Countries of Visctheria
The Jade Sea lined the northern countries, its famous green waters creating beautiful beaches and fantastic coral reefs along the edge of the continents. The Jade shifted to the Garlin Deep surrounding Xathar's Gate, a large island covered in ice and rock. None truly knew the inhabitants of the island and surrounding Deep, but many brave adventurers sailed the waters, seeking fame and fortune.
World Map
Eastern Continent
On the Eastern Continent lay the major countries of Uspatan, Estrana, and Hobrax. Several smaller countries scattered across the unclaimed land, setting up borders as steadfast and strong as their larger competitors, but with significantly greater difficulty.
Uspatan held the most powerful military of Visctheria, but also touted a famous cuisine that was known across the globe. The tight control of the spice trade throughout the country gained Uspatan's soldiers a vicious reputation, and chefs a stricter one as they attended rigorous school and training to cook for the highest ranking nobles and officers of the country.
Estrana was run by a mageocracy unlike any the world ever saw in its long history, and also hosted the greatest magic school in the world. Thousands paid thousands to cross its expensive borders and attend Zareya's Academy for the Magically Inclined, and left years later with knowledge worth more than gold.
Hobrax was the ancestral home of the Harot, and was at war with Uspatan for as long as written history was recorded on the planet's surface. Opposite to Uspatan's militarism, Hobrax maximized on the balance of vice and virtue with protected casinos and brothels. A tourism destination to many, the country also provided a home and roots to a rather nomadic people.
Striyuna marked a rather peculiar coming together of several mismatched races, occupied mostly by the Rampinae, Vediver, Latusin, and Grailae. A merging of four wildly different cultures, the country maintained a group of different identities and ideologies, demonstrated by the huge warring factions that remained at each other's throats.
Athos was the origin of the Kami, the birdfolk of Visctheria. A center of immense knowledge and magic like Estrana, the Kami created a great democracy that ruled the country and surrounding islands with a kind - but secure - iron fist. Sustained entirely by the trade that occured among these islands, Athos was rather closed off, but maintained a delicate connection with the outside world.
Ucla was a small, war-torn country trapped between the constant fighting of Uspatan and Hobrax. Like Uspatan, the country's culture was overflowing despite the intense military presence. A prolific music scene occupieed Ucla, demonstrating a love for life and creativity that dominated the hateful acts of war.
What began as a small collection of Irolian clans became the country of Agryae. Agryae's borders remained closed since the country's formation, isolated from the magically and scientifically advanced cultures of the Western Continent. This isolation led to vast improvements in their magical ability, allowing for Spark Twinning.
Oshor was populated entirely by the Vacinae, making the country's tiny land mass seem much bigger. The miniature cities built into the rolling hills resembled rabbit burrows, connecting throughout the country's borders to create a massive web of communication. Each city was linked to the next, optimizing communication and travel.
Fryit Shal was one of the last homes of the Raessae, and one of the few Visctherian countries with a completely dominant population. The Raessae worshiped their Godsent ancestors, designing Dragon-based fighting styles that were studied and used around the world. The Raessae's naturally long lifespans lead to their time being recorded in dynasties, as each Shalian year lasts one ruler's life.
If any country tried to reach the stars first, Croyla made the largest effort. The people of Croyla held festivals every month to celebrate the new constellations visible in the sky as the planet rotated, and built great temples to Esbius and Thadum, gods of the stars and the sky. Croyla depended on its neighboring countries for most of its goods and services, creating a desperate dynamic in the cramped lands.
Datrar, despite its size, was a major trading hub for the Eastern Continent, keeping control of the port of Irieford on the Reacian Channel. The Brightforce held court in the heart of the capitol, and the Befire Dynasty overlooked the proceedings with a cold, unfeeling eye. One of the few countries that boasted a major population of the Nyxurus, the small but mixed collection of ethnicities offered a diverse and full culture that always impressed travellers.
Another tiny but hugely important country was Ecrad. While other countries produced exports of fabrics, foodstuffs, and fine goods, Ecrad held a different grip on Visctheria: drugs. Ecrad managed to dominate the production field of Dragon's Repose, allowing for a huge monopoly on the black market of the world. Their largest trade lines ran through Striyuna, north to Hobrax, where export, consumption, and sale of the drug was not only legal, but encouraged.
