the_ivorytower: Art from the Magic: the Gathering card. (Default)
[personal profile] the_ivorytower posting in [community profile] worldofbalance
Worldbuilding.



Introduction

Our world is about balance and harmony.

People scoff at that. They look at the devastation that the elementals bring, the lives that they take, and they laugh. How can our world be about balance when so much is so badly unbalanced? I will tell you truly, though, that the world is indeed about balance. Here is the thing that you must recall: our world does not require evil to balance out good. Our world constantly slides towards entropy. Perhaps, on other worlds, this is not so, but it is the greatest truth we know. Our world is trying to kill us, and we must fight it at every opportunity to live.

What did we ever do to deserve this?

This question has been asked a countless number of times throughout our history. The question implies that our world is punishing us. That we are suffering for a reason, though we do not know what that reason is. This is not true. Our planet does not think. It does not feel. It does not punish us because to punish implies an ability to judge, to admonish. It simply is, as we simply are. Our world is not even callous, because to be callous implies a choice to be compassionate but refuse. It feels nothing. It simply exists.

Why does this still happen after all these years? Where are the mages?

Once, long ago, the mages that defend us were put to death. Their power was feared, they were seen as the source of our woes. A simple solution was proposed, a simple result was obtained: we were nearly extinguished. It was then that we learned the truth: that while the mages did create shifts in the world's weather, they also prevented the elements from gathering on their own, expelling themselves into our world, then joining, merging, and creating disasters beyond our ken. Villages, cities, even nations were destroyed before the few remaining mages were able to fight back at great cost. Now, people may mutter, people may grumble, but they dare not speak out against mages as a whole. There are too dear to us for that.

Where are our warriors? Should they not be fighting these threats?

The warriors of our world do fight, and fight well, but they lack the special skills of the mages to draw out elementals and combat them. They serve as bodyguards, as escorts, and companions and friends... and, sometimes, as the mercenaries for the wars between nations. While the elementals trouble us greatly, we should not forget that there are many dangers of this world, from the wild, over-large animals that absorb elemental energy in their own, dangerous way, to the bandits that prey on travellers, to the scheming politicians that do much for their own ends.

Perhaps it would be best to start from the beginning...

Perhaps it would.

The Beginning

Libra is not an old world, as worlds go. It has never fully lost that sense of primal wildness from its youth, and that is expressed through six elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Ice, Life, and Death. While the first four are self-explanatory, Life and Death represent health and sickness, youth and ageing, strength and weakness, the very fabric of existence itself. The elements work together in a wheel, one that perpetuates as the world turns.

The earliest evidence of civilization in Libra is in the wastelands, dating back to old, long-buried cities that have documentation of the first mages, and their disastrous, sometimes horrifying discoveries regarding their own gifts. It would seem that at first, mages feared what they could do, especially considering how the world changed. Slowly, they realized what had to be done.

As mages discovered their elemental alignments, or Aspects, they began to separate, isolating themselves in different parts of the world, with the Life-Aspected mages remaining in the wastelands to document these changes. As new mages were born, they would gravitate towards these six locations, and like a self-perpetuating cycle, the more mages went to those places and used their magic, the more suitable to this endeavour the places became.

The Founding of Nations

Where mages went, others soon followed. While many could not duplicate the mage's gifts, there were many who felt similar tugs towards these locations of power, finding themselves simply more comfortable, more at-ease in the right places. As this happened, small villages became larger settlements, and these settlements became cities. With cities came the first founding of nations.

Nations drew themselves along elemental lines, and then again as people experienced differences of opinion, of methodology, or simply grew to dislike one another. They went to war, and the borders began to move, struggling back and forth, searching for balance. Sometimes, whole groups of elemental affinities seemed to simply... disappear, leading to only four great nations, though those broke apart under pressure, and the two remaining Aspects returned.

The Murder of Zerator

During the Dissolution, as it had come to be known, a movement began, a belief that rolled through the lands like a storm front, or a bad omen. That belief was that much of the strife caused in the world was caused by the mages, by their gifts, by the way they shaped the world. During that time, the Life and Death Aspects had dwindled, though were slowly reviving. One of the great Death mages, a man named Zerator, had come to lead his people. Political rivals, jealous of his position and disturbed by his gifts, stirred his subjects to rise against him.

“This world is a world of balance, of change. You may kill me, you may water the stones of this place with my blood, but you will not alter that simple fact. Nothing can.”

The words he spoke, moments before he was cut down, would haunt the world forever. As the people rose up against the mages, suffering losses as the mages were defending themselves, the world itself began its revolt: multiple, huge elemental beings rose up, tearing through the world as they sought to exert their will over it. Air elementals merged and became hurricanes of immense magnitude, Earth elementals called forth city-eating earthquakes, fires and flood abounded, and the dead rose up in their corporeal and spiritual forms.

