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(WIP)
THE EMPIRE OF THE GREEN SEA
Let us live crowned in glory, or let us swear in glory to die!
National
Capital: Esperanta
Government Type: Collective Monarchy
Currency: The Izar, a coin made of green glass.
Population: 7,751,300
Realm Size: 44
Unique Traits:
Unique Flaws:
Geographical
Racial
Majority Race: Humans of the Green Sea
Majority Race Appearance: The humans of the Green Sea are renowned for their sun-kissed skin, dark hair and soft triangular features. In the southernmost islands, eye folds are a common trait, while the people of Rivena and Vinazora are commonly associated with bright green eyes.
Majority Race Characteristics: Because most humans of the Green Sea have historically spent their lives near the aforementioned sea, they tend to develop the physique most cultures associate with swimmers. Superficial details aside, however, these humans are ultimately not too diferent from their peers. Only a handful have ever lived past the age of ninety, and what they lack in specific affinities, they make up for it with adaptability.
Minority Race: Elves of the Green Sea
Minority Race Apearance: The elves of the Green Sea are extremely pale, soft-faced, and yellow-eyed. They are best known for their vibrant hair colours, four-fingered hands, and small, flat noses. Their ears, much like those of most other elves, are long, although in the particular case of the elves of the Green Sea they are not pointed.
Minority Race Characteristics: Technically not true elves, the elves of the Green Sea developed separately and in almost complete isolation from their peers for most of their early history, only occasionally coming into contact with humans. In those terms, these elves did not grow to share the intelligence commonly attributed to most elves, and they are remarkably short-lived, with few living past the age of sixty. Their most defining trait is what the humans who first met them referred to as 'spiritual distance'.The elves of the Green Sea are a contemplative people, who often see the world around them from a detached perspective, and interpretate events as part of a greater whole. In terms of physique, elves of the Green Sea are taller and nimbler than most humans, but also weaker.
Religion & Magic
State Religion: Green Sea Dryadicism
Religious Information: Dryadicism has been a part of the Green Sea since its very inception. However, long before the first monks from Eve reached the Old Kingdoms of Spring and Autumn, a plethora of faiths existed in a constant state of flux and strife, scattered through the shores and islands. Among these, the most powerful were the Cosmic Ocean worship of the elves of the Green Sea, brought to the region by the exodus from Tianxia, and the hero worship of the Celeste dynasty. Many religious wars had already broken out before the arrival of Dryadicism to the Green Sea, and the clashes only intensified after Dryadicism became the state religion of Nezmenia and its allies. The strained relations between the many faiths of the region were only eased with the détente known as the Treaty of Almada, which forced the local religious authorities to practise a certain degree of syncretism by integrating the old rituals of the elves and the Celeste dynasty to Dryadicist doctrine and ordaining many Celeste dynasty scholar-priests and elven clergymen as Dryadicist monks and mothers.
Because of the Treaty of Almada, the Dryadicism in the Green Sea is quite different from the Dryadicism of Eve. While the Cradle Pantheon remains a fundamental part of the everyday rituals and lectures inside the temples in the larger cities, outside of them the Cosmic Ocean and the heroes of the Celeste dynasty continue to be many people's favourites, although they are now interpreted as belonging to the overarching, broader pantheon of Dryadicism. Religious festivals in most areas tend to focus on the moon, the stars and the sea, except in Nezmenia and Vinazora, where their farming and gardening heritage draws them to worshipping deities related to fertility and the seasons. Nobles and commoners alike tend to pray at small shrines built in honour of folk heroes, rather than the Dryadicist temples.
Religion Demographics: The vast majority of the empire's population are Green Sea Dryadicists, although not uniformly so. In Calestia, Sorne and Naia, Cosmic Ocean worship is still practised in a relatively pure form by most. In Nezmenia and Zoraido, on the other hand, traditional Dryadicism continues to be the state religion, and the population is actively encouraged to worship the original Cradle Pantheon.
Holy Relics In Possession:
- The Coral Mask of Felifero the Water Dancer
- The Halberd of Ludovica the Sea Serpent
- The Heart of Ludovica the Sea Serpent
- The Crown of Moonsteel and Starstone
- The Seal of Flordesal
Magical Schools and Curriculum: The only proper schools of magic in the Green Sea are in Estelara, Calesta and Esperanta. Elsewhere, magical education is handled informally, and often reserved for aspiring Dryadicist clergy and the children of wealthy landowners. The school in Calesta is the eldest, established by Dryadicists during their second landing on the island, whereas the school in Esperanta was founded in the early days of Tomas the Great's reign, when the king of Rivena and Vinazora found himself needing trained healers and gardeners.
