𝒊𝒊𝒊:Velmoria's empires and magic history
𝐕elmoria, the continental territory of the humans, steeped in magic, history, and political intrigue, is home to seven prominent empires.
Each possesses unique cultures, geographies, and legacies that have shaped the course of history.
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✦ ˒ EMPIRE OF CAELONDRIA (North-Eastern Velmoria)
Royal House: Aerelion
Capital: Caelora
Known For: Healing magic, mountaintop libraries, ancient alliances with the Fae.
Overview:
Nestled amidst the towering peaks of the Elarian Mountains, Caelondria is a realm of serenity and scholarship.
Its cities are carved into mountainsides, with structures that blend seamlessly into the rocky terrain.
The empire's scholars are renowned for their mastery of healing magic, often sought after by neighboring realms.
Cultural Notes:
Caelondrians value knowledge and introspection.
Their society is structured around monastic orders and academic institutions.
The ancient alliance with the Fae has imbued the Aerelion bloodline with latent magical abilities, though many remain unaware of this heritage.
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✦ ˒ THE SERAVELLEIAN EMPIRE (South-Eastern Velmoria)
Royal House: Seravelle
Capital: Rosaire
Known For: Diplomacy, white stone architecture, flourishing arts.
Overview:
The Seravellan Empire is a testament to beauty and diplomacy.
Its cities, constructed from gleaming white stone, are adorned with blooming roses and rare mosaics.
The empire's commitment to peace has made it a hub for cultural exchange and artistic expression.
Cultural Notes:
Seravellans are pacifists at heart, often mediating disputes between other nations.
Their society celebrates art in all forms, from music and dance to sculpture and poetry. Festivals are frequent, drawing visitors from across Velmoria.
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✦ ˒ ELARION DOMINION (Fallen Empire)
Capital: Elaris
Known For: Twilight magic, ancient relics, graceful decline.
Overview:
Once guardians of ancient relics and wielders of twilight magic, the Elarion Dominion's high towers now stand in silent desolation.
Their fall was not marked by war but by a gradual fading, as if the very essence of their magic dissipated over time.
Cultural Notes:
The Thalvaran lineage was deeply connected to the arcane, with rituals conducted during twilight hours to harness the day's transitional energies.
Their decline remains a subject of scholarly debate, with theories ranging from magical overreach to divine retribution.
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✦ ˒ KINGDOM OF VIREMONTHE (Northern Velmoria)
Royal House: Viremonthe
Capital: Stonehearth
Known For: Mountainous terrain, warrior culture, stonemasonry.
Overview:
Perched amidst rugged mountains, Viremonthe is a realm forged by resilience.
Its people are hardy warriors and master stonemasons, building fortresses that have withstood both time and siege.
Cultural Notes:
Viremonthians value strength and honor. Their society is clan-based, with each clan boasting its own traditions and battle songs.
Despite their size, they command respect, often serving as elite mercenaries or steadfast allies.
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✦ ˒ Ashcourne Vale (Lost Empire)
Royal House: Ashcourne
Capital: Mistveil
Known For: Wyvern taming, ancient forests, enigmatic disappearance.
Overview:
Shrouded in perpetual mist, the Ashcourne Vale was a realm of mystery and magic. Its inhabitants were known for taming wyverns and safeguarding primordial forests.
One day, they vanished without a trace, leaving behind only legends and a large terrain.
Cultural Notes:
Ashcournians were deeply attuned to nature, often communicating with forest spirits and creatures.
Their sudden disappearance is a tale told around campfires, with theories ranging from magical transcendence to self-imposed exile.
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✦ ˒ THE DUSKMERE CONFEDERACY (South-Western Velmoria)
Royal House: Duskmere
Capital: Shadowreach
Known For: Political intrigue, unification of fragmented states, subtle magic.
Overview:
Once a collection of warring states, the Duskmere Confederacy unified under a single banner through cunning diplomacy and strategic marriages.
Its history is veiled in shadows, much like its dense forests and fog-laden valleys.
Cultural Notes:
Duskmerians are masters of subtlety. Their magic is understated, often involving illusions and mind arts.
Politics is a game played with finesse, and secrets are the most valuable currency.
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✦ ˒ SOLTERRA EMPIRE (Central Velmoria; Capital Region)
Imperial House: Liorvain
Capital: Solaria
Known For: Radiant courts, sun temples, prosperity hiding dark secrets.
Overview:
At the heart of Velmoria lies the Solterra Empire, a beacon of light and power. Its golden temples and radiant courts exude opulence.
However, beneath this splendor lies a web of secrets, with whispers of forbidden magic and political machinations.
Cultural Notes:
Solterrans are proud and fiercely loyal. Their society revolves around sun worship, with rituals conducted at dawn and dusk.
While they project an image of unity and prosperity, internal power struggles are common, often concealed behind grand festivities.
[Map of Velmoria]
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Mana abilities in the human sphere
✦ ˒ INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS MANA?
"Mana is the thread from which the world is woven. To know it is to walk the line between creation and collapse."
—Archmage Velcien, Treatise on Elemental Truths
Mana, though invisible to the mundane eye, is a force more ancient than wind or flame. It courses through the earth, water, sky—and through 72% of the human population.
It manifests from birth as an innate affinity to a single elemental archetype. These mana types define a wielder's nature, growth, and magical limitations.
