OC World History
Apr. 26th, 2018 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
headcaseyCasey hails from a fantasy realm, consisting of fourteen kingdoms, along an open and seemingly endless sea. She was born in a smaller kingdom, called Shaldani, which produced the majority of the grain for the rest of the realm. Each of the fourteen kingdoms acts as an independent government (monarchy, democracy, oligarchy), existing in a relatively stable peace.
As long as history remembers, inhabitants of the realm always included three different classifications of lifeforms; humanoids, demonoids, and incorporeal creatures. Among the humanoid races were the industrious Humans, the mystical Elves, and the honorable Darucs. Long ago, each race claimed domain over certain arts and sciences: the Humans masters of mechanics and engineering; the Elves the rulers of magic; and the Darucs the great warriors and laborers. The humanoid races were not monoliths, of course. Within each, there are exceptions to the rule. But stereotypes emerged for a reason.
Tensions between the races, particularly the humanoid races, reached a peak about a thousand years before Casey was born. The Elves, at the time, often relied on slave labor in their own kingdoms, capturing Humans and Darucs and dragging them away. Eventually, each group of enslaved races led its own revolt, leading to a mass exodus from all Elf lands. The fourteen kingdoms slowly solidified their borders and each developed its own unique flavor and unique relationship with other races in the realm.
Shaldani, a largely agricultural kingdom, became something of a "backwater country." Although mostly peaceful and open to trading with any kingdom, regardless of the dominant race, it was considered by most to be a kingdom of little importance. Land-locked, sparsely populated, and mostly Human, the only thing that made Shaldani even remotely note-worthy was its science and alchemy academy, simply known as The Academy. Students would flock from around the realm to enroll but, perhaps not surprisingly, all graduates would inevitably leave Shaldani for more sophisticated and culturally-important lands.
At the patriotic heart of Shaldani was Harper Palace, home of the reigning matrilineal monarchy, the Dikawa family. The royal family could trace its roots all the way back to their first queen, Rhea. The family was unique in the realm for the emphasis placed on female heirs. Distant cousins and nieces were always put first in line for the throne, ahead of sons. The reasons for this, although unclear, may date back to early religious believes regarding fertility and the harvest. In ancient times, the primary god worshiped in Shaldani was Joxom, the god of the harvest, whose sacred rites often tied closely to birth and dead. But as the centuries went by, Shaldanites mostly shifted to a monotheistic religion, worshiping an unnamed divine power, under the belief that all the gods and goddesses of the realm were simply saints and angels of this greater divine.
As wars came and went among the other kingdoms of the realm, Shaldani remained a fairly neutral territory, in large part due to the reliance other kingdoms had on Shaldanite grain. Because of this, Shaldani never developed a strong military force, instead emphasizing internal policing with localized constabularies. Perhaps, for this reason, Shaldani became the first (and only) target of an insurgence of extra-dimensional creatures known as "Ebene." Without a warning, the Ebene appeared around Shaldani's borders one day, erecting a magical force field that trapped insiders inside and outsiders outside. The Ebene relied on the "lifeforce" of humanoid creatures to survive. By isolating Shaldani, they effectively created what they hoped would be a chattel that they planned to survive off of for the next hundred years. Unfortunately for them, certain humanoids proved immune to their feeding and quickly started to form a resistance force known as the Phoenix Fighters.
Today, Shaldani remains more or less isolated, although the Phoenix Fighters have found a few cracks in the force field, which they are using to smuggle people out of Shaldani and supplies back in. The royal family is in hiding and much of the kingdom's infrastructure is gone. Life continues on--farmers still need to farm and blacksmiths still need to smith--but the citizens exist as the victims of a continuing siege. Word of the kingdom's plight, spread by writers who have managed to smuggle the story out with refugees, has summoned and unified much of the rest of the realm, mobilizing relief efforts. But at this point, there's only so much outsiders have been able to do to help.
Glossary of Terms
Realm Map
Realm Religion
The invasion began around Casey's twenty-second birthday. And it has continued for a number of years. This is the context under which Casey leaves her homeworld, leaping into the multiverse.
As long as history remembers, inhabitants of the realm always included three different classifications of lifeforms; humanoids, demonoids, and incorporeal creatures. Among the humanoid races were the industrious Humans, the mystical Elves, and the honorable Darucs. Long ago, each race claimed domain over certain arts and sciences: the Humans masters of mechanics and engineering; the Elves the rulers of magic; and the Darucs the great warriors and laborers. The humanoid races were not monoliths, of course. Within each, there are exceptions to the rule. But stereotypes emerged for a reason.
Tensions between the races, particularly the humanoid races, reached a peak about a thousand years before Casey was born. The Elves, at the time, often relied on slave labor in their own kingdoms, capturing Humans and Darucs and dragging them away. Eventually, each group of enslaved races led its own revolt, leading to a mass exodus from all Elf lands. The fourteen kingdoms slowly solidified their borders and each developed its own unique flavor and unique relationship with other races in the realm.
Shaldani, a largely agricultural kingdom, became something of a "backwater country." Although mostly peaceful and open to trading with any kingdom, regardless of the dominant race, it was considered by most to be a kingdom of little importance. Land-locked, sparsely populated, and mostly Human, the only thing that made Shaldani even remotely note-worthy was its science and alchemy academy, simply known as The Academy. Students would flock from around the realm to enroll but, perhaps not surprisingly, all graduates would inevitably leave Shaldani for more sophisticated and culturally-important lands.
At the patriotic heart of Shaldani was Harper Palace, home of the reigning matrilineal monarchy, the Dikawa family. The royal family could trace its roots all the way back to their first queen, Rhea. The family was unique in the realm for the emphasis placed on female heirs. Distant cousins and nieces were always put first in line for the throne, ahead of sons. The reasons for this, although unclear, may date back to early religious believes regarding fertility and the harvest. In ancient times, the primary god worshiped in Shaldani was Joxom, the god of the harvest, whose sacred rites often tied closely to birth and dead. But as the centuries went by, Shaldanites mostly shifted to a monotheistic religion, worshiping an unnamed divine power, under the belief that all the gods and goddesses of the realm were simply saints and angels of this greater divine.
As wars came and went among the other kingdoms of the realm, Shaldani remained a fairly neutral territory, in large part due to the reliance other kingdoms had on Shaldanite grain. Because of this, Shaldani never developed a strong military force, instead emphasizing internal policing with localized constabularies. Perhaps, for this reason, Shaldani became the first (and only) target of an insurgence of extra-dimensional creatures known as "Ebene." Without a warning, the Ebene appeared around Shaldani's borders one day, erecting a magical force field that trapped insiders inside and outsiders outside. The Ebene relied on the "lifeforce" of humanoid creatures to survive. By isolating Shaldani, they effectively created what they hoped would be a chattel that they planned to survive off of for the next hundred years. Unfortunately for them, certain humanoids proved immune to their feeding and quickly started to form a resistance force known as the Phoenix Fighters.
Today, Shaldani remains more or less isolated, although the Phoenix Fighters have found a few cracks in the force field, which they are using to smuggle people out of Shaldani and supplies back in. The royal family is in hiding and much of the kingdom's infrastructure is gone. Life continues on--farmers still need to farm and blacksmiths still need to smith--but the citizens exist as the victims of a continuing siege. Word of the kingdom's plight, spread by writers who have managed to smuggle the story out with refugees, has summoned and unified much of the rest of the realm, mobilizing relief efforts. But at this point, there's only so much outsiders have been able to do to help.
The invasion began around Casey's twenty-second birthday. And it has continued for a number of years. This is the context under which Casey leaves her homeworld, leaping into the multiverse.
