welcome to elarion, a fantasy gpsl that brings together characters inspired by your favorite disney films and fairy tales! while we hope to keep things fairly simple, we do have quite a few specifics in mind for the setting in the interest of keeping everyone together for plot purposes and just generally on the same page, so without further ado:
the kingdom of elarion
the kingdom of elarion is ruled by queen aurelienne and king faerlic, beloved rulers who have been in power for the last 35 years.
rosespirewithin the kingdom, there are additional realms, each ruled by a different lord or lady that is nonetheless beholden to the king and queen:
rosespire is the capital city (and largest) of the kingdom, and home to castle rosespire. castle rosespire is known for being semi-sentient; doors and staircases will spontaneously shift, portraits whisper advice at random, chandeliers will dim when hurtful lies are told. rosespire acts as the diplomatic center of the kingdom, the neutral (but firm) mediator between realm disputes, and home to the kingdom's libraries, academies, and other scholarly buildings.
the wildwood marchesnote that these are only a sampling of towns within each realm! in the interest of collaborative worldbuilding, you are welcome to come up with different cities your character could live in, if you would prefer they not live in any of the capitals. rosespire is the only location that functions as both realm and (very large) city and has no other cities within it.
the wildwood marches are a heavily forested realm, known for growing many of the herbs and produce that is used throughout the kingdom. the marches are home to many of the kingdom's herbalists, healers, and artisans. rowanhalt is the capital city and where high lord alaric ephrais, the wildwood lord (and the king's cousin), resides.avonlea is a lush, overgrown town where flowers bloom regardless of season and both residents and visitors feel as though they are genuinely incapable of raising their voices or growing angry.emberhold
nettle's watch is an entirely vertical town wrapped around a colossal tower-tree hybrid. no one is allowed to reside on nettle's watch aside from the nettle warden (they maintain the tree and structure), as it is home to nothing but shops - half artisans, half farmer's market.
emberhold is known for volcanic ridges, a desert that sometimes reshapes itself, and the dragon riders that call it home. emberhold is the main military hub, and those who live in the realm tend to live their lives by very strict moral and ethical codes. eldreth is the capital city and where high lord zahir jasyr, the ember lord, resides.azramel is a port town and an important location for elarion's trade routes. as such, it is heavily guarded and regulated.the trickster courts
helior is less town, more central hub for the hearthscale, and is where most soldiers and their families reside.
the trickster courts are home to the fey of elarion, where time can behave inconsistently and humans, in particular, tend to avoid. animals talk, vines whisper, and everything seems just slightly uncanny. evenfall is the capital city and where high lord lysandre hollowdale, the lord of the glade, resides.driftwake is a port town - of sorts. lying right on the frostveiled sea, it is actually a floating town lashed together via rope bridges on top of half-sunken ships that no one in the kingdom can actually remember the origin of. tends to drift from one side of the inlet to the other.the outer realms
the infinite maze is just as it sounds - a massive maze in the heart of the trickster courts' woods. it is rumored that anyone not of fey ancestry will slowly lose their minds trying to solve it.
the outer realms are highly isolated, partly due to geography, and partly due to the fact it seems to always be winter. mining is a large industry within the outer realms, and they are known for an underground black market that deals in magical artifacts (this is the bane of the thorned concord's existence). frostspyre reach is the capital city and where high lady seraphine glassward, the veilward lady, resides.glowerhaven is the northernmost town in the kingdom. home to the weeping berg, a literally underground tavern run by a tavernkeep that is rumored to remember things that his patrons never actually said out loud.
cindervale is a town made up of structures formed entirely from crystal, mirrors, and glass.
major guilds and factions
you are welcome to have your character be part of any of the following factions and guilds of elarion:
the thorned concordsociety
the thorned concord are curse-lawyers, diplomats, and arbiters that mediate disputes involving curses, sentient structures, magical artifact regulation, and other various problems throughout the realm. they are located in rosespire, but travel across the kingdom.
the order of the golden quill
the order of the golden quill are chroniclers, archivists, and scholars who work at the rosespire athenaeum, maintaining the history and artifacts of the kingdom. the athenaeum, much like the castle, is semi-sentient, and mages have cast powerful wards that prevent those who may wish to steal artifacts or scrolls from entering.
the hearthscale
the hearthscale are soldiers and dragon riders who protect elarion from outside invasion. while their major seat is located in emberhold, they have small outposts in each realm to help maintain order.
the bloomward circle
the bloomward circle are members of the fey who work to preserve ancient fey law and protect the trickster forests. they mediate generational curses and disputes, guard and locate ancient fey relics, and help prevent time collapse within the trickster courts.
nobility rankings
in the interest of keeping things simple and not being too muddled, we are operating on the following system:
queen / king, rulers of the kingdom -> high lord / lady, rulers of the realms -> lords / ladies -> knights. lords are typically rich families who own some land or are important merchants, and they answer to the high lord or lady of their particular realm. there can be multiple lords within a realm!
general worldbuilding
some quick housekeeping rules for adapting to a fantasy setting:
- customs are referred to in our setting as parchments (can i have a parchment?). each character keeps a parchment book with them - an easier way to communicate than sending ravens! - that they can then give "private" parchments to other characters.
- travel is done primarily via horse, babylon candles (yes, this is ripped from stardust), or teleportation, if your character has the ability.
- while traditional social media and cameras do not exist, we have a few options that we hope will keep things fun for monthly activity requirements! mirrorpool is our version of instagram; using enchanted mirrors, users can project glimmers of their lives to anyone who also has an enchanted mirror. whisperwind is a snapchat / x hybrid; short messages can be sent to everyone's parchment books.