Kontheios

One of the things about writing things like these is that it gives me a chance to try to be less verbose (which I have a habit of being). On the other hand, whenever I write less, I just end up either feeling lazy, or like I’ve left something out.
That said, in this case I am absolutely being lazy.

In Kontheios, Castle Atrekei was where the Gods lived. Once. But one day, more than five hundred years ago, the gates opened, and there was no one inside.
Texts were found, written in the language of the gods. As far as anyone could tell, they really had loved the people of their creation, and had sought to do what was best for them. Countless theological and scientific questions were answered in a heartbeat. And nowhere was there any hint as to where the gods had gone, or what had happened to them.
Over the following century, numerous religions sprung up, purporting to have answers. And just as soon, they declared each other blasphemous, and fought. It was a time of great upheaval, and, as with all times of great upheaval, there was no shortage of men willing to make things worse, if it would profit them to do so. Today, only a few major schools of thought remain on the subject of the gods:
The Avessei believe that some great human sin so horrified the gods, that they left the world, disgusted by the evil in humanity. The Omoroi go further, believing that this act was so heinous, that it actually poisoned the gods, who retreated from reality to heal. Meanwhile, the Prossei believe that the gods left their children behind to forge their own path, that the next step in humanity’s development requires them to be without their gods. And the Calanei believe that a being they call Asanelan, the adversary of the gods, attacked them, and that the gods were able to defeat it only at the cost of their own lives.
But in fact, the world today has in large part moved on from the gods. Whilst few doubt they did exist, fewer still believe that they will return soon, or that some clue as to their disappearance might be found. When the disappearance first happened, numerous men dedicated their lives to finding the answer to that mystery,but there is no record that any succeeded.
There have been other changes, too, since the disappearance of the Gods. The souls of the dead, which were once ferried by Xarile to the great beyond, now linger in this world. Whilst only the strongest can manifest as ghosts or spectres, anyone who has died since that day can be called upon by magic. Plants, too, unconstrained by Demmera, have grown wild and unruly. They grow wherever they please, weeds choking crops, and forests ignoring their natural borders. Even the Sun has grown erratic in the sky, now that Heimmora is no longer there to measure out its path. And in a thousand other ways, the world has changed, now that the gods are not there for it.

Merithos

I still have some odd ideas about when days and, yes.


In Merithos, the wolrd is written in the stars - every detail of it. With the proper care, and sufficient knowledge, there is no question about the state of the world in the present which cannot be answered.
Those who study the stars are called astrologers, and what might at first be a surprise is how little one sees such people. The uses of their functional omniscience should, after all, be obvious - the humblest merchant would wish to know what the grain harvest is like a thousand miles away, and the greatest king should like to know immediately what happens in the furthest reaches of his kingdom. And yet, there are no astrologers to be found in plain sight.
This was not always the case. Many generations ago, there were people who made use of them. Never many, but some. But the problem is, that the one thing a merchant wants more than to know his competitor’s secrets, is to be sure that they do not know his. Kings are even less willing to let their secrets be known. Astrologers, and those who employed them, had short lives.
And so, the astrologers banded together, and founded the Academy of the Night under its twelve Grand Magi (the number has varied since, though never for long). Although it is not a traditional academy - it has no buildings, or grounds. It has no physical location whatsoever, indeed. It is simply a name for an organisation of astrologers, working together, and passing their knowledge down from one generation to the next.
Where astrologers were often attacked, noone comes after the Academy, because those who do rarely find anything to speak of, and tend to find that their secrets from that moment forth do not remain secret.
And, of course, the Academy is rich beyond measure. Both from their own investments (which are considerable), and from the high price they charge those who seek them out for their services. And people who would never have employed an astrologer do seek them out. Because anyone who can afford those service and does not buy them, risks what might be done to them by someone who did.
Beyond the academy, there is unfortunately very little in Merithos which is constant enough to be worth speaking of. The Academy, as a result of the abilities of its members, reaches across seas and continents. And the temporal kingdoms of the world are small, brief things, constantly fighting for dominance. It is said that the Academy keeps them that way, using its wealth and knowledge to keep any one kingdom from becoming too dominant. Of course, the Academy is blamed for everything from plague to earthquakes, but this rumor seems plausible - a weak kingdom is a potential customer, whereas there is the risk that an empire might be able to threaten them.
As for astrologers who do not belong to the Academy, the Academy itself tends to see them as a threat to its control, and those who survive spend most of their lives on the run from its enforcers.

The Corcuran Empire

Oh God, someone reminded me today that I have a blog!
I was distracted by writing about Dove.
Anyway, first thing first, so before doing anything else, new world!

The Isle of Corcura is a very special place for one important reason - it’s the only place where griffin eggs will hatch.
A full-grown griffin is a sight to behold. Even carrying a knight and armored beak to tail in thick steel, a griffin can soar through the skies, and reign death down upon whoever might require it.
Because, you see, on the back of the griffins, the people of Corcura built an empire. The island might have been small, but it was rich in ore, and there is, as any student of military tactics should know, significant value in complete air superiority.
Noone in the world had anything to match griffins. They were fast, well armored, and tended to carry archers on their backs. Great armies were left devastated and demoralised before the bulk of the Corcuran army even arrived.
The Empire of Corcura spread across two continents, and ships were being prepared to investigate the claims of  the griffin riders that there was a third.
Then came the Gorsi Rebellion - though it wasn’t much of a rebellion. Oh, armies rose, of course, and there were battles, and there was fighting, that the empire won with almost comical ease. But the real point of interest was inside the palace. A group of conspirators, led by Fiole Gorsi, quietly killed the emperor’s guards, and took the emperor Himself prisoner. An army of griffins is not much help against a palace coup.
In the following days, the emperor was executed, Fiole was named as his successor, and The Red Declaration was signed, severely limiting the power of the emperor, and giving far more freedom to the lesser lords who ruled under them.
Fiole Gorsi lived to the age of eighty, and was succeeded by his son Morie, and he by his son Puri after him.
But Puri, who rules today, is a poor emperor, more inclined to art and philosophy than to the rigorous task of running an empire. There are whispers that it would be better to replace him with a more able ruler.
Meanwhile, there is the third continent, called Ruali By the Empire of Corcura, and by a thousand different names by those who live there.
For it is a wild and savage place, with strange creatures the people of the Empire have never seen before - great serpents, half a mile long, who speak in all the tongues of man, and birds who seemed to be made of living flame. The continent is covered in a thousand scattered kingdoms, with a thousand petty kings, all vying for power. And there are wizards - people capable of things the people of Corcura would have thought impossible, of calling down lightning from the skies, or fire from the earth. Even of creating something from nothing.
Although the Gorsi dynasty has focused mainly on keeping order in its many provinces, an expedition to the continent was ordered by Morie, and so a small outpost has been created there, and the men and griffins stationed in it have begun to explore the continent, and  to trade with the nearest kingdoms for the goods they need to survive.