Welcome to Iora
The last traces of the aurora flicker and fade in the night sky overhead, leaving you and your guide alone in the starlit darkness of the early morning. You crawl reluctantly out of your sleeping bag and roll it back up, stashing it in the heavy backpack you really wish you didn't have to carry all day. As you wipe the sleep from your eyes your guide hands you a travel mug of cold coffee that you eagerly guzzle down. "It's not much further," he says as he sips from his own cup, "We'll probably be out of the forest by the time the sun comes up."
It is the 76th year of the The Age of Reflection. After a generation of worldwide conflict and the detonation of a devastating arcane weapon, relative peace has finally come to Iora. Now, the nations of the world must contend with great political and cultural revolutions, post war animosity, and emerging technologies and magics if they wish to ensure a lasting peace. But as world leaders contend with the uncertainty of the future, many everyday citizens have turned their eyes to the past, hoping to find their fortunes in the bones of long forgotten ages.
The World
The forests of Soaraia have never been welcoming to outsiders. You knew that before you decided to take this trip, but even the vivid descriptions from a Megatu storyteller couldn't have prepared you for just how tangled and hostile the landscape here is. But there is something beautiful about the forest even at night. The jutting roots and branches of the tall trees have woven themselves together into a magnificent ancient tapestry, the broad leaves offering only brief glimpses of the stars above as they rustle gently in the pre-dawn wind. The forest floor is coated with a lush carpet of decaying foliage, occasionally broken up by small patches of delicate white flowers that seem to glow in the dim light of the lantern.From the barren deserts of Nyota to the grand mountains of Suhr, nearly every environment found on Earth can also be found on Iora. But it is not just geographical features that are shared between the two worlds. The slow march of time has brought with it technological innovations not unlike those of modern day Earth, allowing average citizens to live comfortable, safe lives within the world's major urban centers. Beyond the cities and towns, out in the war torn lands, danger and adventure lie around every corner, beckoning those brave enough to seek them out. However, technology is not only the force that has dramatically altered Iora's history. Since time immemorial, The Aether has allowed humankind to tap into the very laws of reality and shape the world around them in accordance with their whims. In the past, The Aether was a dangerous force only used by the blessed, the wise, or the foolish. In the modern era however, a standardized system of spellcasting has been developed, allowing substantial portions of the population to access basic magical abilities. The influence of The Aether can even be found in the geography of Iora itself, and unearthly wonders can be found all around the world. Everything from floating islands, bioluminescent swamps, impossibly ancient forests, strange and exotic fauna, and long hidden underground seas can be found on Iora, all just waiting to be explored.
The People
by MidJourneyAI
The origins of the astounding genetic diversity among Iora's human population is the subject of much debate amongst the world's biologists. Some claim that the influence of The Aether has caused the evolutionary process to speed up at an unprecedented rate, others claim that the blessings of the ancient gods still live within the bloodlines of the populace, while others still believe that long held beliefs cause physical changes in future generations. No one really knows the truth, and they may never know. Regardless, people on Iora exhibit many unusual physical traits that one wouldn't normally find on a citizen of Earth. These include horns, hooves, scales, feathers, fur, and many, many other strange and wonderful features. Because of this, the word 'human' is a hard to define one on Iora. Genetically speaking, the vast majority of the world's sapient organic population is human, and yet you would struggle to find someone on Iora that looks like they would fit in on modern day Earth. For example, people with Nyotan blood have jet black skin and bioluminescent, star-like freckles, while those born in the Makhah Confederacy have patches of fur and rabbit like ears. Despite this extreme variety, physical differences are almost never used to target individuals for discrimination or hatred, and are celebrated all over the world as symbols of the diversity and beauty of Iora's population.
The Problems
As your footsteps begin to sink slightly into the damp earth, you pull out your map, briefly examining the route your guide drew on it in red marker. You should reach the edge of the forest soon, and you don't have to go too far into the marshes to find your prize. Your contractor said this would be a suitable task for a solo explorer. No movement had been seen in the ruins off the coast of Lake Sanouk for years, but the area was once rife with traders bringing goods from the southern tundra. "I'm not sure what your agency told you about this area," Your guide says as he sees you examining the map, "But there's rumors of strange sightings in the marshes at night. You should try to get back before sunset."The course of Ioran history has been divided into several ages, with each age usually beginning after a major calamity. The most recent of these events, The Last War, has lead into a new age of global rumination on the history that lead up to such a brutal conflict, causing many to dub the modern era the The Age of Reflection. In this age, anthropologists, sociologists, and would be adventurers from all around Iora set out into the ruins of the ages before, hoping to uncover everything from lost ancient knowledge to big chests full of gold coins. Those who are interested in more magical issues have found a new subject in the form of The Abstraction. In the final days of The Last War, a mysterious weapon was detonated by an unknown nation within the borders Moki'Seh. Since then, a massive, nearly 150 square mile sphere near the center of the country has been covered in a thick blanket of unstable arcane radiation, mutating everything caught within its radius beyond recognition. This chaos has thrown Moki'Seh into disarray, and the population's faith in the national philosophy has begun to wane as the nation descends towards anarchy. For those who seek to explore new biomes however, the recent discovery of The Undersea has left the world's marine biologists in a state of frenzy as they compete to see who can document the myriad new species that call this hostile, alien domain home first. Some even believe it's possible that there may be ruins within the depths left over from before The Sundering, allowing access to histories thought lost to time.
by MidJourneyAI
From here, your journey is your own. Feel free to keep start clicking on links in this article to learn about topics that intrigue you, or find a country on the map below that you wish to explore, or just return to the homepage and start browsing the various categories. Either way, I hope you enjoy your time on Iora!
The Themes of Iora
Hope
Just because Iora has a messy past doesn't mean its future has to be messy as well. The world has finally returned to an era of peace, and that peace has brought with it a global desire to ensure that The Last War lives up to its name.
Adventure
Iora is a world waiting to be explored, where sprawling ruins, breathtaking wonders, and foreboding cave systems can be found in abundance. It is a world where adventure lies around every corner, awaiting those brave enough to seek it out.
Comfort
But Iora has a place for those who seek simpler things as well. Iora is a world that is free from the prejudices of modern day Earth, where everyone can be themselves in whatever way they choose.
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