Spleen Jots Down Elemaer Notes

Gods: Krad, fire; Laetha, wind; Trixer, water; Verir, earth; Alexairea, light. Exiled god of darkness, Su'riik, allied with demons during Second War of the Gods. There are also other supernatural beings, including the Heralds (one for each god), the dragons, and a few others.

All Elemaeran characters must be human; no other sentient races exist on the world (demon characters aren't appropriate for most RP, though conceivably certain plotted RPs could be made specifically for them). The cosmology of the setting is fully closed, and no characters can be brought from other settings: if you want to play them on Elemaer, they must be born on Elemaer.

Each Order (one for each element) worships a different god. Soldiers of the Orders have their natural abilities boosted by magic and depending on their Order; for instance, members of the Order of Fire become strong very easily, but members of the Order of Water find it easier to develop a good memory and improve their logical faculties (and by extension, magic). All members of the Orders can use magic, but magic differs between Orders (though is fairly consistent in a single Order). Members of the Orders are given specific ranks that reflect their power and experience. Members of an Order tend to be inducted between the ages of 5 and 8. Different Orders favor different weapons and fighting styles. Though not officially enemies, the Orders don't get along well in some cases (Darkness is the enemy of all the other Orders, however, but exists primarily on the world of Ar'tok). Wars have been fought between the Elemaeran Orders.

Different ranks in the Orders tend to be occupied by warriors of different ages, an inevitable side effect of early induction. The tendency, which has many exceptions, is as follows:

• Initiate - Initiation age (5-8) to 10
• Second rank (Embred, Dian, etc.) - 10 to 15
• Third rank (Terenar, Flazar, etc.) - 15 to 19
• Fourth rank (Condras, Er'kiir, etc.) - 19 to 25
• Fifth rank (Wind Guide, Daeii, etc.) - generally 25+
• Sixth rank (Aequar, Lightning Champion, etc.) - generally 32+
• Highest rank (Sea Knight, Gazer, etc.) - generally 40+
  
  

Nearly all members of the Orders competent enough to be viable PCs will rise at least to fifth rank. Not everyone will necessarily rise beyond that, which is why there is no higher age listed for those ranks.

Orders:

