oftw0tongues

[oftw0tongues]

for a kingdom built on war, TOURNAMENTS ARE NOT COMMON IN MEATH. while they excel in the realm of violence for borderline obvious reasons, the kingdom as a whole does not often indulge in tournaments.

the main reason is honor. under the tenants of dther, tournaments are considered disgraceful to knights. it is said that at the dawn of elves taking form of flesh and bone, aella pleaded with her husband to negate the appeal of frivolous violence, as he had gone from king to god. after losing their sons to the thousand year war, she was adamant ... and so he did. the church of dawn looks down upon tournaments. they are believed to be showy and without a shred of honor, often relying on unwilling participants or lesser knights to fight.

the nature of war is obviously brutal. within the church of dawn, it is said that dther and his brother, elther, believe that wars should only be won by the faithful. those who serve their pantheon and fight with dignity and honor are allowed the chance to enter an eternity. those who do not are cursed to wander beyond the gates of dther's final kingdom, bogged down by the shadow cast under towering golden walls. (in some translations of legend, they are fed to the dragons, amis and edos.) tournaments directly go against that, as often they are means to win bets, entertain kings, etc.

this being said ! IF CALLED UPON TO PARTICIPATE, MEATH WILL THROW A HAT IN THE RING. however, these sword-clad beings are not just randoms chosen to fight. often times they will be paladins or direct servants of the church of dawn: and prior to participation, they will embark on these sort of spiritual pilgrimages to prove that they are responding not in spirit or personal desire, but in necessity. this can include things like the undertaking of physical pain (self or elected lashings), heavy fasting, and extensive time spent in prayer or within the church itself. upon victory, the actions of the above are often repeated as a method of cleansing oneself and derailing the concept of " glory in victory ", as if it not considered a genuine victory ... rather a boasting moment of elther letting you live in good graces / because of previous sacrifice.

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historians speculate that anything that managed to survive which provides insight to the family is because of the youngest princess, neila, who would conceal documents of lineage and accomplishment before throwing herself into the sea from the eastern tower.

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cahir had three notable crowns, each one significant for varying reasons and specifically designed for various holidays, milestones, and events. this is not including the pieces made or passed down to his sisters and younger brother, nor do they refer to the lovers, which were complimenting crowns worn by the king and queen.

the sun. a tall, open crown designed without arches, meant to mimic the concept of a sunburst. it was a particularly ornate, golden crown which held tourmaline rather than more traditional jewels, and was christened with tediously engraved floral motifs. this was most commonly worn during time spent within the throne room, as it was heavy and somewhat uncomfortable.

the moon. built like the more traditional arched crowns that we're familiar with, the moon was a gift from the loston empire in the wake of cahir's death. it was a silver crown lined with a white fur and adorned with intricately cut sapphire and moonstone. it is worn mostly during winter events, including all souls day (which is like a mid-winter feast to honor ancestors) and the long night, which is like christmas but for a week.

dragon's eye. sometimes referred to in historic text as the war crown, this iron based headpiece was short and meant to be fitted closer to the skull. set into it was alexandrite long enchanted to glimmer and maintain the appearance of a dragon's eye. the crown itself was given to the first sitting king after the age of dragons. it is primarily dawned in victory celebrations or during visits to foreign kingdoms as an ode to house's might. it used to be worn into battle, but has long been forgone for helmets and more protective pieces.

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to make a formal post about it, i want to talk about attraction and what aspects of society / personal tastes influence what for a crown prince turned knight of nothing. ♡

first and foremost, in terms of personality, cahir is pretty cut and dry. it's also worth noting that, in the long run, cahir does tend to favor personality over physicality ; given the lengthy lifespan of elves, he much prefers the concept of someone who, regardless of how they age, will retain some semblance of their core personality traits through the years. it's a touch more important, considering elven culture often leans heavily into life bonds with others and typically cherish the concept of the two souls in harmony type deal (which, to an extent, i will say - none of cahir's preferences really matter as a crown prince. his sense of duty outweighs all, and he would marry and go through the motions of producing heirs even if that person wasn't his psuedo cup of tea). with cahir, he likes strong personalities - confidence, primarily, with a touch of stubbornness, even if that bites him on occasion. he likes headstrong people who are ambitious and quick on their feet.

but for physicality, it stems more from the subset of elven culture he derives from. elves, at their core, often maintain features that feel off-putting and unreal given they are souls reincarnated over and over until they make the choice to enter an afterlife. yes, they are beautiful, but it's an abnormal and often spooky kind of way. this being said, some branches of elven culture prefer the more slender build with ethereal features. with war elves, however, the root of their societies and culture is often set in physical strength. cahir is much more apt to being attracted to the more " baseline " or primal (i guess you could say) features on another. broader shoulders / bodies, softer tummies / thighs, wider hips - etc. typically, the telling signs of strength or fertility in some sense of the word. (given most fantasy mirrors eras in time which certain body-types and builds were viewed as favored for fertility / resembling deities / representation of status / etc, this feels right.)

all of this being said, like i said, at the end of the day ? none of this really matters to cahir, who later adopts the moniker of erolith ; he is duty-bound in every sense of the word. his personal preferences and desires will always take a back seat to whatever it is is requested of him by his title.

