Introduction to Mir
The Planet of Mir is a harsh world. Its only race of any measure is Humanity, and their early lives were dominated with the struggle to survive. It was these hardships that forged the power of the souls, and in turn brought the attention of the creator deity, Yeor, the Awakened Creator. He sent four aspects of himself to Mir after he sensed the human spirit from beyond his Divine Light. Zhizn, Stenok, Eyinan and Vybor set off across the Smoke of Shadows(a thick, black fog that covers most of the universe) to discover this new, unknown source of energy.
Upon their arrival at Mir, they observed humanity for 1,500 years before taking up their sphere's of influence and becoming known as l'Gota. With this came a dispute among what to do with the human spirit upon it's passing, and this argument soon turned into the War of Souls, lasting for 600 years.
After the war subsided, humanity spent the last 400 years of the First Era rebuilding their ruined stature on Mir. The Second Age began to flourish, seeing the rise of new empires and nations far and wide along with new culture's and belief systems to accompany them. In the east, men travelled from the far islands to the Region of Acre and founded the Nation of Thul. To the south of there indigenous peoples moved into the Zjin'au Territory and formed three distinct tribes. In the Innerheart, mortals left the caves and shelter of the Northern Aleyn Mountains to go on and form the Republic of Seva.
These states of power thrived in the absence of the Aspects of Yeor, having raised the Wall(mountain range) in the west and secluding themselves from the greater world beyond them, seeking seclusion. Humanity was left to toil among themselves and build great cities and technology, allowing them to turn their attention to other luxuries such as art, music and the sciences. Armies were built and wars were fought, but none compared to the now ancient War of Souls.
Yeor took the form of a great, white star, and began to shine with his Divine Light across his own pocket void, along with many others nearby in the cosmos. He formed the matter around him into celestial bodies and gave parts of himself to them and formed the beginnings of the Engellic Spirits. Within Yeor's Divine Light, all is safe and sacred, and no harm comes to any under his protecting shine. It is bliss. But the Light does not shine across all of the Smoke of Shadow, and it is in these darkened, matter-filled pocket voids that natural processes occur and form the basis of new kinds of celestial bodies & biological life. It is in one of these processes that Urye the Leviathan was born by natural means. His power so great, he could sense the slivers of Yeor's Divine Light, and became compelled to understand it.
Therefore, he imitated it. He created Mir, and exhausted from the effort, fell into a deep slumber, drifting into the Smoke of Shadow, lost to time. Urye left behind the dormant Ka and the Signalum to wake them. Should the need ever arise to be awoken from his great sleep and approach Mir once again.
The Nation of Thul was founded in 2E187 by men traveling by ship from islands across the Sundering Seas. They are approached by Veera in 2E202, disguised as Yidul, a mesiah-figure who influences and helped create the Influence of Yidul.
It was soon after that Akata and Bor approached Veera and persuaded her to help them send the souls of the citizens and people of Acre to Stenok in an effort to boost his forces and chances of succeeding in his plans. Thul went on to found four major settlements, along with many other small villages, hamlets and homestead that fall under their rule. Their key settlements are: Origin, Song, Oxbow & Bliss.
Directly opposite, on the western side of the Northern Aleyns you'll find the Republic of Seva. Founded by the descendants of the survivors of the War of Souls. The populate the local forest and the plans to there south, being masters of horseback riding and warfare.
They boast a large population and military force and have come to blows with the Nation of Thul over the region known as the Gap, an important location for trade & commerce. They have yet to be able to beat Thul or hold the Gap for any meaningful amount of time but have made repeated attempts over the centuries. They are currently skirmishing over the Gap during the events of the Grateful Six journey.
The Zjin'au Territory lies to the south of Acre and the Nation of Thul. While no true sovereignty has been established in the region, it is currently controlled by local tribes who fall into one of three groups. Zjin'au Coastal Tribes, Zjin'au Inlanders & the Zjin'au Nomads.
While the Coastals and Inlanders stem from the same roots and ancient history, the Nomads come from outside the territory and stay distanced from the other two tribes, only interacting with others when required for trade or their own well-being. This has led to great misunderstanding towards them from the other tribals, and in turn, caused tensions to build in Zjin'au.
Innerheart is by far the largest region on all of Insennis and is home to the most diversity of human culture. The Republic of Seva, Zhao Khanate and Tu Empire can all be found in this space between the Wall and the Aleyn Mountains.
Comprised of many smaller regions such as Ur, the Grasslands, and Pits of Mir, Innerheart is used as a catch all phrase for the people with in the area rather than a distinct association, given the severe differences between the Innerheart nations and other outlier groups such as the Nation of Thul.
A large desert located south of Seva and west of the Zjin'au swamps on the other side of the southern Aleyn mountains. It is an ancient landscape still yet unrecovered from the War of Souls. A dry climate, it is home to little life, and even less of a human population.
What human settlements exist here can be usually be found near the edge of the mountains out of the floodplains reach, where the streams flowing from the mountains are still fresh and rarely dry up. A notable settlement is that of Aic Ocuel, a small village located against the foothills of the mountains in a remote part of the land. It is often the region most associated with the Cult of the Deciever, and the group themselves are currently located there in search of the last known Signalum, an instrument of the end-times.
