Age of Equilibrium

Reader mode
Squidfam

Squidfam

Age of Equilbrium is a fantasy setting of my own creation. The known world currently consists of the landmass of Kontinent (highly creative, I know), but despite several daring expeditions no one has yet to find anything across the sea. That hasn't diminished interests in new attempts, though.
​
Political Worlda.png

Map of the Known World in the year 1624 of the Scholarly calendar.
​
Quick facts about continent:
Size: Roughly relative to IRL Africa
Climate: Varied, ranging from the mediterranean in the south to Scandinavia in the far north.
Sentient Species: Many, Including but not limited to: Humans, Orcs, Dragons, Kobolds, Driders.
"Tech Level": Also varied, ranging roughly between Iron age and early industrialization.
Magic: Present in the form of Crystialline Old Magic and Telepathy-like Soul Magic.
Deities/Religion: Exists culturally, but actual deities died at the beginning of time.

Overall, this setting leans more towards the Ursula Le Guin type of fantasy than either LOTR or ASOIAF, at least intentionally.

Nations of Importance

Kingdom of Orcnea (Light green, western coast):
A rapidly industrializing Orcish Monarchy intent on uniting the Orcish species and avenging the historical abuses committed against it.

Titenfisca (Orange, southeast islands):
A multi-species confederation of republics. What anyone from OTL would likely call "a bunch of hippies" based on their collectivist lifestyle, lack of gender norms and egalitarian mindset.

Cimyra (Green, just to the west of Titenfisca):
Primarily Human feudal Monarchy currently undergoing a war of succession, with more radical elements being funded by Titenfisca.

The Dragondoms (Red, far north and far south):
"Here be dragons" in a very literal sense. Not so much coherent political entities as much as a common designator for territories ruled by Dragons who have "married" into local noble families to avoid Death by Questing Hero and tend to be less stingy about using their massive hoards of wealth nowadays.

Empire of the Skull Throne (Grey, center of map):
Empire of nomadic warriors that control most of the steppe-like interior of central Kontient. Definetly doesn't have an OTL historical equivalent.

Eternal Empire (Dark Red, east coast):
Theocratic Elven Empire presiding over an enslaved populace of Orcs and more recently, humans.
 
Last edited:
Squidfam

Squidfam

Spectralism.png

Flag of Spectralism​

Perhaps not much more than a refinement of the already existing foundations of Titenfiscan political thought, Spectralism is nonetheless the most prevalent ideology in the Titenfiscan sphere. Their name and symbol is derived from the scientific model of a spectrum, more specifically that of light. Like light, supporters of Spectralism argue, society works best when beings and groups that are fundamentally different work together under equal conditions to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. The largest split politically is between radical and moderate Spectralists, sometimes called “Rainbows” and “Lightbeams” colloquialy. Rainbow or radical Spectralists argue that the existence of greater levels of government than that of local direct democracy inherently stifles both the qualities and perspectives of others primarily by creating positions of political influence and should therefore be abolished. There is also a strain of Rainbow Spectralist thought that advocate for the emancipation of beasts of burden and other animals, which has little sway politically but has had more success culturally. Lightbeam Spectralists on the other hand argue that some degree of government is guaranteed to safeguard the individual from both the internal oppression of the majority along with authoritarian foreign threats. Both the radical wings of Rainbows and Lightbeams advocate for war with foreign authoritarianism in either the name of self-preservation or universal liberation, with the moderate factions favouring a more realpolitik-aligned approach.
 
Last edited:
Squidfam

Squidfam

A short treatise on Justice in Titenfisca

Before the invasion, there was no coherent Titefiscan society and as a consequence most things were handled on the local level (village/clan etc.) but like many other institutions they were fairly destabilized by the war and the subsequent migrations that both mixed people from different villages/clans and disrupted the old primarily age-based hierarchies as these new mixed groups grew into their own societies. The modern system wasn’t officially adopted until the general unification and the formation of a coherent military campaign against the human kingdoms, but the practices that would evolve into the Titenfiscan system were already fairly widespread. The system itself is fairly simple and informal: when a significant dispute of any kind arises a request is sent to a neighboring settlement for a neutral “arbitrator”. These requests are most commonly put up in the town square of said village were anyone can answer it, but there are also a fair number of settlements using some form of lottery. This arbitrator is then given the authority to resolve the dispute with the possibility of an appeal by the current elected official running the town where the dispute originated and is provided room and board if the journey between settlements is too long. The normal “maximum” time these processes will take is somewhere around one week, but exceptional cases have been known to last far longer.(edited)

There are obviously exceptions: Kobolds use both the system of arbitrators as well as Pluais courts in the areas under their jurisdiction depending on their level of “integration” with the wider system. Legally speaking the same of course applies to the newly-annexed areas as well as the Enekebe (the spider people) though all of these areas rely almost exclusively on their own judicial systems. The arbitrator system has also been modified a number of ways in different places: in cities that have reached a big enough population like the capital, requests are generally sent to different parts of the city instead of outside it as the community is large-enough to provide a pool of neutral parties to any given case. There are also those that have become semi-professional arbitrators that work on cases that are especially complicated or unique.
 
