"I always knew it would have come to pass, but it is impossible to turn away from the burden I have chosen."
— Queen Micaiah I of Daein, on the subject of Sothe's passing.

Daein began its new life under the reign of Queen Micaiah and King Sothe as a nation surprisingly similar to Crimea. Under her reign initially, the people of Daein were slowly but surely beginning to turn away from their own prejudices towards the Laguz. Reconstruction efforts had advanced far more quickly than anticipated. The world sighed a collective sigh of relief that Daein wasn't going to suffer from another tyrant, another Ashnard.

But then, the cracks began to show once more. It began with the questions of Queen Micaiah's attachments to the newly-elevated Dawn Brigade. It wasn't just chronyism, her detractors posited, but an attachment of the heart that would not bear their shortened lifespans compared to hers. What of King Sothe? Would she be even more devastated if he passed before she?

The first came with members of the old Dawn Brigade. First it was Leonardo, passing at the end of a happy life, then Edward, then Laura, and Aran. With each one, the queen insisted that she would not lose sight of Daein's interests. The people were reassured at first, but still others felt this was a front...

Then, hardy Nolan, and still others.

As natural as their deaths were, each one reinforced to the people that Queen Micaiah's reign would span multiple generations. Each passing Dawn Brigader in turn reinforced to Micaiah that she couldn't see Daein as synonymous with her friends and loved ones solely.

When Sothe passed, something changed in Micaiah. While still outwardly kind and compassionate, her hand became heavier, her policies made with stronger force. Soon, the people noted that Daein's public officials had taken on an aesthetic bearing a strong resemblance to the Order of Dawn. It was as if Ashera had reawakened.

Today, the Knights Order of the New Dawn are the hand of Queen Micaiah. Outwardly chivalrous and righteous, they are seen outside of Daein as zealous enforcers. Queen Micaiah herself has fashioned herself as a mother to her people — many in Daein even worship her as a demigoddess in their own right, having lost a lot of awareness of her Branded heritage. She occupies the throne of Daein as a (mostly) benevolent ruler, though the years have given her a harsh, sharpened edge.

[[WIP, covers Daein]]

The Holy Order

BEGNION WIP

A Deserted Land

GOLDOA WIP

The Best Real Estate in Town

"This is the life! Not a single Blood Pact or binding contract with bearded gizzards, and a whole lot more land to get a proper view. It's all great..."
--reported closing statement in King Naesala's christening of the new Plutocracy of Kilvas.

It's as if every raven in Tellius woke up one morning and saw glimmers of coin in their eyes. With the Goddess satisfied and peaceful, the crows of Kilvas turned to the future of their island kingdom with a ... legitimate business. Rather than piracy, which would no longer pay the bills in the long term, Kilvas turned to doing what it had done under the table:

Sales of artifacts, deeds, rare property, and even archaeological finds. It's biggest customer for the first fifty or so years remained Begnion, but soon the more affluent across Tellius came to appreciate Kilvasian salesmanship. And soon, what was once a kingdom became an island of business moguls.

Arguably, the one to benefit the most from this new order in Kilvas was ex-King Naesala. In his older age, he had become something of an even greater fast-talker than he had previously been. He and his queen Leanne lived like a pair of playboys, though Leanne did have her share of concerns about their kingdom's new lavish practices.

To be perfectly fair, the real estate in Kilvas does have a killer ocean view on all sides. One could even see Phoenicis from Naesala's manor, where the Raven King routinely makes vulgar gestures to the eyes and ears of the Hawk King. It's a different kind of diplomacy, even if passingly familiar...
KILVAS WIP

A Bestial Empire

GALLIA WIP

The Peacekeeping Kingdom

CRIMEA

The Place of Fallen Angels

SERENES FOREST