forum where i shove random pieces of lore for my fantasy universe

Started July 31, 2022 by @larcenistarsonist group

tune

I don't really know what this is I'm just shoving random pieces of lore I think of in here. Please feel free to read and ask questions bc I have no idea how I'm supposed to develop my lore and I also want to talk about it a lot alskdjf

The Grand Mages:

History: The King, ruler of the lands and most powerful sorcerer of them all, realized that even he had a limit to how much magic his body could hold. So, he decided to divvy a fraction of his power amongst the worthy. He held a tournament. Six mages reigned superior to the thousands who had attended. Amongst them were: Solizha, a woman in her late-thirties. Strong, specializes in the magic of the hearth. Kind hearted yet ruthless with her power. Hyo. early-twenties, always down for a little chaos. They look nearly like a sprite, a mischievous smile always adorning their features. Power and water magic had always been their strong suits. Geobi, a man in his late-twenties who never turned down a challenge, and always tackled it with grace and dignity. He knows how to rumble the earth, how to form canyons and mountains with his prowess. Caliga, a woman in her mid-twenties who never considered herself above lying or playing dirty. She may look like a goddess, with silken robes and porcelain skin, but her delicate hands have tasted more blood than the average warmonger. She skills herself with her magic in deception and fog. Daedra, a woman in her early thirties who holds herself with a ramrod spine and sinister glare. She knows all, keeping dusted tomes and obituaries stored in her dark robes. The shadows comfort her – her powerful magic always taking hold of the darkness. And finally, Aarion, a boy no older than nine years old with a heart of gold. He sits with the lonely - for nobody should die alone - and he plays with the children - because isn't he one as well? His power is magnificent, the greatest light mage in the lands. He smiles and laughs, his youthfulness comforting to all.

Now these six, the ones hand-picked by the King himself, are given immortality - just a fraction of The King's time-warping magic to keep them alive and strong. And for millennia, they stand by the King's side. They're allowed to roam, to live out their endless lives, to learn and to gather magic and runes, but when the time comes, they must report to the all-powerful King. As time drones on, decades forming to millennia to nearly eons by The King's side, the Grand Mages grow tired to The King's iron fist. Once they hear of a forming rebellion amongst mortals, they're quick to investigate and after seeing the rousing army Thaddeus Godchallenger, Lance Warcaster, and Morgan Silverknight are commandeering, the Grand Mages quickly become their most powerful allies.

Significance in Story: The Grand Mages - dead by the beginning of the story - left twelve talismans scattered across the globe, each of the tokens holding half of their lifeforce. When all twelve are assembled together, the Mages will live again - but only for a few short hours. Sparrow and Thaddeus need to retrieve these talismans, for resurrecting the Grand Mages - albeit temporarily - is what will finally help them kill the King.

Daedra's Curse:

History: A family name, there's quite the amount of power in it, isn't there? Well, one man especially thought so. After hearing of his forefathers' success swaying the Grand Mage Daedra for knowledge, he immediately embarked on his own journey to the Shade - Daedra's personal lightless forest. He knocked on her door. She didn't answer. He pounded at her window. She ignored. He tried entering her home from the back door. It was locked tight. To Daedra's chagrin, the man was persistent. After nearly days of his pestering, Daedra finally broke, slamming open the front door with shadowy daggers swimming in her eyes. She demanded what could the man possibly need from her. He flashed an arrogant smile and ordered to see one of her ancient texts. She refused. He continued to berate her, claiming that it was his birthright for his father and his grandfather and his great-grandfather all received the same treatment from her. Daedra was furious. How dare he assume that he was worthy from nothing but his familial surname? In her rage, Daedra cast the most powerful spell of her lifetime, one that redacted every familial surname from every living soul. She implemented a new system - one would only receive a surname once they had done something significant enough to earn one. Until then, they would remain Nameless.

Significance in Story: Sparrow starts out as Nameless, doing nothing significant in her sixteen years to earn a surname. By the end of the story, she does receive one (not telling bc spoilers a;ksd). Other characters in the story also have long tales behind their own surnames: Thaddeus Godchallenger was the first to challenge a god, Rune Ronin slaughtered her master and wanders as an aimless assassin, Bane Steel mastered the art of forging steel skin and commands an impressive pirate ship known as the Steel Mast, Fennec Ashrose was the only surviving member of the Sollelum Blaze and rose from the ashes to honor their memory. The list goes on and on, but most significant characters in the story either have a preexisting last name, or somehow earn one in their journey with Thaddeus Godchallenger and Company.