It was the siblings who first came up with the idea to form a party and set out south to find freedom in the swamps of Zjin'au, being escaped slaves from Thul, they craved freedom. Upon meeting Wee and the others, they set out on their great journey, picking up travelers, refugees, fugitives of the state, slaves and more. As news of this grand exodus spread, Thul took notice and sent scouting parties after them in an effort to keep a group of less than a hundred people from undermining what they saw as their divine rule and right.
They faced peril after peril, loss after loss and yet prevailed. They reached the Territory and were befriended by the curious locals of the Inlander tribes. It was they who sent the initial part of six to the sea-village of Silt, where they came to an agreement with the ruling council. They agreed to aid in finding them suitable land, learning to navigate and read the dangerous swamps, how to cultivate food and inevitably build defenses muddy region. She'edu, as the new settlement came to be called existed outside of the subjugative law of the Nation of Thul and from the rituals and sacrifices of the Zjin'au tribes. They succeeded in founding the first independent settlement on the east coast since the establishment of the Nation of Thul in the early Second Era.
News of their success began to spread, and more people came. Other attempts at free-settlements were made, some failed & some succeeded, but none stood out like She'edu and the journey they made to get there.
Upon their arrival at Mir, they observed humanity for 1,500 years before taking up their sphere's of influence and becoming known as l'Gota. With this came a dispute among what to do with the human spirit upon it's passing, and this argument soon turned into the War of Souls, lasting for 600 years.
After the war subsided, humanity spent the last 400 years of the First Era rebuilding their ruined stature on Mir. The Second Age began to flourish, seeing the rise of new empires and nations far and wide along with new culture's and belief systems to accompany them. In the east, men travelled from the far islands to the Region of Acre and founded the Nation of Thul. To the south of there indigenous peoples moved into the Zjin'au Territory and formed three distinct tribes. In the Innerheart, mortals left the caves and shelter of the Northern Aleyn Mountains to go on and form the Republic of Seva.
These states of power thrived in the absence of the Aspects of Yeor, having raised the Wall(mountain range) in the west and secluding themselves from the greater world beyond them, seeking seclusion. Humanity was left to toil among themselves and build great cities and technology, allowing them to turn their attention to other luxuries such as art, music and the sciences. Armies were built and wars were fought, but none compared to the now ancient War of Souls.
The Cosmos & Gods
The Universe over all is blanketed with a thick, black fog-like substance called the Smoke of Shadow. It is primordial in nature and existed before all else and will survive long after all else. The Smoke of Shadow, however, is not all-encompassing and there are pockets of pure void among it, which is the same as space is to us. One of these 'pocket voids' is the location where Yeor thought himself into existence and asked the question of life, upon which was answered and the galaxy was filled with the elements and matter make you and I up today.
Yeor took the form of a great, white star, and began to shine with his Divine Light across his own pocket void, along with many others nearby in the cosmos. He formed the matter around him into celestial bodies and gave parts of himself to them and formed the beginnings of the Engellic Spirits. Within Yeor's Divine Light, all is safe and sacred, and no harm comes to any under his protecting shine. It is bliss. But the Light does not shine across all of the Smoke of Shadow, and it is in these darkened, matter-filled pocket voids that natural processes occur and form the basis of new kinds of celestial bodies & biological life. It is in one of these processes that Urye the Leviathan was born by natural means. His power so great, he could sense the slivers of Yeor's Divine Light, and became compelled to understand it.
Therefore, he imitated it. He created Mir, and exhausted from the effort, fell into a deep slumber, drifting into the Smoke of Shadow, lost to time. Urye left behind the dormant Ka and the Signalum to wake them. Should the need ever arise to be awoken from his great sleep and approach Mir once again.
Mir & Insennis
1. Early History
Mir in it's earliest form was a glowing blue and green marble of a gem orbiting with three small moons orbiting a star much like our own sun. Mir is only the size of a large dwarf planet and is only home to one continent, Insennis. There are many small islands and archipelagoes located in the surrounding oceans, although they are largely unexplored. It is Insennis where the Human race evolved from nature over a period of hundreds of thousands of years, sentient, but just out of reach of true sapience & understanding.3. The War of Souls
Humanity progressed at a phenomenal rate and their potential was realized by Stenok. He planned to use their spirits in an effort to help him ease humanity into extinction. Zhizn stood up against him and conflict soon came. On 1E400 the War of Souls broke out and was waged for 600 years. It began small, with Stenok slowly escalating over time, hiding his presence from the other deep under the ground. At its peak great battles were waged, leaving imprints on the land forever, the Pits of Mir and the Wastes are prime examples.2. The l'Gota Discover Mir
The l'Gota arrive at Mir and find the humans in their caves, hunting, and gathering. Fighting for survival with the rest. But there was something special. they knew how to manipulate tools and had a complex social structure already present. The Four Aspects soon came to understand why they had been drawn here. After 1,500 years, they declared the First Era, took the moniker of the l'Gota and bestowed upon mortals their greatest gifts. The Right to Life, Death, Knowledge, and Choice.4. Vybor & Eyinan Intervene
As the war progressed and great battles were fought and the conflict began to peak, Vybor and Eyinan made an agreement with each other to step in. They could see the destruction being brought about this gem of a world and sought to end it and attempt to save humanity from the destruction; both Zhizn and Stenok were blind to the fact they were killing off what they were fighting for. Vybor, l'Gota representing Choice and Conseqence went to mediate between the armies of Stenok and Zhizn, while Eyinan went to relieve humanity of their fears and teach them how to survive and rebuild when peace once again rested upon Mir.The Nations, Kingdoms & Territories
1. Nation of Thul
The Nation of Thul was founded in 2E187 by men traveling by ship from islands across the Sundering Seas. They are approached by Veera in 2E202, disguised as Yidul, a mesiah-figure who influences and helped create the Influence of Yidul.