Western Continent
On the Western Continent, only four major countries dominated the land - and consequently the land was torn and scarred by centuries of war.
The country of Reacia had a long memory, and until recent years, held grudges - even against an entire species - like currency. The new Liaore Dynasty brought a refreshing change to the way the country operated, opening trade routes along with the minds of its people. The only country inhabited by a Godsent that was hunted and killed for product, Ninian Leather was one of their most common - and highly desired - exports.
Everia was a closed country, shut off from the outside world since the founding of the Everian Council. The threat of another Priquish invasion was the last thing to cross through its highly protected borders almost five hundred years ago, but recent events brought new leadership and new ways of operating. The coming of the prophesied Great Heroes, the destruction of the fragile status quo, and the opening of Everia's borders all meant great change for the delicate country.
Salman was the country of angels, almost exclusively populated by the Grailae. Developed at the Division of the World as a sanctuary for those descended from Celestials, the country has since grown into a corrupted mass of religious overtones and militaristic occupation. Home to the Masquerade, a school of subterfuge and military leadership, Salman produced some of the most successful generals of the Visctherian timeline. Despite their success around the world, Salman was at war with the culture of Priquish for thousands of years, the result of a long blood feud that began after the death of a young Greater Grailae child.
Priquish was always warlike, refusing to advance in technology and education alongside its neighbors. They stuck to the ways of their ancestors, practicing careful rites before the battles they so faithfully honored. Each fight was considered sacred, rewarding good soldiers with fame and fortune among the numerous Clans that fought for dominance on the rocky landscape.
Southern Islands
The Sea of Ingerline and the Southern Sea divided the hemispheres to northern and southern, the latter of which was majorly occupied by a chain of island-continents. These islands were once one continent before the fight between the Titans and the Gods shattered the great land mass.
South of Estrana lay Skaolia, the country most closely tied with the powers of the Crescent Council. A land of seafarers and sailors, Skaolia was mostly inhabited by pirates and merchants who spent more time on the sea than on the soil. One of the first countries Meskaovania claimed as a colony, the country never recovered from its indentured servitude, creating a chaotic and disconnected atmosphere.
Fosmia made up the one side of the Adwynn Triangle, a freezing dead zone of ocean whose rocky islands forbid all traversal. Contrasting the seas, Fosmia was full of warm, sunny beaches and kind peoples, a culture that not only welcomed other cultures, but studied and appreciated them. Festivals from multiple religions were celebrated across the country, and the country's crime rate rested at an astonishing low due to the lack of class barriers.
Asmor was the opposite side of the Triangle, and an opposite to their Fosmian neighbors. Closed and cruel, Asmor trained efficient soldiers and even meaner scholars in the ways of their neighboring "threats." The friendliest they got was with their Oathbrothers, a partner they swore their lives to at their coming of age. The resulting Twinguard were more powerful and efficient than any team of soldiers around the globe.
Quascon lay in the southeastern corner of the map, split between twin rulers. The diocracy formed a sort of political balance, which rarely came to anything near a conclusion. Neighboured by the ex-Meskaovanian colonies of Shaca, Shiaca, and Skaolia, Quascon kept relatively quiet for many years; however, recent civil unrest stirred the embers of a long-silenced people.
Proatho was another backwards country, which made its humongous size - and therefore population - a formidable threat. They operated under the banner of the Doomdawn, an apocalyptic cult that heralded the end of the world and return of the Visctherian Pantheon. Populated almost entirely by Viscans, their fragility and short lifespans made for little progression in technology or discovery, holding the country back from their full capability.
Southern Colonies
Meskaovania and its colonies, Carlatha, Raxala, and Xertophin, inhabited a large area of the southern map. Meskaovania's influence once covered the whole of the southern hemisphere, but receded in the late Heroic Age.