The Winged:

History: Aarion, one of the six Grand Mages, has always been a playful soul. He mastered the art of soaring through clouds and touching the sun. He skipped along treetops and chittered with the high-flying birds. However, he began to grow lonely up in the clouds. The other kids of the nearby village were kind and loved to play with him, but Aarion always felt disappointed that they could never play in the sky together. One day, a beautiful partly-cloudy afternoon, Aarion had a brilliant idea. There were fourteen kids playing with a ball in a wide-open field. After gaining their enthusiastic consent, Aarion gifted all fourteen of them beautiful wings. They varied upon the person: one had bluebird, another carried ones of a raven, hummingbirds, eagles, hawks, sparrows, and finches. They were all different. And then they took to the sky, and Aarion never felt happier. When those fourteen grew up, their offspring also had the wings, and then their children, and then the children after that. It birthed a new species - The Winged, all of them blessed by the Grand Mage of Light and Youth, Aarion.

Significance in Story: One of Thaddeus Godchallenger's ancestors was one of the fourteen Winged the Grand Mage Aarion created. Thaddeus has long since lost touch with his people. When he fell, he broke one of his wings and it never healed correctly, leaving him crippled and with the dire reminder of his failure and his forgotten kind.

Acondi's Tribe:

History: It started with a man - his name lost to history. He was a greedy man, one who pilfered and stole and lied at every chance he got. A notorious pickpocket, a coldhearted thief, a man slithering from one heist to the next. To say the least, he got cocky. He thought he could steal from a god. And he tried. And he failed. Caliga - the target of the man's scheme - didn't take kindly to being a victim of some mortal's plan. She spat in his face, kicked him to the dirt, called him nothing but a writhing snake… And then she got the idea. Caliga manipulated the man's legs to a tail, warped his eyesight to a serpent's, and poisoned his veins with the venom of an adder. She left him to die on a cold forest floor… But miraculously, the man survived. A woman found him moments from death. She nursed him to health, and eventually fell in love. Nobody knows her exact name, but an etched message in a stone tablet reads something adjacent to "Acondi", leading to the namesake of the tribe. By some genetical miracle, Acondi and the thief managed to produce offspring. Over time, the serpentine offspring married humans, continuing to repopulate and pass down the snake-like traits. By the time the story begins, Acondi's Tribe is a small village buried deep in Endless Wander Woods. The serpentine traits vary from family-to-family, some adorning massive diamondback tails instead of legs, while others only carry slit eyes and pointed canines.

Significance in Story: Acondi's Tribe is currently being threatened by The King. The King looms the idea of the genocide of the tribe over their heads, saying that if they don't cooperate, then they'll be wiped out before they can even blink. The commander of Acondi's Tribe in the present story - Cassian - is an ally to Thaddeus Godchallenger and his apprentice, Sparrow. Cassian enlists in Thaddeus's help, offering all of his tribe's finest warriors to help slaughter the King.

Do The Winged people have other magical features? Like beaks, if they're more birds, or halos if they're more angelic?

!! great question!

The Winged's physical features pretty much stop at the wings, granted it was the only thing Aarion gave them to begin with. However, over time the Winged began to develop bird-like senses! Like super hearing and ultra-enhanced sight! Over time I bet evolution could give them beaks or talons! Also, there's no halos because even though they're winged people, they are not angels!

The Grand Mages: Does the King know about the talismans? Is there a point where they have to race to beat him to one (or more)? And do the talismans grant powers on their own? Like, once you have 1, you gain a power from the mage who made it?

Daedra's Curse: Do descendants of people who earned surnames keep their ancestor's surnames? And since everyone is made Nameless by a Mage, can only a Mage give a surname? And if the surname's are Mage related, do they have inherent power of their own?

The Winged: Birds have a lot of symbolic meaning. Crows/ravens often signify bad omens/death/curses, where the song birds like bluebirds/robins/finches signify happiness/joy/peace, while the eagles/hawks/sparrows signify strength/war/strife. Do the Winged's personalities follow this symbolism at all, based on their wings? Maybe the wings they were blessed with matched the personalities they already had?

Acondi's Tribe: Do the tribe also get snake abilities, like cold-bloodedness, thermal vision, tasting the air, shedding skin, etc.? And have they developed different language around the fact their mouths are shaped differently, maybe with lots of hissing?

This is all very cool and if you want to talk a bunch about it, I have endless questions :)

!!!

