Acir

To start explaining the lore of my world, a good place to begin is logically the world itself. Some parts of what I touch on briefly here will have their own lore explanations later on, so don't panic if I say nonsense and then move on like nothing happened. Perhaps the most important thing to realize and remember throughout the lore posts is a fundamental part of my writing of Acir. This world mirrors our own in that it has many different people, with many different beliefs and different stories that have been shared for longer than any living memory can say for certain.

 "A world of myths and legends" is the tagline of Acir because most of the history has devolved into just that. No perfect accounts exist of the history or the pantheon of this world, and I want that to be reflected in the way that information is given to readers. The best way that I know to do this, is to give the information to you as though through the words of a character in the world itself, struggling to piece the stories all together. You may see contradictions between some of the things I say in a story compared to the things I say in these posts, and it is by design. With that disclaimer said and done, let's talk about Acir.

Acir is a world largely isolated from other celestial bodies. It has one sun which is widely accepted to be called Uvesht by the Acirian people, though no one can recall how it got that name. It has two moons, which are similarly personified as the twins known as Carnieth and Temnos. Importantly, while the sun and moons have names and different personifications across the world, Acirians do not see them as gods, or even necessarily as divine. Finally, the planet is surrounded by a set of rings similar to Saturn, but on a smaller scale. Many different religions across Acir state that the rings just appeared one day while the planet was still in its cooling phases and began to glow with a power of their own, which effectively gave birth to their deities. Because of this close connection to the deities, Acirians call these the Aetheric Rings, believing that they are the physical home to the legendary Aether, the world of the gods.

Current day Acir has eight different continents called The Eight Realms. Each one is inhabited and has effectively evolved its own distinct cultures. This is largely due to an ancient belief that the Realms were specifically watched over by different ruling members of the Deific Council, the name of the global pantheon. The Realms are as follows and each one will have a post of their own in time; Abnen, Agravia, Denchen, Evekia, Genvus, Mezka, Scorleth, and Wajo. Each Realm is fully aware of the others, largely due to the influence of Genvus' technological advancements, and Wajo being central to the rest of them and acting as a global hub of trade.

While every Realm has their specific traditions and values that they uphold, foreign influence has certainly touched them all. Highly technologically advanced cities exist in parts of Abnen, which otherwise would likely be a village ruled over by a feudal lord, due to a large influx of Genvus immigration. Scorleth sees frequent Evekian spellcasters journey from their lush forests into the badlands in search of lost knowledge. Denchen is perhaps the only Realm untouched by outside influence, however this cannot be proven as it is considered nearly impossible to find and return from Denchen alive. This will, of course, be explained more later on as I discuss the Realms.

Acirian society, though social positions vary greatly between the Realms and even the nations within them, is most often separated into two categories. Mortals and Fey. A mortal, from a fully outside perspective, is a type of person that I created specifically for this setting. Species like the Skella or the Strigosi, who likely need more explanation than the Fey do. The Fey are largely fairytale or fantasy staple creatures that I've modified for my setting. Goblins, Orcs, Elves, etc. They all are unique within this world, however they are much more recognizable and likely will receive less lore discussions than the mortals unless requested.

In-world, the difference is just as stark. Mortals and Archfae were created by the deities in very different ways, and for most of Acirian history, the Archfae were effectively overseers for the mortals, to help them grow and advance. Eventually, as it seemed the Age of Fae had outgrown its purpose, the majority of the Archfae had lost almost all of their innate magic and were reduced to the various species now known as the Fey. Each species still holds a specific aspect of their former prowess that they can utilize at will, but any other usage of magic must be done through mortal means. Due to their often significantly longer lives and the history of their status, mortals and Fey rarely cooperate beyond the few understanding individuals who put their goals above their traditions.

Magic, in all its various forms, is the result of an invisible force called The Wellspring. It is believed to be an ocean of raw power that exists from the depths of Acir's physical oceans, out past the Aethiric Rings. It can be channeled but not controlled. Spellcasters often spend their entire lives trying to study just one aspect of reality that they can manipulate through the Wellspring. Most commonly, these are the sorcerers who learn the basic spells and ceremonies to cause relatively small alterations in the Wellspring's flow; but there are those who continue to study and grow in power known as wizards. Due to the complexity and danger associated with the magic forces a wizard can conjure, they actually tend to become less likely to use their powers the more that they study them, instead choosing to simply notarize and record every discovery they make on their selected field.

Other methods of utilizing magic which are only slightly less dangerous than sorcery include alchemy and becoming a deity's Champion. However, just because it may not be channeled at a particular point, does not mean that the Wellspring is ever still. Like an ocean, it moves and shifts, creating currents of magical phenomenon in its wake. The most well-known and documented effect of this, is the creation of monsters. On Acir, a monster is defined as any creature or construct that has been significantly altered by the flow of the Wellspring. Most often this comes in the form of major physical changes from the creature's natural state, as if experiencing a form of rapid mutation. While no two monsters are fully the same, some animals are known to become monsters in extremely similar ways, allowing for broad classifications like landsharks, or fallowdeer.

Though the Eight Realms are largely at peace, due in large part to the work of the Adventurer’s Guild, this balance is at a constant risk of collapse. Small scale wars have become more and more constant within the Realms since the emergence of Auroras, demons, and dragons, and the arrival of the Great Arcs.

This is the state of the world we now find ourselves in. Rising technological achievements, feats of grand magic, deities watching from beyond as tensions rise and new legends unfold. This is Acir