the isles of nogaroth [info]

WARNING! some of this is very outdated. will be updated eventually.

🔖intro

this guide serves to inform people about the place where my main story takes place: the Isles of Nogaroth. these isles reside in the Yigrigar Territories, a major kingdom in my world. the big world where all of this is in, however, is called Deyeroth. please note that this guide is ONLY for the Isles. guides for the Territories and Deyeroth may be released soon!

i apologize for any typos/grammar errors.

🔖geography

the Isles are broken up into four islands, with the names of Zinzai, Deloth, Lumineria, and Lyrica. Zinzai is the largest with Deloth being slightly smaller. Lyrica is the third largest, while Lumineria is the smallest.

the terrain:

Zinzai is a very tropical island; it's the epitome of paradise. it has exotic plants mixed with natural foliage. some are brightly colored because they have a strong magical aura, while others are duller (more natural) because they're the types of plants you'll find here on Earth. Zinzai has one large river on its north part, connecting to the ocean. it also has a larger mountainous region on the southwest portion, while there are forests on the northernmost region & southeast. the rest of the areas are plains, meadows, and the occasional valley.

in stark contrast to this, Deloth is a charred, barren land. it used to be like Zinzai - very fertile, tropical, and ideal to live on. it had wonderful crops and lush grasses. fittingly, it was previously home of the Deities before it was destroyed by Qrism. now, we'll get more to that later, in the "history" section. Deloth has remnants of trees that never regrew properly from the fire. the colors are dull and grey; it's all very dreary.

Lyrica was, and still is, a beautiful island. there are three main regions that used to contain three powerful schools of magic - Lyfnaria, Illeaxith, and Zuruven. Lyfnaria's school was very earthy/plant based. it did have a slight modern twist to it with things like hanging gardens. there's lots of natural light and glass! Illeaxith, however, is a much more modern area. the school is a curvy shape made of glass and lots of metal, akin to the Louvre. it's contemporary, if you will. lastly, Zuruven's architecture is a mix of indo/east asian architecture and medieval charm. a fun fact for Zuruven's architecture is that there are gargoyles that serve as both decorative elements and guardians of the school. after the War, however, the three schools got destroyed, but unlike Deloth, foliage regrew and restored itself. the only difference is that you can visit the remnants of the ravaged schools!

lastly, Lumineria is another paradise. it has a barrier to protect itself from intruders and non-Deities. if you are not a Deity but wish to visit Lumineria, you must present yourself to The High Council (will explain what this is later, see "Culture" tab) with a few good reason why. you must be approved, and if you aren't, you have to wait a few months before you can re-apply. there's a reason for this, which i will explain later on (see "History" tab). Lumineria has lots of regions, such as rolling plains, a cold and icy area, shadowy bogs, a vast desert, dense forests, tundras, and nearly any biome you can think of! the reason for this is because all the Deities need ideal living conditions as some of them are vulnerable to the sun, the cold, etc.

🔖culture

most beings in the Isles are religious. the dominant religion's true name has been lost to time, and is referred to as simply "Lordship". i know, such a creative name. more importantly, however, are the Deities themselves. there are eight (the most powerful) Deities that make up The High Council, along with many minor Deities. there used to be nine members of the Council, with Qrism gone. more on that later (in the History tab). each Deity has a power related to whatever thing they represent. they also have a fatal flaw, referred to as their "Sin". 

the main Deities (members of The High Council): 

Lyfling, deity of good harvest & tropics. Sin: Pride/vanity

Coral, deity of the sea. Sin: Dishonesty

Ivy, deity of plants. Sin: Lust

Hue, deity of color & space itself. Sin: Fickleness

Zeir, deity of fire. Sin: Wrath

Lei, deity of shadows. Sin: Envy

Theo (Yule), deity of snow and ice. Sin: Isolation (he isolates himself from everybody)

Qrism was once the deity of the tropics but that honor was given to Lyfling once Qrism committed a terrible felony. Qrism is a "wasted deity", and his Sin is greed. It corrupted him - this is why the Deities have to keep their Sins in check. All Sins are balanced by the Virtues, of course.

the three schools (Lyfnaria, Illeaxith, and Zuruven) are filled with mostly religious students. each school collectively worships its "Patron Deity" (it has the largest altar), and there are smaller altars with the other deities for students to worship in their own time.

Lyfnaria has two Patron Deities; these Deities are Lyfling and Ivy. this is fitting because Lyfnaria is a school that practices nature magic and things of the like (specifically things like leaves, sprouts, flowers, forests, etc.)

Zuruven, being a mysterious school full of students who practice shadow and space magic (with the occasional Lightbender), worship Hue and Lei.

Illeaxith's Patron Deity was once Qrism. However, once Qrism became wasted, the school was viewed as a cursed and deceitful one. Though they changed their Patron(s) to Theo & Coral, this a stain that cannot be removed.

as for festivals, Zinzai holds two annually. one is during the summer and spans four days, celebrating the fertile soil & good food. the festival commemorates Lyfling and Ivy (fun fact, the two of them are mates).the second festival is held during the fall. it celebrates fire, water, and shadows, and the deities are Zeir, Coral, and Lei, respectively.similarly, each smaller region has its own festivals. for example, the mountainous region of Zinzai (its mountain caps are topped with snow) worship and celebrate a festival for Theo. those who live in the shadowy marshes and bogs celebrate a festival for Hue, honoring their mysterious nature.

something to note is that even though humanoids, anthros, and ferals coexist peacefully, only humanoids and anthros have (limited) access to books. ferals, since they cannot read, are forced to relive memories through the art of storytelling. passing down stories through the generations is a commonality for them.