The Grand Mages: Does the King know about the talismans? Is there a point where they have to race to beat him to one (or more)? And do the talismans grant powers on their own? Like, once you have 1, you gain a power from the mage who made it?

The King is unaware of the talismans in the beginning! twenty-four years after the talismans were created, by complete accident, the mc stumbles across Thaddeus's home with Solizha's Locket around her neck. She found it on the coast of her home, washed up from the waves. Thaddeus recognizes it, remembering the time when Solizha told him of her special tokens and what they mean to her. How each one of the Mages possess them to keep themselves human. This is when he discovers the talismans. In the first part of the story, the MC - her name is Sparrow - and Thaddeus take it upon themselves to venture around the world in search of these talismans. The King learns of them nearly halfway into the second part (out of maybe 4-ish parts?) and decides he needs to destroy them. (However, little does he know that these talismans have been made invincible to his touch.) He sends countless goons and monsters and shadows after the talismans, but he only succeeds in getting one - Aarion's Feather.

The talismans on their own are simply just tokens! They hold no sort of power individually. They only have magical properties when all twelve of them are reunited, and this magical property is that it necromances the Grand Mages for six hours. It's a one-and-done deal too. Once the Grand Mages are resurrected, after six hours they go back to their grave and the magic in the talismans die.

Daedra's Curse: Do descendants of people who earned surnames keep their ancestor's surnames? And since everyone is made Nameless by a Mage, can only a Mage give a surname? And if the surname's are Mage related, do they have inherent power of their own?

Every child is born Nameless after Daedra's Curse first went into effect. Daedra - being one of the most powerful Mages in history - made it so only a worthy event could give somebody their surname, making it impossible for surnames to be passed down. (After Daedra's death, no more surnames were being gifted. There's an entire generation of Nameless.) One knows when they've been given a surname for there's a visible aura around them (color varies on the significance of the event and the mood. ex: Thaddeus Godchallenger had a rippling golden aura that smelled of courage and pride. Rune Ronin's aura was a dark, murky purple that was riddled with confusion, betrayal, and slight fear.) It takes about four days for the aura to fade, and afterwards, every time they sign their name, their hand will move instinctively to write their last name.

The Winged: Birds have a lot of symbolic meaning. Crows/ravens often signify bad omens/death/curses, where the song birds like bluebirds/robins/finches signify happiness/joy/peace, while the eagles/hawks/sparrows signify strength/war/strife. Do the Winged's personalities follow this symbolism at all, based on their wings? Maybe the wings they were blessed with matched the personalities they already had?

I haven't looked into a lot of symbolic bird wings, but that does sound like a really cool idea! Thaddeus Godchallenger has the wings of a golden eagle and Aarion occasionally makes ones of a white heron, so take with that what you will. That does sound like a pretty cool idea, and I'll be looking into it!

Acondi's Tribe: Do the tribe also get snake abilities, like cold-bloodedness, thermal vision, tasting the air, shedding skin, etc.? And have they developed different language around the fact their mouths are shaped differently, maybe with lots of hissing?

The snake-like variables vary from family to family, some being nearly full-blown snakes with scales all over their bodies, a serpent tail, and strictly thermal vision, whilst others really only possess fangs and a taste for the air. They all shed skin to some degree (some way more serious than others), and they do all have heightened snake-ish senses to an extent! And yes! The Acondi do have their own language! It's very difficult to speak if you haven't evolved snake-like features, but it's not too difficult to understand and listen to. I haven't named the language yet, but it does comprise of hissing, throat-ish clicking, and hums. This variety in the Tribe makes for plenty of different skillsets, leading their small army to be one of the most complex and efficient ones in the world. It's a good thing they're peaceful.

This is all very cool and if you want to talk a bunch about it, I have endless questions :)

!! please don't be afraid to ask questions! I'll talk about this for days askdjf

The Grand Mages: Did all 6 of the mages get along with each other? And what does the afterlife look like in your world? Are they all in pantheonic versions of Heaven/Valhalla/Olympus or Hell/Underworld/Hades? Or do those exist?

Daedra's Curse: Would there ever be a way a person could lose a surname after getting one? Like if a hero later in life developed villainous habits, or abused their power, or became a coward?

The Winged: Glad to offer something you hadn't thought of :) Do the Winged have to marry within their kind, or can they reproduce with normal people? Could you have a half-Winged with little stubby wings, or something similar?

Acondi's Tribe: So, culturally, is there any kind of racism or prejudice associated with being more snake-like? Or even from outsiders, are the more human-looking ones more easily accepted?