The curriculum in all three schools is mostly identical, with emphasis placed on healing, mutative organic transmutation, accelerated growth, and other forms of enviromental manipulation. Because of Nezmenia's history of militarism, however, the school in Estelara also focuses on self-transmutation, barriers, and basic elemental magic. In Calesta, on the other hand, over the past few years its masters have developed a fascination with the study of the mind, and have thus dedicated a significant part of their curriculum to telepathy and illusion magic.
Military
Total Military Size (See Guide For Info)
Military Details (Unit Types and distribution of numbers)
National Dramatis Personae
Monarchs
Ruling Dynasties:
- Jurisa in Rivena, Vinazora and Aveluz
- Vucoya in Nezmenia
- Vicenç in Ucariana
- Silveira in Lucoral
- Fozana in Calesta
- Udane in Naia and Sorne
- Luciernas in Zoraido
Constable Of The Army (If applicable):
Religious Head (If Applicable):
Persons of interest:
HEROIC DRAMATIS PERSONAE
- Radu Dalca
- Viorica Negrescu
- Leirkev
CULTURAL
-History
-List of Historical Grievances
-Relations
-Cultural Notes
Let us live crowned in glory, or let us swear in glory to die!
National
Capital: Esperanta
Government Type: Collective Monarchy
Currency: The Izar, a coin made of green glass.
Population: 7,751,300
Realm Size: 44
Unique Traits:
Unique Flaws:
Geographical
Racial
Majority Race: Humans of the Green Sea
Majority Race Appearance: The humans of the Green Sea are renowned for their sun-kissed skin, dark hair and soft triangular features. In the southernmost islands, eye folds are a common trait, while the people of Rivena and Vinazora are commonly associated with bright green eyes.
Majority Race Characteristics: Because most humans of the Green Sea have historically spent their lives near the aforementioned sea, they tend to develop the physique most cultures associate with swimmers. Superficial details aside, however, these humans are ultimately not too diferent from their peers. Only a handful have ever lived past the age of ninety, and what they lack in specific affinities, they make up for it with adaptability.
Minority Race: Elves of the Green Sea
Minority Race Apearance: The elves of the Green Sea are extremely pale, soft-faced, and yellow-eyed. They are best known for their vibrant hair colours, four-fingered hands, and small, flat noses. Their ears, much like those of most other elves, are long, although in the particular case of the elves of the Green Sea they are not pointed.
Minority Race Characteristics: Technically not true elves, the elves of the Green Sea developed separately and in almost complete isolation from their peers for most of their early history, only occasionally coming into contact with humans. In those terms, these elves did not grow to share the intelligence commonly attributed to most elves, and they are remarkably short-lived, with few living past the age of sixty. Their most defining trait is what the humans who first met them referred to as 'spiritual distance'.The elves of the Green Sea are a contemplative people, who often see the world around them from a detached perspective, and interpretate events as part of a greater whole. In terms of physique, elves of the Green Sea are taller and nimbler than most humans, but also weaker.
Religion & Magic
State Religion: Green Sea Dryadicism
Religious Information: Dryadicism has been a part of the Green Sea since its very inception. However, long before the first monks from Eve reached the Old Kingdoms of Spring and Autumn, a plethora of faiths existed in a constant state of flux and strife, scattered through the shores and islands. Among these, the most powerful were the Cosmic Ocean worship of the elves of the Green Sea, brought to the region by the exodus from Tianxia, and the hero worship of the Celeste dynasty. Many religious wars had already broken out before the arrival of Dryadicism to the Green Sea, and the clashes only intensified after Dryadicism became the state religion of Nezmenia and its allies. The strained relations between the many faiths of the region were only eased with the détente known as the Treaty of Almada, which forced the local religious authorities to practise a certain degree of syncretism by integrating the old rituals of the elves and the Celeste dynasty to Dryadicist doctrine and ordaining many Celeste dynasty scholar-priests and elven clergymen as Dryadicist monks and mothers.
Because of the Treaty of Almada, the Dryadicism in the Green Sea is quite different from the Dryadicism of Eve. While the Cradle Pantheon remains a fundamental part of the everyday rituals and lectures inside the temples in the larger cities, outside of them the Cosmic Ocean and the heroes of the Celeste dynasty continue to be many people's favourites, although they are now interpreted as belonging to the overarching, broader pantheon of Dryadicism. Religious festivals in most areas tend to focus on the moon, the stars and the sea, except in Nezmenia and Vinazora, where their farming and gardening heritage draws them to worshipping deities related to fertility and the seasons. Nobles and commoners alike tend to pray at small shrines built in honour of folk heroes, rather than the Dryadicist temples.
