely replaced the former Court system. Intricate subterfuge and counter-subterfuge, so-called "duels in dishonor," are accepted as an alternative to open challenge.

    The Precepts are, even with Karstien's modernization from a den of brutal violence to the orderly state it is now, held in exceptionally high regard, with it being very regular that if an inhabitant wishes to leave Karstien, they must first fight a duel with their head of household.

19. #19Concept: Rot Magicselective

    Keys: Rot, Discordia

    "From how the world IS."

    Rot magic, the Symphonia Discordia, draws on the imperfection of the world, and on negative emotions within the caster like fear, hatred, cynicism, and grief. Its mark is corrosion and musical discordance. Rot mages must carefully control their negative emotion and the dissonant song, or they can be possessed by the Rot. Rot can turn people and animals into monsters, and make land uninhabitable.

    Despite its dark appearance and its devastating effect on the landscape when allowed to run rampant, Rot magic is not necessarily evil. Rot mages can turn their psychic suffering to positive ends, and can master and reverse the corruption of the world. But they always risk harming others, or themselves, if they lose themselves in decay.

20. #20Religion: Penitents of the Lanternselective

    Keys: penitents, lanternists, lanternism

    Often known as simply the "Penitents", the Penitents of the Lantern are a despairing faction of Sneovic Orthodoxy who believe that the Final Dawn already happened-- that the rule of House Snevov and the peace that Sneovia enjoyed before the civil war was the perfect, harmonious society that Orthodoxy looks forward to. Penitents believe that Sneovians should regard the slaughtered royal family as martyrs who died defending humanity against the wicked world it now finds itself in.

    The royal family had kept Sneovia together, and surely belief in them helped keep the winters less brutal than they could be, but now that they are gone, despite all that they had done, the people must realize that hope is fleeting and those who trust "blind faith" will ultimately be killed, no matter how heroic they are. Thus, the Penitents emphasize the duty of avenging the fallen family while keeping aware of the inherent evil of the world, and of man itself.

    Observers note strong similarities between Lanternism and the Karim Cult of the Martyr Queen.

21. #21Religion: Church of the Whispering Dragonselective

    Keys: whispering dragon, ouroboros

    The Church of the Whispering Dragon was the primary faith of Ledzia before its destruction. The Church placed faith in a dragon-god, the Cichy Smok, as the patron of Ledzia that commanded its Songstress mages to safeguard the land. If the Ledzians protected and remained in their homeland, the Dragon would grant them protection.

    A section of the faith developed toward the idea that "safeguarding" the land included purifying the land of the Rot, and waging war against nations like Leisenburg that wielded the Rot. This sect was behind the Crusade against Leisenburg (that would become Karimreich)-- the Crusade that led to Ledzia's destruction.

    After Ledzia was destroyed, the diaspora had to confront their faith. Some stopped believing in the Dragon; some declared that their aggression had been against the Dragon's will and they were supposed to have remained peaceful; a very small few held on to the Purificationist belief and continued to preach the destruction of Karimreich and of Rot mages. In any case, the faith is a husk of what it once was. Its symbol is the ouroboros.

22. #22Religion: Sneovic Orthodoxyselective

    Keys: orthodoxy, final dawn, eternal light

    The Sneovic religion concerns itself with the "Eternal Light", often represented as the Sun, which is viewed as proof not only that the world's heart continues to beat, but also of the persistence of goodness itself. The Sun is the most common representation of the Light, but other light sources, such as torches, lanterns, or fireflies also make appearances in Sneovic Orthodox art. The religion is highly decentralized, with a patriarch leading the Church in each region of the empire.

    The Orthodox look forward to the Final Dawn, a time when the scars of the Cataclysm will truly heal and the Sun will rise on a glorious harmony free of both the oppression of the pre-Cataclysm world and the corruption of the modern, post-Cataclysm world. It is a Songstress faith, as most human religions are.

    With the shattering of Sneovia into civil war, new sects of the faith have emerged, like the militant, nationalistic, sex-egalitarian Church of the Burning Dawn, and the pessimistic, millennarian Penitents of the Lantern.

23. #23Religion: Watchmaker's Courtselective

    Keys: watchmaker's court

    The Watchmaker's Court is the first religion of the world, revolving around the most intellectually-apt minds [formerly only Elves] "conducting court" in order to determine what next ventures should be done to further understand the machinations of magic. This activity is viewed as a form of religious worship and adoration of the Watchmaker and His creation. The Watchmaker Himself was barely depicted in religious iconography, with the primary symbolism of the Court often just being a clock.

    After the Cataclysm, the Court system was deeply fractured as many Elven populations either fell to the Rot (becoming dark elves) or were deeply isolated from one another, resulting in now a multitude of different interpretations of how to carry on the Watchmaker's will into the present and not "despair" in adhering instead to the faiths that oriented around Songstress-Magic or Rot-Magic. Sollas, of course, practices a Sollasian reinvention of the faith.

24. #24Concept: Watchmaker Magicselective

    Keys: Watchmaker, Classica

    "From how the world WAS."

    Originally, the world was perfectly ordered. Watchmaker magic, the Symphonia Classica, is an attempt to recapture that lost order. Elves, with their blood still bearing the touch of the Watchmaker are often the casters of such magic.

    Fundamentally, Watchmaker magic relies on the understanding of complex formulae related to the conversion of one's mana into energy. Many describe it as similar to memorizing mathematical equations and applying the equation to the spirit. Many of the strongest spells of this Ethos will feel like hundreds of instruments joined in perfect harmony.

    For most humans such calculations are simply impossible to hold in the head, nor can enough mana be retained in the body, but an especially gifted human can just about match the average elf. Recently humans have developed methods to condense Watchmaker formulae into more easily digestible heuristics, and to "create" mages by teaching these heuristics. Despite humans' natural resistance to it, Watchmaker magic is calculable and precise, which is a very desirable trait for those who prefer controllable mages or wish to develop technomagic.

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