The Grand Mages: Did all 6 of the mages get along with each other? And what does the afterlife look like in your world? Are they all in pantheonic versions of Heaven/Valhalla/Olympus or Hell/Underworld/Hades? Or do those exist?

The Grand Mages formed some strange little family, but per usual, tensions were usually high between some of them. Solizha took on a mother-ish role towards the others, but especially towards Aarion. Geobi and Daedra - both of them fairly laid-back and unproblematic - usually drifted towards each other. Hyo and Caliga alternated between trying to kill each other and being thick as thieves. But, yes, to say the least, they did get along for the most part. They all united in the end towards a common enemy - The King.

And as for the afterlife, it's… It's complex. When one dies, their soul breaks into two. One half of it can remain, but it eventually moves on to the afterlife - where that portion of their soul can mill about in a field or a forest or a desert biome (wherever their soul craves to be, the afterlife will place them there). The other half of their soul turns into energy to put back into the world around them. Let's say a mage specializing in light and plant magic was killed. Their soul breaks into two, one half of it revitalizing and infusing with magic all of the plant life surrounding their corpse. The other half can linger for a while. If they're not ready to move onto the afterlife, they can remain, but not forever. They call these Wanders, and Endless Wander Woods if full of these melancholy spirits.

When the Grand Mages were killed, instead of doing the "norm", they used their split soul and infused them into objects, so they never moved on. Their souls were tied to talismans, meaning that they cannot be forced to move onto the afterlife until after they're released from the talismans.

Necromancy is only possible of both halves of the soul are reunited. If one half of the soul has already moved on to the afterlife, there is no chance of bringing them back from the dead. In cases that don't involve the Grand Mages or people tying their souls to objects, in order to bring somebody back from the dead, you have to have a Necromancer (very hard to come across granted this magic has long been forbidden by the King), their corpse, be at the location where the person had died and released half of their soul into the earth, and find their Wander or have their token that the other half of their soul was tied to.

Daedra's Curse: Would there ever be a way a person could lose a surname after getting one? Like if a hero later in life developed villainous habits, or abused their power, or became a coward?

Once the name is assigned, there is no going back. My MC - Thaddeus Godchallenger - well, failed to kill the King the first time around. After the King bested Thaddeus, he was cast halfway across the world and fell deep into a forest. Everyone assumed he was dead. Thaddeus put himself in self-exile. Thaddeus - for nearly 24 years - wears his last name like a burden because all it does is remind him of something he failed to achieve. There are other similar cases - Lance Warcaster was the one who declared war on the King (he was viewed as a hero). He now serves as a servant and puppet for him (and he becomes an antagonist). I have some ideas brewing of a character who's so ashamed of their last name, they never show their face, but I have not fully developed them yet! There are lots of cases throughout the world of people being ashamed of their last names, or become arrogant of them, or are disappointed that something akin to "woodcarver" is the best thing they'll ever achieve in life.

The Winged: Glad to offer something you hadn't thought of :) Do the Winged have to marry within their kind, or can they reproduce with normal people? Could you have a half-Winged with little stubby wings, or something similar?

The Winged can reproduce both within their kind and with other humans! The wings that they all have are a strikingly dominant trait (due to the feature being practically god-given). Every child born to the Winged has fully grown wings (though the size varies based off of what bird they're modelled after. Usually families have the same-ish wings. Like a father with raven wings will pass other corvid wings down to his children; he could have a child with crow wings, another with raven, and a third with magpie). In cases which the Winged marry within each other, the wings of the child are either X's or Y's, they don't usually mix. (In Thaddeus's case - his mother had Golden Eagle wings, his father had Osprey. Thaddeus was born with Golden Eagle wings, but if he were to ever have a child there is a chance the child could have Osprey wings.)

Acondi's Tribe: So, culturally, is there any kind of racism or prejudice associated with being more snake-like? Or even from outsiders, are the more human-looking ones more easily accepted?

Before the main events of the story, Acondi's Tribe at some point was divided into the more snake-like and the more human-like. It was a terse situation, edging on a civil war. However, they were attacked by some of the King's radical followers and they realized "hey, we shouldn't be fighting each other when we have such a bigger enemy" and it was a tense truce that eventually faded into a mutual understanding. The leader of the Acondi - Cassian - tries his best to keep things peaceful among his tribe. The new generations have mostly moved past that fued, but there are still the cranky old guys who hang onto it. Acondi's Tribe is fairly isolated, so really not even a lot of outsiders know about them. They live on the Fifth Island of the Five Isles, a rainforest so thick and humid that a lot of outsiders rarely venture there. Not really wanting to give away their small slice of civilization, the only real messengers and errand boys they send out are the human-passing ones. Only few really know of Acondi's Tribe, most believe it to be nothing but legend.

