In the southern hemisphere, south of Sierra Kaona and north of Sierra Engareo, and punctuated by sky islands, where the winters are long and dark, lies a grassland thousands of miles wide. Thousands of years ago, the Kaonans lived in harmony with the lucanis grass, which grew plentiful there. Then the Valencians conquered the land, calling it El Reino Pradera de Valencia. For over three hundred years, the bronze age became the age of sail by the will of El Imperio Valentino.
Then a rod over ten kilometers long fell from the sky, blasting the heart of the Empire into dust. The fallout soured the land, and nothing grew. In the chaos, El Imperio Valentino collapsed. Valencia became a nomadic refugee state, powerless, but living with the sea. The elves of Kaona reclaimed the land, or what remained. They also uncovered a new metal, solanium.
Whether the solanium was deposited by the rod, uncovered by the rod, or another metal was transformed into solanium by the impact is unknown. Solanium is a transparent metal. When light passes through it, the light is exponentially amplified. Solanium can only be melted and shaped under extremely high temperatures. The Kaonans, unable to grow lucanis on their own land, learned to harmonize with solanium. They retreated into Sierra Kaona, weaving solanium into tunnels and caverns, creating communities, farms, and forests underground. For all their love of light, they no longer care for the surface.
The elves that refused to harmonize with solanium called themselves Coa Yoroca. They remained on the surface, learned to live with the land, wasted as it was. Over the years, desert became steppes, steppes became grassland, savannah, and even woodlands lining the River Amuya. Over millennia, the Yoroca learned to work in harmony while asking little from the land now called Oroca.
Three hundred years ago, Los Hidalgos, twelve families with claims to Valencian nobility gathered to declare a treaty with the Church of Andaluz to create the state of New Valencia. Merchants, fishermen, and sailors the world over, who for millennia kept the Valencian identity alive through the sea, were finally given a guarantee of land. Together, under the democratic will of the Valencians, the leadership of Los Hidalgos, and the ethics of Andaluz, New Valencia became a land and people known for living with the sun and sea to guarantee freedom and prosperity for its people.
Two hundred years ago, the Morovi, masters of iron, invaded New Valencia, threatened by this new concentration of power and wealth. The New Valencians were about to become a refugee people again. But Valentino Exsole de Hidalgo discovered El Reino Pradera de Valencia and the legendary fields of lucanis grass. Under his leadership the Valencians laid claim to their legacy and new home.
Forgotten Kingdom of Valencia is a solarpunk science fantasy setting for tabletop RPGs. Its aesthetic is a mix of eighteenth century Spanish colonialism, American indigenous, and Afro-Caribbean culture viewed through the lens of social ecology. The setting is meant to highlight how people in a fantasy setting deal with issues of need and scarcity, whether it be through magic, technological, or nature, while at the same time dealing with issues of racism, imperialism/colonialism, hierarchic relations, and more.