WORLDBUILDING In a Maddening World: Lore Archives

[NewWaveOldie]

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OPEN SIGNUPS - OUT OF CHARACTER - In a Maddening World: OOC

This is the OOC thread for In a Maddening World, where we discuss OOC stuff. Character sheets thread will be separated, but you can upload drafts here before being approved to post the confirmed versions there.

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OPEN SIGNUPS - In a Maddening World: CS

Welcome to the lore thread. I will be posting lore details here, and any approved playermade lore can be posted here as well.

-Where do we start?

Folmburh, a town settled by travelers from other parts of the world-mostly sailors from the Starfalls- decades ago. It was an independent settlement at the edge of the lands, too quiet to be noticed by the local lords, until recently when the town's representative visited Hagane to ask for protection in return of joining the ranks of the Shogun. Great increase of werebeast problems was the issue.

It hasn't been solved, so far- Hagane's men are refraining from venturing too far out of town, just keeping guard of the town.

Folmburh is a town that most travelers arriving at the Reign pass by, acting as sort of a middle ground between the locals and the strangers.

 

[NewWaveOldie]

The World

The Map

The world is wide and ancient. It holds history stretching beyond human cognition, many of which forgotten through passage of time.
There was once when kingdoms around the world conversed with each other, with the help of brave travelers and advanced magic. But after ages of conflict, corruption, and degeneration, world wide contact has become more a rambling of a madman. Dangerous wild animals and wicked monsters roam the wilds, picking off unsuspecting or proud adventurers who think they can take on the dangers. Bandits and thieves pick off anything valuable from passerbies and their remains. Cultists practicing twisted magic lure weary wanderers into a trap. People fear what is outside the safety of the walls of their settlements.

"Twisted magic" is a broad term for magic that works in a less favorable, more evil way. They are not necessarily full on "ravage people" evil-it is a borad term, and even a mischievous prank, like making a rat's squeaking noise, can become twisted magic when used in such way. The most common perception is magic that requires physical sacrifice to wield-spells that eat off the caster's blood to work, spells that require an entire human sacrifice, so on and so forth. While many kingdoms ban the use of such magic on the surface, many utilize it for many reasons such as convenience.

The main setting of this rp will be the Reign of the Seven Lords, an end of a continent accompanied by six big bodies of land forming seven pieces of land-each controlled by a prominent Lord.

Pole of the People

The North Pole of these lands, a chunk of land mostly covered in snow and deadly cold. Life here has adapted to the unforgiving nature with special means. Native wildlife are beings of high magic potential, basic prowess innate to help survive the snowy lands. Civilization here is not big enough to form a kingdom, let alone a city. Small tribal villages remain here.

Crypt of the Great Worms

Wasteland that is said to be populated by giant worm-like creatures, called the Great Worms. Not much people live here, and people who do live here tend to live in constant fear of the Worms.
The Great Worms are a source of fear, but also power- people who are lucky enough to run into pieces of the Great Worms tend to use them as tools and armor, or consume them to accept the power within. While in the short term, it may give them great strength, in the long term many end up changing into monstrosities from the power.

Nine Beauties' Land

The name of this continent is from times lost in history. Its namesake is a mystery to people now. This continent has a long lasting history, where there are ages of war, ages of peace, and ages of mystery. Magic developed here are mostly deeply linked with nature, and the energy that flows through the universe. Major usage of such arts is medicine, healing, and divination.
There used to be one great kingdom with a few smaller ones centuries ago, only for the great kingdom to split into smaller ones.
While the continent boasted a large pantheon a long time ago, through the passage of time and a spiral of corruption, some left and some died. Only few remain, staying in the depths of woods and mountains like hermits and sharing wisdom only to those who travel far enough to visit them.

Archipelago Union of Starfalls

The Starfalls is a gathering of islands, along with a peninsula surrounded by some of those islands. Kingdoms and royal families warred against each other forever ever since the dawn of civilization. Magic here is destructive, focusing on usage in war. The mending of flesh is for warriors to return to the battlefield, and the flames are for burning down the castle doors and the armors. They also made great progress in the science of weapons, especially around the peninsula region with their high grade metal.

Heart Islands

Only hermits and sages are said to populate the Heart Islands. Rumors say that it is the only part of the world free from the suffering prevalent in other lands, guided by four holy beasts. Some others say it is just a false rumor to lure people in as sacrifices.

Flesh and Bones of the Killers

Bottomless pits reside, monsters ascending from the depths of its abyss to ravage all in their way. The Flesh and Bones of the Killers carried the heavy burden of keeping these monsters contained. The origins of these pits are unknown- some say that it is the curse that the Greatest Worm left to the world when it first lost during its conquest before the Crypt became its prison.
Magic in the Flesh and Bones concentrates on making warriors that rival the monsters they fight, maybe even becoming monsters themselves. These magical boons were strictly used only to battle the monsters coming out of the bottomless pits, never used in wars.
Their magic concentrates on enhancing a lifeform to be able to perform magical and physical activities beyond an average person- quite literally, making them into champions. They are also able to forge weapons that would not break against the monsters from below.