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how does each muse fit into the lore ? if you're following my other blogs for this world-build (i'm insane), it might not be apparent how they all fit together because my thoughts and posts are never cohesive / always a jumbled mess. so ! here's a very basic breakdown until i get a carrd together.

meath was an expansive kingdom located south of the often frigid kingdom known as oriel; north east of the valley of the dragons; east of the ever-broadening loston empire. set along phantom bay and the black sea (it's island territory, a strategic militant base, not pictured) - it was a staple alliance in a trading network that well beyond the loston empire, it's ports serving as an import spot for continents across the black sea. while primarily known as an exporter of violence, given its occupied territories across continent to call upon for fighting forces, its lesser known export is the pearl eye ... a fish considered a delicacy primarily found in phantom bay.

his esteemed majesty, king goibniu naïlo and his fair lady queen, her majesty queen estelle naïlo from the loston empire, sat as the ruling monarchs of meath through the age of warfare after his majesty's father and older brother were killed during a distant conflict. together, they had five children ... the sixth of their status born of mistress (child taken as if of sole royal blood on the grounds that her mother be sent back to oriel): crown prince cahir, princess cadhla, princess aoibheann, princess deirdre, princess neila, and prince uillend. out of the six children, the only ones deemed unfit for throne on a hushed level were princess deirdre (the daughter of mistress) and prince uillend (who had been born "considerably frail", plagued with chronic pain and illness, often unable to join the fighting front. he was instead given the former kingdom of suidora ... a meath occupied territory above the loston empire where it was believed he would be relatively safe, healthy, and welcome amongst empire indebted to kingdom).

each child had their own role to play in the grand scheme of things. often married to noble houses to strengthen the oversight of occupied territories, there was never a particular race to the crown. given the comfortable and often free existence of the five children beyond crown prince, the notion of power-struggles seemed vastly unwelcome.

THE CROWN PRINCE, cahir naïlo ... considered the main character of sorts in this story. believed to be the sitting symbol of kingdom, a prince moonlighting as king for father dying. his petulance for combat and military prowess makes him a treasured ally and feared foe; many believe he has been blessed by war god in ways well beyond the simple favor of family, and that alone is why he was reincarnated within a time frame in which he could resume his position as rightful heir to throne. while he did not favor being a diplomat, historians had no qualms with recording him as a smooth-talking, charming prince. he was noted to be in an arranged marriage with the princess of oriel, and while there was no romantic love there, they were quite well-adjusted friends who " shared a sense of duty " to respected families regardless of personal feelings.

THE KING'S GUARD, eithne mournbow - a testament to the openness of kingdom ideals in a time when surrounding territories (beyond the matriarchal society of oriel) often frowned upon or banned women from knighthood; she followed in the footsteps of her own father, taking up the sword to defend the crown whenever and wherever she was called upon. with mouth and whit often sharp as blade, she would eventually come to be largely illustrated as a angelic figure over the guards who worked beneath her due to her tenacity and prowess in combat.

THE WAR HORSE, killian mournbow - the older brother of eithne and right hand of crown prince; killian came into what would be damn near sainthood from a young age. his memory of former life serving war god returned well before his hundred birthday, a vast rarity among elves, and it was believed that such was divine premonition of where he belonged. a well-armored figure often flanking crown prince, killian is meant to be both an additional blade and a religious voice of reason for decision making, those in his position meant to check royal family members and remind them that their loyalty to god and pantheon comes well before their loyalty to their own gain.

THE SON OF MOON, anluan liarie - the left hand of king and " courtier of the moon " (advisor to second prince). a champion from the loston empire, the brother to seer (someone blessed / cursed with visions of whats to come), and vastly loved son ... anluan was essentially given to meath as a good-will token with the rebirth of cahir some one hundred-odd years after the crown prince died liberating the region. he was a well-acclaimed swordsman and often the first to take challenge on the offhand chance that meath was invited to partake in tournaments (tournaments, as they were, were considered disgraceful to knights - however, it was in tenants of served god not to turn down a good fight). he would later be felled when struck through eye / helm by arrow, killing him instantly. by the time he was reincarnated, the kingdom was long gone.