Religion Demographics: The vast majority of the empire's population are Green Sea Dryadicists, although not uniformly so. In Calestia, Sorne and Naia, Cosmic Ocean worship is still practised in a relatively pure form by most. In Nezmenia and Zoraido, on the other hand, traditional Dryadicism continues to be the state religion, and the population is actively encouraged to worship the original Cradle Pantheon.
Holy Relics In Possession:
- The Coral Mask of Felifero the Water Dancer
- The Halberd of Ludovica the Sea Serpent
- The Heart of Ludovica the Sea Serpent
- The Crown of Moonsteel and Starstone
- The Seal of Flordesal
Magical Schools and Curriculum: The only proper schools of magic in the Green Sea are in Estelara, Calesta and Esperanta. Elsewhere, magical education is handled informally, and often reserved for aspiring Dryadicist clergy and the children of wealthy landowners. The school in Calesta is the eldest, established by Dryadicists during their second landing on the island, whereas the school in Esperanta was founded in the early days of Tomas the Great's reign, when the king of Rivena and Vinazora found himself needing trained healers and gardeners.
The curriculum in all three schools is mostly identical, with emphasis placed on healing, mutative organic transmutation, accelerated growth, and other forms of enviromental manipulation. Because of Nezmenia's history of militarism, however, the school in Estelara also focuses on self-transmutation, barriers, and basic elemental magic. In Calesta, on the other hand, over the past few years its masters have developed a fascination with the study of the mind, and have thus dedicated a significant part of their curriculum to telepathy and illusion magic.
Military
Total Military Size (See Guide For Info)
Military Details (Unit Types and distribution of numbers)
National Dramatis Personae
Monarchs
Ruling Dynasties:
- Jurisa in Rivena, Vinazora and Aveluz
- Vucoya in Nezmenia
- Vicenç in Ucariana
- Silveira in Lucoral
- Fozana in Calesta
- Udane in Naia and Sorne
- Luciernas in Zoraido
Constable Of The Army (If applicable):
Religious Head (If Applicable):
Persons of interest:
HEROIC DRAMATIS PERSONAE
- Radu Dalca
- Viorica Negrescu
- Leirkev
CULTURAL
-History
-List of Historical Grievances
-Relations
-Cultural Notes
Oh, I love this concept. Sign me up. :3
Hey, sorry for not advancing much with my NS. College and family have kept me away from my keyboard for the past few days.
House Name: House Celeste
Head of House: Tomas Celeste II
Specialty: Despite the many centuries of dynastic changes and usurpations, the name of Celeste continues to be this ancient house's most valued treasure, and its mightiest weapon, to this very day. Although the Prince in the Saltflower is not lacking in coin, halberds or warships, all three pale in comparison to the influence that the Celestes' reputation has given them over the nobles, merchants, mercenaries and bankers of the known world for the past generations.
The Celestes have close ties to several houses, many of whom have willingly played the part of House Celeste's puppets in the past, and are friends to all the great banks and guilds, who trust them to always honour their debts and be generous to those in need. They can hire the most expensive mercenaries and corsairs with mere promises of payment, and it has often been said that, if he wished to, the Prince in the Saltflower could easily persuade many of the bannermen of houses greater than his to swear fealty to him.
Since the reign of Tomas the Great, the power of House Celeste's prestige has been embodied by the Saltkisses. These coins, made of turquoise glass, are crafted by the Glassmakers' Guild of the Saltflower. Featuring the white betta fish and saltflower of the Celestes, they are given to members and servants of the house as proof of their fealty. So long as they speak the words 'juvelo maraĵa', anybody who carries a Saltkiss may request protection, food, coin, transport, and even luxury goods from any friend of House Celeste. Because of how valuable they are, Saltkisses cannot be bought or sold, and House Celeste harshly punishes those found carrying a Saltkiss without their approval.
In short, the Celestes are one of Elyden's most respected and trusted houses, renowned for their virtue and good judgement. Few men doubt their honesty, and even fewer would willingly become their enemies, aware that to do so would mean undermining their own reputation. Most sovereigns who seek to improve their standing in Elyden, and swell their ranks and coffers, know that the Celestes are the ones to turn to.
