Tears of The Goddess
Once a dangerous crags and cave network where rifts opened frequently, the area was flooded by the Goddess Mallina. Now watched over by her followers, a strong community has formed around the lakes. As part of her demonstration of power, several mounds of earth were rose into the sky where they remain as floating islands. The surrounding small villages have linked together to form almost a sprawling city, just with large sections of water and woodland separating them. Some of the local insectoid people, the Lepitera, have made homes atop the floating isles, creating woven rope and cottonlike stranded bridges between them.
The enormous lakes may have stopped most rifts opening to the area, but sometimes rifts to the plane of water open below the surface and require closing and the water shapers form the first line of defence in this regard along with
Demographics
The region has three main populations, the Lepitera, water shapers and Clerics to Mallina. The comminity settled with the Lepitera's way of organisations when the towns slowly joined together. The collective residents of The Tears have a limited concepts of ownership. All material belongings with a use belong to the tribes as a whole rather than any one indivudual. This means no single person hoards wealth or items that could be used for the entire colelctive. The Tears still have traders and merchants who deal with travellers and outsiders, selling off unused and excess wares to import goods they can not get in their own land.
Any race is welcome to the Tears to join, although those without the ability to fly may struggle to navigate the floating isles which are mostly populated by the Lepitera. The Water Shapers and followers of Mallina accept all who can accept their teachings.
Government
Due to the social nature of the Tears with sharing ownership, there is no offical government but each of the main three groups have an Elder who form a council of three the populace looks to in order to make decisions.
Old Oumi is the oldest Lepitera known to live. Still in her Puppa stage after hundreds of years of life, she takes things with a slow tempered wisdom. She has seen many years of coming and going and knows that change is as important as tradition.
Ammera The Wave Breaker is the primary teacher of the Water Speakers so is their defacto leader. An elven druid who learnt to bend water to her many years ago. She also guides the weather in the Tears when needed although often speaks of "allowing nature to take its course". She balances what nature would dictate vs what her people require.
Balrus Wren is the current head cleric to Mallina in the Tears. A human man of some 50 years, he is a patient man who follows the teachings of the Goddess of Sea and Storms. While soft spoken he often butts heads with the Lepitera Leadership for lack of their traditional worship to Mallina.
Districts
There are several small village like areas scattered around the main lakes of The Tears where most residents and common folk of the region live, working out of farms, mills, fishing docks and so forth. Each small area has an old name from when they were seprate villages, but most just refer to a region by direction, using nautical directions due to the influence of Mallina worship. So some people live in "Port Side" others "Stern Side" and so forth.
Across the bridges that cross the lakes, a large temple distrct across the north east lake and its shore. This area has large open water features and statues that dive into the water of the lakes. Several structures here are made by enchanted corral, bred and blessed to be able to survive and thrive in fresh water.
The Center of the lakes has a large training pavilleon for the Water Shapers with several training halls which open to each lake. Here druids and others who study water arts come. There are four primary schools here to train different water arts.
The final district proper would be the floating isles where most of the Lepitera reside. With bridges wrapping and climbing the floating isles these areas can be trciky to navigate without wings or a keen knowledge of the area. Here Lepitera silk spinners work along with study their own ways of living in this aerial location.
Guilds and Factions
The Water Shapers are the only offical faction within the Tears, others are more loose affiliations and agreements. The water Shapers however have four schools under them.
The first School is the Flowing Arts, a school that teaches how to use water in performing arts. This includes water dancing as well as dancing water displays to entertain and delight. Most who study this school go on to do public performances for travelling tourists or travel toe arn gold for the community to import goods.
The second school is the Crashing Arts, where students are taught how to use water skills to fight in combat. This school teaches how to defend oneself as well as others and also trains in using weapons as standard guards or soldiers may alongside the magical arts.
The Third School is the Purifying Arts, where the art ofusing water to purfiy and heal is taught. Alongside with water based healing, the teachings of this school also provide basic medical training such as midwifery and setting of bones.
The Fourth School is the Scrying Arts, which teaches students how to control and manipulate the weather as well as peer into the depths of the waters ins earch of truths. Students of this school often go on to help guide the local weather, fortell dire events or sense rift activity.
There is a final school only for those who have mastered all the other Four Schools. Students of this school study directly under Ammera the Wave Breaker in how to master all forms of water, to become the most skilled sages, wise leaders and protectors of their home.
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