Obsidi - Heliotros (əbˈsɪdi - ˈhiːliətrəʊ)

Twin Nations United Under One Stone

Overview

The twin nations make up a Gloom area with unique diverse flora and fauna due to the Starstone's nature that they were founded around. Both are located deep under Warka, and are west of Threshold and southwest of Endless Dance. The Starstones, known to the locals as The Brightstone, are made of fluorite and are covered in Gloom plants.

Geography

Two large collections of huge caverns make up most of the two nations, but the other sections house intricate tunnels and smaller caverns full of life and unexplored treasures. Obsidi has long stretches of mineral rich rivers, weaving in and out of the lush plant life while Heliotros has rivers of lava and hot springs amongst its stony structures. Overall the main collection of caverns are generally flat with gentle slope due to the wear and tear of travel over the past thousands years. The other tunnels and caves are like ant tunnels, winding up and down, left and right.

Notable Landmarks

• The Voids

The in between of Obsidi and Heliotros. None of the bioluminescent plants grow here, leaving this area in pitch darkness. It is said to have strong ties to Kazja as those who have dared to go in have noted horrific creatures or ones they thought to have seen. Life has been hard to prove in such an area clouded with such darkness and very few have come back to tell the tale.

• Garden Groves

While Obsidi is filled to the brim with lush life, The Garden Groves is a decadent cavern that is filled with the rarer, floral species of plants and where most bug types tend to be. Many apothecaries and herbalists set shop up around the boarders.

• Nephila Caverns

This is where the moon spiders lay their eggs and grow up in Obsidi, and is the natural habitat, filled with webs and things stuck inside them.

• The Halls of Dreams

A forest in Obsidi that is said to house the Rings of Memory trees. By drinking tea made from the leaves and mediating in the few coves, one can start to have visions of their ancestors. Even inhaling some of the scent can cause minor hallucinations. Many have gotten lost and were never heard from again.

• The Lost City of Tamore

It was one of the first settlements in Heliotros that was left a ghost town after it’s first moon spider cycle. No one knows what caused it to become a ghost town but people have their speculations.

• Harmony Small Springs

Popular tourist attraction in Heliotros for those who don’t come to the Gloom often and want something relaxing. Five glowing star reviews from the people.

• The Hole

A seemingly endless pit in Heliotros that goes deep into the earth. No one has seen the bottom and made it out to prove there is an end.

History

Because of the oral tradition of passing information down until 4500, the history up until then is treated as fluid/generalizations. (This is what the people think what happened)

1500 AR

Zhao Yìchén/Yǔchén discovered a long windy path to the underground which ended with a large cavern with a star stone floating above a small pool of water, surrounded by different types of wildlife. Excited by his discovery, he stays and invites others to come study the wildlife, causing the first settlement. Soon another proclaimed to find a starstone nearby and make a similar settlement. Since it’s unheard of to have starstones so close to each other, each settlement claimed the other one found a fake starstone. To prove the other wrong, each went back to the starstone and studied it further. This drew in others and people start to live by the stone.

1600- 2000 AR

The cave tunnels and such are starting to change as more people are making their way down and as the environment starts to change because of the starstone. This second generation of settlers set up stones that glow in complete darkness to help others find the way.

3010- 3015 The Great Infestation

In early 3000's each settlement outgrew the original caverns and started to spread out to others. One of these new caverns housed hundred of moth rocs, and they were released on the Jade and Dracae Provinces in Obsidi and the Rani and Glomera Provinces in Heliotros when the barrier between their natural habitat and the nations was broken. This caused food supplies and textiles to run short. A long couple years of suffering.

Luckily, by 3015, a local dwarven woman from Heliotros, Zhào 晴怡 Qíng Yí figured out the creature's weakness: smoke of the qingxin flower. By banding together the people, they were able to control the population and plant those plants along the borders to keep them a bay. She was crowned a hero and helped name the plant.

3020-3050 The Great Revival

After the almost destruction of both nations from the Great Infestation, Obsidi and Heliotros come together to start trade and to rebuild the withered provinces. A civil agreement is written up and is the foundation of a more untied Twin Nation.

4500 Industrial Revolution

Thanks to advances in forgery tools, Heliotros starts to get into more metal works and designs rather than textiles. They start to make better technology and machines to help with the process. This allows Obsidi to have better tools and such for ecological studies and weaving machines.

4800 AR Art Renaissance

Master works are made at this time that would be used as references for future art pieces.

5010- 5020 Civil War

Because of the Art Renaissance, each nation started to question how they were founded and for what reason. There were verbal tales of the reasoning and such, each nation blamed the other as a copycat with a fake starstone. The rising tensions of the two eventually broke out into a fight. It was not that blood, more like sabotaging each others supply routes and such. Each would send presents of bad fluor to each other. It ended when a leader from each nation, Vera Cho and Naomi Lin, came together and made a peace agreement. This started the Citri dynasty, and the president that each of their first daughters would be the peacemaker, in charge of keeping the peace in each area.

5500 Art Revival

Printmaking and watercolors became the popular mediums of choice.

6000 AR

Peace has kept between them besides unsaid distrust in the other due to the still uncertain legitimacy of each others starstone. Lily Cho and Chloe Lin now rule each one as they maintain civil relations between the Twin Nations.

Religion

Fluor

Based on the teachings of Yin 皓宇 Hào Yǔ, the soul is made out of fluor and stuff that came out of the great sky once told by ancestors. The higher the fluor, the closer one is to becoming a star and rejoining the sky. One can earn more fluor by selfless good deeds, not hurting sentient beings, and following the laws of nature. Additionally, fluor is passed through reincarnations and through the consumption of animals, so everyone in the Twin Nations are vegetarian or vegan. Insects are said to be the lowest level of reincarnation a person can achieve, the moon spider being the only exception to this.