Ancestral Weapon: The Coral Mask, made from white gold, coral, dyed saltstone and lapislazuli, with a long cloak of turquoise sea silk. It is said to have been crafted by mermaids and wielded by Zehyrine the Water Dancer, a hero of the Brava Celestes, during the Wyrm Wars. According to legend, it gave Zephyrine the power to become a spirit of the oceans, able to hide under the sea for years at a time, rule over the creatures of the sea, and build castles from the stone, salt and coral of the seas. With it, Zephyrine lived amongst the waves for centuries, impervious to the might of his foes, until he returned to the surface to lead his people in the Salvation of the Saltflower. Using the power of the Coral Mask to walk on the surface of the water as he felled the six Blacksea Wyrms with his halberd.
Important members:
Realm's Name: Ĉiela, also known as Northern Odesh
Sigil: A white betta fish, craddling a white saltflower, over a turquoise sea.
House Words: Ours are the Thrones of Heaven and Sea
Race name: Ĉiel Odeshians
Racial appearance: Ĉiel Odeshians are not too different from other Odeshians. Their skin is sun-kissed, and their hair is usually a rich brown. What distinguishes them from their neighbours is their slender build and grey eyes. Also, some Ĉiel Odeshians are born with blonde or auburn hair instead of brown. Regardless of colour, Ĉiel Odeshians grow their hair long, and either wear it loose or tie the back of it in a ponytail.
Racial traits: Some of the best fishermen, farmers and winemakers in Elyden were born and raised in the lush fields of Greenwyne and the plentiful waters of the Saltflower. Even during Tomas the Great's war-ridden reign, Ĉiel Odeshians' famed skills at providing the realm with abundant harvests, and wines of the best quality, remained unparalleled. Throughout the continent, the products of Ĉiela, in particular the green wines from Greenwyne, are always in high demand. Asides from food and wine, the Ĉiel Odeshians' penchant for agriculture and fishery also yields some of the known world's best herbs for alchemy and medicine.
Capital:
Capital Population:
Other Major Settlements:
Population:
Culture: The people of Ĉiela are commonly perceived as placid, practical and honest. Cultured, demure and optimistic, they enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and care very little for traditions. Customs in Ĉiela are in a constant state of flux, seldom clearly defined, and what codes of conduct persist are loose and flexible. There is little social pressure to conform to a particular lifestyle, faith, or social role, and the Ĉiel Odeshian national identity is more deeply rooted in House Celeste's long history than in age-old ideals and practices. Because of this, most Ĉiel Odeshians place personal growth and leisure above all else, although they also abide by Zephyrine the Water Dancer's Law of the Seasons:
Relish the bloom of the Spring and the warmth of the Summer, but do not poison the Autumn with your withered flowers and scorching heat. Revere the Autumn, and beware the snows of the Winter. And, above all, accompany others in their Springs, their Summers, their Autumns, and their Winters, for lonely seasons are dead seasons.
The majority of Ĉiel Odeshians interpret this ancient proverb as encouraging of a harmonious and liberal way of life, and this is reflected in their eating and dressing habits. There is no clearly defined universal style of clothing in Ĉiela, as people have a variety of local and foreign attires in the Saltflower's markets to suit their individual tastes, although ostentatiousness is frowned upon, and due both to the warm climate they live in, and their distate for hunting, most Ĉiel Odeshians do not wear fur or leather. The two only constants in Ĉiel Odeshian clothing are colour and fabric, as pale blue and green have been the historical favourites, and sea silk remains the most popular material.
When it comes to food and eating in Ĉiela, on the other hand, there are some common practices. In particular, Ĉiel Odeshians are fond of their trademark green wine, blood oranges and olives, which are the main features in most meals. Furthermore, in most households, breakfast and lunch are had standing up in the open air by the tables. However, eating habits, much like dressing customs, are ultimately influenced by the exotic food that comes to the Saltflower every day, and although the enjoyment of fine food and drink is accepted and even encouraged, Ĉiel Odeshians have no tolerance for gluttony or crapulence. They perceive them as vices which, like pretentious clothing, are 'poisonous' excesses that ultimately hinder one's growth and spiritual health.
As far as art and music are concerned, the Odeshian style is the common denominator, but a synthesis of various other styles, inspired in no small part by the works imported from exotic lands, makes up the bulk of art in Ĉiela. Most Ĉiel Odeshians these days prefer music played on woodwind instruments, literature written in prose, and oil paintings. Works are usually based on Ĉiel Odeshian history and folklore, and tend to have a soothing style, with no excessive ornamentations. In these terms, the most beloved work of literature in Ĉiela is the epic novel titled Romance of Two Saltflowers, written by the Taurician author Sera Fashir.