Meskaovania was the dominator of all, the colonizer, the coming storm. They conquered most of southern Visctheria during or shortly after the Division of the World. While most countries passed out of their realm of power, they held a tight grip on their three closest colonies until the Voltiar's downfall in the mid Heroic Age, no less than a year after all three colonies had revolted and declared freedom. After that, Meskaovania shriveled, suffering under an instated ruler with no direction or idea of how to run a country. Hungry eyes looked to the throne, and the raw military power behind it.
Carlatha, the first colony to bend its knee to Meskaovania, was famous for its exported fabrics. The majority are made with Carlathan Lace, crafted by the best weavers in the world. These weavers also cared for the Carlathan Spiders, a carefully cultivated species of Godsent that produced a fine silk fiber that was stronger and softer than any fabric on Visctheria.
Raxala was taken by Meskaovania early enough into its countryhood that it never truly developed a capitol city. The overwhelming Voltiar presence carefully groomed the country into the perfect colony, and most of the active Meskaovanian slave trade operated similarly to a beehive: queen, soldiers, and workers. Many Raxalans were displaced from their homes due to this trade, and sent to different countries all over the world.
The colony of Xertophin mostly been turned into a giant series of mines for Meskaovania, with the small population working as miners. They sort precious gems and minerals from the dead soil that is their birthright, and ship them off to buyers around Visctheria. While each colony was freed during the Meskaovanian Revolution, some were still without guidance or governance, and struggled to move forward.
Shaca and Shiaca nestled just below the colonies, twin islands that held a magic deposit in the sea between them. The fight for that magic waged since the islands split in the Shattering, forcing the cultures to become more and more opposite each other. The cultures of the twins have long been at war, so busy with exterminating the other they barely noticed 300 years of Meskaovanian occupation.
Loxmians and Gomians inhabit the majority of Abrana, which matched Priquish for its delay in technological development. However, Priquish had a far more advanced culture than Abrana, boasting festivals and traveling agriculturists where Abrana had infighting and carefully designed torture techniques. Constantly warring factions dominated the landscapes, putting the ferocity and violence of the Clans of Priquish to shame.
Ieuthibar was home to a mix of Visctherians. The majority of this population, like several other countries, is part of a cult of a Prime Epithet. The cult of Athos Malprg, Prime Epithet of fire, honored anything that was warmth-producing, and saw fire as a holy state of being.
Broca, a small mass of ice and rock, separated from Quascon and formed a country of its own in the early Heroic Age, but almost six hundred years after the legendary Division of the World. Since then, the cultures of Quascon and Broca divulged entirely, the former a suppressed, quiet country, and the latter a revolutionary and free people. With little to no government, Broca existed in a communitarian governance; the few were just as important as the many, and trade dominated the markets rather than currency.
Fun Facts
The southern deserts of Reacia were once as uninhabitable as the Burning Fields of Everia. Strange creatures roamed the inhospitable landscape, and hostile plants were just as prevelant as the animals. In later times, the Badlands were occupied by a few small nomadic villages that carefully tended the wildlands, leaving no trace of their comings and goings apart from small campfires and garden patches. One of these villages called Shosta - before it was destroyed at the command of Queen Antarah Rolfe, and rebuilt as the village of Laila - sheltered the Crown Princess Eadlyn Wydia after her failed coronation.
The Kami's most diverse population existed in their home country of Athos. While 'predator' Kami were more common around the globe, 'prey' Kami made thier home close to their ancestral nests - so to speak. Their large, elaborate homes built into the massive trees of Athos were permanent nests, unlike the wandering, nomadic nature of most other Kami around Visctheria. While the birdfolk wander, they know they always have a nest in Athos.
"One Salmanian officer is worth fifty-three of you maggot soldiers, and I'd trade you all for less!"
Uspatan had a long record of outsourcing its military, especially its officers. The multiple studies conducted on Uspatan's military history have proven that officers educated in the dangerous halls of the Masquerade were more commonly successful not only in battle, but in social standing and education under Uspatan's banner.
This ancient diagram of one of the old Oshor Burrows was uncovered by an Arcanist of Hobrax. While Hobrax built plans to deal with any incoming invasion while it was weakened by its combat with Uspatan, they also returned the diagram to the Vacinae of Oshor as a mark of good faith. This strengthened the relationship between the two countries, gaining Hobrax an unlikely ally in their tiny neighbors.
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