The swords that were stained with the blood of their would-be saviours could not entirely stem the tides of destruction, and people cowered in fear, trying to find higher and safer ground. Meanwhile, a small conclave of mages, having survived the purge, watched with anger, fear, and despair. These people had killed their brothers and sisters, their comrades in magic and in arms... and now they were dying, devastated by the destruction their fears had wrought. They debated, but in the end, agreed to step out into the open to stop the world from ending.

The desperate turned to them, the frightened and lost. The mages formed three tight circles, and from there they spread. Slowly, others flocked to their sides, and with nary an apology, they fought as one. The battles were difficult and lengthy, pushing everyone who fought them to their limits, but when the world was safe, only six mages stood, one of each Aspect, clinging to their lives and their powers with a white-knuckled grip. It was then that the words were recorded:

“Our world is a world of balance. It needs the warriors and the mages, the shadows that guard us from darkness and the rangers who light the way. Let no person wage war on one another solely due to their Clade.”

And so it was. The next years were hard. Many times, the elementals rose up again, though less than what they were. So too were the mages, but slowly, with time, with care, and even with magic, they triumphed, and brought balance to the world once more. The mages, now many dozens strong, withdrew to their private sanctums, to rest, to have families, and to teach. The Death-Aspected mages, in particular, withdrew to the shattered string of islands that had once been Zerator's home, and named the new land after him. Rather than attempt to restore their old city, they left the shattered remains intact, choosing to build elsewhere and honour his memory.

The Rise of Illyanol

As the dust settled, and life went back to normal, a new group arose. Inspired by the fast-moving, anti-materialistic lifestyle that was forced on the people of Libra by the disasters, they built a nomadic society that roamed the plains of the western continent, living off of the land the Air-Aspected mages had tamed. Many considered them to be foolish, but their power grew, pushing towards the foot of the Synadoc Mountains. Now worried, the Synod withdrew to their mountains, using the cold to defend themselves from the aggressive horde. Then the Illyan pushed a little more, and the Synod realized that retreat was no longer an option. Armed with their weapons and their magic, they prepared for war.

Synadoc Strikes Back

The battle with the Illyan went poorly, much to their surprise. Somehow, these nomadic tribesmen had grown powerful. As they explored their options, they realized that the answer had been staring at them all along: the very fire they channelled, the magic of steam itself, could be weaponized and they turned their greatest tool, their greatest gift, into their greatest advantage. They created steam-powered weaponry, driving the Illyan back across the plains. The trouble became trying to maintain their equipment away from Synadoc's cold mountains. As the Synod retreated, the Illyan advanced, forcing the Synod to defend themselves. It became a game of strength, a point requiring the Synod to push beyond their secure borders, and the Illyan to devise new strategies. There was, in its own way, a balance between them.

Jewel of the Desert

The Yorae had been, at best, reluctant in the assault against the mages, who had actually sheltered within Yoraelle's borders before they stepped in to save the world. Using their reputation, they used their mage contacts to claw their way to prominence, creating a beautiful city within the desert. Yora, called the Jewel of the Desert, boasted great markets and incredible commerce, and was supported by multiple farms. Once they had money, they wanted power, rivalling the ancient, some claimed dying nation of Vanik for importance. The Vanya, not wanting to be seen as obsolete, pushed back, giving the Yorae plenty to compete over, and one might claim that both sides even enjoy it.

An Alliance of Curiosity

Natathan is a curiosity. It seems as though it has never advanced, its people content to continuously be reckless, foolish, and thrillseeking as storms ever dominate their island continent. Yet, somehow, they remain strong, using the great winds to their advantage and hiding within the ancient caverns surrounding Deephold. Within these caverns lie the most ancient of libraries, older than even the Vanik boast. The Natat preserve these venerable tomes and are the keepers of history, of memory, of the most ancient magical traditions on Libra.

It is for this reason they were drawn to the nation of Zerator. Named after their fallen leader, the jungle-nation is built on top of a crumbling civilization its people dare not touch. They, too, have old books, old tablets and ciphers. It is for this reason, despite their many differences in attitude, appearance, and history, the alliance between them exists.

In Modern Times

In the present day, conflicts abound between nations. Travelling between one nation and another is always tricky, and the roads are as often patrolled by bandits as they are justicars. It is therefore important to have an escort as one travels from place to place, because the threat of the elementals has not abated and, perhaps, time, ambition, and entropy have caught up with the people of Libra once more...
This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

Profile

Libra: The World of Balance

January 2014

S M T W T F S
    1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 10th, 2025 09:19 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios