Nichiita

Created by

megafrog

A World of Change

Introduction

To understand the world of Nichiita, you must first understand that everything is temporary. The aspects of the world are moving, shifting, and taking on new forms, and this is understood by its inhabitants. The slow twisting and unraveling of the universe is part of many philosophies, and as such, the 'here and now' is what is valued most by many cultures.

The Aspects

There was once one world material, kae, the essence of everything. This was used to build a perfect world with a perfect race of servants for the gods. When the gods disagreed on how to manage the world, it was torn apart into six aspects of kae that compose the world today. These elements mix and stir, and are slowly pulling back together into the original essence that once was. Five of the aspects are considered elemental, physical forces of the world. These are earth, water, air, fire, and light. They are defined by their attributes, and are not definite. Many elemental aspects overlap, and some things exist on the margin of two elements.  

• Earth is structure. Things that can retain their form, and arrange in a repeatable pattern. Soil, metal, ice, and many minerals are earth.
• Water is motion. The innate desire to move, change, and shift is present in these elements. Water, flora, and many liquids are water.
• Air is force. Things that leave an impact on their environment, often with great energy. Thunder, sound, and steam are air.
• Fire is hunger. The desire to spread, consume, and change the world to its image. Fire, lightning, and acid are fire.
• Light is life. Things that are alive protect themselves and change in cycles. Fauna, stars, and radiation are light.

The sixth and final aspect, while often not grouped with the other five, is arcana. This is the essence of the soul, and is often called magic. Arcana is difficult to define, as it is the most unstable of all aspects. All creatures who speak have some arcana.   All living creatures are composed of a mix of several aspects. Creatures that only embody one or two elemental aspects are called primordial spirits, and creatures that are made entirely from arcana are called divine spirits. Most beasts are a mix of all aspects, sans arcana. Humans and the man-like are a mix of all six aspects.

Powers that Be

There are many forces at work in the world. Until very late in Nichiita's history, the man-like were insignificant in cosmic history. The world was shaped by great creatures and spirits at war, and many of those creatures are still at war today. As the man-like grew in technological and mystical prowess, they became not only a tool for the spirits, but also a respected force of nature.

Gods

There are two gods that created the universe. Between the combination of elements and magic, the perfect world of Nichiita was born. However, as they disagreed on fundamental aspects, the world was split into many aspects, destroying all life that once lived there. The identities of these two gods varies greatly from myth to myth, with either being misrepresented or left out entirely.

Genso

Genso are the great primordial spirits of the world. These elementals are so powerful that they shape the world as we know it. They have no personal regard for the manlike, caring only for the elements that they embody. Most of these take the physical form of great and mythical beasts when interacting with man-like. There are five elemental genso which each embody one of the five elemental aspects, and there are ten para-elemental which each embody a combination of two elements.

Seishin

Seishin are the great divine spirits of the world. Created as servants of the god of arcana, these celestials are not gods themselves, but are often worshipped as such. These spirits represent facets of the human experience, and only exist to creatures with arcana. Pure seishin embody things that create positive emotions, impure seishin embody negative emotions, and dubious seishin embody things that create both or neither. There are twenty of each origin of seishin, totaling sixty.

Man-Like

The man-like are creatures that embody all six aspects, but are not mixed enough to harness the essence of true kae. Humans are the most common and diverse of these. Humans arose from storm pits, swamps where all six aspects can mix together. Some man-like were created by seishin, such as Kennin, the earthen soldiers crafted by the spirit of sculpting. Others were either once humans or similar to humans, such as Oni, the pious and monstrous beasts of the night.

Fovora

The fovora are remnants of the original creatures that walked the world of kae. As the mixing world settles, these creatures become more abundant, and they carry with them the vengeful memories of the first world. Fovora see themselves as the ultimate life form, and they want to reshape the world into its original form. The most pure and powerful fovora are the drakes, ancient and untouchable creatures that were annihilated in the Drakefall. They are succeeded by fovoran furies, nightmarish stalkers of the night who serve as the agents of destruction, leaving kae in their tracks. At the bottom of the hierarchy are fovoran goblins, which are weak and unable to spread kae. There are also man-like who have become infected by the spread of kae, and they have become known as emissaries. It is believed that emissaries are servants of the drakes in disguise, although this is rarely the case.

Geography

The world of Nichiita is a flat, geocentric disk. The continents reside in the center surrounded by oceans, and at the edges are tall cliffs of ice that hold in the oceans and create the horizon.   Throughout its history, the primary consistency has been the three primary regions of land, Koyan, Eltra, and Turik-Nyr. The boundaries between the three are loosely defined and have many gaps that are ungoverned.