THE SORCERESS, merla sastry - a war mage from oriel who sat once as a lady in waiting to princess ordella (cahir's wife), only to later serve as both an advisor to sole queen and matriarch over church of demise. an eerily beautiful woman who once brought about the downfall of kingdom due to the sitting prince's refusal to accept her hand in arranged marriage. her advisory to queen ended fifty years after the fall of meath, when queen was killed by her son who wished to take throne well before his time. when faced with the prospect of execution, merla simply scoffed at the new king. eventually, she leaves oriel and becomes the witch of the woods; a being described as a hideous hag who prayed upon weeping maidens and children, using their blood for potions and powers. it tends to keep unwanted visitors away.

THE CROW, brom dhalmiriy - a knight from oriel and servant of the goddess theone. taken as a young boy from a particularly cruel estate of lands conquered by oriel and meath, brom was essentially projected from stable boy to knight by a newly adoptive father who believed his use more fitting for blade despite being almost completely blind in one eye (he can see shifts in light and shadows, primarily). a fearsome fighter, he is said to bring swarms of crows with him, the extension of goddess who fed from the corpses of felled enemies to her cause. once a lover to killian, brom would end up leaving kingdom after queen was beheaded in throne room by son ... choosing instead to travel continent as an unaffiliated blade seeking to do only what satiates his war monger goddess.

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" before their claim to the throne, house naïlo stood as one of four pillars of governing body ... nobility in return for military prowess - often referred to as the king's fighting dogs. usurpers, dragon slayers, war mongers: the monarchy's might. in retrospect, it was both common & expected each generation to not only take up arms, but demonstrate proficiency. this pruned parts of the family tree down to nearly nothing, but much to the amusement of sitting king, they'd always found a way to grow back. "

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not to like, spam the dash, but reincarnation is a huge thing in elven society / culture - not because its forced, but because it's optional ... and there's no guarantee that you will be reunited with the loved one you lost. (they could reincarnate centuries down the line !) because there was so much literal unknown behind the process, and the sway to encourage deceased souls to return, the death of prince was a fairly big deal. with daughters uninterested, though plenty qualified for the future of the throne (each of them already overseeing a sizable taken territory sometimes well over a tenday ride away), it was a huge deal. there was also a prophecy going around at the time that the death of a royal prince would signify the collapse of kingdom (which did happen, but with the death of cahir's brother). so when cahir was essentially reborn some one hundred or so years after his death, which is a blink for elves, it was quite literally believed that the sitting monarchy did in fact maintain favor from the god of war, himself.

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the liberation of the loston empire, also known as the two year war, was a period in which the loston territory - meath's figurative neighbor to the west - was inherited by whom history would remember as a vastly incompetent monarch. overspending, over-consumption, and misdirection landed the empire in a perpetual state of famine, the economy plummeted and while the sitting royal family and subsequent nobles continued to live lavishly, the people suffered. eventually, the suffering was met with resistance, and when the rift was place which landed the sitting family executed, the region itself was left open and volatile. an empire across northern sea saw it fit to utilize the sudden imbalance as means to garner leverage and absorb the empire, creating a statistical problem for meath, oriel, and a few other neighboring kingdoms / territories that relied on the centuries old trade agreements to remain connected to goods further in continent. the noble family who had taken the reigns of empire sent urgent word to its allied friends for aid in withholding what felt inevitable at the time. his majesty, king goibniu naïlo and two of his oldest children, prince cahir and and princess cadhla, would take to the fighting front, per tradition for house naïlo even before becoming sitting monarchs. it is during this time that cahir earned the title of honored liberator of the loston empire, but not on the grounds of surviving combat. of two children, the king would return to meath with only one living ; later, it would become a sort of prophetic concept of cahir's reincarnation per the elven soul cycle. (but that's a headcanon for another time.) while cahir's body was removed and ceremoniously burned upon his death in the loston territory, his armor would be returned to the place he had been felled ... both a monument to sacrifice and a beacon for the soul's lost there to follow into their next life. fun history fact: it remains there unscathed. while many hypothesize it is because locals in that area cared for armor left hollow, it is often written that it remained intact for his initial rebirth - and it will continue to remain, waiting for him, upon each cycle of death into life.

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i know what you're probably (not) thinking, kt, what's the magic like in your world build ? well, grab a seat.

given there's literal a valley with dragons just fucking around in it, yeah, there's totally some kind of magic presence. but ! unlike other universes where magic is more prevalent or so easily achievable via schooling, i love a little absolute shitfest of a distribution system. let me explain.

elves are born with a baseline magic connection, but not in the dnd way of having an immediate power situation ! their magic is really tied into their background more than anything else, and as far as magic goes, it's not that cool. for instance ! cahir is a war elf, which is a subset of elf that derives from the souls of ancient entities once essentially created by pantheons to act as the protectors to the gates of supposed eternity. think of them as the clydesdale of this universe: they're big, they're strong, and they're meant to dig in and work. to make up for this, and to minimize causalities and down time to some extent in the pre-creation scheme when the pantheon's felt inclined to duke it out, these same entities were given a somewhat magic ability to heal a bit quicker than average. does this mean they'll regrow an arm ? no. but they will get back into the fight a lot faster.