In the past, the lands of House Celeste were considered a haven for philosophers and theologians, and several famous teatrises were written in the Saltflower, under the Celestes' patronage, and then spread throughout the continent by their traders. Unfortunately, House Celeste's vassalage to House Whiteshorn dampened this part of Ĉiel Odeshian culture. The situation that only worsened as the Church of Kammeth gained more power in the land, until Tomas the Great's wars marked the end of Ĉiel Odeshian philosophy and theology, since most scholars fled the Saltflower and Greenwyne as his opponents laid siege to both, and many of those who were left were banished for siding with said opponents.
Faith in Ĉiela, on the other hand, is a more complex matter. Before the first Dawnbringers reached the Saltflower or Greenwyne, there were three major faiths in the realm, and to this day they remain alive, if changed by time.
In Greenwyne, most worshiped the panentheistic deity alternatively referred to as the Green Sigh, the Green Voice, the Green Breeze, or the Green Breath. An entity whose will was expressed through the motions of the natural world, it was the god of Spring and harvests, whom the people of Greenwyne prayed to daily, and in whose honour great festivals were held during every solstice.
In the Saltflower, Ĉiel Odeshians combined the veneration of great ancestors and folk heroes, especially those related to the sea, with the Heaven worship brought by House Celeste when they first landed on Elyden. The syncretism practised by most Ĉiel Odeshians eventually led to the former becoming assimilated by the latter, until the great Celestes of old began to be revered as avatars of the Celestial Ocean.
Once the Church of Kammeth arrived at Ĉiela, a long period of resistance was followed by another syncretist movement. In time, the people of Greenwyne adopted an interpretation of Kammeth and His dogma more in line with the tenets of the Green Voice, while the foreign Dawnbringers and Enlightened were slowly displaced in the Saltflower by a new local clergy. Called the Doves and Swans, these priests and priestesses were under House Celeste patronage, and tasked with adapting the Kamthein faith to the traditions of the Ĉiel Odeshians. The result were the infamous Heavenly Lyrics, a substantial reformulation of Kamthein scriptures. Many of the original sacraments and commandments were either rephrased or removed in their entirety. The outrage over the Heavenly Lyrics was such that House Celeste was threatened with a punitive expedition from its more pious neighbours, and was finally forced to officially denounce the Doves and Swans as heretics and drive most of them underground. The controversy left its mark in Ĉiel Odeshian culture, however, and to this day there are Doves and Swans in the Saltflower who preach the Heavenly Lyrics in the underground markets and inns.
Nowadays, while the traditional Kamthein faith is publicly acknowledge by House Celeste as the only true faith, several others continue to thrive. The more discreet Doves and Swans continue to have a place in the Celeste court, shrines to the Green Voice still stand in Greenwyne, and the worshippers of Valarien Paragon far outnumber Kammeth's. Additionally, the heads of House Celeste continue to claim the title of Son of Heaven, or Daughter of Heaven, thereby keeping with the pre-Kamthein traditions of Heaven worship.
In matters of love and marriage, Ĉiel Odeshians have historically been decried as licentious and inconsiderate, with little regard for propriety. They are perceived as prone to succumbing to their lust and treating their vows with nonchalance.
Indeed, Ĉiel Odeshians typically approach marriage as a mere practical arrangement between two individuals. While arranged marriages are frowned upon, and most couples who wed share a certain fondness for one another, few are the cases where they are truly in love with one another, and they are not expected to lead a monogamous life. Married couples in Ĉiela normally keep paramours, sometimes separately, sometimes jointly. So long as those who keep paramours are open about it, their relationship is accepted by their peers, and the paramours gain a status barely below that of a spouse. Many times, the paramours may come from the polyamorous relationships that young Ĉiel Odeshians traditionally have before marrying.
Intimate relationships between people of the same gender have been widely accepted since the days of Zephyrine the Water Dancer, and some of the most popular plays and songs that are performed in public feature romances between characters of the same gender.
Type of Government: Celestial Monarchy. Since the days of the first Celestes, that is how scholars have referred to the system through which the ancient house has ruled over Ĉiela for so many centuries. A concept imported from the mysterious lands from which the first Celestes came, the Celestial Monarchy is a divine monarchy of sorts. The sovereign of Ĉiela is the Son of Heaven, and traditionally also the Prince in the Saltflower and the Grand Duke in Greenwyne. His rule is legitimized, not by blood, but by the Mandate of Heaven. This mandate is embodied by the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, a seal of white jade, made in the form of a leaping betta fish, which passes from one Son of Heaven to the next.
