đź‘‘ Children With Stars in their Veins
First Instalment of the Trueblood series
First Instalment of the Trueblood series
You're entering Stellarsyl, in the Three Thousandth, One Hundred, and Second Year, but that isn't where this story began.
It began sixteen years preceding, when the first of the Six was stolen from her crib in her frozen keep, brought to the nonpartisan Chronicler's Guild, and a new baby put in her place. It continued henceforth, with the subsequent trading of infants of the remaining four kingdoms. There was only one mistake made during these switches: the mercy of a second child who should not have lived to see her first birthday.
Thus set off the story of the stolen children, and how the Six came together.
đź‘‘ Introduction
If you were to ask a citizen of Stellarsyl about where the truebloods came from, you would receive wildly varying accounts. Some will tell you that the Lands were created and four people were delivered who could wield unlimited magic, gifted to them naturally, but bloodlines were muddied when new, ungifted people sailed to Stellarsyl and forged new settlements and relations of the original four, that truebloods of today are those who are descendants of the ones of the First. Most nobles will tell you this is untrue, that there were, indeed, four First men, but only two of them had the gift of natural magic, though many will argue they only claim this to further the divide between class. The more fantastical and spellbound will tell you the eight demigods created the island and made their kingdoms, but quickly grew bored and lonely in their separate dominions, and thus created the First men. In their recounting, the trueblood are descended from them.
In truth, nobody knows where the truebloods came from, and the passage of time dulls most curiosities. The only acknowledged fact of those with truebloods is that they are the undisputed rulers of their territories. This has been the way of things for centuries. Anyone who holds an ounce of doubt in trueblood rule need look no further than three Ruins of the Fallen, once mighty kingdoms that crumbled when their trueblooded heads were severed from the body, whether it was from an assassin's sharpened blade or fanciful ideas of reformation.
Every child of a trueblooded ruler undergoes a blood ritual at their coming of age ceremony, in which their blood is tested to prove their heritage and their destiny to their subjects and the Lands. A child comes of age at seventeen.
"Not one of the current trueblooded ruler’s children would pass their blood rituals."
đź‘‘ Setting
The setting of Starry Veins is the union of a classic fantasy world with steampunk elements, the marriage of magic and technology coexisting.
Stellarsyl is an expanse country surrounded by the Three Seas: the Northern Sea, the Ocean of Mirrors, and the Silken Sea, to the north, southeast, and west/southwest respectively. In the northern waters of the Silken Sea is the Viridian Isle, which hosts one of the five renowned, archaic kingdoms, governed by trueblooded rulers.
The most primal of the kingdoms, the Saltwater Kingdom is built off the land, beautiful if not rough-hewn architecture, buildings of wood with husk for roofs. The largest building is said to be the Queen's Hall, which is capable of withstanding hurricanes that hit the island and housing much of the island's population. The most communally driven of the five kingdoms, with gardens raised by all capable hands and a great and expansive trade, and the strongest in maritime ventures.
On the mainland are the remaining four territories. To the west, the sprawling kingdom of Summermount, in the middle of the Ruby Desert. Surrounded by glistening, smooth sandstone walls to keep all those unwanted out of the kingdom, be it the bandits who would brave the unforgiving barrens or the beasts that prowl the sands at night. Beautifully sculpted architecture of pale limestone, the envy of many a traveller, with many teardrop dome roofs that glisten the deepest shades of blue, green, and gold. Temples of worship and safe haven speckle the city, and open marketplaces fill the roads with colour. None so exquisite as the Sun’s Palace, however, filled with marble and curling designs of breathtaking detail. Droughts are nothing to blink at, however, and sometimes even the greatest oasis's fall victim to the Sun's harsh gaze.
In the great and bitter north lies the Divine Tundra, and Glacier's Keep. The largest, unassailable stronghold in Stellarsyl and cold as the lands around it, none but those native and those of considerable make can last out the nights here, though should one be allowed entrances, the hearths are large enough to stand comfortably in (not that you should chose so, lest you find yourself devoured by flame). The city in the keep is less fortified, but elegant in it's own right. Much of the design is that of coliseum structured and stacked buildings of a dark, monochromatic grey that ice covers like ivy. The streets are cobbled with mottled, non-patterned stones. Sharp, steep roofs of nigh indestructible materials keep the snow from building up and collapsing buildings. The Wolf's Hearth serves both as throne room and gathering hall, interwoven with braziers and carved sections filled with charcoal to keep the fire burning hot and the atmosphere comfortable. Here is a great dining chamber, overlooked by a tall, broad dais where the trueblooded family watches over their people.
The fourth of the great kingdoms is Chromium, the entrance of which is to the east. You will find no towering palaces built to reach to the sky, though this is the largest of the five kingdoms. Beneath the earth dwells the massive city that could make the tallest person feel like a flea. Carved into the stone itself, the kingdom is a monolithic system of roads and sectors. Veins of ore can be see in the raw, untapped walls that connect with the block-like, defined angles of the buildings. It is the richest and more monumental of all the kingdoms, but has fallen second in the race of technological advancement. There is less order, however, with a little monarchy spread so far over such vast province, and law is shakier here. Chromium is where the most sinful find welcome shelter, with such an inconsistent and fallible radar under which to hide.
To look over the lands for the fifth kingdom would yield no results. It is to the sky one must look, with hands shading their eyes, to see the marvel of Heaven's Keep. Often called the Rainbow City, this kingdom finds welcome amongst the clouds and the stars. A truly wonderful city that looks almost like crystal under the sun. Buildings enchanted with prisms to glitter in the light, gold and ivory to gild and weave through the city with stunning precision. Sharp, severe buildings fill the city, and those who do not have stained glass windows are those who openly declare their destitution. The minds and hands of Heaven's Keep have quickly overtaken Chromium in the technological race, and it is home to the flourishing Inventor's Guild. Clockwork sentries patrol the streets, marbled statues of gryphons and lions and great beasts guard the most fortunate in the kingdom. Great ships that sail the clouds and winds dock and hover around the city until a journey is given to undertake. Many daring citizens even seek to enhance themselves through installed wires and whirring gears, or to simply add more aesthetic or appeal.
There is much of the land, however, the kingdoms do not lay a claim to. These are the Wilderlands, and travellers know to stay on the industrial roads, lest they disappear to oblivion. Everyone in Stellarsyl knows that the places unclaimed by them are wild and unforgiving. The land has a mind of its own, and even stepping off paved roads is to risk one's life. To try to chart such territory is not only impossible, it is the highest form of recklessness. Only those the Wilderlands, who have been born into the land's embrace, may pass unharmed through it's landscape. The vagrant clans that shift as the earth itself does. Some believe such folk are simple myths - who could possibly live in a terrain that changes? - as there has been little to no proof of their existence. The older generations know better, or so they say they do. Every once in a while, there will be claims of one of the Wild Folk who ventured into civilisation. Some stay, though they are much different in behaviour and mindset to the "cultured" folk.
BLESS YOU if actually read all of that
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