Some hone their affinity into formidable skill; others let it rot. The strength of one's mana is not predetermined—it must be cultivated like any art. Failure to nurture it results in degeneration, and in rare cases, complete dissolution—Mana Fade.
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✦ ˒ MANIFESTATION & INHERITANCE
Mana types manifest from birth, usually before a child turns two.
Inheritance is unpredictable. While genetic trends may influence probability, it is not uncommon for a Wind-type child to be born from a long line of Earth-types.
Children are often tested during infancy through a mana resonance stone, which glows with the hue of their element.
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✦ ˒ DISTRIBUTION
72% of humans are capable of using mana.
The remaining 28% are non-manifests or "Blanks"—born without any affinity and permanently unable to harness mana.
While mana affinity is common, strength levels vary wildly based on talent, discipline, and environmental factors.
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✦ ˒ RANKING SYSTEM
Mana users are generally ranked into the following tiers:
Dormant – Possess mana but haven't awakened it.
Initiate – Basic response, limited effect radius. Often unpredictable.
Adept – Can manipulate their element with some finesse.
Expert – High potency and control; capable of advanced techniques.
Master – Rare. Their mana affects surroundings passively.
Ascendant – Legendary-tier; can bend their element in abstract ways (e.g., shaping emotions with mist, commanding beasts with animal mana).
[ ! ] Note: Mana abilities can degenerate if not cultivated. A neglected adept might regress to an initiate level over time. Total loss (Mana Fade) occurs only in extreme neglect or mana poisoning.
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✦ ˒ MANA TYPES
Below are the known mana types, their nature, strengths, and unique traits:
WIND
Nature: Agility, velocity, freedom.
Abilities: Air currents manipulation, sonic attacks, flight/gliding, suffocation techniques.
Strengths: Speed, range, flexibility.
Weaknesses: Low durability, lacks raw destructive power.
Cultural Note: Often seen in messengers, warriors, and spies.
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WATER
Nature: Adaptability, emotion, flow.
Abilities: Hydrokinetics, ice generation*, water healing, mist weaving.
Strengths: Versatile (defense, healing, offense), easy to find source.
Weaknesses: Weakened in dry areas; emotional instability can disrupt flow.
Cultural Note: Water users often become healers or seers.
[ * ] Note: Ice-type mana abilities are a subtype of the water-type.
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FIRE
Nature: Destruction, passion, rebirth.
Abilities: Flame projection, heat manipulation, combustion, magma control at high ranks.
Strengths: Raw power, wide-area destruction, morale-breaking presence.
Weaknesses: Hard to control; burns out users quickly if untrained.
Cultural Note: Revered and feared. Common among warriors and rebels.
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EARTH
Nature: Stability, strength, endurance.
Abilities: Terrain shaping, rock armor, seismic shocks, mineral manipulation.
Strengths: High defense, strong offense, battlefield control.
Weaknesses: Slow activation, stationary reliance.
Cultural Note: Often serve as builders, guardians, or judges.
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PLANT
Nature: Growth, resilience, patience.
Abilities: Accelerated plant growth, vine manipulation, toxic flora, symbiosis with ecosystems.
Strengths: Environmental synergy, crowd control, regeneration techniques.
Weaknesses: Needs access to plant life or fertile terrain.
Cultural Note: Plant-users are the most common rural mana type; also frequent in druidic orders.
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ANIMAL
Nature: Instinct, connection, primal energy.
Abilities: Communication/control of animals, beast transformation, sensory enhancement, temporary limb morphing (claws, wings, etc.)
Strengths: Versatility, companionship, predatory instincts.
Weaknesses: Reliant on available fauna; inner wildness may overwhelm logic.
Cultural Note: Rare. Many animal users form sacred bonds with "soul beasts."
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MIST
Nature: Illusion, concealment, memory.
Abilities: Illusions, mist projection, memory fog, dream manipulation.
Strengths: Mental warfare, confusion, stealth.
Weaknesses: Low physical offense; requires intense concentration.
Cultural Note: Feared as spies, assassins, or oracles. Some are banned from public roles in conservative regions.
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BLOOD
Nature: Sacrifice, vitality, control.
Abilities: Blood manipulation, healing through life exchange, blood marking, bonecrafting.
Strengths: Control over life essence, self-repair, potential necromantic traits.
Weaknesses: Uses own life force or others'; often taboo or restricted.
Cultural Note: Considered cursed or sacred depending on region. Blood users are rare and either revered shamans or exiled witches.
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✦ ˒ MANA SOCIETY & ROLES
Mana Academies train young users, often around age 7.
Specialist Guilds form around element types—Flame Orders, Verdant Circles, etc.
Non-mana users often feel pressure to compensate with tech or physical mastery.
Mixed mana cities are diverse but prone to elemental disputes or imbalance (e.g., fire types over-irrigating against plant types).
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✦ ˒ ON RARE HYBRIDS
Theorists have documented Mana Hybrids, individuals born with two elemental affinities. These are near-mythical and dangerous. Hybrid abilities can create unprecedented effects:
Wind + Fire = Plasma (burns brighter than daylight)
Water + Mist = Hallucinogenic Rain
Blood + Plant = Carnivorous Bloom
Ice + Earth = Glacial Walls that resonate with soul energy
No hybrid has lived past age 40 without external stabilizing devices. These beings are either worshipped or hunted.