Since the Celestial Monarchy is based on the perceived will of Heaven, rather than kinship, the succession of the Son of Heaven is not as lineal as in other nations, nor is the legitimacy of an incumbent Son of Heaven unquestionable. A Son of Heaven may choose to be succeeded by a second child, rather than his firstborn, or even by a distant cousin. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on succession based on gender, which in the past led to the rise several famous Daughters of Heaven. And when a Son of Heaven was proven to be irredeemably corrupt or incompetent, it was considered legitimate, under the rules of succession, for a rebel to usurp the incumbent Son of Heaven.
Another consequence of the allegedly divine nature of this monarchy is that, in theory, the word of the Son of Heaven is holy law. However, since that principle ceased to be abided by during the reigns of the Greenfish and the Redfish, and ever since then the power of the Son of Heaven, while great in its own right, has never been absolute. These days, the Son of Heaven often delegates most of Ĉiela's administration to his Masters of War and Peace, men and women of high birth and renown, handpicked by the Son of Heaven to assist him in his rule.
While the Son of Heaven is, in principle, the ruler of both the Saltflower and Greenwyne, in truth the latter has historically been governed by a group of Masters of War and Peace, usually close kinsmen and women of the Son of Heaven.
Influence and relations:
Military -
(Details on the amount and types of men available. Any war vessels from navies, go here as well, it would be important to note as this is a Middle age Setting that relies largely one levies, no one has the funds for a standing army, aside from the Phoenix Throne.)
Landscape:
Wildlife:
History:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Export:
Import:
Head of House: Tomas Celeste II
Specialty: Despite the many centuries of dynastic changes and usurpations, the name of Celeste continues to be this ancient house's most valued treasure, and its mightiest weapon, to this very day. Although the Prince in the Saltflower is not lacking in coin, halberds or warships, all three pale in comparison to the influence that the Celestes' reputation has given them over the nobles, merchants, mercenaries and bankers of the known world for the past generations.
The Celestes have close ties to several houses, many of whom have willingly played the part of House Celeste's puppets in the past, and are friends to all the great banks and guilds, who trust them to always honour their debts and be generous to those in need. They can hire the most expensive mercenaries and corsairs with mere promises of payment, and it has often been said that, if he wished to, the Prince in the Saltflower could easily persuade many of the bannermen of houses greater than his to swear fealty to him.
Since the reign of Tomas the Great, the power of House Celeste's prestige has been embodied by the Saltkisses. These coins, made of turquoise glass, are crafted by the Glassmakers' Guild of the Saltflower. Featuring the white betta fish and saltflower of the Celestes, they are given to members and servants of the house as proof of their fealty. So long as they speak the words 'juvelo maraĵa', anybody who carries a Saltkiss may request protection, food, coin, transport, and even luxury goods from any friend of House Celeste. Because of how valuable they are, Saltkisses cannot be bought or sold, and House Celeste harshly punishes those found carrying a Saltkiss without their approval.
In short, the Celestes are one of Elyden's most respected and trusted houses, renowned for their virtue and good judgement. Few men doubt their honesty, and even fewer would willingly become their enemies, aware that to do so would mean undermining their own reputation. Most sovereigns who seek to improve their standing in Elyden, and swell their ranks and coffers, know that the Celestes are the ones to turn to.
Ancestral Weapon: The Coral Mask, made from white gold, coral, dyed saltstone and lapislazuli, with a long cloak of turquoise sea silk. It is said to have been crafted by mermaids and wielded by Zehyrine the Water Dancer, a hero of the Brava Celestes, during the Wyrm Wars. According to legend, it gave Zephyrine the power to become a spirit of the oceans, able to hide under the sea for years at a time, rule over the creatures of the sea, and build castles from the stone, salt and coral of the seas. With it, Zephyrine lived amongst the waves for centuries, impervious to the might of his foes, until he returned to the surface to lead his people in the Salvation of the Saltflower. Using the power of the Coral Mask to walk on the surface of the water as he felled the six Blacksea Wyrms with his halberd.
Important members:
Realm's Name: Ĉiela, also known as Northern Odesh
Sigil: A white betta fish, craddling a white saltflower, over a turquoise sea.
House Words: Ours are the Thrones of Heaven and Sea
Race name: Ĉiel Odeshians
Racial appearance: Ĉiel Odeshians are not too different from other Odeshians. Their skin is sun-kissed, and their hair is usually a rich brown. What distinguishes them from their neighbours is their slender build and grey eyes. Also, some Ĉiel Odeshians are born with blonde or auburn hair instead of brown. Regardless of colour, Ĉiel Odeshians grow their hair long, and either wear it loose or tie the back of it in a ponytail.
