DURISTEL
Duristel is a small country located in the Australasian region of the world. It is known by many as a country of safety, as it has low crime rates and plenty of job opportunities that suit every person's wishes and requirements. Duristel accepts people of a wide range of differences, whether it be race, sexuality or disability, this country is a safe place for all. The northern area of the country is home to the big city, where there are buildings and businesses aplenty. Despite this, the most populated region is the central state, Muranna, which is more of a suburban town than a bustling city like Hardale. The southern region, Talligal, is a dense pine forest with very little residents, as well as an abandoned dig site.
THE FOUNDING STORY
Around 200 years ago, what we now know as the country of Duristel, was considered a state apart of a larger country, closer to the continent of Australia. However, since Duristel was separated from the larger country, the residents felt it should declare itself its own country, rather than a state of a country it's not even physically connected to. The Duristelians ran this idea past the government, whom hesitantly allowed it. Over the course of many years, Duristel slowly made things work for itself. Duristel was also one of the first countries, following Australia, to allow women to vote, work and even become mayor!
THE MAYOR OF DURISTEL
For a total of 4 elections in a row, Sophie Rosaire has won the right to be the mayor of Duristel for 11 years. Mayor Rosaire is a very charismatic woman, often listening to and keeping up with things happening all in Hardale and Murrana so she stays on top of requests, drama and finding solutions to said controversies and predicaments. She takes pride in being mayor of the country, and is said to be the most liked mayor in years. Although mayors generally only rule regions of a country, since Duristel is so small, Rosaire represents the whole country as mayor and as a government representative.
DURISTEL COUNTRY GUIDE
The main island of Duristel is a boxy oblong shape separated into three regions, the northern one being Hardale, central being Murrana, and the southern being Talligal. Beneath Talligal is an island, but it is just more forest. Hardale is quite hilly, but doesn't contain any mountains, it also is home to many gum and pine trees, a very large shopping centre, and a peaceful lake. In Hardale, the buildings are more technologically advanced, and has unique architecture compared to the other regions. It is very busy in Hardale, as the city and shopping centre is located here. Murrana is home to the most gum tree forests and suburban townships in the whole country. It also contains primary and high schools, meaning that students from Hardale have to catch trains to get to school on time. It has the highest population out of all the regions, as well as the most buildings, although not as impressive as the ones in the big city. Talligal is known for its dense pine forests and abandoned dig site, that only very few know the story of. Here, the only residents are Suki Lemongrass and Mateo Brusset, who live together in a shack Mateo built for the two. Further into the forest, is the aforementioned abandoned dig site.
STORY OF THE DIG SITE
Many years back, before Duristel became its own country, the dig site was used to find valuable material and resources such as gold, silver, iron, tin and nickel. Many people from Australia came to Duristel to mine for these materials, which were most commonly found in the general area of the dig site. Over time, the site was ultimately stripped of all its minerals, therefore no longer attracting attention nor visitors, leaving it abandoned. Several of the miners that came to Duristel ended up staying there, making a life for themselves. But, there is also something strange going on in the ruins of the site...
What is the abandoned house in Murrana there for?
It is a key part for the main characters, because they strengthen their friendships with each other by all investigating it and working together. It also contains old documents with information about the history of the dig site and its secrets, which is what spiked their interest in exploring Talligal.
What are Sukiri and Mateo doing in the forest?
They both decided to move there as it is a place that emanates comfort for the both of them, they both see it as a safe place to have space from all of the people in Murrana and Hardale.
What is special about the abandoned dig site?
Directly beneath the dig site is a naturally occurring tunnel that leads whoever enters into Cherimoya, which is powered through the magic that Astatine, Francium and Thallium are able to create. This is a big plot changer in the story because the cave which the main characters crawl through ends up collapsing as they get to Cherimoya, breaking the magical bond that held it up, trapping them in this unknown island.
What is Marlow and Miles' role in the story?
Miles regularly studies the Yoro Islands, and is certain of a strange magical force that the people there are able to concoct. He theorises about the alternate world (Duristel) and how it may be connected to the Yoroan magic, convincing himself that he needs to find out more about the alternate world to further his study on Yoroan magic. Marlow finds the group after they follow Miles back through the portal to Cherimoya, which they were previously unaware of, and offers to help them once they show signs of distress.
Who is Solano?
"Solano" is Miles' alternate persona he uses to trick the main cast into thinking he's kind. It's a completely separate personality that Miles uses to gain trust from the others, although not all of them are so keen to believe him as others are.
Why are all of the main characters the wrong ages if they were born between 2007-2010?
At the time of writing each character's information, it was between August and October, 2022. So I kept their ages up to date between those months, and have decided they will be stagnant from then on. They no longer age alongside the people on which they were based.
Is Lightning still your fursona?
No. He never really was my fursona, he was just an animalised version of me, which I later based on what I wanted to be like when I overhauled everybody's designs and personalities. Over time, I've added things to make him more like myself, but I don't feel a strong connection with him; he doesn't wholly represent me. However, he is my main character and mascot that I have used since 2018.
Who is Nascha, and why is she not in a definite area in Cherimoya?
Nascha was Miles' best friend growing up. She had an interest in studying history and theorising about alternate dimensions. Being young and impressionable, Miles was dragged into this fixation of hers, and grew to like it as well. Over time, the two began scheming together about the possibility of entering an alternate universe, and would devise methods of transportation to said universes. Eventually, Nascha went missing, explained by her lack of definite location in Cherimoya. Miles changed due to this event, and after some time, became dedicated to completing their unfinished research without Nascha for her memory's sake.
EVERY CHARACTER'S CODE IN THIS FOLDER R OUTDATED, AWAITING UPDATES.
to do:
- figure out wtf went wrong with atlas' code's tabs and fix that
- update everybody's birthdays (goes for everyone in duristel and cherimoya as of 18/04/2024) to suit newfound canon time period
- write everyone's personalities on new code format
BTW the songs associated with each character are NOT chronologically accurate to their time period, and are not intended to be.
keep in mind that, as my story takes place in a fictional country; traditions and social expectations will be different than those that were prominent in the real world for the time period i chose.
family members of the main cast