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The Terra Gates

Joined
Sep 1, 2018
I've had a world built in the back of my head for ages now, and with these forums I have found a way to invite players to mess around in it! Please post your interest and/or any questions! Curious readers are appreciated!!


The World of the Terra Gates is a magical fantasy setting, full of swords and sorcery. It will not be a realistic setting by any means, and has the potential to get silly.



The titular Terra Gates are the most significant feature of this world. These ageless structures have by all appearance existed before recorded history and allow for mass and instant teleportation between the four of them. It is common knowledge that the quantity of the mass moved impacts the time it takes for a Gate to charge, but few take time to learn the upper limits of the gates’ power.

Each Gate has a localized culture built up around it, nation-states rising and falling over the years until settling into the modern four cities, referred to as: The Sailing City, the Citadel College, Denzh’bara, and Üshia. These cities are only able to communicate with each other through the power of the Terra Gates. It is commonly believed that all Creations exist on a wide and flat expanse and that the Terra Gates are located in the four corners of the Creations. Attempts to travel overland or set up colonies in the wilderness away from the Gates all reportedly met terrible fates. The average citizen is not concerned with this, as the Terra Gates provide exponentially more convenient travel. While the getting from city to city is rather easy, each has managed to retain their own distinct and expansive culture.

The Sailing City formed around the Terra Gate that is situated smack dab in the center of a dormant caldera. The islands nearby that had been formed by the volcano proved to be the perfect foundation for the structure that now has almost 70% of its structures floating on the ocean. To hear the locals tell of it, all of their ancestors sailed the Endless Ocean in similar floating structures until a large group of them "Tied the Rafts," an event celebrated in the Sailing City as its founding. Nearly all of the economy in the City is based on the resources of the oceans and trade. 'Citisailors' are notorious for their love of haggling, bargaining, and finding a good deal, which lent them naturally to hosting the largest open market in the Creations. After all, "money keeps the City Sailing."

The Citadel College is a fortress-university-monastery that started as an academy built to study the Terra Gate there. In the long years since, it has become a bastion of civilization, knowledge, and ethics against the terrors of the surrounding Weildwood. The thick forest surrounds the Citadel on all sides, ceasing its growth at a strict radius from the Terra Gate, as though refusing to expand its growth any closer to the structure. The does not mean the denizens of the Citadel College are safe, as this invisible line does not repel the terrors that stalk the Weildwood. That job falls to the Tower Wardens, an order of Knight-Police that zealously guard the College from the various threats that rise from outside or within.

First time visitors to Denzbara will first notice the lack of sky overhead. The sprawling network of tunnels that make up the entirety of the kingdom have been expanding nonstop for generations, but never has a tunnel broken through to the surface. The massive spanning cavern that contains the Terra Gate is the hub for hundreds of paths to tunnels potentially dug so long ago that no living soul could tell you where they lead. Despite the rough nature of their stone environment, the citizens of Denzbara draw pleasure from refinement and artistry. Denzaran works are made to last and to look good that long as well. While calling themselves a kingdom, Denzbara does not currently have a crowned monarch. Currently the Royal Houses and their ForeFathers form an council of authority that governs the people. Denzara's throne has sat empty for a handful of decades, this being a source of concern for those who notice such things. Such close to home information is rarely shared outside the tunnels, so the true reasons remain a mystery to all but a few.

Surrounded by scorching desert, the oasis around the Terra Gate was a perfect spot to settle a community of people to protect each other from the raging sands. Water was a sacred resource to these settlers for obvious reasons, who learned to adhere to a strict law of rationing and communal effort. Each able bodied citizen was expected to work a determined percentage of the day or else receive less rations. Even artists and bankers were expected to have demonstrated equal output to receive their daily needs. Once every 22 days, a meeting is held that requires all able bodied adults to attend. Laws and policies, as well as civic and personal issues, were discussed and ratified here. All are required to submit a vote, but the vote can be for any proposed option. A citizen can always submit another idea and gather votes for it. This is in fact how much of the government operates. The citizens of Üshia mostly live a happily spartan existence, understanding that the harsh climate they live in can wear down any home. The sands spare no one, neither prince no pauper. Instead, the the people choose to show their wealth on their person in the form of jewelry, clothes, and all manner of tattoos. Color is king in Üshia, and which ones are in fashion can change by the hour. Stern of spirit and flamboyant in personality, the citizens of Üshia tend to be rather unpredictable.
 
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