Racial traits: Some of the best fishermen, farmers and winemakers in Elyden were born and raised in the lush fields of Greenwyne and the plentiful waters of the Saltflower. Even during Tomas the Great's war-ridden reign, Ĉiel Odeshians' famed skills at providing the realm with abundant harvests, and wines of the best quality, remained unparalleled. Throughout the continent, the products of Ĉiela, in particular the green wines from Greenwyne, are always in high demand. Asides from food and wine, the Ĉiel Odeshians' penchant for agriculture and fishery also yields some of the known world's best herbs for alchemy and medicine.
Capital:
Capital Population:
Other Major Settlements:
Population:
Culture: The people of Ĉiela are commonly perceived as placid, practical and honest. Cultured, demure and optimistic, they enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and care very little for traditions. Customs in Ĉiela are in a constant state of flux, seldom clearly defined, and what codes of conduct persist are loose and flexible. There is little social pressure to conform to a particular lifestyle, faith, or social role, and the Ĉiel Odeshian national identity is more deeply rooted in House Celeste's long history than in age-old ideals and practices. Because of this, most Ĉiel Odeshians place personal growth and leisure above all else, although they also abide by Zephyrine the Water Dancer's Law of the Seasons:
The majority of Ĉiel Odeshians interpret this ancient proverb as encouraging of a harmonious and liberal way of life, and this is reflected in their eating and dressing habits. There is no clearly defined universal style of clothing in Ĉiela, as people have a variety of local and foreign attires in the Saltflower's markets to suit their individual tastes, although ostentatiousness is frowned upon, and due both to the warm climate they live in, and their distate for hunting, most Ĉiel Odeshians do not wear fur or leather. The two only constants in Ĉiel Odeshian clothing are colour and fabric, as pale blue and green have been the historical favourites, and sea silk remains the most popular material.
When it comes to food and eating in Ĉiela, on the other hand, there are some common practices. In particular, Ĉiel Odeshians are fond of their trademark green wine, blood oranges and olives, which are the main features in most meals. Furthermore, in most households, breakfast and lunch are had standing up in the open air by the tables. However, eating habits, much like dressing customs, are ultimately influenced by the exotic food that comes to the Saltflower every day, and although the enjoyment of fine food and drink is accepted and even encouraged, Ĉiel Odeshians have no tolerance for gluttony or crapulence. They perceive them as vices which, like pretentious clothing, are 'poisonous' excesses that ultimately hinder one's growth and spiritual health.
As far as art and music are concerned, the Odeshian style is the common denominator, but a synthesis of various other styles, inspired in no small part by the works imported from exotic lands, makes up the bulk of art in Ĉiela. Most Ĉiel Odeshians these days prefer music played on woodwind instruments, literature written in prose, and oil paintings. Works are usually based on Ĉiel Odeshian history and folklore, and tend to have a soothing style, with no excessive ornamentations. In these terms, the most beloved work of literature in Ĉiela is the epic novel titled Romance of Two Saltflowers, written by the Taurician author Sera Fashir.
In the past, the lands of House Celeste were considered a haven for philosophers and theologians, and several famous teatrises were written in the Saltflower, under the Celestes' patronage, and then spread throughout the continent by their traders. Unfortunately, House Celeste's vassalage to House Whiteshorn dampened this part of Ĉiel Odeshian culture. The situation that only worsened as the Church of Kammeth gained more power in the land, until Tomas the Great's wars marked the end of Ĉiel Odeshian philosophy and theology, since most scholars fled the Saltflower and Greenwyne as his opponents laid siege to both, and many of those who were left were banished for siding with said opponents.
Faith in Ĉiela, on the other hand, is a more complex matter. Before the first Dawnbringers reached the Saltflower or Greenwyne, there were three major faiths in the realm, and to this day they remain alive, if changed by time.
In Greenwyne, most worshiped the panentheistic deity alternatively referred to as the Green Sigh, the Green Voice, the Green Breeze, or the Green Breath. An entity whose will was expressed through the motions of the natural world, it was the god of Spring and harvests, whom the people of Greenwyne prayed to daily, and in whose honour great festivals were held during every solstice.
In the Saltflower, Ĉiel Odeshians combined the veneration of great ancestors and folk heroes, especially those related to the sea, with the Heaven worship brought by House Celeste when they first landed on Elyden. The syncretism practised by most Ĉiel Odeshians eventually led to the former becoming assimilated by the latter, until the great Celestes of old began to be revered as avatars of the Celestial Ocean.
