Jupora

Fantasy, Adventure

An earthlike planet with three moons

CREATION

Nhyran Takes Power (545 AC)

Nhyran takes control over many lords' territories, with the justification that he is the son of a Firstborn. He becomes the first ruler of Gamlar, and his descendants still remain on the throne.

First Holy War (800-832 AC)

The First Holy War happened eight hundred years after the creation of the world. Karnost, the god-spirit, waged war against his homeland Gamlar, in an attempt to reach the Well of the Undone, a portal to the spirit world. The war lasted thirty-two years, ending with Quirin's sacrifice, and the destruction of Karnost's Vessel.

The Golden Ages (836-874 AC)

A period in which there was massive growth of cities, and there were many new technologies and masterpieces created. Many of the hymns in the Holy Books are from this time period.

Darkling War (876-883 AC)

Gamlar discovers the Leronan, and their explorers are attacked by vengeful spirits. Taking this as an act of agression, King xxx mobilizes his forces and attacks the western continent. Eventually, due to the distance and the lack of resources, Gamlar retreated, leaving the Leronan behind.

Leronan Civil War (887-891 AC)

Following the Darkling War, the Leronan split into factions, and battle in a civil war. Eventually, the sides come to an agreement - the continent would be split between the two factions. The northern Leronan are aggressive towards humans, whereas the southern Leronan are more willing to interact with them.

The Recession (893 AC)

Nythia removes her magic from the world. The reason is unclear, but Fae magic no longer exists. Ley magic starts to fade, and the last true Ley magician dies in 923 AC.

Second Holy War (931 AC - present [948 AC])

The daemons return and attack Gamlar. However, with magic gone, the war drags on for many years, with the daemons slowly advancing...

Magic is closely tied to spirits and their world. However, spirits are not things you want to get involved with. They have their own agenda, and they don't care who gets hurt. Even helpful spirits are dangerous, because they don't understand the concept of death. They're more likely to kill the person they're trying to help sometimes.

Daemons are volatile mixtures of flesh and spirit, driven mad by a forced possession. They are created when a spirit is bound inside a corporeal body (generally one of the humanoid races, but animals will work too). They are twisted beasts that only have the slightest semblance of humanity, and use magic in their quest to wipe out every other race. Magic is the mark of a daemon, and it is hated, feared, and shunned. There are others who can use magic without becoming daemons, but they are mostly extinct.

In drawing upon souls, people can tap into the energy stored there, the same as spirits do. Daemons pull on their spirit-soul, as their human-soul is pulled apart by the strain. Human (or other race) magicians have two different "classes" - Fae magicians, and Ley magicians. Fae-users (from faerie, fey/fae folk) tap into their own soul, or can receive help from ancestor spirits. The downsides result in soul-sickness, or, in extreme cases, your soul is erased, leaving your body an empty shell. Generally, the body becomes fatigued before any of these come to pass.

Ley-users (from ley lines) use "artificial souls". They travel to Ley lines, and tap magic from the earth. They then tear apart their soul, giving part of it to an object, using the Ley lines as a grounder. It is traumatizing, and some people do not survive. The result, however, is an "artificial soul". Something with sentience and powerful abilities, which can be used by the creator. The price for using Ley magic is not as steep as the others, but it is still severe. The Ley users have a telepathic link with the object, and some Ley users have gone mad because of it. Overuse of Ley magic places strain on the artificial soul, but the user feels fatigue. If a Ley user doesn't trust their object, and if the object doesn't trust the user, the strain can lead to an early death. Ley magic didn't go extinct, but rather "diminished", to the point where the eyes are no longer affected. The Solhastr class of the army uses a "watered-down" version of Ley magic.

The casting of magic is unique to this world. Rather than incantations, or gestures, magic is cast through song. The last song-mages went extinct nearly a hundred years ago, but there are mentions of people who drove away evil with the purity of their song in the holy books (and this is why prayers are sung, and why singing is so important to these people).

An advanced agricultural society, relying on oil for energy. The forging of metals has been discovered, and is used in many different instances. The catapult, and other similar launching devices, have not been invented. The newest discovery is gunpowder, and while there are cannons, no one has invented the gun yet.

QUICK DISCLAIMER - I often say things are "based off of" cultures/practices/peoples that already exist. My interpretation of these concepts are based VERY LOOSELY off of these cultures/practices/peoples. I want my concepts to be original, and believable, and I don't wish to offend someone by saying it is "based off of" their culture/practice/people, but having it be very different than the original.

(Also, I am very wordy, so read at your own risk...)

MOONS

There are three moons orbiting Jupora, named Ket, Zhol, and Ahna. Ket is the smallest moon. Grey in color, it is associated with the spirit-god Quirin, and Ley magic. Zhol is a reddish-brown, and the largest of the three. It is associated with the spirit-god Karnost. Ahna is a blue-green-grey color, associated with the spirit-god Nythia. They all follow a yearly pattern through each of the four seasons. Starting with "winter" (December through February), there are no moons visible during the day, and all three of them are visible at night. "Spring" (March through May) has one moon visible during the day, Ket. "Summer" (June through August) has two moons visible during the day - both Ket and Zhol. "Autumn" (September through November) has all three moons visible during the day.

TIDES are also unique to Nythia. The autumn and winter months have high, powerful tides, making trade overseas practically impossible. Coastal people move inland around this time. During the spring and summer months, tides are less powerful, but more frequent, necessitating stilt houses. The coastal people have "cities" inland, and the adults will build temporary "towns" next to the water during this time.

NOCTURNAL animals also have a bi-yearly period. Different animals will have different periods, but there is the most activity between the winter and spring months. Hibernating nocturnal animals will have the best night vision, to hunt in the months where there are fewer moons in the sky.

RELIGION

Most religions are based off of the spirits, and the spirit world. Some religions, like the Trinity, will be based off of major spiritual figures, such as powerful traditional spirits or spirit-gods. Some places do not actively practice a religion, but they will still appease the spirits in the area.

THE TRINITY is the largest religion in Jupora, based off of the Christian mythos. It worships the three god-spirits Nythia, Quirin, and Karnost, as parts of one whole. Rather than praying for help from the spirits, the main focus of the Trinity is in following the practices of Nythia and Quirin, and in recognizing the god-spirits within us. The stories of the Trinity are written in the Holy Books, along with different hymns from the Golden Ages.

The mythos of the Trinity follows the creation of the world, along with the ascension of the god-spirits. The world was created by Nythia, the first being. Since there was nothing she could use to create, she used parts of herself to shape the world and everything in it. As she did so, she diminished in strength and power, living as a god-spirit, and watching the world. She is the god-spirit of "balance" and "justice". Karnost is the god-spirit of "destruction" and "evil". He was once a human, corrupted by his own sins. After his death, he ascended to a god-spirit. During his life, he waged war against his people. The person who arose and united them was Quirin, the spirit of "creation" and "good". He was selfless, leading his people to victory, while sacrificing himself. Like Karnost, Quirin ascended to become a god-spirit.

GENDER ROLES come from the Trinity's practices, which are common around the world. Man is both evil and good, creating and destroying, and that duality is reflected by Karnost and Quirin. Men rule the country and fight in the armies. Woman is the balancer, as Nythia is a female god-spirit. Women rule the justice system, and serve the churches. After all, if a man is blinded by his beliefs, how can he be truly balanced? And if a woman is balanced, how can she care enough about her country to be expected to die for it?

OTHER RELIGIONS will chose to worship or pray to other deities, and there are several cults dedicated to them. A common practice amongst Gamlarians is ancestor worship.

RACES AND GEOGRAPHY

There are two major continents in this world. The eastern continent is home to humans, elves, and daemons, and the western continent is home to the humans and the leronan. There are many islands, and there are several ley lines rinning through the continents.

GAMLAR is one of the homes of the humans. It is located on the west part of the east continent. It is forested, with a large plain in the south. The capitol is not located by a large body of water, but rather on the intersection of three ley lines. People in Gamlar generally have light skin and brown hair. Gamlar is based off of feudal Japan, with lords in charge of different areas of land, each under the king. The society is very militaristic, and it is currently at war with the creatures of the Daemon Wastes.

THE LAKELANDS are another home of the humans, located to the north of gamlar, and spanning across to the eastern continent. It is mainly an icy tundra, and it has many islands. The lakelanders have brown skin and dark hair. They trade goods from each continent. The lakelands are based off of inuit culture, living off of the sea.

NORTH KHIZA is the country located on the east continent, home to the leronan. The leronan stand around the same height as humans, with horns. They are born with black skin and white hair, and as they age, their hair gets darker as their skin gets lighter. An adult leronan will usually have brown skin and hair, until they are around 40-50, where the colors stop, and they have white skin and black hair. They live in tribes, (based off of several African tribes) living as nomads. They are hostile against humans, due to the second holy war.

SOUTH KHIZA is the country located south of North Khiza, also home to the leronan. These people have settled into rough "cities", and trade with Gamlar and Sian across the sea.

THE DAEMON WASTES consist of all the area east of the mountain range dividing the east continent. This is the area daemons are naturally drawn to, and it is where daemons first started appearing, as well. Little is known about the area. A ley line crosses it, laying underneath a large island off the coast, rumored to be Karnost's burial ground.

SIAN is the home of the elves, located south of Gamlar. It is mainly a rainforest biome, with ley lines running through it. Two major structures on the ley lines are the capitol, and the holy places near a collection of natural springs. Elves stand around 6.5 feet on average, with long limbs and big eyes. They have brown skin which can change to green as camoflague, and a thin tail tipped with fur. They usually have light hair, ranging from blonde to red.

BLOOD MAGIC

Bloodlines can be very important in magic, and in magical heritage. There are currently both children of Quirin and Nythia - Karnost's only son died young.

FIRSTBORN refers to the descendants of Nythia, from when she assumed a mortal form and had twins with a king. The son, Nhyran, conquered many areas of land, ruling over what would become Gamlar. The daughter is unknown to history. The line is traced through the firstborn child (which is always a daughter), and her children.

VESSELS are people who have been claimed by a spirit-god. In order for a Vessel to safely hold a spirit-god, they must have blood of the spirits running through their veins. Karnost's last Vessel was from a Firstborn line - he was the second child, son to Asha's grandmother.

SPIRITS

Spirits are categorized into three major categories based off of their ability and power. There are ghosts, traditional spirits, and god-spirits. Helpful or harmful, spirits are dangerous in that they do not understand the concept of death.

GHOSTS are spirits of the dead who haven't "passed on" to the spirit world. There are two types of ghosts - seeking spirits and ancestor spirits. Seeking spirits are spirits that still want something from the living world, be it vengeance or discovery. Ancestor spirits are spirits of protection, watching over ones they loved in life, typically their family.

TRADITIONAL SPIRITS are spirits that have undergone a "transformation" within the spirit world, shedding their mortal form once and for all. They are spirits of something, be it mischief spirits to elemental spirits.

GOD-SPIRITS are the most powerful of spirits, able to manipulate the very world as they see fit. Their power is limited, and two of them are Ascendants, humans who have died and become powerful enough to be a god-spirit. The three god-spirits are called the Trinity, the sum of everything - good, evil, and balance.

GEOGRAPHY

PLATE TECTONICS are very volatile, resulting in many volcanoes, tsunamis, and twisted mountain ranges. Islands are also abundant, although they are sparsely populated due to the tides.

LEY LINES run through the earth, and the joining of two or more ley lines is a spiritual place. Most capitols are built on these places, namely the capitols of Sian and Gamlar. The burial of Karnost's Vessel is also at the intersection of two ley lines. The power of the ley lines can be used like a river - ley magic is akin to using it for irrigation or power, but you can also use it for travel, which is near-instantaneous to any point the ley line runs through.