Marus (/mar:uhss/)

Realm of the Seas

Introduction

Marus is a realm of endless blue sea and sky. Its floating island chains, anchored in the clouds and atop the waves, support a biosphere rampant with life. While diverse cultures command the archipelagos with their mastery of the sail and flourishing magical talents. With ingenuity and tenacity, they make up for what wealth and resources they cannot extract from the barren earth. At its very heart, Marus is a Realm built upon exploration, discovery, and advancement. The realm's mastery of the sail is unsurpassed in all the Cosmos and they have begun a steady march toward magical supremacy. The realm has few gods and none as great as Caydon Rel for The Lord of Magic is the undisputed highest power on Marus. His ascension marked the beginning of a new age and dawn for everyone living in the Realm of Seas.

Energy Sources

The three magical forces that command the cosmos were claimed by the Lord of Magic when he ascended. With his newfound power he transformed the very Realm at its most fundemental levels.

Glow

This natural manifestations of this magical force has become a rarity since Caydon Rel ascended. The Rainbow Sailfish remains the only well-known natural source. These giant fish swim in the deepest ocean currents, feeding at unknown depths before emerging engorged with Glow and ready for harvest.

Primal

The Relic Seas are a group of nine elementally infused island chains and surrounding bodies of water created by Caydon Rel. Each of these Primal seas are consumed by a primary element that has effected each one's geography, ecosystem, and biosphere to create distinctly unique regions.

Faith

On Marus the Soul of a Sophont does not empower a Domain or Divine when it dies. No true Divine has even ascended since the rise of Caydon Rel. Only those who existed before his tyrannical rule subsist into the modern age and some of his rivals have become just as widely accepted.

The Relic Arts

A collective term used to refer to the magical teachings, rules, and requirements surrounding the system of magic imposed by Caydon Rel on Marus. The God of Magic watches over all, and he has but one demand of his people: Improve Yourself. The Relic Arts center around the use and growth of one's Veil alongside the absorption of the potent Primal Elements found within Natural Treasures hidden across the Realm of Seas. The most powerful practitioners fuel ancient Relics and search for forgotten treasures as they attain ever-advancing heights on their Path to Power.

The Gifted...

Practitioners of the Relic Arts are known as the Gifted. They possess a Veil and have begun to absorb the pure energy held within a Natural Treasure, understanding and exploring the fathomless potential of even just that single Primal Element to better fuel their magic. A Gifted’s blood and their Veil will develop a series of metallic qualities as they advance that denotes their relative rank in power.

...And Their Veils

Put simply, these are metaphysical auras that grow around every Sophontic Soul on Marus. From birth to adulthood, Veils develop and mature until their Sophonts become capable of consciously absorbing the pure magic of Natural Treasures into themselves. These magical forces shape and influence the innate properties of each Veil to create a unique and recognizable fingerprint.

Natural Treasures...

These naturally produced objects infused with potent magical energies and prized by all. They are both vital for magical advancement and essential for the function of many magical constructs. Most are Primal in nature, but Faith and Glow can create their own in rare instances. They may come in the form of Beast Cores, infused plants, or similar objects of power.

...And Their Relics

These ancient artifacts of a bygone age now serve as the greatest tools of Marus' most powerful Gifted. These metallic objects are shrouded in mystery as each responds uniquely to each Veil and the specific blend of power found within. They are vital to attaining higher-tiered advancement and will inflict permanent changes in exchange for vast magical benefits.

Marus

Realm of the Seas

Water

Air

Realm Index

IJ-SHA

Pinterest Board

General Information

Primary Element

Water

Type

Dimensional plane

Location under

Astral Anchor

Included Locations

• Cloudtop Sea
• Death’s Basin
• Lily Forest
• Sea of Brass
• Sea of Souls
• Strait of Embers
• Tempus Sea
• The Stillness
• Veiled Sea

Included Organizations

• Aviator's Society
• Marati Nomads
• The Banded Circle

Inhabiting Species

• Balao
• Cascarns
• KazaK
• Marati
• Pa'Nui
• Passarins
• Soddens

Related Professions

• Gifted

Related Historical Events

• Coronation Day
  Divine Ascension: Caydon Rel
• 2nd of Thirteenth Creation
  Marus Thawed

The Air Realms

realmElementAir

The Water Realms

realmElementWater

Echo of Humanity

Humanity became a powerful force on Marus when they came to colonize in eons past. When Caydon Rel ascended 500 years ago, all mankind mysteriously vanished from the Realm. Now all that remains of these once-mighty people are their sundered ruins, callous Divines, and the ancient magical artifacts hidden by most.

Divines of Marus

• Acropolis, The Echo of the Sea
• Caydon Rel, The Lord of Magic
• Draxis, The Monkey King
• The Herring Crone, Matron of Destiny
• Jelilibad, The Leua-Wood Sage
• NemeN, The Thousand-Mile Soul
• Magebreaker Cult
• Quain, The Ever Soul
• Volcanar, The Obsidian Arbiter

Geography

The Realm of Seas is dominated by massive bodies of water that split up and isolate regional island chains from one another. Each of the Relic Seas is, in many ways, like its own isolated continent. Travel has become more and more commonplace among the nations of Marus despite its danger and many settled islands would not survive without the connections of trade that they have fostered to their homes over generations. Though most travel aboard boats on the sea, a growing number of Aeronauts have taken to the skies aboard lighter-than-air Wingships and flying Dirigibles.

