Map of Paralia: shoutout to the incredibly talented Sarderia, Orostan, Fardel and others who collaborated to make this cuz OP is inept af): https://imgur.com/B4f5NUi
SECOND REBOOT, but now with a fun plot twist. I want to thank my awesome friend Tomia for your contributions to the lore, love you!
(Side Note: I may draw a map...it'd be a shitty map because I've never done one before, but it would be a map.)
Nobody truly knows the cost of the crown. Kings and queens are not to be envied. Ask them, they'll tell you.
Imagine being a king or queen. Or even an emperor or empress, most people have dreamt of it some time during their lives. The power, the prestige, the glamour. Everyone bowing down to you, worshiping you and attending to your every need. Being adored, most people would kill for such a lifestyle.
But most people don't see the dark side of rulership. It's not all being rich and glitz and glamour. It's also an enormous responsibility. Being responsible for an entire nation and their well-being, trying to balance governing thousands or even millions of people, making sure your people are okay, your kingdom does well, making alliances and maybe even waging war. It all falls on your shoulders. And if it's a hit or miss, the consequences fall onto you and your people. It's not just about you anymore, it's about your kingdom. Every decision you make is for that. You BECOME the state, you are barely your own person anymore. Running a kingdom is sacrifice. Oh, and that's NOT counting the threat of rebellion, fake friends, unsatisfied commoners and unscrupulous nobles either trying to take your throne for themselves, wanting to use you for your own ends, and the numerous plots and attempts at trying to kill you. Living in fear constantly for yourself and your family. A royal court is a lion's den, you have to survive or get eaten. There is no in-between. Now, imagine dealing with all of that at sixteen years old.
To better understand this perilous form of existence, one must know the land upon which these conflicts are built. On the continent of Paralia in the year 210 of third Red Era, there exist five dominant kingdoms who rule the political stage in addition to the many other lands that make up this giant jigsaw-puzzle of a place.
In Paralia, magic is as pervasive in the air as the sun or the wind...it seems to seep through to every corner of the land, even the blades of grass. But although magic is so heavily in everything, the gift of being able to summon and wield it is quite limited. Magicians inherit the Gift through their bloodlines, often due to the presence of magical creature interbreeding or some natural/divine phenomenon occurring at one point in that bloodline. It needs to be nurtured in order to be used to its full potential, and so magicians are some of the most powerful beings to be born on the continent. Due to their rarity, mages are highly prized by many leaders for the talents that can make or break an empire...but they are feared by some due to that innate power they possess and often have been blamed for some of the more catastrophic happenings that have gone on throughout this continent's history.
The dominant religion on the continent is known as the Order of the Colors, often times referred to as the Harmony by its followers. The Order preaches that four gods and goddess rule over the realm of mortals and they are represented by the colors red, blue, yellow, and green. This informs the way the calendar is written, as the order views history as separated by eras, each era dominated by the influence of a particular god. Red is the God Forsen, a war god who represents justice and order. For Forsen war is not chaotic and cruel, but rather necessary and just. Red eras are seen as times of turmoil and sacrifice but often end in great triumph and change. Blue represents Osat, the Goddess of Water and tranquility. Blue Eras are peaceful and are told to predict economic and political prosperity but also sometimes stagnation. Next is Gorin, the god of green. Gorin is the natural god, his realm deals with natural concepts such as growth, life, and even death. Green eras foretell bountiful harvests and thriving ecosystems but also warn of ending of good times but promise the beginning of them as well. Finally the yellow era is the embodiment of Ausa the Goddess of love and emotion. Yellow eras tend to bring chaos and instability in political and daily life. Ausa is said to spur passion and rash behavior to those who live during her era.
This age is said by many to be a rare phenomenon known as an Orange Era or a Sunset Era...an era of great emotional and political upheaval caused by the turmoil of the winding down Red Era. Signaling both growth and sacrifice, emotional and political development. The instability and chaos with the potential to lead to something great or something horrid...almost like a phoenix having the potential to rise from the flame and ashes. And this is the time in which teenagers are ruling half the continent.
On top of all this, another burning log has recently emerged. A burning log to put on this crackling fire of an era, one that may turn into a conflagration that has the potential to sweep the entire continent in flames if it is not pulled out...the Hands of Adrasia.
Adrasia is the Pale Lady, the Grey Goddess...the Mother of Monsters. The goddess of death and winter, she signifies the grey winds of change and loss, grieving and ending. She is both a reaper and a sower, a comforter and a killer...and her wily and cunning dangerousness is attractive to many dangerous, disgruntled people. So dangerous in fact, that the other gods had no choice but to seal her away over a century ago when she attempted to spread eternal frost throughout the planet. They crafted a divine magical item called the Void Box, a seemingly ordinary wooden box made of several puzzle pieces carved with runes. Using their strength, they trapped Adrasia inside this box, thus saving the planet once more.
The gods as well as the humans had assumed that was the end of her, but they were wrong. Oh, they were very...very wrong. In recent times, there's been a phenomenon. The temperature seems to have dropped nigh globally, winters and nights are getting longer, summers and days are getting shorter...and reports of criminals in grey robes have been seen in all the countries around Paralia. Investigation into these matters has revealed sightings of a group called Adrasia's Hands. These grey-robed priests use potent ice magic and necromancy, worship all the evil aspects of the Pale Lady, and there have been fears that they plan to bring about her return. It's now our job to make sure that doesn't happen. Old grudges are begrudgingly being mended, old alliances are being broken...it seems like the past is falling away in wake of the Creeping Frost's return, and you either have to shift with the tides or freeze in stagnation. United we stand, or divided we fall.
In this, you will be playing one of these young monarchs , you are in charge of an entire country now. Or perhaps you’re an advisor to the young leader. A noble trying to take the throne for themselves for good or bad? Or even a court mage or a merchant, it’s up to you. Whatever your ambition, it will shape and change the course of Paralian history forever. But keep in mind, the Frost doesn't discriminate. From king to peasant, nobody is untouchable. Will you ignore the icy winds of change in the air and focus on your own ambitions, or will you prepare so your country doesn't entirely get encased in a crystalline layer of death? What will you choose, Your Grace? To help your people or oppress them, to guide them to prosperity or to enrich only yourself? And how will you keep safe from the Frost? Will you lead your country into a golden age or into absolute ruin? So many decisions, and that isn’t counting your arithmetic lesson or marriage proposal.
POPULATION GUIDELINES: Since we have radically different populations cropping up all over the place, a wise player from the old thread suggested to me that I put up a guideline about what populations would be good depending on size and power, so here we go:
Minor Kingdoms: 500,000- 1 million
Major Kingdoms: 1 million-5 million
Great Powers: 5 million- 20 million
Empires: 20 million to 25 million