• Fire (Kradites)
  • Ranks: Initiate of Fire, Embred, Flambar, Flame Warrior, Pyral, Infernal, Burning Master
  • Led by Great Burning Master Keratun Raeyis. A new Great Burning Master is chosen in a fighting tournament (non-lethal, of course) among the higher-ranked Burning Masters when the current Great Burning Master dies or otherwise forfeits the post.
  • Kradites grow strong very easily, and tend to develop sharp senses. Their increased agility, while it has its own magical boost, is largely a factor of their extensive training in single combat. However, Kradites gain little supernatural help with spellcasting and are often bad at thinking logically.
  • Fire magic is best used in direct attacks and to supplement the physical abilities of the Kradite warrior wielding it. It is a difficult magic to use properly and tends to require a good deal of control to use the more complicated spells, which is why true mages within the Order are rarer than in the others. However, the mages that do exist tend to be very effective and highly innovative. Fire magic can also be used to burn and melt objects, which has economic applications.
  • Warriors of Fire tend to trust in their weapons (unless they fight unarmed) when they fight, focusing on techniques especially for their weapon (it is a common jest that the only book a Kradite will study is a book about his weapon). They usually focus on melee combat. Weapons popular among Kradite warriors are swords, claws, shuriken, and crossbows. Unarmed fighting is also fairly prevalent in the Order of Fire.
  • Economically, the Order of Fire, having within its ranks many skilled smiths, often has cause to sell the surplus weapons and armor that their own members don't use. Members of the Order of Fire are also sometimes employed to protect merchants traveling through dangerous areas. Kradites' strength also makes them effective laborers, when the need arises.
  • The Order of Fire has a strong alliance with the Order of Air, is at peace with the Order of Light, and distrusts the Orders of Earth and Water.
• Air (Laethans)
  • Ranks: Initiate of Air, Dian, Thundaran, Gustohran, Wind Guide, Lightning Champion, Stormbringer
  • Led by Arch-Stormbringer Shak’ural Leghtar. A new Arch-Stormbringer is chosen by augurers, who interpret what they perceive to be Laetha's will manifested in certain events in nature. These clues tend to be relatively overt (and often involve lightning).
  • Laethans are able to run farther and faster than regular humans, and most can easily outrun faster members of the other Orders, as well. They also gain supernatural reflexes and impressive flexibility and agility, both of body and of mind. However, Laethan soldiers are often not as tough as soldiers of other Orders.
  • Air magic is the one least destructive in direct combat (at least until the practitioner learns to control lightning), but it is easy to use and highly adaptable (and also very accurate). Air magic allows for flight and particularly impressive increases in running speed, in addition to spells dealing with communication and weather. Although the majority of Laethans are fighters, there is a considerable amount of magic wielders in the order. All of the order members are required to have a good knowledge of magic, better than that of half of the other orders, so most fighters will use their magic in conjunction with their martial training to make them faster, or to give their attacks an extra jolt.
  • Thanks to their supernatural speed, reflexes and agility, Laethan warriors rely on these qualities while fighting. They often wield light weapons, like daggers or short swords, opting to swing them about in complicated displays of martial training than in any sort of powerful form. Most Laethans are archers, though, before melee combatants. Along with their control of wind, their reflexes make Laethan archers the deadliest of Elemaer.
  • The Order of Air has developed their own form of mail transportation. Thanks to the speed of Lathans, they can get things around faster that that of the government postal system, which is slow and bureaucratic. Given the correct fees, a person can have a letter delivered to a city in a day and a half that may take the regular courier system three or four days. Fees include any tolls along the way, extra for shipment to a hostile area, and food. Although the system had not started this way, it has developed to the point where people demanded they begin helping ship objects that could not fit on the back of a Laethan. Although this service doesn't take any less time than the regular system, the fees are here implemented for Order of Air guards. Often, the client will even hire a few order of fire members to supplement the ranks, though the two rates are seperate.
  • Although it would be thought the Order of Water dominated the sailing trade, the Order of Air currently has the upperhand in the business. Thanks to the order's ability to manipulate the weather, a Laethan ship always sails on clear waters with a good wind at their backs. As well, the order has developed some of the fastest ships, mostly thanks to the order's control of wind.
  • The Order of Air has very good relations with the Order of Fire, mediocre relations with the Order of Light, and very poor relations with the Orders of Earth and Water.
• Earth (Verites)
  • Ranks: Initiate of Earth, Sedeyin, Terenar, Er'kiir, Stone Guardian, Daiam, Earthward
  • Led by Gray Earthward Nantur Alavis. The Gray Earthward is always the oldest mentally fit Earthward in the Order (although Gray Earthward Nantur's mental fitness can be called into question).
  • Verites are quick to gain very solid muscle and impressive stamina and resistance to pain - the toughest have been known to shrug off warhammer attacks to their heads. However, this comes at a price, as Verites tend to be slower than other members of the Orders. They are also known to be introspective and philosophical as a result of the teachings of the wise Earth God, Verir. Meditation is popular among Verites, allowing some of the more adept in the art to ignore pain and increase their reservoirs of magical energy for spellcasting.