Once the Church of Kammeth arrived at Ĉiela, a long period of resistance was followed by another syncretist movement. In time, the people of Greenwyne adopted an interpretation of Kammeth and His dogma more in line with the tenets of the Green Voice, while the foreign Dawnbringers and Enlightened were slowly displaced in the Saltflower by a new local clergy. Called the Doves and Swans, these priests and priestesses were under House Celeste patronage, and tasked with adapting the Kamthein faith to the traditions of the Ĉiel Odeshians. The result were the infamous Heavenly Lyrics, a substantial reformulation of Kamthein scriptures. Many of the original sacraments and commandments were either rephrased or removed in their entirety. The outrage over the Heavenly Lyrics was such that House Celeste was threatened with a punitive expedition from its more pious neighbours, and was finally forced to officially denounce the Doves and Swans as heretics and drive most of them underground. The controversy left its mark in Ĉiel Odeshian culture, however, and to this day there are Doves and Swans in the Saltflower who preach the Heavenly Lyrics in the underground markets and inns.
Nowadays, while the traditional Kamthein faith is publicly acknowledge by House Celeste as the only true faith, several others continue to thrive. The more discreet Doves and Swans continue to have a place in the Celeste court, shrines to the Green Voice still stand in Greenwyne, and the worshippers of Valarien Paragon far outnumber Kammeth's. Additionally, the heads of House Celeste continue to claim the title of Son of Heaven, or Daughter of Heaven, thereby keeping with the pre-Kamthein traditions of Heaven worship.
In matters of love and marriage, Ĉiel Odeshians have historically been decried as licentious and inconsiderate, with little regard for propriety. They are perceived as prone to succumbing to their lust and treating their vows with nonchalance.
Indeed, Ĉiel Odeshians typically approach marriage as a mere practical arrangement between two individuals. While arranged marriages are frowned upon, and most couples who wed share a certain fondness for one another, few are the cases where they are truly in love with one another, and they are not expected to lead a monogamous life. Married couples in Ĉiela normally keep paramours, sometimes separately, sometimes jointly. So long as those who keep paramours are open about it, their relationship is accepted by their peers, and the paramours gain a status barely below that of a spouse. Many times, the paramours may come from the polyamorous relationships that young Ĉiel Odeshians traditionally have before marrying.
Intimate relationships between people of the same gender have been widely accepted since the days of Zephyrine the Water Dancer, and some of the most popular plays and songs that are performed in public feature romances between characters of the same gender.
Type of Government: Celestial Monarchy. Since the days of the first Celestes, that is how scholars have referred to the system through which the ancient house has ruled over Ĉiela for so many centuries. A concept imported from the mysterious lands from which the first Celestes came, the Celestial Monarchy is a divine monarchy of sorts. The sovereign of Ĉiela is the Son of Heaven, and traditionally also the Prince in the Saltflower and the Grand Duke in Greenwyne. His rule is legitimized, not by blood, but by the Mandate of Heaven. This mandate is embodied by the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, a seal of white jade, made in the form of a leaping betta fish, which passes from one Son of Heaven to the next.
Since the Celestial Monarchy is based on the perceived will of Heaven, rather than kinship, the succession of the Son of Heaven is not as lineal as in other nations, nor is the legitimacy of an incumbent Son of Heaven unquestionable. A Son of Heaven may choose to be succeeded by a second child, rather than his firstborn, or even by a distant cousin. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on succession based on gender, which in the past led to the rise several famous Daughters of Heaven. And when a Son of Heaven was proven to be irredeemably corrupt or incompetent, it was considered legitimate, under the rules of succession, for a rebel to usurp the incumbent Son of Heaven.
Another consequence of the allegedly divine nature of this monarchy is that, in theory, the word of the Son of Heaven is holy law. However, since that principle ceased to be abided by during the reigns of the Greenfish and the Redfish, and ever since then the power of the Son of Heaven, while great in its own right, has never been absolute. These days, the Son of Heaven often delegates most of Ĉiela's administration to his Masters of War and Peace, men and women of high birth and renown, handpicked by the Son of Heaven to assist him in his rule.
While the Son of Heaven is, in principle, the ruler of both the Saltflower and Greenwyne, in truth the latter has historically been governed by a group of Masters of War and Peace, usually close kinsmen and women of the Son of Heaven.
Influence and relations:
Military -
(Details on the amount and types of men available. Any war vessels from navies, go here as well, it would be important to note as this is a Middle age Setting that relies largely one levies, no one has the funds for a standing army, aside from the Phoenix Throne.)
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Done and done.
Well, I've been interested in doing an RP like this one for a while.
Is the white area still open?
Is the white area still open?
Hey, I'm Dyaus. I've been considering re-applying for the Penguin... but I can't find my original character sheet. =/
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