🔖kingdoms

there are no kingdoms left anymore; everyone simply does their own thing on the islands. Lumineria isn't really a "kingdom", simply an oligarchy.

however, the history of the Isles was shaped by its former kingdoms, so they are worth noting.one of the first recorded kingdoms was the Khorian Kingdom. 

this kingdom had lots of good crops and surpluses as its inhabitants lived by the river on Zinzai. what started as a simple farming village turned into a massive kingdom that spanned from the northernmost part of Zinzai to the southeast portion, leaving the southwest + midwest areas to be conquered in later years. what made the Khorian kingdom turn from a village to a near-empire? the answer lies in the geography. with lots of surpluses that can be preserved year-round, everyone doesn't have to farm all of the time. thus you get specialization of labor where people can make tools (this is very vital), become doctors, and other things. because of all its food, the Khorian Kingdom would come to dominate food trade in later years due to it having lots of exotic, preservable foods, also rich in protein and other nutrients!

the Khorian kingdom was going strong for a long while until another civilization sprung up in the southwest & midwest areas. this civilization was called the Dritor Dynasty. because they inhabited the plains and mountainous areas, they couldn't center their trade around food because it's difficult to grow things on rocky terrain. instead, they decided to use the mountains for mining & the plains for hunting(because lots of animals would come to graze there). This let this dynasty dominate trade in precious metals/riches.

However, tensions that were already present at the beginning of the Dritor Dynasty's rise (Khorians felt threatened by Dritorians) snapped when the Khorian Kingdom attempted to take over the Dritor Dynasty in order to get easy access to the mountains.This sparked a war, but it was surprisingly a very uneven one. Dritorians had a strong army because they were suited to rugged conditions of the mountains and were able to navigate it well, and they knew all the best hiding places in the seemingly completely open plains. This gave them a big advantage, whereas the Khorian Kingdom was on the brink of extinction. The Dritorians took over Khorian land and held many hostage, but eventually slaughtered all remaining Khorians.

but this was a terrible Sin - murder. the Deities (yes, they existed at that time; they've been there since the beginning of the Isles), who were observing this from afar, decided to punish the Dritorians. they punished all of them by destroying their civilization. furthermore, they cast each and every member of the dynasty to the skies above, supposedly turning them into the stars. the story of the Dritor & Khorian clash is used as folklore as well, cautioning people not the commit murder in cold blood.

of course, smaller kingdoms have formed over time, but the former Khorian Kingdom and Dritor Dynasty are the most important and worth noting.

🔖history

this "history" tab is honestly just an area for me to explain what Qrism did to Deloth & what happened on Lyrica.

as mentioned earlier, Qrism was once the deity of the tropics. his fur was beautifully bright; his demeanor helpful but slightly vain. he was a natural leader, but often failed to keep his Sin is check. his Sin was greed. at first, Qrism started off as a minor deity, and attempted to join The High Council. he was denied a position and was told to keep his greed under control. he had to keep it under control because if wanted to become one of the Council members, he'd have to do his best to make decisions based off of pure logic, not influenced by his Sin.

this caused a bit of conflict (mental conflict) between Qrism and the Council, as he'd come back many times without listening to the advice of his superiors and demand to be accepted. Qrism took all of this denial to heart, but was finally accepted after many years. it seemed like Qrism had conquered his greed, but in reality, he was just hiding it away. he was good at hiding what he truly meant, choosing to omit words so you'd have to be very good at perception to catch what he truly meant.

Qrism was described as the "Ideal Council Member", and was praised many times. but of course, Qrism, who was fighting an internal conflict with himself, wanted more. as the tensions with him vs his greed grew very heated, he finally snapped when his request for a higher position was denied. acting out of pure rage, he attempted to destroy the other members of the Council with magic. ultimately this failed, as the Council's magic combined was stronger than Qrism's. already weakened, the Council couldn't stop Qrism from destroying other parts of Deloth (the PREVIOUS home of the Deities). a great fire raged through the land, killing off many Deities.

finally, they captured Qrism, but it was not easy. the townsfolk decided to pitch in & help, some sacrificing their lives for the cause. as long as the Council was safe, they were happy. once Qrism was captured, he was forced to have a trial, where he was proven guilty & stripped of his title. though the minor Deities wanted him sentenced to death, the Council decided on a supposedly worse fate. Qrism was confined to the very barren Deloth until the end of time. they did not take away his immortality. instead, he can only roam around the island eternally, forced to relive his worst memories. his halo was preserved to taunt him, reminding him of what he could have been. with his once vibrant coat stripped of its color (it's black now), he shapeshifts and often blends in with his surroundings. he lurks in the shadows, challenging all who dare enter his domain... his prison.

this, my friends, is what caused the remaining Deities to join forces and create Lumineria, their new safe haven.

as for Lyrica, i'll keep this short. the three schools were competing to capture a plot of land that would help them expand their school. however, each school succumbed to trickery at the hands of a shadow-bending purple monster also known as Subject (Subject actually belongs to @2500696, not me. btw this is canon, so don't worry). this monster said they'd give each school help if they gave them riches and shiny items in return. after collecting all of the goods, Subject silently left the island, letting the schools tear each other apart.some of the survivors migrated to Zinzai while others were granted entry to Lumineria. the others died of exposure or fought each other over scraps, with their spirits haunting the island that's now a tourist destination.

--

"Respect nature and all of its forces, for it will destroy you if you dare harm it."