  • Earth magic requires care and precision to use properly; it is not as adaptable as the magics of the other Orders, requiring more preparation and time to cast spells. However, with planning and an experienced practitioner (or practitioners; Verite spellcasters are known to choreograph complicated and effective routines of spellcasting), it can be incredibly devastating in combat. Earth spells include spells to hinder and bolster, partially or completely petrify (both into real rock, immobilizing opponents, and into a magical middle ground between rock and flesh, called stoneform, that is used by Verites to increase their toughness), divine for minerals, affect magnetism, and navigate underground. An especially important facet of Earth magic deals with the creation and upkeep of golems. Earth magic governs plants as well as minerals.
  • Many warriors of the Order of Earth use simple weaponry that makes good use of their strength but requires less in the way of improvisation or maneuvering; popular choices include axes and hammers, and even simple clubs or cudgels. Others prefer the reach of a polearm or the simple power of a pair of reinforced gauntlets. Many Verite soldiers study grappling, especially those who fight with gauntlets.
  • The Order of Earth has recently fallen on hard times; once the most profitable of the Orders thanks to their ability to mine effectively and boost the growth of trees for lumber, mismanagement has squandered most of their holdings away and the slow advancement of the reclamation of Elemaer has caused the Order to begin to run out of good spots for mining.
  • The Order of Earth has a tentative pact with the Order of Water, peace with the Order of Light, suspicion of the Order of Fire, and a possible forthcoming war with the Order of Air.
• Light (Alexaireans)
  • Ranks: Initiate of Light, Glarin, Flazar, Lugir, Ra'tar, Helian, Gazer
  • Led by Chosen Gazer Haki Udiye. Chosen Gazers are chosen in an election (with higher-ranked members of the Order getting weightier votes than lower-ranked ones) every seven years.
  • Alexaireans tend to have, out of all the Orders, the soldiers with the most balanced abilities. All of their abilities get basically the same amount of magical assistance, with the normal variance.
  • Light magic is almost as adaptable as Air magic, but not quite, but is more useful in direct combat. Casting time for spells of Light tends to be very low, allowing a Light mage to cast more spells in a battle than most other mages. Included in Light magic are spells to heal, affect perception (including the capacity to create illusions), burn (with a laser, effectively), boost the abilities of its warriors in very controllable ways, (continued at some later date)
• Water (Trixerans)
  • Ranks: Initiate of Water, Dor'pin, Sterem, Condras, Hydiran, Aequar, Sea Knight
  • Led by Sea Lord Telofar Ens. Sea Lords are generally the first-born child (male or female) or - in the case of a childless Sea Lord - the named heir of the last Sea Lord.
  • Members of the Order of Water are usually proficient scholars, assisted by a selection process for induction based on those skills and a magically-instilled predilection for a good memory and strong skill at logical reasoning and data analysis. This attribute also contributes to the Trixeran penchant for spellcasting. Physical strength tends to be lacking among those of the Order of Water moreso than in the other Orders.
  • Water magic is a force to be reckoned with. It is strong in many different areas, being quick and taking relatively little energy to cast. While it does not have the same inherent adaptability in its structure as Air magic, Trixeran mages overcome this through extensive training and drilling. Combat using Water magic occurs mainly through the mediums of ice and acid, although attacks of various kinds using liquid water are also used. Water magic can also be used for healing (though not as well as the magic of Light), divination (especially scrying), transport through water, the creation and manipulation of ice and acid, and sustenance.
  • Combat with weaponry tends to take a backseat to combat with magic among many warriors of Water. However, many skilled warriors exist among the Order of Water, especially those that learn to use their magic to assist their physical combat. Popular weapons for Trixeran warriors include staves, polearms, tridents, daggers, and shortbows.
  • The Order of Water makes a large part of its income from its fish farms, which are a crucially important source of food for the people of As'nar and are second-nature for a group of people with mastery over water to take care of. They also purify water for those who can pay the steep price (the magic required is draining and, thus, manpower-intensive), which isn't called for as much thanks to very pure springs in the Kal'inur Mountains north of As'nar. Enterprising single Trixerans have been known to sell magically-created ice, but competition is always extremely cutthroat and few stay in the business for long.
  • The Order of Water is allied to the Order of Light, has very good relations with the Order of Earth, and frequently disagrees with the Orders of Fire and Air, especially Fire.
• Darkness (Su'riikans)
  • Ranks: Initiate of Darkness, Dimiur, Shadarak, Ob’scrons, Daeii, Aevlen, Fiend Brother
  • Led by Death Bringer Tharcys Shiien. The preferred method of succession among the Order of Darkness tends to be assassination.

As'nar has a good page.

Most of Elemaer's surface is not under the auspices of humankind; unnatural monsters created by the demons of the world of Ar'tok roam the land. One of the Orders' most important goals is to destroy these monsters and destroy the Bane Gates, portals to Ar'tok that dot the wilderness of Elemaer, through which the monsters gain their sustenance and demons and the Order of Darkness can attack Elemaer. Most of the people in Elemaer live near the major settlements on the continent of Azurin, including Elemaer and the stronghold cities (like the oldest one, Tarol Kir).

Ar'tok is not a nice place. It's dark and Mars-dusty and no one likes to live there. The Temple of Darkness is there, as are the underground homes of demonkind, where they breed monsters, create dark artifacts, etc. Demons have strange mindsets, almost like robots programmed by evil beings (which they sort of are, having been created by beings from outside time, known as the Great Demons).