Cloudtop Sea

Here lies a sea that has taken to the skies on the wings of Primal Air. Above the Realm of Seas blankets of cloud condense into interconnected islands of Primal Air and Water. The region is home to the second greatest population on Marus and the largest physical territory by far. It is the ancestral home of the Balao and the coveted prize of the Aviator's Society aboard their hovering Wingships and flying Dirigibles.

Death’s Basin

Here lies a putrid basin infused with Primal Decay and laced with dangerous boglands and marshes. It is the ancestral home of the KazaK and the region within which the Magebreaker Cult rests the dreaded Titancity of Blightwaith. Few people who venture into this debilitating region leave it unscathed and it has caused many across the Realm of Seas to harbor an understandably common fear for the deadly area.

Lily Forest

Here lies a vibrant sea lush with Primal Life and dotted with enormous water lilies that grow across its surface. This relatively shallow region northwest of the Sea of Brass has become the ancestral home of Cascarns, while their moving cities protect much of the infused waters. Several of the turtlefolk's Shell-back Cities patrol the region while hunting for rogue KazaK and harvesting the treasured World Lilies.

Sea of Brass

Here lies a temperate sea flush with Primal Earth, boasting the greatest number of islands across all the archipelagos. It is a place of great mineral wealth and a center of industry on Marus. Its booming population of Marati makes for a rowdy but capable foundation for society devoid of the cohesive leadership found elsewhere. There are countless islands in the region with many unchecked issues festering at their hearts.

Sea of Souls

Here lies an ethereal sea infused with Primal Light and emanating an eerie grayish-white glow. This region was once the heart of a grand city, but now reduced to the Flooded Acropolis, it is home to a mad dying god and his Sodden progeny. The cursed waters ruled by Acropolis threaten to steal the life of those who dare search the ruined megalopolis for hidden secrets from an archaic age before the Relic Arts.

Strait of Embers

Here lies a boiling sea polluted with the ash and Primal Fire emitted from the the Obsidian Arbiter's home. Volcanar's tears protect the his sacred island and prevent most vessels from reaching High Judgement. Those who brave the region's quick trade lanes between the Relic Seas must always remember that they have reserved themselves to the justice of the Divine and his faithful among the native Pa'Nui.

Tempus Sea

Here lies a sea consumed by a year-round cyclone of Primal Storm that protects the mobile academy of Caydon Rel from outsiders. Those who travel within the storm's eye as members of The Banded Circle are taught the Relic Arts by the greatest practitioners of the age. They are bonded by blood, oath, and iron as they advance their craft and learn Rel's magical secrets.

The Stillness

Here lies what once was a sea, now frozen solid as Primal Ice has taken over. This region was once known for its fishing, but centuries of steady temperature drops have turned this southernmost region into an arctic sheet. Stubborn local Passarins, continuing after generations of hardship, attempt the difficult traversal of the region in search of ways to melt the ice and return to their sacred way of life.

Veiled Sea

Here lies a sea shrouded in a fog of Primal Shadow and enveloped by the fearsome Veil of Quain, the Ever-Soul. Somewhere within lies the Horned Isle, a paradise rich in Natural Treasures that sits under the Veil Goddess' personal protection. Treasure hunters, Gifted, and craftsmen alike have all sought out the Isle's mythic power only to fall victim to its labrythnian fog.

Flora & Fungi

This Realm offers a nourishing environment for a vibrant array of plant life; often with species found that are unique to their specific islands. While there is a lack of undersea plants on Marus due to the absence of an accessible seabed, many cling to the LeLe Reef Cluster that exist on the undersides of floating islands . There are also several buoyant varieties of plant that have adapted to thrive upon the seas themselves with the most notable of these being the World Lily. The rampant magical energies found across Marus has led to many plants becoming magically infused and thus themselves were transformed into Natural Treasures. These magical Flora & Fungi make up the backbone of Gifted society in the form of reliable personal advancement, dependable fuel sources, and uncounterfeitable currency.

Fauna

The creatures of Marus are varied and diverse, with a diversified selection of colorful fish and a particularly large number of unique native beasts well-adapted to the elementally charged seas. Few creatures are devoid of any elemental influence, and all will develop a Natural Treasure known as a Beast Core. These vital magical components are essential to many individuals magical advancement and the creation of numerous enhanced objects.

Sophonts

Playable

Beastfolk

• Cascarns (Turtlefolk)
• KazaK (Leechfolk)
• Marati (Monkeyfolk)
• Passarins (Penguinfolk)

Deadfolk

• Sodden

Faefolk

• Balao
• Pa'Nui

Technology

The technology of Marus has suffered for centuries following the magical boom after Caydon Rel's ascension. Scientific progress and innovation fell to the wayside as magic proved more than capable of solving the day-to-day problems of the common people. The additional scarcity of earthen wealth on the Realm has hampered progress in many fields, but recent years have seen a rise in Dirigibles and Wingships taking to the skies. These marvelous achievements were only made possible through the discovery of a lighter-than-air gas known as Halaydrium. Using these beautiful contraptions, the Aviator's Society begins to scout out and claim the floating island chains of the Cloudtop Sea from the skyborn Balao civilization.