The Grand Mages: Wait, there are regular, normal mages? Not just the grand ones? I guess I missed that. So magery isn't a rare characteristic, per se?

Daedra's Curse: So do people tend to fear getting surnames, since it can be a huge amount of pressure? Or is it still a prestigious thing? And can you intentionally work towards getting a last name?

The Winged: Similar to my question about the Acondi- any kind of wing-type supremacy among the winged? Also, could bat wings ever be an option?

Acondi's Tribe: 5 Isles?!?!? :D Ooo, a place! Or places! Explain? :)

Also, nice profile pic.

The Grand Mages: Wait, there are regular, normal mages? Not just the grand ones? I guess I missed that. So magery isn't a rare characteristic, per se?

Yes! Magic is very prominent in this universe! Anybody who chooses to learn and practice it has the title of Mage (there are individual rankings among different cities and states, but nearly everyone who is acquaintanced in magic is a Mage). However, all magic must be learned. Nobody is born with any sort of magic in their blood or immediate abilities. There are also areas where magic is considered taboo and looked down upon, but there are also these Sanctuaries scattered across the world where nearly everybody practices magic. (However, after the King came to power, a lot of the Sanctuaries were placed under strict guidances and monitored everything they were teaching.)

Daedra's Curse: So do people tend to fear getting surnames, since it can be a huge amount of pressure? Or is it still a prestigious thing? And can you intentionally work towards getting a last name?

A lot of people do have immense anxiety over their last names, some just don't care all that much. Surnames can literally be anything under the sun. Some people constantly work towards getting a desired last name, but there is no guarantee that they'll achieve their goal. Another character of mine - Morgan Silverknight - was the youngest person to ever be appointed a Silver in the Warrior Division (will make another post about Silvers momentarily) - thus giving her the last name Silverknight. She achieved her goal and obtained the last name to prove it.

The Winged: Similar to my question about the Acondi- any kind of wing-type supremacy among the winged? Also, could bat wings ever be an option?

Of course, there are those few high and mighty assholes who believe that because they have falcon wings they are above the ones with robin wings, but there's no hierarchy based on their wings. Just people going "ooooh look at my wings! they're so much cooler than yours!" type of bullying, y'know? Also, the only wings offered are bird wings granted that they're in a whole different family than bats aldskf.

Acondi's Tribe: 5 Isles?!?!? :D Ooo, a place! Or places! Explain? :)

Yes! I'll make a second post for this asap!

Also, nice profile pic.

thanks aklsdjf;kl it's been a solid year since I've changed it and figured it was time

Thanks for answering so much :) I love lore, it's one of my favorite aspects of worldbuilding. I'm excited about the coming posts about Silvers and 5 Isles :D

Locations:

A quick run-down: The World here is divided into seven (i may add more) main sectors: each of which governed, run, and directed differently. Some of the sectors are divided into smaller states, others are just one big country. Each of them have wildly different climates.

The World here is much different from ours. The closer you get to the north and south poles, the odder gravity gets. As you move towards the poles, they begin to loosen gravity. The northernmost location - Sapphira - has floating landmasses tethered to the ground. Around the equator, gravity is slightly heavier than what we know.

The Five Isles:

Location: The Five Isles are five islands positioned similarly to how the 5-side looks on a die. They're set in the ocean, just north of the World's equator. The islands vary in size (largest to smallest: Fifth Isle, First Isle, Second Isle, Third Isle, Fourth Isle) and the Fifth Isle is the only one to be "uninhabited".
Climate: The Five Isles are extremely tropical and warm. It's often humid and warm there with sandy beaches and cool mornings. However, they are very susceptible to tropical storms and hurricanes (which the locals have learned to predict and avoid with magic).
Government: Each island is run by different people, but all similarly in governing. Each island is run by a Council of eight members, each Councilmember is elected into the position by the people of their respective island. Anybody above the age of sixteen is allowed to vote. Most of the Councils keep to their own islands, but when there is a bigger matter, they will join together.
Other: My MC Sparrow is from the Second Isle. Her grandmother is a Councilmember there. The Fifth Isle is the home to Acondi's Tribe, they being the only people who could survive in the harsh rainforest environment. The residents of the other four islands leave Acondi's Tribe alone. Only a few people even know of Acondi living on the Fifth Isle, to a lot of people, the serpentine humans are just a myth.

Estonvale:

Location: Just south of the equator, a medium sized landmass around the size of modern-day Mongolia.
Climate: Estonvale's climate is most similar to Scotland's. Very rainy but overall pleasant and medium-temperatured. Lots of rolling green hills, beautiful cobblestone streets, stone buildings. Small forests, lots of valleys, plenty of farmland. Partly cloudy skies and overcast most days.
Government: Estonvale is divided up into different Kingdoms with different territories. Each Kingdom is governed by a monarch, usually with a small council under them to help make decisions. Some kingdoms make it a democracy to vote new monarchs in and out, others have their monarchs serve for a life term. For example: Lichor, a damp and dank kingdom near the ocean, is ruled by Lance Warcaster. He is going to serve for life.
Other: The Winged mainly reside here in Estonvale. The other MC, Thaddeus Godchallenger, is from here.

Ironvein:

Location: Fairly far south, but not nearly as south as Sapphira is north. Fairly small, maybe the size of our Peru.
Climate: Rainy, humid, and warm. There's coasts all around it, leading to very rainy weather and humid air.
Government: There's a Prime Minister, but nobody really knows what they do. Ironvein is practically lawless. Police forces try to keep everyone in check, but the codex of laws has been changed and rewritten and lost so many times, nobody seems to know what's legal or not anymore.
Other: Two of my MCs - siblings, Rune and Bane - are from Ironvein. Ironvein's capital is called Raingor, the second largest city being Mayhem. This was inspired a lot by Gotham City.

Mainland:

Location: Set centered on the Equator, the largest landmass in the World at about the size of Africa. Mainland is divided into three main areas, each of them their own sector:

Mistcrown Alps:

Location: A treacherous mountain range dividing 2/3 of the Mainland from the other third.
Climate: Extremely windy and snowy, very dangerous to hike through. Hail and sleet are very common the higher into the mountains you go, but towards the base, it's quite livable. Overall fairly cold and windy.
Government: There's no set government for all of Mistcrown, but there are a few different villages who are governed by a mayor.
Other: Nothing I can think of other than there are a lot of goats here.

Liza:

Location: 2/3 of the Mainland on the Western side of Mistcrown Alps.
Climate: Extremely hot and arid, temperatures reaching up to 55 C. Very hard to live in, hence why most settlements are near the ocean or the sole river that snakes through here. Prone to sand and dust storms.
Government: Like Mistcrown, there isn't a lot of governing forces here. Since Mainland overall is so large, it's hard to get one common leader. Liza's settlements mostly have an elected leader. If they're close to any other civilizations, they might form an alliance.
Other: Another MC of mine - Fennec Ashrose - lives in a settlement in the heart of Liza called the Sollelum. The Sollelum is the only known civilization outside of the ones on the river and near the ocean. Liza is also named after the Grand Mage of Fire and Home, Solizha.

Endless Wander Woods:

Location: The remaining 1/3 of Mainland on the Eastern side of Mistcrown Alps.
Climate: The entirety of this third of Mainland is covered in trees. It's nearly impossible to see the sky through the thick canopy. It's overall fairly pleasant, with average temperatures and mild storms, but the thing that wards most people off are the Creatures that live in Endless Wander.
Government: There's no settlements in Endless Wander, nobody's foolish enough to live there.
Other: Thaddeus Godchallenger resides in Endless Wander Woods for the twenty-four years he's in self-exile.

Sapphira:

Location: The northernmost country in the World. It's about the size of Argentina.
Climate: Sapphira is a frigid, freezing tundra prone to heavy snowstorms and biting weather. However, they do make it work. Sapphira is surrounded by a choppy sea speckled with icebergs. Due to being so far north, Sapphira's gravity is very strange. There are floating landmasses tied to the ground, everything feels lighter, and you jump a whole heck of a lot lighter here.
Government: Sapphira is governed by a single woman by the name of Sapphire Empress. She came into power twenty-five years prior to the start of the story and truly turned the country from a poor, falling apart area to a thriving near-metropolis. She rules with a fairly iron fist, only occasionally consulting her advisors. Only the people of Sapphira don't seem to realize this is a dictatorship.
Other: Three MCs introduced in the second installment - Kora, Alexi, and Atticus - all live in Sapphira. It's also the main setting for the second book that I'm planning. Also, there are enormous buildings made of ice here and they're really cool.