Zodiacs

Based on when a baby is born, it tells the general characteristics a child might exhibit as they grow older. Matchmaker and others use them to see the compatibility of groups and/or marriages.

Zodiacs are based on what part of the moon spiders life cycle

Deposi- Laying of the eggs

• Kind, nurturing, observant, resourceful

Ubae- Incubation

• Generous, loving, patient

Liberti- Hatching

• Curious, active, energetic, Youth, versatile, quiet, flexible

Rea- Spiderling

• Intelligent, brave, focused, determined

Ephila- Adulthood

• Wise, patient, gentle

Myths

The Fall of Nephila Day, Night, and Everything in between

Society

Both twin nations have a big populations of races with darkvision, and those without darkvision have small personal lanterns they carry around. Dhampir, Drow, Pallid/High Elf, Shadar-Kai, Gith, Deep/Rock Gnome, Goblin, and Verdan flock to Obsidi. Fire/earth genasi, dwarf, dragonborn, tieflings, lizardfolk, and kobolds tend to flock near Heliotros for the warmer temperatures. The Bright races do live in these regions; they just are less common and either have been there for a long time or a short time.

Occupations

There are a diverse amount of occupations in either twin nation, but either way, the trade is passed down generation to generation in the family. If one person chooses not to produce offspring, they will take on an apprentice. Jobs include but not limited to: Obsidi: wildlife research, visual arts (theater and music included), chefs, rescue team, wood craftsman ship, gardening, religious figures Heliotros: Metalworks of all kinds, stonework, jewelry, exploration, rock/ earth research, firework maker, hot springs/spa workers, bath houses. Both have rescue/ recovery teams that go out weekly to check on some of the more troublesome caverns for stranded people.

Gangs/Smuggling Groups

The flora/ fauna smugglers People of the brights want to study obsidi-heliotros ecosystem without going down there, so few solo smugglers make trips back and forth to supply this need for a hefty price. The textile/ stone sculpture smugglers Brights wanting to get around threshold taxes and such so there is a group of smugglers that will sell directly to the Brights. Each has their own routes to Warka to smuggle goods.

Festivals

• First Starlings

• The New Moon

• The Great Migration

Politics

Both nations only trade with each other and the other gloom regions out of necessity. They have no permanent contact/alliances with the Brights. If they do, they are made through Threshold. Even so both nations can not stand each other due to accusations of each other having the false founder and star stone. Each has a great sense of pride in their nation and with having the back of a star stone and god, it has grown over the past years. Not in a want to spread and conqueror way, just proud of themselves.

Peacekeeper

This is more of a title than an actual political figure. When big decisions happen or something major happens in the city, they are the face of the nation. Each peacekeeper has a body of people that keep justice in order but with the strict spiritual rules, many people don't act out. Both wear Han dynasty style emperor clothing. Underneath them are 4/5 Peace leaders that look over the needs of the major cities/caverns.

Justice keepers

If someone acts out and/or does something illegal, they will go to court to face the consequences. The court is the blind Justice and some other scholars/ religious people who pray to the gods for help in deciding an accurate punishment for said crime. This is for situations where the person needs more than just bad fluor coming for them. Every 50 years, they check and update the code of law.

Culture

Food

Five main dishes to each meal: Pungent, salty, sweet, bitter, sour. Each is accompanied by rice and small vegetable side dishes. Fruit and nuts are ‘dessert’. In both nations, meals are always eaten together/ with others. There are night markets with tasteful street food that is easily eaten on the road.

Dress

Most of the clothing worn is made in Obsidi because of the special silk from moon spiders, a special breed of spiders that have been amplified by the star stone to make a lot more silk that is stronger and shine with a certain eyesight (dark vision).

Day to dat garb is a lot of loose robe layers and tunics with a tight scarf around the waist (gender neutral). Each have intricate designs of florals or important animals. Heliotros has more tight fitting clothes due to the work environments but still has loose clothing for nights out. Both nations have more gaudy outfits for festivals and such.

The Arts

The arts feed the soul which is just as important as the body. Visual arts: There is a lot of water color and printmaking. They have a certain glow to them that only people with darkvision can see due to the pigments origins. Heliotros does a lot of stone/ metal sculpture work and jewelry making.

Theater/Song and Dance

There are plays/ operas on all types of scale. Small local ones to big productions. All have strong themes of community and triumph. Performers wear elegant masks painted as they sing behind them.

Marriage Practices

When citizens are of age, they go to see a matchmaker who looks at zodiacs, family relations, and such to calculate compatibility between the couple to be. Once the couple is set up, there is a courting period to ensure a healthy marriage will come forth. Afterwards when both parties agree in union, there is an exchanging of gifts between the engaged families which usually are a lot of paired items to bring good luck. The 'bridal' receives lots of jewelry from the groom family while the groom receives stuff for baby and food. At the wedding, the married couple wears teal gaudy garbs while the rest of the party wears white and gold. The wedding last for days with small ceremonies to get each party ready followed by days of food and dance.

Flora and Flauna

Link to the complete list of flora and fauna specific to Obsidi and Heliotros

Heliotros

Founder

Zhao 亦辰 Yìchén

Peacekeeper

Chloe Lin

Population

21 Million

Capital

Ilia

Major Exports

Metal works, Jewelry, and Sculptures

Major Imports

Non- Gloom Food (fruit, veggies, and rice) and raw ores

Location under

The Gloom

Obsidi

Founder

Zhao 宇辰 Yǔchén

Peacekeeper

Lily Cho

Population

24 Million

Capital

Nephi

Major Exports

Art Prints, Special plants, and Gloom Silk goods

Major Imports

Non- Gloom Food (fruit, veggies, and rice) and Pigments