Sea Out of Reach

There are no rumors, only certain death. No one has returned from this sea alive.

Pole of the Beast

South end of the world, with ice chunks the size of islands broken by the movement of something underwater. Data regarding this part of the world is extremely outdated, as no one had the mind to fund any expedition to one of the most dangerous parts of the world.

 

[NewWaveOldie]

Reign of the Seven Lords:

Nicknamed the "Graveyard of gods", the Reign has a bloody history ever since the dawn of civilization. Various mystical beings filled the early era of the Reign with bloodshed of a mythical scale, eventually dying out to more human size as things settled down with a quite literal mountain of dead gods.
After the war of gods came war of people. People built civilizations that fought each other, hoping to one day be the true lord that controlled the entire seven bodies of land. The struggle continues on to this day, with no hope of peace being achieved any time soon.

Even in the era of people, the presence of mystical beings remains significant in the Reign. Many with varying strength hide in nature and in ruins, haunting or helping people. Some are worshipped by locals, earning themselves a shrine kept by local servants. Some lords gain the favor of a noticeably strong being, giving them worship and offerings in return.
With countless beings to worship out there, it is common to see people of the Reign "serve" multiple gods/beings. The degree of worship falls more to "everyday prayers" rather than "lifetime dedication" especially with lower ranking citizen, who are more often exposed to the harsh sides of living in the Reign. Various shrines may coexist in and nearby a single town, and a city of a lord may have a temple that holds a "pantheon" of these beings that the people serve.

Ranks of People(Generally)

There are Lords, and Nobles that serve the Lord, and the commonfolk that live under their reign.
Lords are essentially kings, who control amount of land that they secure by war. Nobles are exceptional people, either by a special bloodline or by gaining respect in battle, who are bestowed parts of the land by the Lord, and have rights over it as far as they serve the Lord.

While each body of land is represented by one Lord, who is the strongest of the land (and consequently, generally holds most of the land), there are Lords holding smaller amount of land as well. Some turn from a Noble under one Lord to a Lord themselves- essentially crowning themselves in search of greater power. Some rise to power in the chaos of war, gaining enough respect by people that they rise to the place of a Lord. There are many other methods- but generally it comes down to having the power to become one.

Power seems to be a common justification, and a clear way of climbing up the hierarchy. Commonfolk can partake in battles, and with great accomplishments, gain the respect of a Noble, or even the Lord. With enough deeds done in the battlefield, even commonfolk of no name could rise to the place of a Noble, and maybe, even a Lord.

The Fox (A mythical being)

Among the various beings existing across the Reign, one remains a consistent presence. The old Fox, a mythical creature that is said to have survived through the ancient bloodshed and to this day. There are varying stories of the things the Fox did, told through bedtime stories, myths, songs and so on and so forth. Sometimes the Fox is a joyous trickster, messing around with little things and then getting a laugh off of the annoyed human. Sometimes it is a cruel tormenter, its "tricks" costing a person an entire life. It is generally agreed by various people who chase the Fox that it is not wise to try understanding its intentions, as it is seemingly beyond human understanding.

One big trait of the Fox is that it excels at transformation. Stories tell of it turning into a frog, a traveler, or even the winds in a forest. There are cases of attempts to replicate this legendary trait-often ending in a cautionary tale of "dare not to outdo the Fox."

The various curses that turn people into beasts is said to have originated from the Fox as well, usually coming from tales of a traveler asking the Fox to teach them its wisdom, only to be cursed with an involuntary transformation that cursed them and their bloodline for eternity. One interesting thing related to this is that, while there are many cases of people turning into beasts such as bears or wolves, there is yet to be a werefox found. People who point the Fox as the source of the curse speculate that it does not wish the curse to taint its fellow fox.

The Seven Lords (more to be added)

The Seven Lords:
The seven lands have no designated name that people call it with. Each landmass changes name every time a new Lord rises to power, as a way to announce their reign.

-Hagane
The "Shogun" of his land. The Hagane Shogun Achieved near perfect unification of his land, and would have been the first to achieve such feat in the last few centuries. However, his great conquest for unification was halted when one of his trusted generals raised a flag of their own. More generals fell off, each with their own ideals, and Hagane began to suffer from a sudden increase of conflict within his lands.
The Shogun began using more drastic, violent measures. Compared to the more peaceful and respectful treatments when he united the land before, he used merciless tactics, executing enemy generals without mercy and enslaving commonfolk under them. He is also one of the few to openly use twisted magic, powering soldiers with blood sacrifices and sinister spirits.
His reign has continued for over a century, and it is now a known unknown that he is no longer a "human".

-Mizunomiya
Descendant of a legendary Lord that is said to have revolutionized the Reign's naval tactics, Mizunomiya is one of the rare Lords to extend their reach out of the land they started in. Having inherited the passion for securing the sea, the Lord was able to stretch over to neighboring lands. But the expansion may be taking a toll on their control, especially as of recent as other Lords have begun to retaliate slowly, but surely.