Squidfam

Squidfam

Principate of Occide

Occide.png

Nestled between the feudal monarchies and merchant republics of the Dionan peninsula lays the Principate of Occide, widely respected as the center of academia in Diona thanks to its many universities. Said universities are not only responsible for educating their students but also have a unique role in the governance of Occide as a whole. Occide is governed by the council of Principals, consisting of the four principals elected by the students and faculty as well as three Oracles [1] representing the three summits [2] of Occide. The council itself would label this form of governance as a form of Geniocracy, but to many in the rural populace rule by academics is little different from any of the other self-interested autocracies or oligarchies.


[1] and [2] roughly correspond to the IRL concepts of Priest and Parish.
 
Squidfam

Squidfam

The Sword Ravenbane
​
Amongst the many swords of myth and legend that populate the world of stories told over the campfire on starry nights, Ravenbane is uniquely revered in the islands and peninsulas of the far west and for one simple reason: according to legend it still exists, hidden somewhere in the countless bogs of Grenouille for any daring adventurer to find. It remains a symbol of triumph and power for the inhabitants of the island and has a storied, blood-soaked history. The ore used for its forging was found inside the sacred stone of Mahosubime after it was split by lightning and was interpreted by all present as a clear gift from the universe. At the subsequent convocation of the mages, it was decided that this ore was to be forged into a mighty weapon that would bring them great aid in their war against the Shuvuu, a species of enormous ravens that had imposed their brutal rule on the islands. The council called upon the greatest smiths of the island to forge the blade and even went as far as to obtain the services of the dragon Wheel-Watcher and their dragon-fire. Countless magic symbols were engraved on the flat sides of the blade, which was tempered in crow’s blood. As a sword made for combat, it eschewed much of the decoration that a sword of its station would likely have been afforded, save for the large ruby functioning as a pommel that would later become known as the Raven Heart.

After returning to the island, the blade would be bestowed upon the captain of the Shuvuu braves, a regiment of the islands finest warriors. In the service of the braves it would shed the blood of countless raven-tyrants and protect the lives of its owners, making it infamous even amongst the Shuvuu. Following the death of the last of the Shuvuu and on the eve of the tunnel wars, the braves elected to return the blade to the bog in accordance with Frougen customs. Normally according to these customs, weapons or tools that break during use are considered “dead” or having served their purpose and must therefore be returned to the universe to be born anew and become the iron that is harvested and made into new tools, much like the soul of every being is reincarnated and shaped into new forms of life. In this case Ravenbane was deemed to have served its purpose in defeating the Shuvuu and it was therefore time to return it to the universe, not dishonouring it by shedding the blood of former allies. Even so, many believe that the sword has not yet filled its full purpose: somewhere amongst the countless bogs it still lays, waiting to be rediscovered once more and used to vanquish a great evil threatening the island.
 
Squidfam

Squidfam

The Science of Magic in Age of Equilibirum
​
The general study of magic in Age of Equilibrium can broadly be divided into three different distinct fields:

Pneumapysics

Pneumaphysics is the study of Soul Magic, its properties and interactions with old magic and physical reality. A large amount of this research is focused on the practical harnessing of magic, but also includes a field of theoretical study which has made significant discoveries regarding the nature of soul magic like the theory of self-perpetuation. One of the most important questions being debated in pneumaphysics is the interconnected relationship of soul-magic and sentience, especially as it pertains to the current framework of magic-reality separation and the question of sentience being part of or separate from physical reality.

Thaumaphysics

Thaumaphysics is the study of Old Magic and is by virtue of said magic’s value often considered the most prestigious field of work. For this same reason along with the overbearing influence of the adventurer’s league, theoretical rather than practical research dominates the field. Even so the dangerous and confusing nature of Old Magic means that little headway has been made in deciphering the inner workings and fundamental properties of the magic.

Scientific Metaphysics

Somewhat maligned compared to its sister fields, scientific metaphysics is the study of the absence of magic or “reality”. Despite its reputation it tackles important questions such as the nature of permanence, how to define and measure reality (if such a thing is even possible) and is responsible for putting forward the current theoretical framework of “anomaly vs baseline” magic-reality separation that defines much of current magical research.
 
Reader mode
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top