2. Republic of Seva
Directly opposite, on the western side of the Northern Aleyns you'll find the Republic of Seva. Founded by the descendants of the survivors of the War of Souls. The populate the local forest and the plans to there south, being masters of horseback riding and warfare.
3. Zjin'au Territory & Tribes
The Zjin'au Territory lies to the south of Acre and the Nation of Thul. While no true sovereignty has been established in the region, it is currently controlled by local tribes who fall into one of three groups. Zjin'au Coastal Tribes, Zjin'au Inlanders & the Zjin'au Nomads.
4. Innerheart
Innerheart is by far the largest region on all of Insennis and is home to the most diversity of human culture. The Republic of Seva, Zhao Khanate and Tu Empire can all be found in this space between the Wall and the Aleyn Mountains.
5. Ur
A large desert located south of Seva and west of the Zjin'au swamps on the other side of the southern Aleyn mountains. It is an ancient landscape still yet unrecovered from the War of Souls. A dry climate, it is home to little life, and even less of a human population.
The Grateful Six
The Grateful Six is the title for the main storyline set into Mir. It is in the 474th years of the Third Era that this group of six people is formed, with Wee as their Pathfinder, Twitch, his sister Bean, a drunk named Hobbes, the fugitive Fan and the idealistic young boy called Clyde. It is in the Nation of Thul city called Bliss that they meet by happenstance as individual patrons of The Lonely Bard Inn, owned & operated by Beauregard Woodrake for 7 years.It was the siblings who first came up with the idea to form a party and set out south to find freedom in the swamps of Zjin'au, being escaped slaves from Thul, they craved freedom. Upon meeting Wee and the others, they set out on their great journey, picking up travelers, refugees, fugitives of the state, slaves and more. As news of this grand exodus spread, Thul took notice and sent scouting parties after them in an effort to keep a group of less than a hundred people from undermining what they saw as their divine rule and right.
They faced peril after peril, loss after loss and yet prevailed. They reached the Territory and were befriended by the curious locals of the Inlander tribes. It was they who sent the initial part of six to the sea-village of Silt, where they came to an agreement with the ruling council. They agreed to aid in finding them suitable land, learning to navigate and read the dangerous swamps, how to cultivate food and inevitably build defenses muddy region. She'edu, as the new settlement came to be called existed outside of the subjugative law of the Nation of Thul and from the rituals and sacrifices of the Zjin'au tribes. They succeeded in founding the first independent settlement on the east coast since the establishment of the Nation of Thul in the early Second Era.
News of their success began to spread, and more people came. Other attempts at free-settlements were made, some failed & some succeeded, but none stood out like She'edu and the journey they made to get there.
Map of Insennis
OTHER INFORMATION
When you're dead you're dead. But you're not quite so dead if you contribute something.
Ok, so.
Mir has grown with me over the last three years and been through many changes and iterations. This is only the most recent. The Smoke of Shadows is a universe that exists within my mind and as an extension of it. It is my safe haven for when I feel truly overwhelmed by the world outside of my apartment. I put a little piece of myself into ever article. If you read this, you will get to know me as well. Thank you for being taking such a journey.
I have grown and matured over the last three years, and my writing as well. New projects have come and gone, but Mir is the one I keep returning to. My rock in the vast expanse of a sea of black. While it is a place of darkness, evil desire, torture, cold indifference and even malice I find that in reality love can only ever be truly unconditional and remains a key to salvation lost to both Mir, and ourselves as a species.
If you're reading this, I love you. You are valuable. Thank you for reading my work and living in my moment for even a microscopic amount of time. Even if the only thing you ever read by me is this note itself.
The Star of Yeor. A common symbol used to represent Yeor the Awakened Creator, creator of the Divine Light.
The symbol depicting Urye the Leviathan. Creator and ender of Mir.
A map of the Region of Acre
The universal calendar for the Planet of Mir.
The coat of arms for the Nation of Thul.
A map of Bliss, located in Thul.
The coat of arms for the Republic of Seva.
A map of Novi, capital city of Seva.
The crest of The Grateful Six and She'edu.
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This is a fantastic diving-off point for your world. I feel like you could give this page and only this page to someone and they might very well end up losing their afternoon following link after link to the rest of your world.
I really appreciate that, Ademal! Just gotta get my links fixed now! ha