but magic is taxing: when gifted to beings who aren't lucky enough to be born with it in abundance (like sorceresses and sorcerers, who are born with an abundance then formally taught to control it by others within their realm of expertise), it can be exceptionally hard on the body. in some kingdoms or cultures, those who swear themselves to the gods they serve (think paladins and clerics, specifically), are said to be a well for divine power. sure that's cool, until it's not. utilizing gifts from gods is like lighting yourself on fire: there's nothing fun about it, but in this case, it's helpful. the toll is excruciating, to say the least, and it's why those within these roles are sometimes looked at as nobles by proxy, or saints (meath, for instance, views those who undertake these roles as saints ... second only to sitting royal family).

can magic be learned ? yes and also no. you can certainly learn petty magic or carry some speckle of magic based on background, but, for the most part ? it is gifted ... or cursed, depending on how you look at it.

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prominent figures / gods worshiped in meath under the church of dawn and the golden pantheon !

dther, the god-king of war. previously a mortal king who ascended to godhood, it is believed that those who take up sword in his name are reincarnations of his knights.

isilynor, daughter of dther - the goddess of the wilds and the hunt. often dual worshiped by the naïlo daughters and other female warriors. her signet, a curved knife, is often embroidered in the gowns of the court daughters and engraved into the armor of female knights.

letar, the unisex deity of seasons. they are often depicted in different bodies / forms based on the weather. during the age of famine, they were often illustrated as a a weeping, disfigured entity wearing black.

elther, the god of fate and alleged brother of dther. it is said that when warrior's survive what should be fatal blows, it is dther interfering with his brother's plans.

aella, the lady wife of dther and goddess of childbirth and fertility. it is believed that she comforts children in the path of her husband's destruction and, in instances of population surging after wartime, it is said that she herself has bedded the god king and allowed a reprieve.

amis and edos, the twin dragons - said to be tamed only by the children of gods, often associated as moon and sun deities. they are a large reason as to why the dragons in the valley were moved rather than fought. they are also the two primary deities of the loston empire, which is said to have their preserved bodies buried beneath. their souls chase each other across the sky, and their respective signets are painted across the dragon skulls mounted in meath's throne room where they can still be found amongst rubble.

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flowers were an exceptionally symbolic thing in meath. during the age of plagues, under mad king, the lands were barren ... house naïlo waged wars on slim rations in a desperate attempt to reach out for any semblance of relief they could garner as disease and famine ripped through kingdom and uprooted even lower noble houses, leaving their family trees toppled and dead. when mad king was upsurped and house naïlo was essentially awarded crown by favored public opinion, the slow till of fields and sprouting of gardens became unanimous in affiliation with their step into power (a sidebar fun fact is: house naïlo has always been known in noble courts quite fondly for the grand gardens on their estate grounds - and it was often said that the roses were redder and brighter upon the back of victories).

because of this, flowers became widely grown and widely symbolic. whether it was specific flowers for armies victories, weddings, or deaths ... the people of kingdom, and the nobles themselves, grew to lean heavy into customs adopted during the ruling of cahir's grandfather and father. red flowers were planted and scattered in the wake of victory, knights and soldiers were tucked into coffins lined with white and yellow buds before being burned with their weapon. they were often woven into the hair and attire of those sitting or visiting the high court to reflect their position or reputation with sitting monarch ! one of the most solemn things in cahir's recent memory, truly, would be the sprinted stretch back into main city's towering walls while fields of flowers burnt as kingdom toppled.

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cahir has four " hunting dogs " - maddox and vala, aina, and maeve. out of the six children, he's the only one who insists that it's relatively important for royals / nobles to keep dogs despite the fact that he only hunts occasionally when invited out by other houses or other royals. they are subsequently treated like his children, and are often viewed as an extension of crown by staff. likewise ! he is known for four horses ... a black palfrey name cai who he often uses for travel, brenna and arleen who are two white destrier's typically swapped out mounts for battle, and a bay courser named kane who is used just as frequently as the dogs for hunting.

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cahir carries a beautiful blade that was forged specifically for him and blessed by the church of dawn. it's inscribed with a protective prayer and the hilt is meant to resemble the tangled roots of a tree (an ode to the idea of the royal family standing firm / sturdy in their rule). after the fall of kingdom, when cahir returns to what would mostly become chaos and ruin, he tentatively plants the sword in the church where he was gifted it ... there it remains, watched over by the mutilated remains of his father and brother, as well as a headless corpse who he believes to belong to his former right hand man, killian.

[oftw0tongues]

a lore / character development hub for @n1ghtbreeze !